Den US-Soldaten in Bagdad ist die Lust an der Besatzung der irakischen Hauptstadt vergangen. Plünderungen, anti-amerikanische Demonstrationen und die sengende Hitze haben die Eroberer zermürbt. Sie wollen nur noch eines: Nach Hause.

Bagdad - Dem Sieg in Bagdad folgte für die US-Truppen die schnelle Ernüchterung. Die Soldaten der 3. Infanterie-Division, die vor sechs Wochen die irakische Hauptstadt eroberten, haben mittlerweile ein Motivationsproblem. Im Vertrauen räumen Offiziere ein, dass es mit der Moral der Truppe nicht zum Besten stehe. Der Ton sei schärfer geworden, sowohl im Umgang der Soldaten untereinander als auch gegenüber irakischen Zivilisten. Am Mittwoch kam es in der westirakischen Provinz al-Anbar erneut zu Zusammenstößen zwischen bewaffneten Irakern und US-Soldaten. Ein Reporter des arabischen TV-Senders al-Dschasira in der Stadt Hit berichtete von mehreren Explosionen in der Polizeistation des Ortes. Nach unbestätigten Augenzeugenberichten soll in der Nähe der Stadt ein US-Militärhubschrauber abgestürzt sein und vier Soldaten in den Tod gerissen haben.

Demonstrationen gegen Amerikaner

Am Nachmittag zogen Bürger der Stadt in einem lauten Demonstrationszug durch die Straßen und schossen in die Luft. Sie beschuldigten die US-Soldaten, bei der Suche nach Waffen zusammen mit irakischen Polizisten auf rücksichtslose Art und Weise in mehrere Privathäuser eingedrungen zu sein.

Die anhaltenden Probleme mit der Bevölkerung sind nicht der einzige Grund für die Frustration der Amerikaner. Hinzu kommt die Ungewissheit, wann die bereits seit sechs Monaten in der Golfregion stationierte 3. Infanterie-Division abgelöst werden wird. "Man hatte uns versprochen, dass nach der Einnahme von Bagdad andere Truppen hergeschickt würden", beschwert sich ein Soldat. "Diejenigen, die für das Töten zuständig waren, sollten nicht zur Wahrung des Friedens eingesetzt werden. Sie müssen uns nach Hause schicken."

Zwar sind in den vergangenen Tagen US-Soldaten der 1. Panzerdivision aus Wiesbaden eingetroffen, die in Bagdad die Kontrolle übernehmen soll. Aber wann die 3. Infanterie-Division abziehen darf, ist nach Angaben ihres Befehlshabers ungewiss. "Wir werden unsere Mission hier fortsetzen, bis wir abgelöst werden. Ich kann nicht sagen, wann das sein wird, aber hoffentlich bald", sagt Generalmajor Buford Blount. Er wolle das Thema bei einem Treffen mit dem Oberbefehlshaber der alliierten Truppen, Tommy Franks, ansprechen.

Stress und Streitereien

Hinter vorgehaltener Hand berichten Offiziere von wachsendem Stress unter den Soldaten, der sich durch lautstarke Streitereien bemerkbar mache. Zudem sinke die Bereitschaft, sich für weitere Dienstjahre bei der Armee zu verpflichten. Die Heerespsychiater, die die Truppen vorsorglich untersuchten, haben vielen Soldaten empfohlen, nach ihrer Heimkehr psychologische Hilfe in Anspruch zu nehmen. Aber niemand weiß, wann das möglich sein wird.

Die wachsende Ungeduld der Soldaten macht sich auch im Umgang mit irakischen Zivilisten bemerkbar. Viele Kameraden verlören rasch die Beherrschung, sagt etwa der Soldat Robert Blake. Er selbst habe beim Friedenseinsatz im Kosovo gelernt, Ruhe zu bewahren, aber viele Kameraden könnten ihre kriegerische Haltung einfach nicht abschütteln. "Wenn man gerade von der Front kommt, klingt das verrückt, aber ich habe einigen Leuten gesagt: 'Entspann dich, Kumpel, nicht alle hier wollen dich umbringen.'"

Um das Leben in Bagdad etwas leichter zu machen, bemühe sich die Heeresführung, alle Truppen mit Strom und fließend Wasser zu versorgen, sagt Kommandeur Blount. Außerdem bekommen die Soldaten Eiswürfel - damit sie einen kühlen Kopf behalten, wenn sie bei Temperaturen um 38 Grad Celsius mit ihrer dreizehn Kilogramm schweren Ausrüstung auf Fußstreife gehen.

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Our country's (USA) war on drugs places great emphasis on arresting people for smoking marijuana. Since 1990, nearly 5.9 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges, a greater number than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming combined. In 2000, state and local law enforcement arrested 734,498 people for marijuana violations. This is an increase of 800 percent since 1980, and is the highest ever recorded by the FBI.

As has been the case throughout the 1990s, the overwhelming majority of those charged with marijuana violations in 2000-- 646,042 Americans (88 %) -- were for simple possession. The remaining 12% (88,456 Americans) were for "sale/manufacture", an FBI category which includes marijuana grown for personal use or purely medical purposes. These new FBI statistics indicate that one marijuana smoker is arrested every 45 seconds in America. Taken together, the total number of marijuana arrests for 2000 far exceeded the combined number of arrests for violent crimes, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Like most Americans, people who smoke marijuana also pay taxes, love and support their families, and work hard to make a better life for their children. Suddenly they are arrested, jailed and treated like criminals solely because of their recreational drug of choice. State agencies frequently step in and declare children of marijuana smokers to be "in danger", and many children are placed into foster homes as a result. This causes enormous pain, suffering and financial hardship for millions of American families. It also engenders distrust and disrespect for the law and for the criminal justice system overall. Responsible marijuana smokers present no threat or danger to America or its children, and there is no reason to treat them as criminals, or to take their children away. As a society we need to find ways to discourage personal conduct of all kinds that is abusive or harmful to others. Responsible marijuana smokers are not the problem and it is time to stop arresting them.

The ultimate goal of NORML and The NORML Foundation is to end the criminal prohibition of marijuana. We do not believe otherwise law-abiding citizens who smoke marijuana should be arrested and treated like criminals. Adults should be permitted to smoke marijuana in private. Federal prohibition of marijuana should be abolished and the states should be encouraged to experiment with different models of decriminalization.

Please read further so that you may know and exercise your rights.

Your Rights

The following information is intended as a brief summation of your constitutional rights and is meant to offer helpful hints at how to effectively assert and protect those rights within the context of a police encounter. Of course, this information is no substitute for consultation with an experienced attorney.

The Fourth Amendment to the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution states:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The Fifth Amendment reads, in part, "No person shall be... compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...." These amendments provide the foundation for the rights that protect all U.S. Citizens from intrusive law enforcement practices. If an officer violates your rights then any evidence discovered as a result of that violation must be suppressed from the evidence at trial. This is accomplished by filing a motion to suppress with the trial judge. Even if an officer obtained a warrant prior to searching, if that warrant is defective or not supported by probable cause, then the evidence must be suppressed. Often times, after the fruits of an illegal detention, interrogation or search are suppressed, the government is left with very little evidence and the charges are dismissed.

1. Don't Leave Contraband in Plain View Although law enforcement officers must obtain a warrant before they can conduct a privacy-invading search, any illicit material that can be plainly seen by any person from a non-intrusive vantage point is subject to confiscation. An arrest and a valid warrant to search the rest of the area is likely to ensue. A "roach" in the ashtray, a pipe or baggie on the coffee table, or a joint being smoked in public are common mistakes which all too-frequently lead to arrests.

2. Never Consent Many individuals arrested on marijuana charges could have avoided that arrest by exercising their Fourth Amendment rights. If a law enforcement officer asks for your permission to search, it is usually because: (1) there is not enough evidence to obtain a search warrant; or (2) the officer does not feel like going through the hassle of obtaining a warrant. Law enforcement officers are trained to intimidate people into consenting to searches. If you do consent, you waive your constitutional protection and the officers may search and seize items without further authorization. If officers find contraband, they will arrest you.

If you do not consent to a search, the officer must either release you or detain you and attempt to get a warrant. The fact that you refuse to consent does not give the officer grounds to obtain a warrant or further detain you.

An officer can obtain a search warrant only from a judge or magistrate and only upon a showing of "probable cause." Probable cause requires an officer to articulate information that would cause a reasonable person to believe that a crime has been or is being committed and that evidence of that involvement can be found within the object of the search.

There are exceptions to the search warrant requirement which permit an officer to search an area without a warrant or consent under certain circumstances. The important thing for you to remember is never to consent to a search or talk with an officer if you want to preserve your rights.

If an officer asks to search you or an area belonging to you or over which you are authorized to control, you should respond:

"I do not consent to a search of my [person, baggage, purse, luggage, vehicle, house, blood, etc.] I do not consent to this contact and do not want to answer any questions. If I am not under arrest, I would like to go now (or be left alone)."

3. Don't Answer Questions Without Your Attorney Present Whether arrested or not, you should always exercise the right to remain silent. Anything you say to law enforcement officers, reporters, cell mates, or even your friends can be used as evidence against you. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. Your right to remain silent should always be exercised.

4. Determining if You Can Leave You may terminate an encounter with officers unless you are being detained under police custody or have been arrested. If you cannot tell whether you may leave, you can ask officers, "Am I under arrest or otherwise detained?" If the answer is, "No," you may leave.

An officer can temporarily detain you without arresting you if he has "reasonable suspicion" that you are involved in criminal activity. An officer must be able at a later time to articulate to a judge objective facts that would have caused a reasonable person to suspect that you were involved in criminal activity at the point that you were detained. Also, the officer may perform a "pat down" or "frisk" on you during the detention if he has reasonable suspicion that you are armed. However, an officer may only reach into your pockets if he pats something that feels like a weapon.

When an officer attempts to contact or question you, you should politely say:

"I do not consent to this contact and I do not want to answer any questions. If I am not under arrest I would like to go now (or be left alone)."

If arrested, you should again refuse a search of any kind and refuse to answer any questions. At this point you should insist on speaking to an attorney as soon as possible.

5. Do Not Be Hostile; Do Not Physically Resist There are times when individuals politely assert their rights and refuse to consent to a search but the officers nonetheless proceed to detain, search, or arrest them. In such cases, it is important not to physically resist. Rather, you should reassert your rights as outlined above in section 2.

6. Informing on Others The police and prosecutors often try to pressure individuals into providing information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of others. Threats and promises by police and prosecutors should be viewed with caution and skepticism. Decisions should only be made after consulting with an experienced criminal defense attorney and examining one's own conscience.

Finally, consider downloading and carrying NORML's Freedom Card -- a quick reference guide to your rights and obligations when you are stopped by the police.

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