Monday, October 1, 2007

Art of death in the Mesopotamian


I think many have heard about the methods used for torturing prisoners or politic prisoners to take confessions from them , we heard about the Russian who was poisoned with Uranium , or what happened in Abu-Ghraib , but I don't think that many people know what the militias and AQ does to Iraqis not to take confessions from them or force them to do anything , but just to kill them and enjoy their death and cause the maximum grief and suffer to their parents and beloved , or maybe terrorizing the people even more and make the people wish that they die by a bullet or an explosion , it's a blessing now if an Iraqi dies by a bullet or an explosion. even death in Iraq isn't like anywhere else , those militias and AQ seems to enjoy killing and I think they look at it as an art or something , the more weird and savage the way they kill people in , the more creative they look at it , because as I said they look at it as an art!

the stories that I'm going to tell are real and they happened to people I know directly or from the people they know , that means that there are many other "creative methods" that I will not mention.

I'll start with a method that AQ and many other militias like the Mahdi-Army uses , which is the drilling and extraction , when they kidnap someone whether they ask for ransom or not ; in most cases he will be killed even if the ransom is paid , they use the drill "regular drill" to open holes in the arms , legs , chest , head and even eyes of the kidnapped.that's of course before they kill him because he will die by the drill , and in many cases before they use the drill they tend to use another method for the enjoyment because the kidnapped might die fast when they use the drill ; they use a pliers to extract his teeth and nails , and only god knows how painful to extract a tooth with a pliers , I think it even hurts more than the drill , because I know what to do to extract a tooth and what happens if these extraction procedures weren't done , I think many heard of this method , but I said it first because it's the most common and the nicest one among the others.

Another "punishment" , let's say , for anyone who works with the Americans or sometimes with the government is cutting the head by the sword , this is old and it became boring to them so they invented a new way ; they cut the head and open the belly of the victim by the sword , then they place his head in his belly and suture it after that they throw his dead body at the door of his house or somewhere near , this is what their nice guys do , sometimes they threw him in the garbage to be eaten by dogs!

My father's friend had a son (7 years old) who was kidnapped and they asked him for ransom (which was very big as he said but didn't say the exact amount) so he accepted to pay the ransom and he borrowed from everyone he knows and sold many things just to keep on his son's life , and after he paid them what they asked , they told him that his son will be at his door tomorrow , and they didn't lie! the next day the door bell rang and they went to see who's there because they were expecting their son coming back home , but they didn't find their son or anyone , they saw a very big covered dish infront of the door , when they opened it they saw their son's dead body grilled and placed on rice in the big dish just like the traditional Iraqi meal "Qoozi"! When I heard this story i wanted to throw up and couldn't eat meat for a weak and till this day I don't like Qoozy although it was one of my favorite meals.

and when I was in Syria I mentioned that my colleague dentist and friend in college was killed but since I was in Syria I couldn't know how , why or who killed him and as I returned to Baghdad I asked my friends about what happened and they told me that he was kidnapped and they asked his parents for ransom and after they gave it to them , they didn't hear anything from the kidnappers , they went looking for him everywhere , at last they found him in the forensic medicine building along with the unidentified dead bodies which are in tens every day , they found him with 30 bullet holes in his body , Oh dear friend how could his small body be enough for 30 bullets , he was so small , his name was fitting for both Shiites and Sunnis , he was a very nice man , he didn't have or caused any trouble through all the college years , he was a very good man , may god have mercy on his soul.

Yesterday a man from Anbar and from one of the strongest tribes there (Dulaimi) was killed in Raghiba-Khatoon where AQ is dominant. he was kidnapped first , he wasn't from the neighborhood , so they took him and killed him by making him drink "Teezab" which is concentrated H2SO4 in the Iraqi slungs, why did they kill him he is a Dulaimi Sunni , what do they have against him ? it's not about sect or religion anymore , it's about numbers of people they kill , the more they kill the more promotions and money they get , and by the way Raghiba-Khatoon is where I used to go shopping but it has been about a year and a half since the last time i went there , because it's one of the most dangerous areas in Baghdad it's way more dangerous that Adhamyia , and also in this neighborhood one of my neighbors was killed , he was a Sunni young man , recently married. he was with his wife in his car and they stopped them there and shot him in the head in front of his young wife , they simple put an end to a young, ambitious man's life and destroyed the life of at least two families.

Once before I started blogging I saw a video in one of my friends' laptop for a dead body of an old man being dragged by his beard through the streets of Alsadir city by member of Al-Mahdi Army or should I say thugs of Muqtada which seems more appropriate , he did nothing except that he was a Sunni , while they were dragging him they were hitting him with the sandals (which is the maximum humiliation in the Iraqi and Arabic culture) and they were spitting on him and kicking him , after some time of dragging and hitting his face couldn't be recognized because of the blood that covered it , the blood and dirt that covered his whole dead body , every human being dead body deserves respect no matter what he was , why this hatred , why this enjoyment in killing and taking lives ? if it's just for the money and number of people they kill , they can kill him with one shot in the head and the story is over , why do they do these things ?

It's not for the sect or even the religion , Islam is not like this , Islam is never like this , the other name of Islam is the religion of forgiveness , they are criminals and not any criminals they are the most twisted criminals hiding behind religion to convince stupid ignorant people of what they are doing , they are simply gangs , no more and no less.

Those stories , or should I say tragedies are a tiny fraction of what happens daily in Baghdad and Iraq in general , in the best days at least 10 unidentified dead bodies are found with another 10 identified , each one of them has a story needs to be told.

Warning:

here are some links to some victims of these gangs , it contains explicit violence and horrifying scenes , I wouldn't recommend people with soft feelings to watch them , that's why I made them as links. in Buratha Mosque which is the headquarter of Jalal Alsageer who is a high rank in Al-Daawa party and Badir brigade where they used it for torturing and killing place for the Sunnis by Al-Daawa party and this mosques is heavily guarded by the national guards and the ministry of interior's Commandos .

Photo 1 Photo 6
Photo 2 Photo 7
Photo 3
Photo 4
Photo 5


after seeing those photos , I think many will agree with me that death isn't that bad if it was without such a brutal torture , as long as the one can be identified and buried respectfully!!??? it's too much to ask in Iraq , isn't it?

40 comments:

LJM said...

They are criminal gangs. The same type of thing happens in Mexico, but it's related to known criminal gangs. It's not about religion. It's always about power and turf. I didn't look at the pictures. I'll take your word for it.

Mohammed said...

you could watch the last picture , it doesn't include so much violence , but it includes the reality of who's behind it and how the corrupted government acts to it.

perry1961 said...

It's not just Iraq. These wahhabi cultists are just as twisted in Afghanistan. Problem is,the Saudi state brainwashes them into believing non-wahhabis are non-human. Still,it takes a sick man to do those things to animals too.

"KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Taliban militants hanged a teenager in southern Afghanistan because he had U.S. money in his pocket, and they stuffed five $1 bills in his mouth as a warning to others not to use dollars, police said Monday. Taliban militants elsewhere killed eight police.

The 15-year-old boy was hanged from a tree on Sunday in Helmand, the most violent province in the country and the world's No. 1 poppy-growing region."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071001/ap_on_re_as/afghan_violence;_ylt=AvAI7Q0AmK93KYgqvBL6U8IUewgF

Mohammed said...

this is an incident happened in Afghanistan but tens of stories like this happens in Iraq everyday.
By the way it's not only AQ that does these things , it's all the militias do these things , the world should be aware of that.

perry1961 said...

Same process of dehumanizing their enemy Mohammed. As the "annointed believers",they get to play God. But,men can't handle playing God. Makes them nuts. These groups act a lot like the inquisition did in the middle ages. Different Gods,same barbarity.

Anonymous said...

Mohammed, the one of the Buratha mosque is a hoax. It's from the Iranian wax museum depicting Iranian prisoners tortured under the Shah regime, because you can see former president Khatami in it. It's not a real person and it's not in Iraq or the Buratha mosque.

Lynnette In Minnesota said...

Mohammed,

Here is a little good news on the fight against cholera. If only the rest of Iraq were more stable then these kinds of projects could be done elsewhere.

Anonymous at 11:41 pm,

Thank you for clearing that up. I was wondering why anyone who had posed with such a picture would not have been detained.

Anonymous said...

Mohammed,

Words fail me.

Bridget

Mohammed said...

anon,
this one is not khatamy he is Jalal Alsageer and by the way this picture was on most of the arabic satellite channels (don't know about westerner channels) , I think at October last year , and by the way after this picture was revealed , US forces searched the mosque and found several weapons and torturing instruments , I can't remember well whether they found dead bodies or not , but this is something every Iraqi knows , that Buratha is used as a headquarter for these things , and if you are not sure that this is Jalal Alsageer then you can google it , use the arabic language for better results "جلال الصغير" just copy and paste.

Lynnette,
about the cholera it might be a good thing for the Kurds and northern Iraq , which requires something like a visa non-kurds can go there , although I think they are exaggerating.
by the way do you that in this health crisis the ministry of health is without a minister?
in Baghdad it's still the same.
about the picture , I cleared it in my answer to Anon. and by the way , they are bragging by what they do , why did Saddam and the former regimen video taped how they torture prisoners?it's for the same reason!!!

Bridget,
no words are enough , I know that.

Andrew Tuccinardi said...

thats what happens in a war like this, some crazy craps going to go down, I'm just glad that some people can get away, and the whole place isn't a nuclear parking lot yet.
my grandparents don't like me talking on your blog, they think the govt. going to jump us even tho were good Americans, kinda sad, but its not as bad as it is over there, and i am grateful and i pray that over there things can return to peace time conditions with Iraqi pride intact

Anonymous said...

No, Mohammed, you are wrong. This photo was exposed a long time ago as a hoax. It was also used by Iranian dissidents to discredit president Khatemi claiming he was watching them being tortured. Look for yourself.

http://www.rasid.com/artc.php?id=13958

Just because it was shown on Arab satellite television, by MP Mohammed Al-Daini who first started the claim, doesn't mean it's real. And I'm not denying that the Buratha mosque has been used to torture Sunnis or that Jalal Al-Din Al-Sagheer is complicit; I'm just pointing out that this photo is not what you described it is. Don't you see that the people in the photo don't look Iraqi? And isn't it obvious that the hanging man is a prop?

Anonymous said...

http://drweb4u.net/vb/showthread.php?p=41462

And look at this. Even the Al-Jazeera anchor told Al-Daini when he showed the picture that it was of the Iranian wax museum and president Khatemi not Al-Sagheer. There is no resemblance between the two men.

Anonymous said...

http://www.peiknet.com/1382/page/01bahman/414eteleaat.htm

And this the complete gallery of Khatemi's visit to the museum four years ago. Convinced yet?

Mohammed said...

Ok , My mistake Anon. but we did agree on the basic thing that Buratha is like what I said , the picture might be hoax , sorry I didn't update my info. , glad you corrected me , and I appologize form the readers , this happens I'm not a press agency.Thank you Anon but why don't you use a name Anon , it might be better , don't you think?

field of dreams said...

Mohammed, BOTH AQ and the MILITIAS are TERRORISTS. Plain and simple. It's not about God now, and it was never about God. They are evil, they want power, they enjoy killing, and they are using God and religion as a means of convincing people to turn a blind eye, or worse, join them.

There really is only one solution to the problem of both groups, and that's for the people of Iraq to take Iraq back from the criminals. Every man and woman must make a stand, say "Enough is enough!" and start turning them in.

If I were in Iraq, I wouldn't report anything to the gov't or police or army. I'd report everything to the US troops - remember, they want to come home, and the sooner they get the criminals out of power, the sooner they can leave Iraq.

Pass them a note (written in English!) discreetly, or if they are doing an inspection, tell them what you know about specific individuals. Be discreet. Then they'll investigate the claims and take prisoners - and the minute Maliki tries to step in, or any of the protectors of these thugs, Petreaus and Crocker will use the threat of picking up our guns and tanks and going home to keep them in line.

It really is up to the citizens of Iraq to take her back. The police and army are still too infiltrated by the criminals to be as effective as they should be. If there isn't a local tribe leader you can trust, then go to the US troops.

Indigo said...

@field of dreams, October 2, 2007 8:59 AM If I were in Iraq, I wouldn't report anything to the gov't or police or army. I'd report everything to the US troops ... Pass them a note (written in English!) discreetly, or if they are doing an inspection, tell them what you know about specific individuals. Be discreet.

Oh, please, no more of such naivety. Is it possible that anyone is still unaware of what happens to Iraqis who report terrorists, discreetly or not, to the US occupiers? Any Iraqi who does that not only puts his/her own life at risk but also that of the entire family. The US troops do not protect informers.

Lynnette In Minnesota said...

Mohammed,

by the way do you that in this health crisis the ministry of health is without a minister?

Yes, I had heard that Maliki was trying to do a little house cleaning. Wasn't it the Health Ministry where Al-Sadr had his fingers in so deeply? I'm thinking the minister was his guy.

Andrew Tuccinardi,

my grandparents don't like me talking on your blog, they think the govt. going to jump us even tho were good Americans,

Are you for real? Somehow I doubt it. lol!

Caesar of Pentra said...

Mohammed,
I hope you can email me on pentra@gmail.com to know more abut you. I guess there are much to talk about :P.

Hardy Haberman said...

Once again your blog brought me to tears. I pray for your safety and that of your family. I have cross posted your latest entry in my blog and others. The world needs to see it and be as sickened by the vile acts as I was.

Andrew Tuccinardi said...

yeah its for real, but its not really gonna happen, they just over worries
there from the old school so they where raised differently, but i don't agree on allot of things they say
the worst being my grandpa things we should use nukes like guns(which is some crazy shit) but majority of times we are agreeing on the same subject

Andrew Tuccinardi said...

did i mention that I'm white boy of Italy and German ancestry?

Bruno said...

I agree with your post, Mohammed. If they're going to kill somebody, why do they have to do it in the worst way possible?

Anonymous said...

here same photos:


http://www.iraqirabita.org/upload/2304.jpg
http://www.iraqirabita.org/upload/2303.jpg
http://www.iraqirabita.org/upload/2306.jpg
http://www.iraqirabita.org/upload/2307.jpg
http://www.iraqirabita.org/upload/2308.jpg
http://76news.net/upload/store/killed/10.jpg
http://76news.net/upload/store/killed/13.jpg
http://76news.net/upload/store/killed/11.jpg

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3612278892148972035


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5536532372902887366

Lynnette In Minnesota said...

Bruno,

I agree with your post, Mohammed.

Then you must agree with Michael Yon too. As he also posted about the brutality of Al-Qaida with respect to the children. Maybe you should tell Italian, since he didn't believe it.

And you can't figure out why I don't want to see the Iraqis have to try to deal with these people on their own, before they have a fully functioning security force?

Anonymous said...

Dear Mohammed,

Even if these posts aren't the most enjoyable to write and for the readers to read, it is a good thing to write about the reality of things.
Thank you for doing that, even when it must be hard for you.

On a bit of a different topic, is that picture on the right side of your blog. That face coloured with the iraqi flag, splashed out. Is that made by you? Or did you find it? If so, do you (or do you know the link) to a bigger version I may use?

Also, I would like to leave you with this poem written by Nouri Gana

Mourning Dues

I collect my organs, war after war
Snatch them from the fists of history
From the jaws of Sabra & Shatila,
The sharks of Jenin, the hawks of Fallujah,
And the necro-remains of Rwanda and Darfour
I stitch them together, war after war
And weave myself adieus
Peace by peace, war after war
From Indians to Jews to Musulmans
From Noah to Columbus to the nuclear cortège
Piece by piece, fall after fall
I forge my axe, I edify my wall
While my soul soaks in mourning dues

-Nouri Gana


Please take care and keep on blogging.

Best regards,

M.

Hans said...

Looks like a contest here, who can show the most terrible pictures.

Dear Mohammed, only seeing these pictures are enough.
I feel your grief...

I put it on my blog.
If you come over, I will take care about visa and your stay here!

mirdifderya said...

Mohammed I didn't look at the pictures as you said, but looked the last one, but those people who done this not human at all.

My sypmaty goes to you and rest of the people who lost their lives. My anger againts certain people made Iraq like this Unexplainable..

Good day!

Anonymous said...

Horrifying! I am a at loss of words :(

Hannah said...

Hello.

I wish this weren't the post I was being forced to comment on. My situation seems pointless and trivial when compared to the needless torture and murder of innocent people.

My name is Hannah and I am writing a report for one of my university classes on blogs from different cultures. I am using your blog and http://neurotic-iraqi-wife.blogspot.com/ in my paper.

My teacher has asked me to converse with the people I have been reading about.

Your post honestly sickens me. I don't know what to think anymore about Iraq. Reading your blog gives me many insights into what is really going on in Iraq.

I would be very glad if you would be willing to help me with a few things for my report. Would it be possible for you to give me a short list of reasons "why" you blog or how blogging makes you feel?

Also, any other information that you would like to share would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment. I hope to hear back from you soon. my email is: doodles_the_waddling_penguin@yahoo.com if you would like to contact me there. I will also check back here if you would like to comment back on this site. If you don't have time or don't feel comfortable answering my questions that's OK but please respond telling me you don't want to do it.

thanks again.

-Hannah Kane

Anonymous said...

I am always worried when Dr. Muhammed doesn't post for a few days. I will keep checking back.

Indigo said...

Iraqi interpreters and other key support staff who have risked their lives to work for Britain are to be allowed to settle in the United Kingdom ... , Times, 6 Oct 2007

Hundreds of interpreters and their families are to be given assistance to leave Iraq, where they live under fear of death squads because they collaborated with British forces. Those wishing to remain in Iraq or relocate to neighbouring countries will be helped to resettle.

This is as it should be. Cross-posted to Healing Iraq.

We need to keep up the pressure to ensure that this includes Iraqi interpreters who have already fled into exile.

Mohammed said...

Anon.,
Thank you very much for your concern but I'm fine, I had no internet connection for the last few days because my ISP had some hardware problems , that's why I've been missing.thank you again.

Hans,
Thank you very much my friend for your offer , greatly appreciated.

Anon M.,
Yes I made this picture , although not completely ; I got the face from a website , I can't remember it's name then I added the Iraqi flag , I have the large version if you want , but why do you need it anyway?
Contact me on my email if you want.

field of dreams said...

Indigo, what do you propose the Iraqi people do? Huddle up in their houses and try to ignore the danger, and pray it all just goes away?

A situation like this requires every good and decent citizen of Iraq to band together to force the militias and AQ out. Because both have infiltrated the police and the army they really only have a couple of options on whom to turn to for help: 1) the US/coalition troops, and 2) their local leaders, IF they are actively fighting the bad guys (and not part of the problem) like in Anbar.

With the help of the Iraqi people, pointing out the terrorists, the weapons caches, the roadside bombs, the torture chambers and prisons, the US troops can shut them down and make arrests, or at least fight them and maybe take a few of the bad guys out.

The reason the help of the Iraqi people is needed is because THEY know who belongs in their neighborhood and who does not. They know who is doing what to kill and kidnap their people.

Without the help of the Iraqi people, it will take 100x longer for the US troops to root out the bad guys, and all that means is 100x more innocent Iraqis will die horrible deaths like Mohammed has shown us.

The bottom line is that the Iraqi people cannot rid themselves of this infestation alone. The US troops alone cannot rid Iraq of this infestation. The ONLY truly workable solution is for the two to work together.

In many, if not most, areas where Iraqis and US troops are working together, the difference made in security is enormous, and the number of innocent Iraqi deaths drops considerably.

It's a situation where it takes time, but with everyone working toward the same goal, it can be accomplished.

The one bad aspect of this is that Iraqis do risk retaliation for working with the US troops. That's why Iraqis need to be discreet - in other words, don't walk up to a soldier or Marine with a 60 page list of who's who in the militias or AQ in the public square. Intead, since soldiers and Marines are always patroling, always doing checks and manning check points, etc, find an opportunity to pass on information in a manner that makes it look like you are just going through a check point, or are just the victim of a search, etc - and don't tell your neighbors, family or anyone else that you cannot trust 100% what you have done (heck, don't tell anyone period).

With enough info, the US troops can start taking action. Gradually, the more info is given and the more action taken, the more Iraqis will come forward with more information.

Indigo, I'm not saying it's not a situation fraught with peril. But based on the options available, the best chance for Iraq is for the people to have a hand in taking back their country. The only other alternative is to hide in a dark corner and hope it all goes away, and we know that's not a feasible solution.

LJM said...

Too bad about the computer, Mohammed, but really glad you are all ok.

Indigo said...

@field of dreams, the main thing missing from your plan is military experience and analysis. I recently heard military experts saying that, in order to overcome the insurgency in Iraq, America would have to deploy about a million soldiers on the ground. At the moment, there about 160,000 US troops in Iraq.

You can't expect Iraq civilians to make up the shortfall - they are not armed like American troops, they cannot call on helicopter gun-ships and battalions of armed men as back up. What you are suggesting is (a) not the responsibility of civilians and (b) impossible to do without enormous loss of life.

Anyway, under international law, it is the duty of the occupying forces to protect civilians - not to ask them to be sacrificial sheep. Don't you think that enough civilian Iraqis have died?

field of dreams said...

Indigo, actually, we are no longer an occupying force. At any time the Iraqi gov't asks us to leave, we can, and will leave. That's been hashed and rehashed months ago, and Maliki outright said now is not the time for America to leave, and others in the gov't expressed their desire for the US to stay until the security situation was better.

IF we were an occupier, we'd be running the show, and things would be a lot different in many respects as far as what is getting done (or not getting done).

That said, I already acknowledged that there would be grave risk to any Iraqi who worked with the US to help rid Iraq of the militias and AQ-like groups. Abu Reesha knew it, and decided taking back his city from terrorists was worth any risk. And through his efforts, and those who banded together with him and worked with the US, two strong forces became stronger in the union, and basically drive AQI out of Anbar.

It started with one and a few willing to do the hard job, and others soon followed.

Many of the first in the Anbar Awakening have had their lives threatened, or lost their lives. But many more are still alive, and more determined than ever to win this battle with terrorists.

Yes, good, brave men died. But how many innocent lives have they saved through their courageous efforts?

THIS is what I'm talking about. And if people don't have a leader like Abu Reesha, they need to work individually, and in groups of trusted citizens, until that leader emerges.

The US Revolution was just as dangerous for any citizen who fought against the oppression of England, but the citizens fought. And the citizens overcame.

No matter how strong the US military, they cannot vanquish the terrorists in any reasonable time frame, because the terrorists do not fight like warriors, but like cowards who hide behind women's skirts (the militias and AQI). But if the Iraqis who are in the know point them out, the US troops can squash them.

And once the people see that the US is serious about ridding their cities of the terror, and that the US doesn't want to take Iraq, but help them rebuild it, more will come to fight and again, there will be a union of courageous men that al Sadr and AQI cannot stop.

Anyone with half a brain knows that the militias and AQI will resort to the nastiest of terror tactics in an effort to regain the hold they've had on these people and their cities, so there will be blood letting, and gruesome acts that the good and decent could not comprehend. But that is a sign that the terrorists and militias are losing the battle and are desperate.

No one asks Iraqis to be sacrificial sheep, and I dare say there are many Iraqis who do not view themselves as being as weak as you apparently view them.

They become sacrificial sheep if they cower in a corner and do nothing to take back their cities and villages, because then it's only a matter of time before the bad guys exploit their fear, and kill them - just because they can.

From what I've seen of these people, they are strong and brave, and love their country and their families. They would be willing to give their lives for those they love - just as any honorable man would be.

But again, they are strong, they are smart, they are courageous, and more will survive than will die when they band together, determined that good will prevail.

The US is not sacrificing the Iraqis who work with them. They protect them the best they can, and they fight right alongside them, risking their lives to protect them and free them from the grip of militias and AQI.

And when the Iraqis are strong enough to fight the battles on their own, and want to fight the battles on their own, the US plays a supporting role, and come to the aid of the Iraqi fighters when they are called upon.

Anyone who sees these brave people as too weak to take an active role in their own salvation is not giving the people of Iraq the credit - or respect - they deserve.

Mark said...

I wish people would click on the statement by field of dreams below and read the article thoroughly and then return with a feeling of certainty that all the US wants to do is help "rebuild" Iraq. It's a rather long article. I'm not attacking field of dreams, but fod seems to be a propagandist for a dream indeed.

"...the US doesn't want to take Iraq, but help them rebuild it...."

* * *

Hi Mohammed, every time I look at those pictures I have to stop myself from becoming hostile. It's natural, I think, to react that way. It's only through introspection that I can approach my real self and turn away from my first thought, which is to Burn Everything, Destroy Everything.

I have to try to remember that everyone wants to be happy and secure and healthy. How we all go about reaching that goal is the real test for humanity. Somehow, that helps me to think that these people did not die for nothing, that they, through the images of their death, give us lessons in how to live and how to try to act more loving.

I wish I could be more positive, but, man, it's hard....

I send my warm-hearted regards to your loved ones.

Bruno said...

"Indigo, actually, we are no longer an occupying force."

LOL! Right ...

field of dreams said...

Mark, you're an American - what do you hope for Iraq?

There's all sorts of speculation as to why the US went into Iraq in the first place. Bruno would say "it's for the oil". I submit that while it's true that protecting the oil from terrorist takeover is a major consideration (because of the power over the world such a takeover would give the terrorists, obviously), it's not the reason we went into Iraq.

Anyone who says Saddam didn't have WMDs and didn't have plans to acquire WMDs is naive. He used them too many times to prove his fondness for their ability to destry and kill masses. He talked about them enough. And the release of the news last week that he volunteered to leave Iraq for $1Billion + all information pertaining to WMDs. Well, it's all enough to pretty much assure us that Saddam wanted WMDs and would use WMDs given a chance.

But OK, we piddled around for over a year, telling him we were coming, and even told him the exact time we would strike. It's not like he didn't have enough time to move or destroy or hide what he might have had. So we didn't find any.

To think that WMDs was the only reason the US invaded is also naive. There are all sorts of reasons to justify going into Iraq - from the fact that Saddam broke every treaty with the US, to his oppression of certain groups of people, to his torture and abuse of Iraqis, and pretty much dozens of political reasons.

I don't think we'll ever know all the reasons. But one thing I do know - we aren't getting any oil out of Iraq, we aren't making any money on Iraqi oil (I'm talking the US as a country - what any private companies manage to contract with the Iraqis is an entirely unrelated issue), and we don't control Iraqi oil. Another fact, we could have purchased the Iraqi oil fields for less than we've spent on this war.

Whatever the reason(s) the US invaded Iraq, the reality is that the military - the guys on the ground - have no directives to control the government or takeover the gov't. Their job is to secure the country and rebuild the country. Period. And if you know anyone in the military, you would know that is the foundation of their purpose there.

Until they succeed or Iraq asks them to leave, they are there. So they are doing their damnedest to secure and rebuild. Not only do these guys want to come home, but many of them have made friends in Iraq, and they want these people to prosper.

Propoganda? I've seen a lot of mistakes by the US over the last 4+ years, and I have no issue admitting the mistakes made from day one. Shoot, if I had been in charge, a lot of things would have been done differently (starting with securing Baghdad immediately upon entering it).

But when people call us "occupiers", I'm going to call them on it. After we took Baghdad, we HAD to claim occupation to get certain sanctions dropped. But the "occupation" lasted a relatively short time, and it's been quite some time since we handed the running of Iraq over to an elected government.

We are there by Iraq's (the government) request. And there are a good number (the majority) in Iraq who expect us to stay until the country is secured. That is not an occupation.

I have no trouble with Americans being apologetic for mistakes we've made. I do, however, take issue when people absolutely misrepresent the facts.

Yeah, I believe in the power of the Iraqi people - in the same way I believe in the power of the American people. That's not propoganda. That's faith in the human spirit and the love these people have for their country and their families.

Yes, I believe in a dream - one shared by millions of Americans and millions of Iraqis. That one day (soon, hopefully) Iraq is secure, and lives can not only get back to normal, but Iraq becomes the greatest country in the ME.

For the record, though, "field of dreams" refers to the baseball movie. So... how 'bout those Indians, eh?

field of dreams said...

I found this article today at Black Five - AQ was in a boys' school and had been engaged by the locals. They called for help from the US, and AQ was hammered, with no civilian deaths (a couple were wounded by AQ).

So it DOES work, even outside of Anbar, for the citizens to report the bad guys to the US forces.

The video here shows a lot of the operation, and at one point, you even hear the US troops talking about a guy and saying, no, he doesn't have a weapon (in other words, he's not a target). And then you see them blow up the AQ van with pretty amazing precision.

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2007/10/iraqis-turn-in-.html#more