FOR the first time in his adult life, Kamal Ahmed, a 40-year-old Iraqi journalist, was able to express his true feelings yesterday about Saddam Hussein’s regime — a regime under which he has worked for years.

He uttered words to a foreigner that he would never have dared to utter before: relief that Saddam’s control was finally at an end. But like so many Iraqis, he also felt deep sadness at seeing Americans on the streets of a country he loves.

And even though “The Man” was patently gone, “Kamal” remained far too fearful to use his real name.

“It was when I saw the looting of the government ministries that I knew everything had changed, and particularly when they toppled the statue of Saddam Hussein in Paradise Square,” he said. “It is not over yet, but the system is finished because there are no police on the streets, no intelligence service and no army, and that means there is no control in Baghdad.

“For my entire life I, like everyone else, has had to watch what I said all the time. You couldn’t say anything bad about The Big Man. You trusted no-one except your family. If you did not talk about The Man you were safe. You could say bad things about ministers, and you were OK. You could say bad things about officials, that was OK. But not about The Man.

“There were many things I did not like about the regime. We often asked the Ministry of Information for satellite dishes, to watch international television channels, but The Big Man refused.

“He said it was not good because our children would see bad things. That was not the real reason. He knew most of the people would use the dishes and not watch Iraqi TV. They would not see him. So he allowed only limited cable TV with 14 channels of films, sport and entertainment, but no news.

“Another thing that made life difficult was that no one could leave the country except the very wealthy, until the last few months when he changed everything.

“He controlled everything through family ties. It was the President’s relatives who worked in the embassies, in sensitive positions, and as the most senior journalists.

“There were some good things, however. Free education for the people, free healthcare, and he gave every family food every month under the oil-for-food programme. It was not enough, but it was better than nothing.

“Even before the war began I knew the system was finished. It was an unfair war between the two greatest countries in the world, America and Britain, and Iraq.

“We are a small country that has suffered from sanctions for more than 12 years, so even if there were any people who loved or liked The Man they would not support him because they hate war and he has led us into three wars.

“But yesterday, when I saw the looting of the ministries and the official buildings, the teardrops stopped at the corner of my eyes. When I saw our people stealing and the Americans laughing.

“They say they want a new Iraq, but if they mean that they should use these buildings, not watch people looting them in front of their eyes and stealing everything. This is only the beginning.

“I do not believe this country has weapons of mass destruction. The UN inspectors found nothing for four months and were just a pretext to justify a war President Bush wanted to wage.

“In my opinion they did not come for the President or weapons of mass destruction. They came here to rule the world from Iraq. Why Iraq? Because Iraq is the only country that refused everything the Americans said. This is not to defend President Saddam Hussein but it is the reality. It is a new world.

“I am very sad for my country. Very sad for Baghdad. To see the Americans inside it is very difficult for me. Because they invaded my country.”

Kamal’s words are interrupted by the noise of explosions and artillery outside. He grimaces and points out of the window.

“What does that mean? That means it is not finished. There are still many people fighting. Not because of the regime. Because they love their country.”

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