For a gripping account of what it’s like for Iraqi civilians living in Baghdad, check out this first-person account from an Iraqi reporter who says he and his neighbors are so scared that they don’t dare help someone who’s lying in the street wounded.
“Fear dictates everything we do,” he writes. “I see my neighbors less and less. . . . We’re afraid of an enemy among us. Someone we don’t know. It’s a cancer.”
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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40 Comments
Nothing like a life of newly gained liberation.We should have stayed in Afghanistan,the terrorists would have come there to get killed also.
And Nathan, I KNOW.We’re still there.Just not in enough numbers to “keep the mission accomplished”.
Why are these Iraqis complaining? America set up a country that completely follows Libertarian economic policies. They are just upset because their economy is so great. If they don’t agree Senator Pat Roberts and Rep. Tiahrt will personally go over there and torture as many people as it takes until they accept the fact that they live in the greatest country in the world.
I would think that Post Stress Syndrome, etal, would be the norm rather than the exception in that environment. That level of stress, and the resultant damage, may never be overcome! It will entail far more reconstruction than the infrastructure of the city.
When,or if, can we expect to see the emergence of “normal” Iraqis?
For generations to come, the U.S. will be blamed for this. We’ve now not only grown the current numbers of terrorists, we’ve grown the future numbers.
This is what happens when you don’t plan wisely (or at all) or listen to advisors who have a clue.
Good points above. Bush has set in motion things that will haunt the region for at least generation.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Reading the CUFI stuff puts it in perspective. They are seeking to create the conditions for Armageddon which they believe will lead to Rapture and the 2nd Coming.
RD?
I am gonna disagree with you.
I think the lack of planning is a plan in itself.
How better to guarantee that the Republican strategy of scaring people into the polls remain effective than creating a perpetual war and terrorist training camp?
But Dick Cheney said that we would greeted as liberators?
This is exactly why “stay the course” should be shelved. We need a president who is at least willing to admit his mistakes and try to get out of this mess with dignity and a livable solution.
When you compare the CUFI with the Iraq insurgents, there is one common thread. Both groups believe they are fighting in the name of God.
Holy wars are never won.
JR,No need to disagree. I agree with YOU. I was trying to be, um, polite. tee hee
Ben,They may be sadly disappointed on the Armageddon thing. For some reason, I don’t think God meant that to be manufactured or manipulated into being by people. But, hey, what do I know?
Hehe, funny, Doug!
Hey, maybe the need a TAX CUT!
Of course, that will solve everything, a tax cut!
capn – they already did that under the so-called Provisional Authority. That is why their economy is “booming” so to speak.
You’re right. It’s booming.
Kaah-BOOM!
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
FREEDOMS ON THE MARCH
DEMOCRACY CURES ALL ILLS
GREETED AS LIBERATORS WITH FLOWER AND CANDY
INSURGENCY IS IN ITS LAST THROES
WE’RE FIGHTING THEM OVER THERE SO WE WON’T HAVE TO FIGHT THEM OVER HERE
[Can there be anymore evidence that right-wingers don't dwell in reality?]
Didn’t bush say he saw capitalism on the rise in Iraq? Maybe if one is an used ammunitions dealer!
Crowson’s cartoon today was great, but could have been stronger. Watch out when they shelve laws banning torture! Some of the most lasting impressions out of the military was the indoctrination of the UCMJ codes of conduct. Wonder if Nathan’s ever had any of that. That’s a scary thought, a bunch of NG’s and Reservist running around a country deciding who gets detained and “interrogated”!
The biggest problem with the war in Iraq is that we cannot abandon it as it is right now (this would only lead to further problems), but we cannot really stay there either. Just a few weeks ago the Iraqi PM took a visit to Iran and has also been making some anti-Israel and anti-West statements. It seems that the truth is beginning to come out that we may have only established another enemy in the area.
Likewise, we keep telling the Iraqis to be grateful, but even in freedom it is hard to be grateful when bombs are exploading all around your home. Even if this is the best thing for Iraq (which at this moment I do not believe) it is still a difficult situation.
The best, and maybe most sickening thing, is to actually declare war on terrorism and attack them without reservation. This is, in all reality, the only way to fight a war. The problem we run into, however, is if this is justified or not.
Big problem, when you start bombing a country that had nothing to do with the attack on you, kinda hard to justify, don’t ya think?As for Iran/Iraq that was obvious to almost anyone who had given the invasion any thought.
What’s done is done…whether we were justified or not, we are there. The problem is fixing the problem now and not living in the past.
Maybe we should redeploy the troops to Afghanistan, attempt to control that situation. The true terrorist in Iraq will gladly follow. Iraq can settle it’s own matters, they eventually will in any event. I think everyone would be real surprised at how ready the Shiites are to fight once we leave. They will also then turn on Al Quida, as they have no use for them any longer.
Here we have that famous liberal have it both ways argument.
We don’t have enough troops, and it is all Bush’s fault that people are being killed.
So you demand that we withdrawl in the next year and let Iraq sort it out.
And you say you actually care about the people being killed here?
Let the adults handle this children.
Heh, yeah sure.
We’ve seen how well it’s gone so far with the “adults” in charge.
I don’t consider you “one of the adults” Nathan.
You yourself admit that our leaders are lying to us about the situation in Iraq (length of conflict/American deployment) Yet you continue to support them.
You HAVE to do that. It is required of you in your service.
Us “adults” will continue to advocate that you be used judiciously. That is our duty that our leaders have shirked.
HEY now, keep focused on the GOOD things.
What about the schools being painted?
Or the new school that opened up with a fancy American name to it? (only to be closed for security reasons)
Or the extra hour of electrictiy on “Must SEE TV” thursdays?
How about the “Hey I didnt like my neighbor anyway, Glad he died going to the grocery store” bonus?
Man OH MAN you Dems and Leftists just dont know whats going on, because your blinded by your hatred for George Bush!!!
JR,
How can you sit here and use the deaths of the Iraqi people to say that Bush is wrong and this is wrong and then say we should cut and run leaving even more to die?
What sense does that make?
And then you say you don’t consider me to be an adult?
The Jews { Mossad } are in Iraq bombing both-sides to shore up the argument that the US must stay to curtail so much violence.
The US is killing Iraqis every day as well.
When we leave the violence will stop as the Iraqis can then flush out the Jews { Mossad } as they can no longer hide amongst the Americans.
They’re going through everyday what New York went through in one day: it is their norm. All those civilians hiding behind glass walls are sure doing better under Bush’s invasion, aern’t they?
When you have warring sects throughout a nation, then maybe a dictator is just what a country with that problem needs. The warring sects, if left to their own, will kill each other, as well as anybody in the way.
A dictator, on the other hand, kills off the opposition, and a shaky kind of peace rules the land. There will be the occasional killings, but nothing to even come close to what’s happening over there now.
I’m not trying to justify a dictator, but given a choice, what would the people of Iraq choose, knowing what each would do?
Other Middle East States function well, so will Iraq without the Jews { Mossad } blowing up everything and the American trying to arrange a big enough kill to call a victory.
We need to leave right now.
Hate to say it so bluntly, Nathan. But all you and the rest of the troops are doing is delaying the inevitable.
What’s done is done…whether we were justified or not, we are there. The problem is fixing the problem now and not living in the past.
Posted by: Joel | September 20, 2006 at 09:48 PM
Joel – you raise a valid point; that is why we are in such a conundrum. Howevever, we MUST at least examine that past so that we don’t repeat the mistakes that have FUBARed this so badly. And part of that is to not rely in the same incompetant morons who got us stuck in this quagmire.
Joel,
U do make a point, and as Ben said we must analyze the past, not just our past in Iraq but the past when it comes to Vietnam and the World Wars…
We must let the military leaders call the shots.
Now, I don’t think we need to leave Iraq, but i do think its time to pull back. If Iraq is going into civil war, let them. Its time for the US to let let them fight it out on their own and once its decided, go back in and clean up the mess.
Its the only sane solution. Our troops don’t need to be in the middle of a civil war trying to keep the children at bay. We need to be on the sidelines, out of the cross fire.
Dont leave Iraq, just pull back, let them decided what to do with it themselves…
A question joel: Suppose you had a doctor who had demonstrated extreme negligence and you are now facing cancer that should have been diagnosed long ago. Do you “stay the course” with that incompetant doctor? Or do you “change course” and get a doctor who knows what he is doing?
S general’s key to victory in Iraq: ‘Unlimited time, unlimited support’
Iraq Study Group: ‘Time is short, the level of violence is great, the margins for error are slight.’By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com
In a sobering assessment of the situation in Iraq, Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, chief of the US Central Command, said that it is unlikely that there will be any US troop reduction in Iraq before next spring, and that there may be a need for even more troops over the next few months.
The Washington Post reports that General Abazaid said that if sectarian violence is left unchecked, “it could be fatal” for Iraq.
… Abizaid, who has overseen the US military strategy in Iraq since July 2003, said he had hoped six months ago for the withdrawal of several thousand US troops from Iraq by now. “We clearly did not achieve the force levels that we had hoped to,” he said, citing sectarian unrest, ongoing weaknesses in the capabilities of Iraqi security forces – in particular the police – and the five-month political void in the country after the December 2005 national elections.
Asked point-blank whether the United States is winning in Iraq, Abizaid replied: “Given unlimited time and unlimited support, we’re winning the war.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0921/dailyUpdate.html?s=mesdu
“Given unlimited time and unlimited support, we’re winning the war.”
And if the moon were made of green cheese I could end world hunger by bringing it all here.
Don’t Worry, Democrats Won’t Impeach Bush, Democrat Says
Crosswalk Susan Jones Senior Editor (CNSNews.com) – Democrats and liberal advocacy groups have been talking about impeaching President George W. Bush for months. But when Republicans say the president indeed may be impeached if Democrats regain control of Congress, they’re just trying to scare people, a Democratic operative says. In an op-ed column in Thursday’s Detroit Free Press, Robert Weiner, a former press secretary to Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), accused Republicans of “trying to create hysteria about the likelihood of impeaching President Bush.” According to Weiner, “Impeachment
http://article.wn.com/view/2006/09/21/Dont_Worry_Democrats_Wont_Impeach_Bush_Democrat_Says/
Nathan keeps asking, “How can you sit here and use the deaths of the Iraqi people to say that Bush is wrong and this is wrong and then say we should cut and run leaving even more to die?”
You don’t get it, do you?
We aren’t responsible for the people we DON’T kill. We are responsible for the people we do.
We can exit Iraq (”cut and run”) and do it in such a way that it is less violent that it is now.
It just takes a leader who isn’t obsessed with controlling the oil.
And it’s getting worse …
Casey: Iraq war becoming internal fightELENA BECATOROSAssociated PressBAGHDAD, Iraq – The conflict in Iraq is changing from a fight against U.S.-led coalition forces to an internal struggle for political and economic power, the top U.S. general in Iraq told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday.
Gen. George Casey acknowledged the security situation has become more difficult in the past few months, and said Iraqi leaders must find common ground on key issues if progress is to be made.
“We’re starting to see this conflict here transition from an insurgency against us to a struggle for the division of political and economic power among the Iraqis,” Casey told the AP.
The general made the comments as he finished a visit to a northern Baghdad neighborhood to talk with local officials about an operation aimed at curbing violence in the capital.
Maj. Gen. Bashar Mahmood Ayoub, commander of the 9th Iraqi army, said the situation has deteriorated in recent months.
“These days, the violence is worse and the politicians are not supporting us,” Ayoub told the AP. He said it was up to political leaders to resolve the security situation, adding that the army could do nothing further for now.
Casey acknowledged the difficulties.
“I think the security situation is more complex and more difficult than it was in December ‘05,” when Iraq held general elections.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/breaking_news/15574620.htm
Good post, Ben, and it makes perfect sense.
We’ve been there since when? Three years, four years, hell, I can’t even keep track.
The Iraqis know that whatever the US was trying to do in Iraq, we FAILED.
By fighting with each other instead of us, they are basically saying we don’t matter.
And they’re right.
They’re tryint to establish who gets the biggest piece of the pie, they know we won’t stay there forever.
Actually capn, I thought we might have united them with our support for the destruction of democratic Lebanon. AGAINST US.