WORLD NEWS

Harpers: Weekly Review

Chaos ruled Baghdad for a second week; much of the city, already without water, food, electricity, a stable currency, or a governing body, was on fire, though the rampant looting that defined the country's first days of liberation abated when there was nothing left to loot. Iraqis exercised their newfound freedom to complain, with tens of thousands publicly protesting their conditions and the possibility of a long-term American occupation. U.S. officials insisted they were not interested in occupying Iraq, but expected to retain four military bases there to be used for future crises. The White House was said to regard Syria, Cuba, and Libya as members of a "junior varsity axis of evil," but although the administration repeated accusations that Syria was providing sanctuary to Iraqi fugitives, Colin Powell assured the world that Washington has no war plan "right now" to address that country's disobedience. Another administration official worried about wasting an opportunity in the Middle East: "We have to make it clear that we didn't just come to get rid of Saddam. We came to get rid of the status quo." .....