Chapter 32 28 Going to the South——Shiite Areas Resurrected

The Montagne would not have seized power had the French not been defeated at Dumouritz. —Jomini, The Art of War I made an appointment with Ms. Youhui to go to the bombing site together on March 26, so I hurriedly got up to make breakfast before 7 o'clock. There was no gas or electricity, so I had to use mineral water to make milk powder. Miss Youhui is a Japanese girl. Ten of them formed a "Gulf Peace Corps" and brought a truckload of medicines and food to aid Baghdad, but they were disappointed when they came. She was "worried that the supplies would not reach those who needed them hand".

I rushed to the Rashid Hotel together with Jiang Yaping, a reporter from the branch office. Jiang went to the building to look for the Japanese, while I stood guard at the door in case we got lost with the Japanese. The Beijing police called this practice "squatting in the pit".I am a person who always likes to think and work, use hands, feet, eyes, ears, mouth and nose, and adapt to the situation.Thinking about what to do next while waiting.My best ideas always come out of nowhere.After Jiang went in for a long time, I suddenly saw the "mustache" from the Iraqi Information Department walk in. He grinned at me: "Don, do you want to go? It costs 1,500 Iraqi dinars." I said it was too expensive, so I told him The Japanese left, but after thinking about it, I didn't understand what he was going to do, so why did he refuse.Just at this moment, Hussein Magan, an Iraqi employee of Asahi-TVNEWS, came over. I grabbed him and asked where I was going today. Hussein yelled at me: "Go to the south." The camera got into a red "Crown", and another red "Crown" followed by "Mustache" sped away.

After finally waiting for Jiang to come out of the dining room, I grabbed him and ran to the door of the hotel, telling him that there was a better deal.A man in a neat suit came over and opened his mouth to offer "1750, this is the official price set by the Ministry of Information."A creamy white Crown drove by, we plunged in and looked at our watches, it was exactly 8:00 in the morning. Going south out of Baghdad, the Dula Oil Refinery and Dula Power Plant are in ruins.Two T-72 tanks guarded Highway 8 leading to the south, with their guns aimed at the end of the road.We were constantly stopped by military police along the way, but the driver explained in Arabic and let us go immediately.The driver's name was Su Haier, and the car drove very hard. The speed did not exceed 120 kilometers per hour, and he even dared to pass the military car by honking his horn.Jiang Yaping babbled with the driver, which distracted the driver Suhaier, who could not speak a few and a half English words, and drove the car in the wrong direction when he arrived at Usfee.Fortunately, I glanced at the road sign behind the tank and yelled "Stop" to set things right.

Going south along Highway No. 8, you can see T-72 tanks on the side of the road from time to time.This Soviet-made T-72 main battle tank is the third generation of post-war tanks developed after the 1970s.The artillery is a 125mm smoothbore gun, which can fire various shells such as armor-piercing shells, armor-piercing shells, and grenades. It uses an automatic loading machine, and the artillery firing speed can reach eight rounds per minute.The fire control system is equipped with electronic computers, infrared night vision devices, laser range finders and other devices.The artillery has a large caliber, strong firepower, high muzzle velocity, good armor protection, low profile, and is not easy to be hit. The maximum speed is 60 kilometers per hour, and the wading depth can reach 1.8 meters.There is a triangular steel plate in the front armor position, which is very different from T-62 and China's "59" and "59 Kai" models, and it is very easy to identify.

At the head of the Taifian Bridge, I saw a French-made GCT-120mm armored self-propelled artillery.From time to time, giant tanker trucks roared past our car.Teams of large flat-bed trailers galloped northward carrying twin 37mm anti-aircraft guns and T-62 tanks.Military tents and Arab women in black robes collecting firewood beside the tents can be seen along the road. At 9 o'clock, we left Highway 8 and turned eastward into a fork road. Two tracked armored vehicles of unknown model and extremely low center of gravity were tightly choking the intersection.45 degrees to the front right is a huge radio position.A fleet of military vehicles was approaching at high speed, and a Landrohan jeep with a 37mm anti-aircraft gun was clearing the way. The soldier holding the gun was wearing a soft nylon cap with only his eyes exposed, and a steel helmet painted with camouflage on the big goggles. People shudder.

At 10 o'clock, we turned from the fork onto the No. 6 road from Baghdad to Basra.Apparently the road is transporting troops.Large flatbed trailers are transporting countless T-62, T-72 and "59" and "59 modified" tanks from the south to the north.In order to save fuel, military trucks are hard towed by steel pipes with a diameter of seven or eight centimeters and a length of five or six meters. Three or four trucks form a formation, and are pulled by high-powered MAN or Mercedes-Benz and Scania trucks. ,Followed by.On the sandy ground beside the road, a T-72 tank and a tracked armored vehicle rushed northward along the road, causing flying sand, rocks and dust to billow.

At 10:45, we entered Kut, 160 kilometers south of Baghdad, and the checkpoint told us that there were indeed two red cars from the Iraqi Ministry of Information driving past.A huge tank is parked on the big turntable in the city of Kut, which seems to be the British "Century Chief".Strangely, the road from Baghdad to Kut to Basra was not attacked by the Allied forces, and even the high-voltage power lines along the road were intact. At 12 o'clock, 60 kilometers away from Amara, an important military town in the south, we were stopped again by the Republican Guards. The driver Suhaier opened the door and got out of the car. He whispered something to the soldiers, and we were released immediately.Taking the opportunity of parking to pee, I carefully looked at our white crown, and it turned out that it was not a red rental sign but a white private car plate.Our driver is a secret agent.

Moving on, there are still countless tanks and self-propelled artillery, and there is actually a "Mi-4" helicopter hovering at 45 degrees in front of the right. Obviously, the armored forces are gathering on this expressway near the lagoon area, and then take a large flatbed car go north.I noticed that some military vehicles have the "Red Crescent" logo painted in red letters on a white background, and a "Red Crescent" with a diameter of one meter is painted on the side armor of a French-made GCT self-propelled artillery. At 12:34, we crossed an old bridge on the lower reaches of the Tigris River and entered Amara, a military fortress 450 kilometers southeast of Baghdad.The Tigris River flows down from the city, passes through Basra, and flows into the Persian Gulf.Amara not only guards the water and land transportation from Baghdad to Basra, but also is only 40 kilometers east of the Iranian border. It is an important military fortress in southern Iraq.According to the Iraqi authorities, some Shia Muslims supported by Iran took control of the city not long ago, and it was not until March 16 that the Iraqi government forces regained the place.

Outside the city of Amara, a five-meter-high statue of an Iraqi soldier was smashed into three pieces by a grenade and lying on the ground.Like along the way, photography is strictly prohibited here.There are traces of gun battles on the cross street behind the statue.A two-story building was pierced by a rocket and a one-meter-square hole was pierced, and the corner of the building collapsed.Iraqi government soldiers squatted behind the twin 23mm anti-aircraft guns, with the muzzles stretched flat, and used as anti-aircraft guns. Next to the ruins of the telecommunications center in Amara, we finally caught up with two red cars carrying officials from the Iraqi government's Information Department and other foreign journalists.The other so-called "foreign journalists" are nothing more than Iraqi employees hired by Western news media, because Iraq has already ordered all foreign journalists to leave the country, and even CNN's famous Peter Arnett was driven to Jerusalem.

An official named Abdullah unceremoniously opened the door of our car, sat down next to the driver, raised his right hand, and asked me to take pictures of the bombed communication center in Amara City, "These are all done by the Americans. Yes, so there are no telephones in Iraq."I jumped out of the car, squatted on the side of the road, and waited for a few Iraqi soldiers to enter the frame to press the shutter.Unexpectedly, Abdullah got out of the car and pointed at my nose: "Don't take pictures of the army, I warn you, you took two pictures." I explained that I needed some active people as the foreground, but Abdullah said firmly : "I don't care about it, but it is absolutely not allowed to shoot soldiers."

We were ordered to stop in front of the Amara City Hall.This time I learned my lesson and asked Abdullah where I could shoot.In the middle of the road diagonally opposite the city hall, a car with a black military plate was burned into a pile of black metal.Abdullah said: "From now on, it is all atrocities of Muslim Shiites." According to him, "From March 2 to 16, Muslim Shiite rebels supported by Iran burned, killed and looted here. They They are simply Iranians who can't even speak Arabic." In the Middle East, the conflict between the Iranians (after the ancient Persians) and the Arabs headed by Iraq has a long history.Various conflicts between these two ancient civilizations in history, and religious conflicts formed after the death of Muhammad in the Arab Empire due to the issue of inheritance rights.During the period of British colonial rule, conflicts were deliberately created between Iran and Iran in order to profit from them. During the reign of Shah Shah of Iran, conflicts in politics, religion, and territory between Iran and Iran eased somewhat. When the Islamic Revolution broke out in Iran in 1979 and Khomeini came to power, the once-slack situation between the two countries became tense again. On April 1, 1980, the Asian Federation of Students held a "World Economic Symposium" at two Universities in Muslim, Iraq. Two explosions occurred, nearly killing Deputy Prime Minister Aziz, and dozens of casualties.The assailant was an Iraqi of Iranian descent.Subsequently, Iraq began to expel the Iranians, and proposed to take back the three islands of Great Tonb, Lesser Tonb, and Abu Musa that belonged to the Arabs in history and are now occupied by Iran. On April 5, 1980, Saddam raised the Iran-Iraq conflict to a conflict between "Arabs and Persians" for the first time. In fact, in the eyes of outsiders like me, it is difficult to distinguish between the two races, and both believe in Allah religiously. , but belong to two factions of Sunni and Shia.Today's Persia has been spelled with the Arabic alphabet, but the language is quite different.Just like Arabs and Jews write from right to left, many numbers and words have almost the same pronunciation.Since then, the two sides have attacked each other, and Iran has often become more violent, and even created rumors that Saddam Hussein had been stabbed to death.When Khomeini was suppressed by Shah Pahlavi, Iraq allowed him asylum. After the Iran-Iraq Algiers Agreement in 1975, Iraq and Kuwait said it was inappropriate to keep Khomeini for anti-government activities. Khomeini was extremely dissatisfied.After the success of Khomeini's Islamic Revolution in Iran, he thought he could continue to succeed in other Arab countries such as Iraq and Kuwait.Unexpectedly, Khomeini's concept of a religious state, his refusal to return the three islands, and his insistence on the name "Persian Gulf" made the Arab countries very dissatisfied.Since the three islands are traditionally owned by the UAE, the UAE has few people and is weak.Iraq, the richest and most powerful big brother among the Arab countries, regards itself as shouldering the heavy responsibility of maintaining the big Arab family.From September 22, 1980 to July 12, 1988, the Iran-Iraq War was fought for eight years, using biological and chemical weapons. At the end of the war, Saddam unexpectedly returned the occupied Iranian land.President Saddam went on to carry out democratic reforms and is regarded as a great leader of the reform and opening up to enrich the country and strengthen the people. Jomini, a Swiss military strategist, said in the book "The Art of War": "If the French army had not been defeated in Dumouritz, the Montagnards would not have seized power." The situation in Iraq is like that of France back then.According to an Iraqi government official, on February 28, after Bush announced a ceasefire by the multinational forces and the Gulf War basically ended, riots against Saddam's regime emerged in the Shiite areas of southern Iraq, and they almost spread to the south and central south. All cities seriously threaten and shake the Saddam Hussein regime dominated by Sunni Muslims.The dispute between the two major Muslim sects in Iraq, Sunni and Shia, has aroused the attention of countries all over the world. The conflict between the two groups of Muslims in Iraq has a long history.It has a history of more than 1,000 years and can be traced back to 632 AD. The founder of Islam, Muhammad, passed away. Disputes occurred among believers around the issue of inheritance.Most people agree with the Arab election tradition, and selected the four caliphs of Bakr, Omar, Osman and Ali as Muhammad's successors, and took the six "hadith collections" as their own doctrines and used them as the basis for legislation. Known as Sunni, also known as Orthodox.Due to the strong support of successive caliphs or governments, Sunnis have spread widely. 85% of the world's Muslims belong to Sunnis. The other faction insisted that Muhammad's leadership should be inherited by his descendants, believing that Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin Ali were the legal heirs, and the other three were illegal usurpers.The faction that supports Ali is called Shia (Shia, that is, to follow the will).The Shiites represented the interests of the Arabs and Persian nobles in the Mesopotamia, and to a certain extent reflected the wishes of the non-mainstream classes.In this way, the Sunnis and Shiites officially split into two sects, and the struggle between the two sects ran through the entire history of Islam. Among Arab Islamic countries, Iraq is one of the few countries where Shiites are in the majority. Shiites account for 60% of the total number of Muslims in the country and live in southern Iraq.Although the number of Shiites is greater than that of Sunnis, the latter have a superior status and occupy an important position in Iraqi government agencies and the army. Historical enmity coupled with realistic contradictions, such as the disparity in social status between the two factions, has resulted in sharp conflicts. Contradictions of interests and power struggles make it difficult to reconcile the two factions of Muslims in Iraq. In the early 1970s, Khomeini, the religious leader of Iran and the Shiites, went into exile to Najaf, the holy city of Shiites in Iraq, which had a great influence on the Shiites in Iraq.This made the Iraqi authorities very angry, during which 40,000 Shiites were expelled from Iraq.After the Islamic Revolution led by Khomeini succeeded in Iran in 1979, Iran became the only country in the Gulf where Shiite Muslims were in power, which greatly encouraged the Shiites in southern Iraq.For this reason, the Iraqi authorities purged and suppressed tens of thousands of anti-government activists.During the Iran-Iraq War, Iraqi anti-government organizations once instigated Shia activities against Saddam Hussein, but they were all suppressed.Now, the once-suppressed Iraqi Shia anti-government forces have resurfaced after the Gulf War. They took advantage of the retreat of the Iraqi government forces to quickly move into action in the south, and once controlled the southern city of Basra.The Iraqi authorities had to mobilize troops to deal with this anti-government force. At the gate of the recaptured Amara City Hall, a 23mm quadruple anti-aircraft gun was placed across the middle of the road, and several Iraqi government soldiers wearing milky white steel helmets and combat uniforms stared at the passers-by.Behind them was an American jeep with a recoilless gun.An Iraqi flag fluttered lazily in the hot sun atop the city hall.The four corners of the small square in front of the building are covered with 82mm mortars, whether they are trophies or defensive weapons. I was escorted into the two-story building by an army major in a black beret.As soon as I entered the building, there was a brand new glass frame with a square foot hanging high in front of me. Inside was a black and white photo of Saddam Hussein, which was particularly conspicuous among the devastated walls.Abdullah pointed to the ashes all over the ground and asked me to take a photo. I took a quick photo to show my cooperation, but the light was too dark. My SUNPAK-3000 was a second-hand product when I got it. When we got out of the building, the army major who accompanied us pointed to a big hole pierced by rockets on the second floor and asked me to "Sola" (take a picture). I looked over there and saw several Iraqi soldiers standing at the hole with guns. Pose and wait for my photo.I had to ask Abdullah for instructions first. He narrowed his eyes and said, "I have warned you." His stern expression and decisive gesture made me retreat.The major shrank his neck and didn't dare to say another word. In the square outside the gate, the Iraqi press officer, the driver, and four Iraqis employed by foreign news agencies told me to walk slowly.Hussein Magen from TV Asahi Shimbun and the little skinny monkey from VIS News competed to take pictures of me, and asked me to show the five-star red flag on my left chest and the Chinese, English and Arabic words "People's China Xinhua News Agency" on my back. typeface.Hussein Magan said: "Tang is a foreign reporter through and through, and the red dress is also very beautiful." At 1:30, we were ordered to leave Amara and return. At 3:30, stop by Kut to visit a burnt building.There is a huge portrait of Saddam Hussein at the door, holding a large dustpan with both hands, and a picture of a working people. It is five or six meters high, but it is in good condition.A limping old man with an Arab turban on his head led us in with a cane to take pictures.The old man was shaking his hands and feet, and he cursed Shia Muslims with righteous indignation. Further ahead is the commercial street of Kut. Many soldiers are drinking spiced Turkish coffee, and there are even kebabs next to it. The smell of fishy smell is pungent, which is not seen in Baghdad, where food is in short supply.The streets were full of soldiers, but the accompanying press officer only let us take pictures of the burned supermarket opposite, but Hussein Magan and I were not interested in this.Abdullah, our escort, bought a large plastic bag of food to bring back to Baghdad. Obviously, the food here is more abundant than in Baghdad. Abdullah signaled to drive, and hooked the back of the driver's seat with his big hairy hand stretched out to the left. On his left wrist, a large, gleaming gold watch stood in front of my eyes, with "CNN International" printed on it.I pretended to adore and asked: "Abdullah, have you accompanied CNN?" He puffed out a mouthful of smoke: "Of course. Pete Arnett." He moved his left wrist: "Can you also see CNN in China? ?” Returning to Baghdad along Highway 6, there are still armored positions along the road, and an armored vehicle is guarding the roadside about every kilometer.Soldiers lighted fires and cooked in the setting sun, the smoke curled up, and the golden crow fell to the west, which made me feel homesick and melancholy that "the heartbroken man is at the end of the world".