THE BUSH ECONOMY HITS IRAQ

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis demanding jobs set cars ablaze and threw stones on Wednesday while local security forces responded with gunfire to disperse protests reflecting frustration at the parlous state of the postwar economy.

Violence erupted at demonstrations in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul on the day occupying authorities in Iraq sought to launch a new era of normality with the start of the first school year since Saddam Hussein's downfall.

In central Baghdad, several dozen protesters looking for work at a U.S.-backed local security force hurled stones at the building. Flames and black smoke poured from a police car and a civilian vehicle while gunfire echoed around the area.

Members of a crowd of several thousand threw stones at an employment office in Mosul. Some chanted support for Saddam.

"I need a salary now -- I've been out of work since the war," said Ayid Khalid, 24, a former builder. (full story)

I guess all we have to do now is sit back, and wait patiently for the WSJ editorial page to tell those Iraqi jobless just how lucky they are.

(link via hesiod)