FALLUJAH, Iraq, 7 November 2003 — In the epicenter of anti-American fury in Iraq, US troops with machine guns comb alleyways for Saddam Hussein loyalists, hoping to prevent deadly new attacks on their units.
But people in Fallujah, 50 km west of Baghdad, say the men firing rocket-propelled grenades at occupation forces are just ordinary taxi drivers, laborers and professionals avenging the deaths of relatives.
With all its high-tech weapons, the US military has overlooked what rules the gritty streets of this town where it has faced many of the most deadly attacks against its troops - the tribal code of revenge.
“Saddam’s people have nothing to do with Americans killed in Fallujah. If you want to know why we hate the Americans so much in Fallujah, look at this,” said Muthanna Salih, pulling up the flowing robe covering his stump as he balanced on crutches.
“I was in my house when the Americans started shooting. They hit my leg, they killed my brother and they left me jobless with eight children.”
Sixteen other people were also killed in that incident in April, when US troops fired into crowds of protesters just outside Salih’s house. American soldiers have been entangled in Fallujah’s tribal quest for revenge ever since. Every time they kill someone in the crackdown on suspected Saddam supporters, they invite the wrath of tribes who can spend decades seeking revenge.
“The Americans hit a roadside bomb and then instead of catching the culprits they just open fire on everyone in sight,” said policeman Haitham Abdel Wahab. “That’s why Fallujah is boiling.”
It’s a vicious cycle that is never mentioned by politicians in Washington, who always blame remnants of Saddam’s Baath Party or foreign Islamic militants for killing American troops.
On the ground, Fallujah’s hard-nosed people describe the bloodshed in simple terms. “The Americans killed innocent people. Remember this is a place where two people who get in a little argument over a plant in a field that lies between them, they pull out the guns and shoot each other,” said Abu Taha. “If I see an American I will definitely kill him if I can.”
On Sunday, 15 American soldiers were killed when their Chinook helicopter was shot down over a village near Fallujah. That raised the American death toll to 138 since US President George W. Bush declared major combat over on May 1.
Much of the blood has been spilled in the Sunni Triangle, Saddam’s former power base in central Iraq, including Fallujah, a city of 300,000. But residents say their relationship with Saddam consisted of fear, not admiration.
In this conservative Sunni Muslim city of cement block houses and a turquoise-domed mosque, people only respect the elders of dozens of tribes who look down on US troops and their only allies - Iraqi policemen tainted by past corruption.
It’s not just deaths of civilians that enrage Fallujah. American soldiers conduct humiliating house searches, breaking furniture, frisking men and women and stealing cash and jewelry, Iraqis said.
“Saddam’s people were terrible but they never humiliated us like this. We are a tribal society. We are hot blooded. What do you expect?” said Hameed Kassim, a shop employee.
US troops in Humvees left a sandbagged police station for a patrol, driving by graffiti on the main street which urged Iraqis to kill Americans in any way possible. That message has widespread appeal. “An American general came to my house and apologized. He made big promises but it was all lies. All I got was $500,” said Salih, the man who lost part of his leg when Americans fired on protesters, standing next to four of his children.
