Complaining in Iraq

BAGHDAD - Iraqi security forces detained about 300 people, including prominent journalists, artists and lawyers who took part in nationwide demonstrations Friday, in what some of them described as an operation to intimidate Baghdad intellectuals who hold sway over popular opinion.

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Just before they were freed, however, [Iraqi journalist] Hadi was held in a room where about 300 people sat on the floor. They had black hoods over their heads. Many were groaning, their shirts bloodied. Some wore suits and ties. An elderly man had passed out. Hadi recognized a friend, a TV broadcaster, among them.

"This government is sending a message to us - to everybody," Hadi said Saturday, his forehead bruised, his left leg swollen. After Iraq's Day of Rage, a Crackdown on Intellectuals

Hey wait a minute, why are they protesting in Iraq? I thought we just spent a trillion dollars giving them freedom. What in the world could they have to complain about?