Posted on 01/03/2005 1:12:57 AM PST by kattracks
Before the last war, we Iraqis spent decades cut off from the outside world. Not only did the Baathist regime prevent us from traveling during the Iran-Iraq conflict and the period of the sanctions, but they punished anyone possessing satellite television. And of course, internet access was strictly limited. Because of our isolation, most of us had little idea or sense about life beyond our borders.
We did believe, however, that democracy and human rights were important factors in Western civilization. So it came as a shock to us when millions of people began demonstrating across the world against America’s build-up to the invasion of our country. We supposed the protests were by people who had no idea about the terrible atrocities that the regime had inflicted upon us for decades. We assumed that once they learned what had happened in Iraq, they would change their minds, or modify their opposition to the war.
My first clue that this would not happen was a few weeks after Baghdad fell. I had befriended a French reporter who had begun to realize that the situation in Iraq was not how the international media or the so-called “peace camp” described it. I noticed, however, that whenever he tried to voice his doubts to colleagues, they argued that he was wrong. Soon afterwards, I met a Dutch woman on Mutinabi Street, where booksellers lay out their wares on Friday morning. I asked her how long she’d been in Iraq and, through a translator, she answered, “Three months.”
“So you were here during the war?”
“Yes!” she said. “To see the crimes of the Americans!”
I was stunned. After a moment, I replied, “What about the crimes of the regime? It killed millions of Iraqis. Do you know that if the regime was still in power, the conversation we’re having now would result in our torture or death?”
Her face turned red and she angrily responded, “Soon will come the day that the Americans will do worse.” She then went on to accuse me of not knowing what the true facts were in Iraq—and that she could see the situation better than me!
She was not the only “humanitarian” who expressed such outrageous opinions. One afternoon, I was speaking to some members of the American anti-war group “Voices in the Wilderness.” One of the group’s members declared that the Iraqi Governing Council (then in power at the time) were “traitors.” I was shocked. Most of the Council were people whom we Iraqis knew had suffered and sacrificed in a long struggle against the regime. Some represented opposition parties who had lost ten of thousand of members in that struggle. Others came from families who had lost up to 30 loved ones to the Baathists.
After those, and many other, experiences, we finally comprehended how little we had in common with these “peace activists” who constantly decried American crimes, and hated to listen to us talk about the terrible long nightmare that ended with the collapse of the regime. We came to understand how these “humanitarians” experienced a sort of pleasure when terrorists or former remnants of the regime created destruction in Iraq—just so they could feel that they were right, and the Americans wrong!
Worse, we realized it was hopeless to make them grasp our feelings. We believed—and still believe--that America’s removal of the regime opened a new way for democracy. At the same time, we have no illusions that the U.S. came to Iraq on a white horse to save our people. We understand this war is all about national interests, and that America’s interests are mainly about defeating terrorism. At this moment, though, U.S. interests are doing more to bring about democracy and freedom in Iraq than, say, the policies of France and Russia—countries which also care little for the Iraqi people and, worse, did their best to save Saddam from destruction until the last moment.
It’s worth noting, as well, that the general attitude of peace activists I met was tension and anger. They were impossible to reason with. This was because, on one hand, the sometimes considerable risks they took to oppose the war made them unable to accept the fact that their cause was not as noble as they believed. Then, too, their dogmatic anti-American attitudes naturally drew them to guides, translators, drivers and Iraqi acquaintances who were themselves supporters of the regime. These Iraqis, in turn, affected the peace activists until they came to share almost the same judgments and opinions as the terrorists and defenders of Saddam.
This was very disappointing for someone like me, who thought for decades that the Left was generally the progressive power in the world. You can imagine how aghast I was when my French reporter friend told me that the Communist Party in his country actually considers the “insurgents” to be the equivalent of the French Gaullists! Or how troubling it is to hear Jacques Chirac take satisfaction from the violence wreaked by the terrorists—those bloody monsters that we Iraqis know so well—because they justify France’s original opposition to the war.
And so I have become disillusioned, at least with the Leftists I met in Iraq. So noble in their rhetoric, they looked to the stars, yet ignored what was happening around them, caring only about what was inside their minds. So glorious in their ideals, their thoughts were inflexible and their deeds unnecessary, even harmful. In the end, they proved to me how dogma and fanaticism had transform peace activists into—lifeless peace “statues.”
What a fool this guy is! Doesn't he know that liberals JUST KNOW better than everyone???? So he lived there--who cares? He was blinded by the Americans's unseen conniving. He probably never even read the New Yorker! How COULD he know the truth??!?!?!?!?!
They tried to save one man over millions, typical.
Bump.
ping!
Observer 1: What a nice hotel....I wish we had the bigger suite.
Observer 2: Yeah dude...God bless the Iraqi elections..
Observer 1: So ...do you think it they will send us to Iraq to "observe" the elections there?
Observer2: You MUST be NUTS man. I ain't going to no Iraq to observe no elections. You want me DEAD ?!
Observer 1: Hang on a minute, I thought we were supposed to "Observe" the elections there. You know, making sure that no bad guys "cheat"..And ma....
Observer2: Listen man. Everyday 100s of Iraqis are killed by god damn Mickey Mouse & Capser and that other bad guy, what is his name, yeah Homer Simpsons. I heard that Al-Simpsons had said that if you kill 1 UN official you will be given a ticket to Heaven. So WE ARE NOT GOING DOWN THERE. We are staying where we are and we observe.
Observer 1: Hang on man that ain't fair. How can we observe from here ?! Look are you sure that we are "observing" the Iraqi elections and not the JORDANIAN elections ?!
Observer 2: Shut up man. You don't know how to live. You wanna get killed ? Get you A** to Iraq and observe their elections. I stay here, get my money, enjoy my holiday.... Oh forget it...You fancy a Heineken ????
Observer 1: Yeah...holiday....stupid me ....give me that heineken man ohhh I love the Iraqi elections...
Observer 2: Long Live Iraq !!! Look I can bounce on this bed....Yeay this is so much fun...
Today, I now understand it.
Choices between good and evil, right and wrong, are personal. Blood relationships do not insure that other people within your own family will make the same choices.
Because of Iraq, I have made my choice. Sadly, many of the members my own family have supported Saddam and the continuation of Islamic hatred.
We no longer speak with each other.
"Choices between good and evil, right and wrong, are personal. Blood relationships do not insure that other people within your own family will make the same choices."
I think you make a brilliant observation. The Iraqi situation under Saddam is just an extreme version of what exists in many families today. It is the same old story of the vicious and the violent rising to the top through force, murder and intimidation.
In many ways, this is a sad story. The writer has discovered what too many people discover about leftists long after it's too late - they're big on rhetoric and pretty much nothing else.
At least he discovered it before he made a big mistake.
"It’s worth noting, as well, that the general attitude of peace activists I met was tension and anger. They were impossible to reason with. This was because, on one hand, the sometimes considerable risks they took to oppose the war made them unable to accept the fact that their cause was not as noble as they believed. Then, too, their dogmatic anti-American attitudes naturally drew them to guides, translators, drivers and Iraqi acquaintances who were themselves supporters of the regime. These Iraqis, in turn, affected the peace activists until they came to share almost the same judgments and opinions as the terrorists and defenders of Saddam."
The only conclusion one can come to concerning those who hate the freedom we have in America is that they do not feel personally safe unless they are the busom buddy of some kind of vicious dictator who will punish and oppress those who are different, even to the point of taking their lives. They are so insecure about their own ideas and life style that they cannot allow ANY example to remain which demonstrates a different way of living and thinking. They hate freedom which is not their own and the only way to achieve the kind of oppression they long for is through vicious dictators, which must be the reason they want protection for all the Saddam's in this world. I believe they see Saddam's Iraq as the solution to their inability to achieve for themselves a personal and private utopia..They do not comprehend the ongoing human price which will inevitably be paid for such oppression and eventually, as surely as they would victimize, they would themselves become victims.
I wonder if the writer has a clue about how his country was raped and pillaged by France, Germany, and Russia, and last but certainly not least, the UN. He knew about Saddam and his cronies, but the rest of the story takes some digging. Happily, there's the internet.
Thanks for the post.
Red6
Wonder what he thinks of CNN being complicit in the torture so they could remain in Iraq spewing Saddam Hussein's lies to the rest of the world.
SUPER BUMP!!!!!! He's a great guy. Nice guys like him need to establish Midnight hit squads to liquidate the terrorist filth and their kin
Same "humanitarians" are now lining up Saddam the best legal counsel. So Saddam can turn his trial into an America bashing circus. Said "humanitarians" are the useful idiots of the commies and the Jihadist psycho killers
It is nice to read this, written by an Iraqi.
Excellent read.
I really miss the "peace activists" that volunteered to be "human shields",and then were disappointed that Saddam had them chained to power plants, dams, etc...
we don't hear about them anymore, do we...
Religious extremists are generally like that. Make no mistake, liberalism IS their religion.
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