Besides blaming the Jews for September 11, the Muslims are also now accusing Israel of being behind the wave of suicide bombings in Iraq.
So once again, the Jews are blamed, even though there is a strong chance that palestinians were behind at at least one of the suicide bombings.“I am sure that the people who did this are enemies of Iraq, not the enemies of the Americans,” Dunya Khalil Ismail, a 28-year-old college lecturer, said as she left work Wednesday. “Whether it was the Israelis or the Americans themselves, they are aiming at us.
“It started with the war, and this is just another stage,” she said. “I don’t know what can be done. The Americans have everything in their hands.”
Ismail is one of many people here – rich and poor, religious and secular – who see Israel as being behind the suicide bombings Monday at the International Committee of the Red Cross and three police stations, which killed at least 35 people and wounded more than 200. It might be an idea that seems farfetched to many Americans, but seen through Iraqi eyes, it has a kind of logic.
The reasoning goes like this: The people who masterminded the bombings wanted to hurt Iraqis, the vast majority of the victims. Who are Iraq’s enemies? Israel is the one nearest at hand and the one that, it is widely assumed here, urged the U.S. to remove President Saddam Hussein. Who will benefit if chaos weakens Iraq? Again, Israel, because it will feel safer. And if Iraq is chaotic, it may force the Americans to keep troops in the country longer. Who wants American troops on Arab soil? Again, the answer is Israel.
And if that line of thought is true, then is there anyone who can be counted on to bring stability to the country? The answer for many Iraqis is that they face a violent and uncertain future.
The alternative view – that Israel and the U.S. want an Iraqi partner rather than a subject, and have much to gain from this country becoming stable – is often greeted with a dismissive shake of the head.
