Snowmail: Iraq - The Fallout
Updated on 17 March 2008
Snowmail comes in two parts, first from Jon in Iraq and Krishnan here in London.
Five years ago this week America led the invasion of Iraq.
I'm in Baghdad tonight together with one of the biggest surveys of Iraqi public opinion since the war began. Jonathan Miller has a report from Haifa Street, a snap shot of the Oxford Street of Baghdad, which has suffered endlessly throughout the five years.
Terms here are relative. The military surge has worked, particularly in Baghdad the violence is down, but the district where I am, Karada, has suffered more than 100 deaths by bombs this month alone. A small one round the corner here killed two people this afternoon. A much bigger one in the holy city Karbala has so far claimed 36 lives and probably more. This is a pilgrim month.
Yet our survey does show people are more optimistic and feel their neighbourhoods are more secure. But this has come at a price. General Petraeus who has led the surge has paid Sunni vigilante groups and militias firstly to defend their own, but also to fight foreign jihadists and not to attack his men.
Particularly as the politicians have failed to fill the void. Meanwhile there are plenty of real problems to contemplate - a serious failure of public services: water, health, electricity. The Red Cross today reveals that many Iraqis are paying up to a third of their income to buy drinking water.
So I'll be looking at all this tonight and talking to Iraq's foreign minister Hoshya Zebari who is candid about the disintegration of law and order in Basra, calling on the British army to stop sitting in their base doing nothing and get re-engaged. It is fascinating being back here. I would say in short things are better, but still pretty bad.
Jon Snow
And from London: What a snowstorm of news we've had today. Frankly, any of it would make a lead on any other day.
We shall almost certainly top off on the world economy. And before you drift off, this isn't just about investment bankers on Wall Street and the City. It's about mortgages, loans, credit cards, jobs and holidays. George Bush's attempt to calm nervous investors is showing little sign of working, a day after the near collapse of investment bank Bear Stearns.
Earlier, Asian and European stock markets plunged and although the Dow Jones is not falling much they have all factored in a cut in interest rates expected tomorrow. The real question is what the other banks will reveal in their results this week. Could others need support too from the Fed? And if they do, can the Fed offer it?
Back home, banks are already going back on mortgage offers and they are promising it will become harder to borrow. If you need to remortgage because your deal is ending soon, it will also get harder. Despite the intervention of the Bank of England, which pumped another £5 bn pounds into the market today there is a liquidity crisis and its affecting ordinary people. And for some of the people calling the shots at the banks, the more Bush, Brown and the central banks intervene, the more cautious they get.
I just want to say how glad I am it is over: Heather Mills and me share a sentiment today. The divorce case is done, apart from a small appeal on a relatively minor point. She gets £24m from Sir Paul. The legal detail is not very exciting, but the statement from Heather afterwards was as compelling as ever.
Say what you will about this determined woman, she did secure several million pounds more than her ex was offering after dispensing with her legal team and today she urged other women to do the same, and represent themselves in court. Did she have a little more help from her friends than most?
Plus, the latest from Tibet where China denies using lethal force, but gave protesters until midnight to hand themselves in or face the consequences, whatever they might be.
And more unrest in Kosovo.
All this and more at seven.
Krishnan
