Ordinary Iraqi families getting ready to fight

[TomInTib]

They're stockpiling weapons, food and fuel

Baghdad -- Om Hussein, wrapped in her black abaya, lists the contents of the family's walk-in storage closet: three 175-pound cases of rice, two 33-pound cases of cooking fat, six cases of canned tomatoes, three crates of assorted legumes, a one-month supply of drinking water, frozen chicken livers in the freezer. And in the garage, jerry cans filled with fuel are piled floor to ceiling.

Om Hussein, who was reluctant to give her full name, and her Shiite family are preparing for war. They've stocked up on food. They bought a Kalashnikov rifle and a second car -- so that there is space for all 13 members of their extended family should they need to flee in a hurry.

"We are afraid of what will happen in the coming days," she says. "Maybe there will be a monthlong curfew, or maybe fighting in the streets will force my family to stay in the house for days at a time."

In the past week, President Bush has tried to assure Americans that Iraq has stepped back from the brink of civil war. "Iraqis have shown the world they want a future of freedom and peace," he told the Foundation for Defense of Democracies on Monday.

There is a lot more:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/03/15/MNG6MHOD1T1.DTL&type=printable

[DainBramaged]

1. Iraqis want peace and freedom from US not themselves

They still haven't been given the right of self-determination.

[NNN0LHI]

2. We will just have one of our pilots drop a smart bomb onto that house...

...and take care of that nest of armed terra-ists.

Don

[TomInTib]

3. kick