Baghdad Anarchy Spurs Call For Help
Iraqis, U.S. Officials Want More Troops

Baghdad residents and U.S. officials said today that U.S. occupation forces are insufficient to maintain order in the Iraqi capital and called for reinforcements to calm a wave of violence that has unfurled over the city, undermining relief and reconstruction efforts and inspiring anxiety about the future.

Reports of carjackings, assaults and forced evictions grew today, adding to an impression that recent improvements in security were evaporating. Fires burned anew in several Iraqi government buildings and looting resumed at one of former president Saddam Hussein's palaces. The sound of gunfire rattled during the night; many residents said they were keeping their children home from school during the day. Even traffic was affected, as drivers ignored rules in the absence of Iraqi police, only to crash and cause tie-ups.
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Disorder deepens in liberated Baghdad
The US administrator for central Iraq left the post Sunday after just three weeks in office.

Fearful of going out after dark, waiting up to 10 hours to fill their cars with gas, spreading rumors in the absence of reliable media, watching landmark buildings set on fire and wondering who is in charge, the residents of this capital are growing increasingly impatient with the deepening disorder that is plaguing their lives more than a month after US troops took over the city

"My worst fear is chaos, of all hell breaking loose, and it seems like that is happening," says the Jenan Khadimi, an American-Iraqi who teaches architecture at Baghdad University. "You don't know who is running things."
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Bombings Kill 20 in Saudi Capital
At Least 7 Americans Dead in Attacks Bearing 'the Earmarks of al Qaeda'

Explosions at three housing compounds here late last night killed 20 people, including at least seven Americans, the official Saudi press agency announced today. The blasts came just hours before Secretary of State Colin L. Powell arrived here to discuss Middle East peace efforts and the war against terrorism.
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The war that Bin Laden is winning
The US withdrawal from Saudi Arabia will not save the regime

The invasion of Iraq provided an ideal solution. It broke the link between the presence of US forces and the threat from Saddam Hussein. At another level, it eased the American crisis of confidence after the events of September 11, which made the US avoid any decision that might make it seem weak. The removal of Saddam in such a dramatic manner has almost treated this obsession. The decision to leave Saudi Arabia can now appear to have been taken from a position of strength.

Al-Qaida sympathisers see it differently. But the majority would concede that invading and occupying Iraq has made the presence of a few thousand troops in the kingdom a less significant issue. It is also clear that this will not be a real departure. Although troops in uniform will leave, the overall establishment - including bases and non-uniformed personnel - is to stay. More important still is the green light that has been given for the troops to return without fresh Saudi approval.
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