Iraq: Live from Baghdad Online

Washington Post foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid in Baghdad answered email questions live.

Shadid : In the past week, you've seen what appears to be a real shift in sentiments in Baghdad. I've spoken to very few people who are not upset by the casualties in Fallujah or the fighting in Sadr City, a Baghdad neighborhood. Many will also express profound disgust at the killing and mutilation of the contractors there. But often those words are followed by the line that the response has been disproportionate. That backlash had the potential to become very dangerous if a cease-fire hadn't been reached a few days ago.

Journalists definitely have scaled back on their travel. It's simply too dangerous to take some roads now. I was in Nasiriya a few days ago, and I got a similar sense of unease that I do in Baghdad. On one hand, you have people energized by what's going on in Fallujah, along the lines of the story Karl and I did today. Probably more dominant, though, is a sense of worry. The violence has shocked people, and the aftermath has not inspired confidence. You don't hear a lot of optimism these days in Baghdad. It's the same story in Nasiriya. As for other cities, I just can't tell you at this point.

Killing Sadr could prove explosive. What we saw over the past week was ignited by closing a newspaper and arresting one of his aides. His followers promise much more if he is killed. Is it a short-term backlash? Perhaps. But I think it's important to remember that Muqtada is more than a militia leader. He carries a name that resonates in this country. And there's a distinct disgust among many here with the prospect of killing or arresting clergy. Some say it smacks of Saddam, and it's hard to see how his death will play well.

From my own experience, we're dealing with the greatest insecurity since the fall of Saddam. Is it a crisis? It feels that way. Can the U.S. administration recover? Probably. But you definitely hear Iraqis calling for a decisive change in the approach -- perhaps less of a military response, more of a political one, and a greater reliance on Iraqi voices than those embodied by the Governing Council.

His Story today - Fallujah Gains Mythic Air

"The U.S. Marine siege of Fallujah, designed to isolate and pursue a handful of extremists in a restive town, has produced a powerful backlash in the capital. Urged on by leaflets, sermons and freshly sprayed graffiti calling for jihad, young men are leaving Baghdad to join a fight that residents say has less to do with battlefield success than with a cause infused with righteousness and sacrifice.

"The popular response -- of Shiite and Sunni giving aid, shelter to refugees and even volunteers to the fight -- has pushed fears of an Iraqi civil war to the background.

"Some here are already speaking with the sense of history -- that powerful, deeply symbolic myths are being created.

" 'What is striking is how much has changed in a week -- a week," said Wamid Nadhmi, a political science professor at Baghdad University. "No one can talk about the Sunni Triangle anymore. No one can seriously talk about Sunni-Shiite fragmentation or civil war. The occupation cannot talk about small bands of resistance. Now it is a popular rebellion and it has spread.' "


Silver Spring, Md.: Anthony:
First of all, congratulations on your well deserved Pulitzer. You have really helped all of us understand the situation. Your report in The Post this morning points to a surge of anti-U.S. sentiment in Baghdad. Where does this leave Iraqis who have been willing to work with the U.S. toward democracy, such as the political movements represented on the Governing Council? Are they likely to shift to an anti-U.S. stance? Also, the Iraqi opinion polls have shown that Ahmed Chalabi is the most unpopular political figure in post-Saddam Iraq. Do the Pentagon and CPA still view him as a potential prime minister or president of Iraq after June 30?

Anthony Shadid: Chalabi is definitely not a well-liked figure here. For a time, he was the only recognized personality on the council, but the recognition was usually negative. As for U.
S. engagement with him, I just don't know the answer to that. I do think your question hits at what may have been the most strategic shift in sentiments here the past week -- there's a very great backlash against the Governing Council. In fact, one member who suspended his membership --Abdel-Karim Mohammadawi -- has taken on a national profile as a result of his denunciations of the U.S. military response.

Baghdad feels tense, though the past day or so have been better. It's a good question on sentiments here. As is so often the case, they're all over the map. The bloodshed in Fallujah -- and reports of hundreds dead there -- has created a very clear backlash. For a time, that anger felt explosive. I should note, though, that anger doesn't necessarily mean support for the insurgents. The outpouring of aid from Baghdad was, I thought, more sympathy for residents' plight than outright endorsement of the insurgents' action. I think there's also deep unease about where things are headed in the country, and that's probably the sentiment you hear most often. Finally, there's a lot of disillusionment with the occupation and its allies. It's been there for a while, but I get the sense it has sharpened and deepened over the past couple of weeks.

Austin, Tex.: Sadr is characterized by our government as a Thug, Brown Shirt, Terrorist, etc.

I realize he is the son of a important martyr in Iraq. How is he more than what our government is characterizing him as?

Anthony Shadid: It's a good question. Let me put it this way -- he's a street guy, and that's where his support comes from. He can turn out 10,000, 20,000 worshipers on Friday prayers in Baghdad. His rhetoric leaves little room for nuance. And he carries his family's name. But let me make one point -- and this is something I heard time and again in Sadr City. At some level, particularly among the unemployed, jobless, less educated, there are not a lot of distinctions drawn between Sadr and the rest of the clergy. In fact, many thought Sadr was working on behalf of Ayatollah Sistani. That's the danger in the crackdown. Sadr may be a thug, but he's also a cleric, and many Shiites have long memories of Saddam's treatment of the clergy. I don't know how many times I've heard the line, "You can't touch the clergy." Maybe there's no alternative, but the implications are vast.