Defiant in power, Saddam Hussain appeared even more defiant in captivity when his captors brought him to court for the first time on July 1 more than six months after he was arrested the previous December. The man who never possessed the weapons of mass destruction was firmly in America's hands - but not so his country, for Iraq's agony seemed unending as year 2004 came to a close 21 months after America had "won" the war.
City after city rose in revolt: Baghdad, Basrah, Fallujah, Najaf, Ramadi, Samarrah, and even non-Arab Mosul, each uprising and the enemy's overwhelming use of force drenching Iraqi soil with blood. Ashura, March 2, was the worst day of violence, when a series of attacks targeting Shia mosques left 223 people dead in Karabala and Baghdad.
Fallujah had a bloodbath twice, first in April and again in November. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had warned against an all-out attack, but the US-led forces did unleash their fury on the city, leading to civilian deaths whose numbers still remain undetermined. The Americans lost 50 men. On March 31, mobs burnt, mutilated and hanged four civilian Americans near Fallujah.
There were reports of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib, with several American soldiers, including a woman officer, charged with torturing and humiliating Iraqi prisoners. American soldiers also shot a wounded soldier dead in a Fallujah mosque.
In April stiff resistance came from Shia cleric Moqtada Al Sadr's Army of Mehdi in Najaf, leaving 300 Iraqis and 39 Americans dead. The Army of Mehdi rose in revolt again in August, and there was fighting close to the Imam Ali mosque. Finally, Ayatollah Ali Sistani managed to avoid a bloodbath, persuaded Al Sadr's men to surrender their arms and entered Najaf peacefully. Still 300 more Iraqi civilians were killed.
Among those killed in blasts were Mr Izzadine Saleem, head of Iraq's Interim Governing Council (May 19), the governor of Mosul (July 14) and the IGC's deputy foreign minister (June 11).On June 28, the Americans advanced the date of transfer of power by two days, and a government headed by President Yawar Al Ghazi and Prime Minister Iyad Alawi was inducted. The new government's attempt to create a security apparatus met stiff resistance as seen from the series of attacks on police training centres. By an estimate nearly 1,000 policemen and recruits were killed and injured in the year. The worst of such incidents occurred on Oct 24 near Baghdad airport when 49 recruits were found executed, shot in the heads.
Insurgents, meanwhile, continued to kidnap foreigners working for the occupation forces. Those who fell victim to this madness included two Pakistanis - Raja Azad Khan and Sajjad Naeem - murdered by militants on July 29.
While the number of American dead reached over 1,200, with 4,800 injured, the civilian casualty toll is not yet known. However, a report in the Lancet, a British medical journal, caused a sensation when it said at least 100,000 civilians had been killed, and there was a fair possibility that the number could be as high as 200,000.
The anarchy in Iraq is likely to continue because the Americans have no exit strategy. Elections to a transitional assembly that will draw up a constitution are due on January 30. But, given the present siuation, it is unlikely that the election will be held. Besides, as stated by Mr Annan, the UN has not been given an adequate role in Iraq. The world would then find it difficult to consider the electoral process fair if elections are held under American auspices.
Defiant in power, Saddam Hussain appeared even more defiant in captivity when his captors brought him to court for the first time on July 1 more than six months after he was arrested the previous December. The man who never possessed the weapons of mass destruction was firmly in America's hands - but not so his country, for Iraq's agony seemed unending as year 2004 came to a close 21 months after America had "won" the war.
