European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                La.  it of a it ,. I. A / 1 i k., Ai i Quot a Quot a a j uncertainty a a a a a /.v. .w.ii,.v.�?T,.v.i in. V r a a 5 r5 Baghdad Saddam a turnabout on Iran raises painful questions by Philip Shenon new York times Salah Karim was Only. 16 Ayears old when he. Enlisted in the iraqi  was marched off to the front lines of iraqis War with Iran. A. A a captured by iranian forces in 1982, Karim spent eight years in prisoner of War Camps in Iran. He. Was finally released by Iran last August a a. A. A  guards were brutal Quot said Karim who is. Now 25.a a. A his Brown eyes go dead As he sips his Sweet Tea arid describes the torture and death of so Many of his iraqi friends in the Camps. \. Quot i tried to make a bargain with the guards to let me go Home to Baghdad for just one week Quot he said Quot and then i would agree to  a \ a a As they have listened to similar accounts in the three. Months since iraqi prisoners of War started returning a Home from Iran Many of Iraq s nearly 17 million people Are clearly perplexed by the suddenness with which Iran has turned from a foe to a Friend.  what some wonder did Karim and his countrymen sacrifice so much and Why should they now prepare to \. Sacrifice again Quot even As Iraq readies itself for what maybe another Long War in the persian Gulf iraqis who risked talking with westerners say they Are shocked Over the decision of. Their president Saddam Hussein to give up virtually everything that Iraq had won from Iran during a disastrous eight year War. ,. A just two weeks after iraqi  Kuwait last August Saddam announced that he would meet almost All of Iran a conditions for settling  from / the War. -. Ain a move to free troops so they could be quickly dispatched South to Kuwait., Saddam agreed to withdraw a iraqi soldiers from nearly 700 Square Miles of iranian a a territory,.and.to give up sole iraqi control Over the strategic Shatt Al Arab waterway near the iranian Border. A. A for most iraqis the Good news in the pact a and it May have been the Only Good news a was the agreement for Iran and Iraq to finally Exchange prisoners of War a a a a a Quot what. Saddam did was give up everything. Everything a that tens of thousands of iraqi soldiers had a -. Died for Quot said a Western Diplomat in Baghdad. A Quot perhaps Saddam had no Choice. Perhaps in the end it was Best for Iraq that it makes peace with Irani but for Quot Many people Here i believe this decision May have been too much to  a More than any other event in the 11 years since. A Saddam Rose to Power in Iraq  by the hastily arranged Alliance has left iraqis Uncertain about / the consistency and commitment of their government. A Saddam s grip on Power appears firm partly because a of his ruthlessly efficient internal Security apparatus and. Partly because he enjoys undeniable support Amon Many iraqis. ,. A a yet there is a lingering painful question now being -. Asked quietly in the streets of Baghdad would Saddam allow thousands More iraqi soldiers to die to protect a has to Alliance with Iran has perplexed iraqi Public Here iraqis guard iranian prisoners during Iran Iraq War. Kuwait from a Western attack Only to give  later Saddam a decision to Settle his differences with Iran has  strategic dividends in the Wake of the Kuwait invasion. A. Even As Western nations have severed their economic and military ties with Baghdad to protest the invasion the front pages of Baghdad newspapers have been filled with stories about the new Alliance with Tehran and the. Opportunities it could offer to Iraq. T a while Iran has promised to abide by the u n. Trade. Sanctions against Iraq and has joined in the denunciation of the Kuwait invasion the Tehran government has at the same time supported Saddam a argument that the greatest danger in the Gulf is the  military Force. In a recent speech in Tehran the spiritual Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the United states As Quot the ringleader of tyranny and crime Quot and said the International Force based in saudi Arabia is a direct threat Toiran Security. A. Quot the hostility of the iranian nation against enemies of. Islam Jed by the United states is unending Quot he said. Western diplomats in Baghdad say that Iran a continued belligerence toward the West must be a Comfort to Saddam since it appears to offer at least the. Indirect threat that if pushed., Iran might enter into some sort of . Military partnership with Iraq. A a / a Quot a really done to think Iran would Ever consider fighting to a save Saddam s neck a a us Diplomat said. Quot it s certainly useful for Saddam though to have everyone think that such an Alliance is  a but a Cool Calcut Atin of strategic options is riot what. A motivates most iraqis who Are known among their Arab Brethren for their a dense blood Quot a their passion their loyalty and their Ever present suspicion of outsiders and for a Long memory about pain inflicted by others. A a a visitor wandering in the labyrinth an Baghdad Market or along the Fertile shores of the ancient Tigris River would find few iraqis who would Ever dare to utter a word in opposition to their government. Instead Many will respond Ith something else a a telling shrug or a laugh or perhaps a stiff frown a when asked about Saddam s Alliance with Iran a country that had once been described Here As the epitome of All that was sinister and corrupt. A. Quot it is very very strange what has happened Quot said the clerk at a provisions store in Basra the Southern port City that was nearly levelled by iranian shelling during the eight year War. A Quot /  a. Quot Here look Quot he said pointing to several Loil or Appod packages of iranian wafer cookies which the iraqi a government had begun importing from Iran before the Kuwait Rivas Ion. Quot the matches i sell they Are also from  a. /. A  asked if he was not. Witling to forgive the iranians alter what they had done to his City Only a few years ago the store clerk was silent Lor a Mornen Quot i can say that i will always support Saddam Quot he explained nervously clearly eager to end the conversation. Quot i always have support for. Saddam /./. V Quot a a. A a Karim the former prisoner of War says the memory old the iranian prison Camps is never far from his thoughts. A he recounted his Jile in the Camps As he stopped among a the fragrant crates of fresh dates and oranges at the a a wholesale food Market in Baghdad where he now works. A a Quot them was no Medicine and never enough food Quot said j Karim who  much too. Thin the skip drawn a a painfully tight across his. Face a. Quot each Day we were giver a piece of cheese about Tho a. Isie of your Finger and a Small piece of bread an  Quot a water,.&Quot  of War he said died of. A a a malnutrition a a a a a a a a a a. A a Walter sacrificing so much of his own youth in the cause of the War with Ira Karim looks puzzled when asked How 1 he feels Aboul Saddam s decision to forgive Iran give up All Thal Baghdad had Laken from Iran in the War Quot  not respond when asked How he feels about tire -. People of Iran. A a a yet like so Many of his War weary countrymen Karim insists that he will remain the Loyal Soldier if i raq must go a to War again this time Over Kuwait. A a a a a. A Quot if there is danger again for my country i will fight he. A says with what seems to be the Well rehearsed tone of a. A a conviction that one often finds in conversations with the. Iraqis. \. A. A Quot if Saddam believes there is danger for the iraqi people twill fight and i will suffer a Ain for  country. A ,. Saturday december 22, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 13