Battle Lines
Tom Brown		Battle Lines is an ongoing Web log (blog) dedicated to providing a broad perspective on the latest news and developments from the war in Iraq. Response and suggestions are welcomed. Tom Brown has been an editor, reporter and software analyst for The Seattle Times for 20 years.

April 18, 2003

The irony of freedom

(posted by Katherine Long) The mood continues to shift in Baghdad, where tens of thousands of Iraqi muslims demonstrated against the US presence after prayers today. An al-Jazeera correspondent said it was the first non-state organized protest in the Iraqi capital in decades, and described it as a significant development. Clearly, this complicates matters. On the one hand, Iraqis are getting a taste of democracy. On the other, the first thing they want is for us to leave. So, now what? Saddam surfaces; Blair thought of quitting He was alive. But now he's dead. Rumors continue to swirl in Baghdad regarding the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein. In Great Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair told the tabloid Sun newspaper that he was poised to quit if he had been defeated by his own party over the conflict in Iraq. "In the end, it is a decision you put the whole of your Premiership on the line for," Blair said. Blair also said he thought that "if the UN had given a strong and unified ultimatum to Saddam, it is possible we could have avoided conflict."

Posted by Katherine Long at April 18, 2003 01:13 PM

Katherine Long, research editor at the Seattle Times and 18-year editor and reporter, substituted for Tom Brown the week of April 14.

	ARCHIVES
	April 2003 March 2003

	RECENT ENTRIES
	Signing off The Saddam Files Demonstrations in Karbala Building a government from scratch Smoking gun? The irony of freedom Dispatches Where are the weapons? Cultural advisors quit over antiquities issue Baghdad reality check