ARABS BLAME USA???

[AussieMark]

Arabs Blame United States for Baghdad Bloodbath

CAIRO (Reuters) - Arabs Tuesday saw the latest bombings in Baghdad as an unholy bloodbath. But a few said they were part of a just fight against U.S. occupation and most agreed Washington only had itself to blame for the chaos.
They said the United States had failed to provide Iraqis with enough security to prevent the devastating suicide attacks in the capital that killed 35 people Monday, at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"America is responsible for all deaths in Iraq. It is responsible for the emergence of gangs and thieves because the absence of leadership like Saddam's was filled with chaos and anarchy," said Palestinian taxi driver Dib el-Malek in Gaza.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, anger in the Arab world -- where there was broad opposition to the U.S.-led invasion -- has grown with the collapse of law and order in oil-rich Iraq.

"I was against the U.S. invasion of Iraq and I believe that the United States was unjust in its war on Iraq, but I think America would be even more unjust if it withdraws now from the country because it (Iraq) would be easily torn apart." said Mansour Abdullah, 51, a government employee in Saudi Arabia.

Others were keener to see the end of the U.S.-led occupation that many view as a thinly veiled act of colonialism. They feared Monday's bombings, which included an attack on the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Baghdad, would extend the U.S. presence.

"Iraq, on the first day of Ramadan, was the scene of a bloodbath and occupation forces are directly responsible for this because of the instability they created in Iraq," wrote the daily al-Khaleej, published in the United Arab Emirates.

"The bombing which targeted a humanitarian organization... serves the occupation and extends it instead of ending it."

CRITICISM AND SYMPATHY

Many were outspoken against those who carried out the attacks that cost the lives of dozens of Iraqis and wounded 230 by targeting the Red Cross and three police stations.

"What happened yesterday in Baghdad is a crime by all measures, but it is more disgraceful than a crime: it is a deadly political mistake," wrote Lebanon's as-Safir daily.

"Such political mistakes help the occupation to justify its horrible crimes."

Yet on the streets of Arab capitals, there was both criticism of the civilian deaths but also some sympathy for the fight to eject the United States, which many feel has ridden roughshod through the Middle East since the September 11 attacks two years ago.

"We don't want civilians to be hurt, but soldiers, that's something else. They have no right to be there. The resistance should be against military targets, not civilians, not the Red Cross," said Ibrahim Abdullah, 45, standing at a Cairo newspaper stall.

But Tunisian teacher Sellami Abdessmad was less concerned, saying resistance would inevitably cost civilian lives: "Those Iraqis who die fighting or those innocents killed during attacks like the latest bombings in Baghdad will be rewarded by God as martyrs," he said.

In Yemen, journalist Fares Ghanim said U.S. mistakes were driving people to despair: "If the security situation continues it will provide a fertile ground for Muslim extremists who want to take revenge on Americans."