Snakes in the Garden of Eden

For more than a decade, Saddam Hussein systematically destroyed the vast wetlands of southern Iraq - building dams and canals to drain the swamps, setting fire to the sea of reeds, and arresting and killing residents.

Those left behind hope Saddam's fall heralds restoration of the devastated land to the paradise they remember - the one many scholars believe was the biblical Garden of Eden.

"By taking our marshes, he took half our happiness," said Salih Karim Judran, a farmer and teacher living in a mud and grass village. The other half, also lost, Judran said, was security and democracy.

Custom Wire

For more than a decade, the Green Movement in Europe never heard of this. It's entirely possible that they will sue the United States for not preventing this sooner.