TIKRIT, IRAQ - Tikrit is Saddam Hussein's hometown. The place was showered with goodies while he was running Iraq, so its residents have been more than a little reluctant to praise their new masters.
Throughout the city, the walls are covered with graffiti, most of it lauding the former dictator:
"Down with Americans, We love Saddam Hussein."
"Saddam Hussein, fight for your God."
"Saddam Hussein is in our hearts."
But my favorite slogan was the only one in English, apparently scrawled by a fed-up American:
"Saddam Sucks."
So it wasn't a complete shock when my driver and I walked into a restaurant and saw a large poster of Saddam Hussein on its wall. Most public images of Saddam were forcibly removed after the Americans won the war. This restaurant's poster was certainly out of the ordinary.
I asked the manager to join us, and then I inquired about the poster.
"Saddam Hussein is my father," he said.
I jokingly told him I'd then turn him over to the authorities in order to collect a reward.
"He will always be our president," the manager said, speaking for the town of Tikrit. "Whether the Americans catch him or not, he will always be our leader."
Did the authorities give him any trouble about the poster?
"Yes, the IP [Iraqi Police] have told me to take it down, but I never will," he said.
What about the American soldiers? Did they say anything about the poster?
"Some American soldiers were in here this morning," he said. "They laughed when they saw it.
"The soldiers had breakfast. They were good customers, very nice--they can come in here any time."
As I pondered how the restaurant's manager was becoming Americanized without even realizing it, three mortar blasts thundered not far away. Some American soldiers later confirmed the mortars had been fired at a U.S. position.
On the road out of town, several young teenaged boys crowded around a group of U.S. soldiers, slapping high-fives. The sergeant in charge admitted not everyone in Tikrit had treated the Americans as well but he thought things were improving.
As we walked back to our car, one of the teens pulled out a handful of DVDs from under his shirt and asked whether I wanted to buy pornography.
Can a McDonald's franchise be far behind?
