BAGHDAD, 8 August 2003 — Iraq’s first major terrorist attack was not unexpected. What was surprising, however, was that the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad was the target.
Almost 100 days ago, on May 1, United States President George W. Bush announced the end of war in Iraq. However, the almost daily attacks on US soldiers and the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy are a reminder that while war may be over, peace has not been achieved.
Iraq remains a dangerous place. Iraqi people, trying to resume the normalcy of everyday life, are angry that US troops have failed to guarantee security.
The bomb attack has left the Jordanian Embassy in west Baghdad resembling a battlefield. The wall in front of the two-story building has collapsed at several points.
The embassy’s Islamic-style facade is damaged. Stony debris litters the garden. Several cars were burned out, some so badly that only the chassis remains. Smoke still rose long after the explosion.
Witnesseses said that there were no US soldiers near the embassy. But five members of the new Iraqi police force were among those killed.
They hardly had a chance at survival, just like the Iraqis queuing around the embassy waiting to sort out personal affairs.
What still puzzles many in Baghdad is why the Jordanian Embassy was targeted. It could be blamed on the friendship and tradition of strong relations between Jordan and the US. Many Iraqis did not buy the Jordanian leadership’s “anti-war-rhetoric”.
Others suggest that the attack was revenge for Jordan’s offer of refuge to Saddam Hussein’s two eldest daughters Raghad and Rana.
The Iraqi daily newspaper Al-Yom Al-Achir had reported Monday that 300,000 Iraqis signed a petition calling for the expulsion of all Jordanians from Iraq because Iraqis have been badly treated in Jordan.
Another motive could be the poor relationship between the leader of the National Iraqi Congress Ahmed Chalabi and Jordan.
After the attack several demonstrators invaded the embassy and vandalized property. Portraits of King Abdallah and his father King Hussein suffered the worst damage.
People living around the embassy reacted with shock. “I am opposed to the US soldiers, but I am also opposed to that which does something like this,” said a resident.
“It is all the fault of the American soldiers. Without the Americans we wouldn’t have this,” said one angry woman.
