Iraq Culture

With police sirens screaming and roof lights flashing, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sent his answer to the world's latest effort to isolate his nation careening through the streets of Baghdad on Wednesday night. It was a food parade--25 Jordanian trucks loaded with 400 tons of Palestinian-financed food and medicine that had punched through the international blockade, crossing into Iraq from Jordan.

Abdullah Saadi fingers the fine brown leather belt with holsters for thimble-sized coffee cups and a dagger. He is a keeper of customs, Baghdad's professional server of coffee. He sits in a brick house behind an iron gate in the cramped warrens of Sadr City. The room is painted bright lemon in contrast to the gray street outside. His mother walks through the room, half-embarrassed, singing for guests, "I am the mother of the coffee maker. " She thumps her chest and laughs at her son. In Iraq, coffee isn't merely a matter of ordering a grande to go from Starbucks.

Government analysts have told President Bush that economic and political sanctions alone will not achieve his goals in the Persian Gulf crisis, and he is under mounting pressure to wait no more than four to six weeks before using military force against Iraq.

I first heard a description of how corruption works in Iraq through an unexpected friendship with one of the country's richest men, a tribal sheik from the troubled Anbar region. We met shortly after Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled and got together a few times a month for the next year in his office -- a converted mansion, gone a bit to seed -- in Baghdad's wealthy Mansour neighborhood. The sheik is a large man, overflowing with humor and self-confidence.

When a visitor asked for the best bookstore in town, he was directed to the Dar el Hickma, the House of Wisdom, named after an early university in the Baghdad of a thousand years ago. Upon entering the store, he saw stacks of blank notebooks, paper and pads lining the walls. Somewhat confused, the visitor asked where the books were. "We have none," came the reply. "The House of Wisdom has no books. Only office supplies."

Several years ago, during a visit to the palace of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein startled his hosts with a sudden, ghoulish intimation of the violent end that he foresaw for himself. "If I ever fall," Hussein said, brandishing his little finger, "you won't find this much of my body left. People will cut it into pieces."

Two defector sons-in-law of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein were killed by clan members who stormed their residence Friday--three days after their return from exile and a day after their wives divorced them--according to the Iraqi News Agency. Lt. Gen. Hussein Kamel Majid and his brother Saddam Kamel Majid had vowed to topple the Iraqi leader during their six-month stay in Jordan.

The knock came in the evening on the front doors of most Iraqi homes throughout the capital over the weekend, and the news was a mixed blessing--good for the West, bad for the Iraqis. It was the ration man from President Saddam Hussein's Arab Baath Socialist Party, and he had come to say that every vital commodity--flour, sugar and rice, in particular--could now be purchased only in limited quantities and from select shops. Virtually all the bakeries of Baghdad have closed.

For 10 hard years, the 17 million people of Iraq were caged in a smothering cell of security, a nation at war. No one was permitted to leave the country except on official business or for emergency humanitarian reasons. Overseas phone calls were forbidden without government approval, which was routinely denied. With Baghdad subject to missile attacks by the Iranian enemy, a call to Europe might be used to pass on target information.

The bride wore white satin. Guests arrived in a sequined swirl of European couture, the men in black tie. A proud Iraqi father was picking up the biggest bill of his life. Night after night, Baghdad's big hotels are swarmed with wedding parties of the rich; laughter, drums and the piercing trill of Iraqi women marking the moment of celebration. Is anybody listening here?

The looting of the National Museum in Baghdad has spurred widespread concern among archeologists, scholars, conservators and arts administrators in the West. Struggling to assess the loss and make sense of conflicting reports, they have rallied to the cause of retrieving and restoring the stolen art and artifacts. In Washington, D.C., the American Assn. of Museums held a meeting April 16 of representatives from 17 American cultural heritage organizations to gather facts and assess needs.

Sajeda Mousawi describes herself as a mother and a lover, someone who yearns through her poetry to celebrate the sublime and beautiful miracle of everyday life. She abhors sadness and suffering and tries to banish it from her mind. Yet when she sat down to write her contribution for this year's Arab poetry festival in Baghdad, her pen couldn't do that.

Two defector sons-in-law of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein were killed by clan members who stormed their residence Friday--three days after their return from exile and a day after their wives divorced them--according to the Iraqi News Agency. Lt. Gen. Hussein Kamel Majid and his brother Saddam Kamel Majid had vowed to topple the Iraqi leader during their six-month stay in Jordan.

Iraq will give men who marry widows $940 and lend them $1,250, Iraqi newspapers reaching Jordan on Sunday said. The state-run newspapers did not elaborate on the decision by the ruling Revolutionary Command Council.

New songs are being broadcast in Iraq, apparently with the aim of improving Saddam Hussein's image. The songs suggest a propaganda campaign by the ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party to tell the world and Iraqis that Hussein is still a popular leader and will remain in power. Most have a martial beat rather than Iraq's traditional folk ballad style. Some lyrics: "Sir, don't worry, with you Iraq is safe. . . . Only God knows how much we love you, O Saddam."

Several years ago, during a visit to the palace of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein startled his hosts with a sudden, ghoulish intimation of the violent end that he foresaw for himself. "If I ever fall," Hussein said, brandishing his little finger, "you won't find this much of my body left. People will cut it into pieces."

Baghdad. The ruler there is ruthless and sadistic, using fear and torture to keep his subjects in line. Smiling and appearing full of confidence, he greets his troops. An adviser assures him: "The future lies in your hands." Meanwhile, forces for good assemble outside the city, preparing to assault the enemy and overthrow the evil tyrant. The Baghdad of the Persian Gulf War in 1991? Hardly.

New songs are being broadcast in Iraq, apparently with the aim of improving Saddam Hussein's image. The songs suggest a propaganda campaign by the ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party to tell the world and Iraqis that Hussein is still a popular leader and will remain in power. Most have a martial beat rather than Iraq's traditional folk ballad style. Some lyrics: "Sir, don't worry, with you Iraq is safe. . . . Only God knows how much we love you, O Saddam."

Allied air raids have damaged HISTORIC MONUMENTS AND ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES, according to Iraq's top archeologist. The allies have repeatedly said they are not targeting historic and cultural sites. Muaid Saeed, director-general of Iraq's Archeology and Heritage Department, told an Iraqi newspaper that affected sites include the Iraq National Museum in central Baghdad.

Baghdad. The ruler there is ruthless and sadistic, using fear and torture to keep his subjects in line. Smiling and appearing full of confidence, he greets his troops. An adviser assures him: "The future lies in your hands." Meanwhile, forces for good assemble outside the city, preparing to assault the enemy and overthrow the evil tyrant. The Baghdad of the Persian Gulf War in 1991? Hardly.