Smith, one of the US soldiers stationed at Abu Qlam, said, People were standing in line waiting to buy gasoline, and these guys came with their gallon cans in order to get gasoline to sell in the street. We told them not to do that. They ignored us, and when we ordered him to stop, they ran away. Smith continued, People who run from us are bad people.

Hoopra, one of the soldiers who allegedly participated in the beating, said, What guys? and turned away when asked about the attack.

Rundown cars, filled with hot, sweating people, line the street in front of Abu Qlam gas station, in Baghdad’s Karrada district. Gasoline is only available at this station between 9am and 3pm daily. Before the war, gasoline was cheaper than water in Iraq. Today, people speculate that the US is purposefully causing the shortages in order to teach Iraqis a lesson in the true value of their resources.

Ghassan Al-Zubaidi, a high school student working at the gas station, complained after the beating, The Americans came for the freedom? That’s all lies. They came, occupied us, and stole our oil. They wanted this [bad situation] for our country. They robbed, and they looted, and they burned all the Ministries, except the Ministry of Oil, which wasn’t touched, because they wanted the oil. George Bush is a son-of-a-bitch.

by Majid Jarrar and
Salaam Al-Jubouri, Al-Muajaha
“The Iraqi Witness”
http://www.almuajaha.com

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