WHO KNEW?

Gory revelations stun Iraqis: Hussein clique kept news of its crimes from most citizens (Anna Badkhen, June 1, 2003, San Francisco Chronicle)

Like so many Iraqis these days, Chedha al Awsi feels betrayed and confused.

On a computer screen before her, poorly recorded footage shows half a dozen laughing soldiers of Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard as they beat and kick civilian men kneeling on the ground, their hands bound behind their backs.

There is a glitch in the recording, then the screen shows soldiers tying dynamite to the chests of their prisoners and blowing them up, one by one. Pieces of human flesh and bone fly in all directions. Al Awsi jolts in her seat, her face distorted by a grimace of pain.

For much of the rest of the world, the gruesome crimes of Hussein's rule are familiar, if tragic, knowledge. But for al Awsi and for millions of her fellow citizens, they are shocking news.

"You just suddenly realize that you didn't know what was happening. I feel deceived," said al Awsi, a 31-year-old office manager at a private trading company, her eyes glued to the computer screen.

This must be the segment of the Iraqi population that believed the Europeans and the media, rather than three American presidents. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 2, 2003 2:15 PM