'Sooner or later we're going to be attacked'

Their fatalism has been born of war and the constant threat of attack by America and her allies. And there was little confidence in the streets of Baghdad yesterday that Iraq's offer on arms inspectors would herald a new era of peace.

The overwhelming feeling was that the move may have bought a little time for the international community to put pressure on the Americans to delay their onslaught, but that it will come sooner or later.

On the surface, there is little sign of waiting for war in the Iraqi capital. Even in the 18 months since my last visit the city is markedly busier and bustling. More businessmen and diplomats than since the Gulf War walk over the face of George Bush senior on the mosaic floor in the entrance of the Al Rashid Hotel. Other five-star establishments are equally busy. The shops are full, there is a continuous traffic jam in the city centre, and fashionable restaurants, such as the Black and White, throb with music and customers.

There is little sign of security, let alone military activity. There were no identity checks, no searching of bags, as hundreds of people walked into a new national conference centre to hear the announcement on the inspectors by Tariq Aziz, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister. A few young conscript soldiers were slumped before government buildings in the sweltering 40C heat.

Mr Aziz's offer had been widely trailed and 300 people, here for an international anti-war conference, sat in the orange-carpeted, wood-panelled hall as the Deputy Prime Minister, in olive army uniform, and customary thick spectacles made a 42-minute speech combining concessions with anti-Western diatribe. It was all low key, and the delegates later filed out for tea and biscuits, much like a Rotary Club meeting.

Out on Rashid Street, Amira Mohsin, a teacher, was shopping for clothes for her two-year-old daughter. "Yes, I heard the news, but it is not the most important thing in my life," she said. "We are trying to be normal here, you can't live in fear all the time, it will drive you completely crazy. But we know it will not last. What we are offering will not keep the Americans away. They will think of another excuse to bomb us. All the work we have done to rebuild Baghdad since the last time will be destroyed."

Her companion Shakeen Firoz, 23, a fellow teacher, added: "We have become conditioned into thinking two things: that the [UN] sanctions will never be lifted, and sooner or later we are going to be attacked."

Britain is mentioned, if at all, as an appendage to the US. "That's because most people think of Tony Blair as the Foreign Minister of the United States, not the Prime Minister of an independent country," said 50-year-old Abu Rifaat, drinking chai at a café. "After 11 September the American government wants to impose their will not only in Iraq, but all over the world. A lot of European leaders are worried, but Mr Blair just agrees with everything George Bush says."

Mr Rifaat's wife and two sons moved to Canada a year ago. "I could not go," he said. "They must be very worried about me. They are safer there but I miss them terribly."

Opinion is not free here. At an English bookshop, the owner is cataloguing his stock. No, he does not want to discuss weapons inspectors or anything to do with politics. "If we were elsewhere, I would love to talk to you. But you know the system here, the regime does not allow that," he said, shrugging embarrassedly.

Latif, a trained optician working as a taxi driver, the only job he can get in Iraq's collapsed economy, is prepared to discuss regime change, but cautiously. "The president will die one day then maybe the American attitude will change," he said. "But if they attack in the meantime a lot of innocent people will die."