Iraqis Are Quietly Fleeing

Baghdad Burning, the most-read blog from Baghdad, says Iraqis are being forced out of the city by Sadr's followers. It appears that middle class Iraqis of all ethnic and political stripes are being targeted.

Since the beginning of July, the men in our area have been patrolling the streets. Some of them patrol the rooftops and others sit quietly by the homemade road blocks we have on the major roads leading into the area. You cannot in any way rely on Americans or the government. You can only hope your family and friends will remain alive- not safe, not secure- just alive. That’s good enough.

Bareheaded women are insulted and attacked on the streets b y Islamic Extremists who were release under the occupation. Riverbens says hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have left her country this summer, and that she is thinking of giving up on her beloved country to keep herself alive.