Baghdad security plan has Iraqis stocking up

BAGHDAD (AFP) - A Baghdad security plan that aims to rein in sectarian militias has triggered survival instincts among residents who are stockpiling food and fuel in case things get even worse.

"I bought three kilos (six and a half pounds) of sugar because security is bad and the roads could be closed at any time," said Ali Awad, a teacher in the impoverished Shiite militia bastion of Sadr City.

"I only bought three kilos because I can't afford any more," he told AFP.

Whether Shiite or Sunni Arab, rich or poor, Baghdadis are used to hoarding food, a habit picked up from the war and embargo that followed Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070204/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestviolence_070204093709

it means quite the opposite in real human terms. :-(

When a governmental body talks security you can be sure of two things:

a) The security they're referring to is governmental security, not domestic.

b) The population will bear the brunt of this so-called 'increased' security.

The Iraqis must be hoarding flowers as well: to throw at the liberators, you know? Too bad they can't hoard lives. During the coming American shock and awe campaign to quiet the insurgents they may need several lives. Those smart bombs aren't quite as smart as they're made out to be. Civilian death tolls are going to skyrocket in the coming months.

those conditions aren't made by nature or natural disasters, they are brought about by people, in this case bush, cheney and rumsfeld. It's all death, destruction and misery and I can't begin to imagine living that way. How can we, as people, do that to each other.