Elation wears off, Iraqis blame US

BAGHDAD: Scores of Iraqis protested inBaghdad on Sunday, accusing US forces of being concerned only with oil and notwith helping Iraq get back on its feet.American soldiers erected abarbed wire barricade to separate protesters from the central Palestine Hotelwhere most of the international media is based in the Iraqi capital. Protestersyelled that US troops were doing nothing to help restore power, water andcommunications, or quell the looting which has hit parts of thecity."They have operated some of the oil facilities, but they arenot operating the power and water systems because they are just after the oil,"said a civil servant Ali Zuhair. Mazen Mohammed, a taxi driver, said Baghdadresidents just wanted to live in peace now that US-led forces had toppled SaddamHussein.Protesters shouted slogans in praise of Iraq, denouncingSaddam and warning against any attempt to set up a military or "foreign"government.The demonstration took place as hundreds of Iraqi policeand other civil servants responded to US calls broadcast by radio to meet incentral Baghdad as part of efforts to resume order and key services to thecapital.Hundreds of Iraqi police and other civil servants respondedto US calls broadcast by radio to meet in central Baghdad on Sunday as part ofefforts to resume order and key services to the capital''s anarchicstreets.Fearing they would be mistaken for combatants, the Iraqipolice have left their patrols and stayed at home.They joined healthworkers, electricity and water ministry employees and others to register forwork, in cooperation with the US troops now controlling Baghdad, where mostpeople have been without water and electricity for many days.