Posted on 07/14/2005 9:54:40 PM PDT by ajolympian2004
Courage plentiful in Iraq
By: Howard Kaloogian
BAGHDAD, Iraq ---- Courage. You know it when you see it.
"Speaking truth to power" is thought of as courageous. Lt. General Abdul Qader Jassim told Saddam Hussein that the Iraqi army could not withstand the coalition forces arrayed against it in the mid '90s. Then he spent the next 7 years, 4 months and 10 days in an Iraqi prison until being liberated by American troops in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Today he is the head of the Iraqi army. We met him in Baghdad. He talked to us through an interpreter whose hands appeared scared from chemical torture.
He described life in Iraq under Saddam as peaceful if you were part of the regime. Otherwise it held no hope and no future for the average Iraqi.
He described how Saddam trained terrorists and sent them into Lebanon and Israel and elsewhere; some are now returning to Iraq. He also believed there were 4,000 terrorists in Iraq before the coalition invasion.
We would ask about "the insurgents" and he would correct us: We were asking about terrorists who kill and maim Iraqi citizens. Terrorists want to make people believe they will never be safe.
Jassim is building an army to defeat them and protect his country. In terms of raw numbers, there are now more Iraqi security forces in the country than coalition troops.
Col. Ben Hodges, director of Joint Operations, described his plan to train that Iraqi army and rotate it into the responsibilities currently held by the coalition forces. We met in Camp Victory on the grounds of Saddam's Water Palace.
So far, he has closed 18 coalition bases throughout Iraq, giving security responsibility for those territories fully to the Iraqi army. There are 91 bases yet to go.
Benchmarks along the way toward complete Iraqi control include the referendum on the constitution this October followed by the December election of its representatives. But the terrorists learned from the January election that those events would push them away from power.
Everyone is bracing for more terrorist activity, more disruption of daily life and more indiscriminate death. Who is the enemy? Both men agreed, its Al Qaeda in Iraq. The same enemy that exploded bombs in the London transportation system; the same enemy that attacked America on 9/11.
Securing the borders so that terrorists don't continue to return to their training ground is another benchmark of Iraqi sovereignty. Smugglers on those borders have been moving goods and people for thousands of years. To end it now the Directorate of Border Enforcement is staffing forts to keep the uninvited out.
Col. Hodges has trouble understanding anyone who claims to support the troops but not the war; he does not believe that possible. The negative characterization from some in America that this process of transfer isn't happening fast enough, or not at all, that it's a "quagmire" doesn't seem to impact the Army, but he believes it does give support and hope to the enemy.
What will it take to overcome all these challenges? Courage. The Iraqi and Coalition forces have it in abundance. Tomorrow we will test our courage as we go out on patrol.
---- Former Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian lives in San Marcos. He is visiting Iraq with a group of radio talk show hosts.
FYI
Yep. "Insurgents" is an incorrectly used PC term the media likes.
You don't hear Iraqis or U.S. military calling them that. "Terrorists" is what they are called on this side of the world.
Great article!
"Col. Hodges has trouble understanding anyone who claims to support the troops but not the war; he does not believe that possible. The negative characterization from some in America that this process of transfer isn't happening fast enough, or not at all, that it's a "quagmire" doesn't seem to impact the Army, but he believes it does give support and hope to the enemy."
With you 100 percent on that one, sir!
I was just reading it and noticed someone else was too.
I'm glad I looked, I was about to post it!
Some quotes from the article:
He (Lt. General Abdul Qader Jassim, head of the Iriqi Army) described how Saddam trained terrorists and sent them into Lebanon and Israel and elsewhere; some are now returning to Iraq. He also believed there were 4,000 terrorists in Iraq before the coalition invasion.
I like this one, there are NO Insurgents:
We would ask about "the insurgents" and he would correct us: We were asking about terrorists who kill and maim Iraqi citizens
Who is the enemy? Both men agreed, its Al Qaeda in Iraq. The same enemy that exploded bombs in the London transportation system; the same enemy that attacked America on 9/11.
Col. Hodges has trouble understanding anyone who claims to support the troops but not the war; he does not believe that possible.
With Duke's resignation, it looks like Howard will be my next congressman. Go Kaloogian!
We called them both insurgents & terrorists when I was over there. I htink most of the briefings I got used 'insurgents'. Iraqis tended to use the terms 'wahabbis' and 'mujahadeen' if they didnt speak much English. We also used the term 'bad guys' a lot.
Yes, that one is still used quite a bit.
A lot of the Iraqis have learned American cuss words so I also hear them refer to them as things like "those bastards."
I really don't hear "insurgents," even in our security briefings. My own pet name for them is "that worthless scum of the Earth," and other similar endearments.
I call them "gooners" for some reason. I don't know why.
Bump for Iraqi Security Forces.
Seriously, this is awesome. Of course, those who've paid attention have known the truth all along....
Great article--thanks for the post.
I swear my heart fills with pride and my eyes fill with tears when I think about our troops out there lifting those good people out from under that brutal dictator. There can be no greater good in this world.
I know that for every one bad story there are a hundred good ones. I just wish the rest of America had as much faith as me. I also wish there was at least one "good" news channel in America that told news stories of inspiration and good deeds instead of pain, suffering and conflict.
Very good article. Thanks for posting.
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