"Did you hear about the bus?" One of the local men is talking to me.
He's referring to an incident in Iraq, where a large van attemted to run a Coalition checkpoint. The soldiers at the checkpoint opened fire, killing several women and children aboard. It's been all over the news here.
"Yes. It is very sad."
"Do you know what happened?" He's going to tell me.
"What?"
"Saddam's men kidnapped their husbands. They said they would kill them if the women did not drive through the checkpoint."
"That's horrible."
"Yes. Saddam is a very bad man. You must kill him." He is angry.
"We will get him," I promise.
"Yes, inshallah (if Allah wills it)."
I don't know if what this man told me is what really happened. Rumors about atrocities in Iraq spread like wildfire amongst the local population.
But I wouldn't be surprised if it were true.
That's the word on the street from here.
