The Way Forward ~ We Iraqis must bear the brunt of the fighting.

Opinion Journal ^ | Nov. 23, 2003 | JALAL TALABANI

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

BAGHDAD, Iraq--It has been my privilege to preside over the Iraqi Governing Council during a month of momentous events. We now have an agreement for the transfer of authority between the coalition, the liberators, and the council, the representatives of the liberated Iraqis. President Bush has outlined an inspiring vision for a free and democratic Middle East. Our American friends are resolutely striking back at the vicious remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime and damaging the network of Baathists and foreign Islamists attempting to destroy the Iraqi experiment in democracy. Yet these gains could easily be forfeited if we Iraqis do not bear the brunt of the fighting.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

WSJ version posted on 11/20. Thanks, OESY. Sorry, I missed it.

Using today's Opinion Journal repost as an excuse to repost at FR, with the longer title.
~~~~~~~~~

It has been my privilege to preside over the Iraqi Governing Council during a month of momentous events....

 

Our American friends are resolutely striking back at the vicious remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime and damaging the network of Baathists and foreign Islamists attempting to destroy the Iraqi experiment in democracy. Yet these gains could easily be forfeited if we Iraqis do not bear the brunt of the fighting.

The enemies of Iraqi freedom are not "resistance," a word that evokes the heroism of Poles in the Second World War, nobly battling their occupiers. Nor can those who murder our American liberators, Red Cross workers, U.N. officials and Italian policemen be termed "guerrillas." Rather, they are terrorists.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A current and future leader of Iraq ~ on Iraq.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you want on or off my Pro-Coalition ping list, please Freepmail me. Warning: it is a high volume ping list on good days. (Most days are good days).

[Yardstick]

Well put, Mr. Talabani.

[Defender2]

#2. A well deserved BUMP!!!!

[The UnVeiled Lady]

WOW, that was great reading!

[happygrl]

This gives me hope.

[RottiBiz]

Well said, Mr. Talabani!

[VOA]

bump

[AZLiberty]

An EIB caller this week brought up an NY Post editorial about a George Will talk last Wednesday. The talk apparently recapitulated the article in this FreeRepublic post. The key phrase is:

Iraq needs only four people to achieve post-Saddam success. Unfortunately they are George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall.

Iraq, however, does have help from the team of George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Condoleeza Rice -- not a bad start. And this gentleman, Jalal Talabani, sounds like a good addition.

[optimistically_conservative]

Jalal Talabani - The Way Forward ~ We Iraqis must bear the brunt of the fighting.

[a_Turk]

Very good. How's that constitution coming?...

[McGavin999]

If this guy can speak this well to the Iraqi people, they may have found their first elected leader.

[JoeSchem]

Well said, Mr. Talabani!

The War on Terrorism: From Taliban to Talabani?

[speekinout]

Man, I'd like to see some of our media interviewing this guy! Come on, Tim Russert - he's be great on your Sunday show, even if he needs a translator.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[secretagent]

Entrepreneurs and foreign lenders, such as the World Bank, should begin operating in Iraqi Kurdistan and southern Iraq.

Seems like a good plan.

Demonstrate success where you can, in the north and south, and shrink the Sunni problem areas from there as confidence in the new development grows.

[Doc On The Bay]

Many so-called "experts" have said that Iraq needs a "True Leader!"

This Guy sounds like he understands the complex problems of the Country.

Iraq could do Worse!

Doc

[WOSG]

FOLKS THIS IS A GOOD OPENING TO CORRECT THE NEWS MEDIA ON THEIR TERMINOLOGY ... PLEASE SEND THE FOLLOWING LETTER TO YOUR LOCAL EDITOR

---

Dear Editor,

Jalal Talabani, the Kurdish leader who was last month's head of the Iraqi Governing Council, recently wrote:
"The enemies of Iraqi freedom are not "resistance," a word that evokes the heroism of Poles in the Second World War, nobly battling their occupiers. Nor can those who murder our American liberators, Red Cross workers, U.N. officials and Italian policemen be termed "guerrillas." Rather, they are terrorists. They are the thugs and torturers who repressed their fellow Iraqis for 35 years, the perpetrators of genocide, men who butchered hundreds of thousands of Kurds, Marsh Arabs and Shiite Arabs. The creation of an antidemocratic fascist counterrevolution of Baathists and foreign Islamic volunteers, some of whom are from al Qaeda and Ansar al-Islam, is a classic unholy Middle Eastern alliance."

If Iraqis themselves think the proper name for the killers of Iraqi civilians, Iraqi policemen, foreign aid workers and coalition and US soldiers are 'terrorists',
the news media in this country should pay heed and call them that as well.

Regards, xxxxx

[WOSG]

Those advocating the recall of the former Iraqi army are propounding the "stability first" policy that President Bush rejected with his Nov. 6 speech. The Iraqi peoples were victims of the "stability" imposed by the Iraqi army. All patriotic Iraqis were heartened when Mr. Bush said that "60 years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe--because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty." Our battle against the terrorists will be long and painful, but while we fight we will continue to rebuild. Iraq is often falsely described as a mess, even a quagmire. Yet seven months after liberation, Iraq is making impressive progress by any standard. It is a testament to the determination of all of Iraq's peoples, Kurds, Arabs, Turkomans and Assyrians alike, that they have persevered in the face of a merciless terrorist campaign.

A good retort to those (including me!) who thought we needed the old Iraqi army. ... Some things are indeed better off dead.

But I cant wait to get more Iraqis on OUR SIDE in this fight.

[txhurl]

Great article and I love the separator.