In his report on the transfer of sovereignty, Associated Press writer Tarek el-Tablawy includes the following quote to buttress his assertion that "the response [to the handover] in Baghdad was mixed":

"Iraqis are happy inside, but their happiness is marred by fear and melancholy," said artist Qassim al-Sabti. "Of course I feel I'm still occupied. You can't find anywhere in the world people who would accept occupation. America these days, is like death. Nobody can escape from it."

I am always suspicious of these man-on-the-street-type of quotes, which reporters too often use selectively as a device to interject their own opinions. Indeed, the above quote was the only one the AP writer used to illustrate the "mixed" reaction in Baghdad.

Don't get me wrong. I don't doubt that reaction to the handover was mixed in Baghdad, a city of millions. The issue I am exploring here is not whether opinions on the handover were "mixed," but whether the sole quote the AP writer chose to use to illustrate the presence of mixed opinions fairly represents those mixed opinions.

Being married to an artist and having had considerable experience of artists, who--on political matters generally hold opinions representative of their fellow artists and no one else--I was immediately suspicious of the implication that a quote from an artist could be representative of broader public opinion.

So I did some quick internet research on Mr. Qassim al-Sabti, the artist the AP writer presents as the sole example of Baghdad's "mixed" opinion on the transfer of sovereignty.

It turns out that for many years now the delightful Qassim al-Sabti (whose name is variously transliterated as Alsabti, al Septi, etc.) has owned and operated Hawar Gallery, widely described in Western press reports as "the best known" art gallery in Baghdad. As a pre-war report from peacenik Nathan Mauger inadvertently discloses, al-Sabti and his artsy pals did quite well under Saddam's patronage:

Saturday, Sept. 28; Baghdad

Back in Baghdad, the Voices delegation attends a dinner party given in our honor. It is in the courtyard of the house of a wealthy Iraqi art gallery owner. The art dealer, Qasim Alsabti, is incredibly articulate and enjoys hosting dinner parties. Last week there was a party for the Baghdad CNN bureau here.

We meet several prominent Iraqi artists Qasim has also invited. They speak excellent English, they're fluent in French, they have email addresses. Their drivers wait outside.

Qasim says more people were expected, but no one is going out any more because they are worried about the war.

Fish roasts over an open spit and I drink a glass of Arak, an Iraqi alcohol made from licorice. It's hard and clear, but when water is added it turns white. One of the artists raises a toast for world peace.

You might wonder how Mr. al-Sabti managed not only to survive but to flourish, yet still follow his muse as a working artist and art dealer during all those terrible years. One writer suggests al-Sabti survived and prospered under Saddam by remaining "notoriously apolitical":

Qasim is notoriously apolitical, which allowed him to run his gallery during Saddam's reign as a central meeting place for artists, collectors, diplomats (during the sanctions, UN personnel played a vital role as collectors and as a cultural lifeline to the West) and the general public. He freely admits to once painting a portrait of Saddam and says, "Look, no person was forced to do this thing, my dear. But the money! I took my friends out to dinners for weeks on the payment."

Fair enough, I suppose. One can't fault an artist if he is able, without actively doing harm, to find a way to pursue his art under an oppressive regime. More than that, al-Sabti's gallery was, so we are now told, a veritable "cultural lifeline to the West" during those tortured years. (We are heartened to learn that some of the UN muckabouts who skimmed billions from the Oil for Food Program might have put that money to good use buying art from al-Sabti.)

The problem is that al-Sabti is not so "notoriously apolitical" as his apologists claim to justify his soft collaboration with Saddam's regime:

To be sure, not everyone at the Hewar felt reborn, especially among the customers over 40, who remembered the good old days of government-sponsored awards and competitions, lucrative commissions for portraits of Father Saddam, and extra pocket money from spying for the Mukhabarat. "Under Saddam, we could do any kind of art, as long as it wasn't political; things were much better then," Septi, the owner, said nostalgically. . . .

Because of the despot's beneficence to artists -- advocates of government arts funding, take note -- support for the tyrant runs deep there. The same can't be said for the country as a whole.

And you would be wrong if you think that al-Sabti dropped his apolitical stance only after Saddam was removed from power. Before the war, al-Sabti was quoted thusly:

The conversation shifts to the impending war. Qasim says if the US attacks he will sit with his Kalashnikov and wait in his house, "because this is my home and no one will take it away from me."

To get the full flavor of al-Sabti's "apolitical" stand, read a September 2003 interview, in which he stated:

. . . We know the Americans' dirty plans. With their first steps inside Iraq, they took care of the Ministry of Oil only. I saw many American soldiers ask the looters to enter the centers of culture, the libraries and museums. The soldiers invited them with foolish smiles, allowing them to do anything inside these centers - to loot, to destroy, to burn. Believe me, this was a bad decision. Iraqis discovered a new kind of cowboy. These cowboys were taking an interest in petrol only. This is what happened during the war.

. . . . You know we need a strong man in government, especially for the police and the security. . . .

. . . .

. . . . the first thief in this world - Bush - has looted the whole country. The boss is America, you see, and it heads something like a big mafia. The Arab countries helped America destroy this country - Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait. Really, it is good to give the Americans a good lesson, to show them the truth - that Iraq is not easy. I mean that they will pay with blood from the future of America in this land, at last.

. . . . My message is love, peace and justice. But here I am talking about American politicians, not the people. Always there is distance between the people and the politicians, like Iraqis and Saddam Hussein. They said to this world that Iraq is a dangerous country and that Saddam is a terrorist - many lies. Until now, nobody can find anything dangerous, only poor people who have lost 30 years of their lives.

. . . .

Of course, I don't believe in Saddam either, in his regime. I hated that time. I am happy when I look at my boy now because I can hope that my boy will not become a soldier. I can help him to learn computer skills or do something else.

Before the war, in the Saddam regime, we as artists had freedom to do any kind of art.

Yes, this artist who thrived under Saddam is the man whom an Associated Press uses as the sole representative of "mixed" opinion in Baghdad!

Al-Sabti's most recent "apolitical" artistic venture at his Hawar Gallery is (you guessed it!) an exhibition on Abu Ghraib:

"The Americans behaved in an incredibly revolting manner," Sabti said. His exhibit shows the body of a woman under a white shroud smeared with blood between the thighs. "She was raped and murdered," he said.

In addition to being "apolitical," al Sabti's art is also subtle.

Yet contrary to what you might think from reading most press reports, some Iraqi artists do disapprove of al-Sabti and his Abu Ghraib exhibit:

. . . . "I am against it, because none of these artists did anything to show the exactions perpetrated by Saddam Hussein," said 28-year-old sculptor Haidar Wady.

"Being against the Americans has become the trendy thing. But they brought us freedom. Just imagine for one moment if they had gathered here to depict Abu Ghraib in the time of the dictator. What's more, these works are really ugly," he added.

I suspect that under Saddam's regime Haidar Wady did not fare so well as al-Sabti.

UPDATE: I'm scheduled to appear on the internet talk show "Cam & Company" at 2:40 Eastern Time today (Wednesday, June 30th) to discuss the al-Sabti piece. You can watch and listen at:

http://www.nranews.com/nra.html

Also I want to thank Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit for linking to this post. (If you happen to be one of the four people in the world who don't yet know about Instapundit, you need to surf there right now!)