A Family in Baghdad

Monday, September 17th, 2007
Peace be upon you….
Back to Iraq once more…
At this period, Iraq is going through hot developments, as if the boiling point of the situation is getting near the edge of going out of control, or, a true change might take place, a change that would satisfy the Iraqis..............
The American and Iraqi administrations are currently facing a big indignation carried first by the Iraqi people, then the American people, against them. But definitely, the Iraqi's anger is a lot deeper, because they live the daily agony and ruin for four years now, nonstop. Or, as the saying goes- (that who sits under the lashes of the stick is not like that who stands far away and counts the number of the lashes). Whenever a flicker of hope flashed at the horizon, it went out again, and whenever a temporary quiet prevailed, the residential neighborhoods would soon go back to exploding by trapped cars, or shootings between gangs and armed militias whom God only knows who finances them and sends them to destroy Iraq and its people…
While the Iraqi people are one and united; on the screens of the Iraqi and Arabic satellite channels you see interviews with Iraqis living inside Iraq or in Syria, Jordan and Egypt; they all use the same expressions, they are all angry and indignant at this present government in Iraq, and at Bush and what he has done to Iraq and its people… and they all want to see stability and security in Iraq so they could go back to their homes……
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Last weeks, the American chief commander and the American ambassador in Iraq both presented their testimonies about the situation in Iraq in front of the Congress, and of course, as we predicted, they tried to patch up Bush's problems in Iraq, presenting lying and forged testimonies to satisfy Bush and to save his face in front of the American people. But not in front of the Iraqi people; for we, as Iraqis living inside Iraq or outside, we know exactly what are the true stories in reality in the sad, torn, occupied Iraq……
The chief commander said that the plan to increase the number of troops six months ago was successful, and we reaped its positive fruits by the improvement of the security conditions in Iraq, especially in Anbar Province…
Bush said that he is thinking about withdrawing around 5,000 American soldiers from Iraq by the end of this year, and perhaps withdraw some more by next summer… and we all know this wouldn't change a thing- sending in five thousands or withdrawing them, it won't change a thing…
The problem in Iraq has nothing to do with the number of American soldiers, never, ever…. The problem is- that the different Iraqi parties conflicting with each other about ruling must sit down with each other and reach a reasonable formula to control the country; the violence in the streets is an evidence that the Parties in the government and outside the government aren't in agreement with each other, each Party has a militia they send onto the street to kill the Iraqis and increase the stress of the situation, to proof to their opponents they're there, and capable of dominating the conditions at the Iraqi street….
The solution in Iraq is political only; if the politicians could agree upon major points to save the country from chaos and destruction, then calm and security would prevail. But alas; all that seems to be a far off dream since four years…
why?
Because the occupier put his fingers into the forming of the new Iraq's future, and put the bases of a sectarian, ethnic Iraq, divided onto itself… all the governments that came onto us until now were based upon sectarian, ethnic, and Party share-designation, they are in conflict among themselves, having neither the time nor the will to think about the interests of Iraq or the Iraqi's. These Parties think only of their interests, and how to hold on to their ruling seats. The Iraqis are dying everyday, suffering every day, but no one cares about them; neither Bush nor the leaders of the sick and deformed sects and Parties that entered Iraq after the war. And now, after four years of the political process in Iraq, what have we gained?
All the alliances broke down during the last weeks, especially this week, when the contradictions appeared clearly, as…
The Shia'at alliance started falling apart, the Sadder block and Al-Fadeela Party withdrew from the alliance, and Al-Da'awa Party- the Iraqi Branch is also threatening to withdraw, (these are the quarrels of the sectarian Parties among themselves). Al-Tawafuq block has also crumpled, and it is supposed to be a Sunnie block, but the Parties comprising it are in quarrel, the block is divided, each section carrying its own vision bout solving the problems of Iraq… the Parliament is divided upon itself, new political blocks are beginning to appear, opposing the major blocks of Al-Malikey's government…
Not just Bush is in a dilemma; but whoever entered Iraq with him, and whoever took part in the political process is in an impasse now…..
I think it has become clear now that the only solution out of the crises in Iraq is a national unity government; no sectarianism, no failing religious Parties, and no nonsense ...
all the past years were lost in vain because Bush and those with him, the lying, thieving opportunists do not want that option for Iraq; an Iraqi national unity government............
If this option takes place, then some men and women will come forward to rule; people who are more nationalist and more loving to Iraq, less obedient and loving to the occupation. And they will demand that Bush should withdraw the troops , and this is something he doesn't want, for he plans to remain in Iraq indefinitely… the only way he Bush can remain in Iraq is the existence of a weak government, fighting and conflicting Parties and militias, a street dominated by chaos and bloodshed, oil to be plundered by American companies, people starving and sinking in the darkness of poverty, ignorance, and diseases, the best of the experts, intellectuals and scientists have already run away outside the country to various exiles, or else they were killed and buried under the soil…
Is this the Iraq Bush wants to keep alive? .............
But I believe God will aid the Iraqis to victory, no matter how long it takes, theirs will prevail, exactly like what happened along the history of Iraq during British occupation; How much they ruined and divided the Iraqis? How many rebellions were raised against them? How many ministries and parliaments were changed, faces came and faces went away, but they all left and Iraq remained, along with history to tell the tales… and the American occupation will get out of Iraq, and history will write other stories… ****************************************************************************
For example, this is one of the mysterious stories in Iraq now, which I'd like to talk about today…,
Bush visited Iraq before the submission of the report and the testimonies, his plane landed in Anbar, he shook hands with the American military leaders there, he shook hands with Sheikh Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the head of what’s called- the Al-Anbar Awakening Tribal Council, as being the hero who cleaned Anbar from Al-Qai'da. This story remained mysterious, and I have a lot of interest to know its true details……
Two or three days after the presenting of the testimonies about Iraq, a trapped car exploded at Abu Risha's convoy and killed him, and that's another calamity befalling Bush. The views coming from Anbar clashed; some accusing Al-Malikey's government of killing Abu Risha, others accuse Al-Qai'da once more…
Then, some friends sent us a documentary film newly issued, (filmed by an American activist), showing Abu Risha proudly sitting in a hotel in Amman, challenging the terrorists, saying he will be back home in a few day's time, and let the terrorists show their faces there if they dare… then I saw in that film the American troops moving around securely at some of the Anbar towns, or riding bicycles…
And the innocent question is: well then, the American troops were always attacked by Al-Qai'da and the national Iraqi resistance… Al-Qai'da was eliminated after the cooperation between some of the Anbar tribes and the American troops, but what about the national resistance? Were they eliminated too, or were they driven out from the Anbar towns by a peaceful agreement?
I met here some Iraqi people from Anbar, I asked them about their viewpoints, and I found two opposing viewpoints; one saying that Al-Anbar Awakening Tribal Council is a project backed by the occupation with money and weapons, and this by its self is enough of a "title" to announce it as a project against the national resistance in Anbar…
The second viewpoint supports Abu Risha, even though admitting that he was a highwayman all his life, but after his relatives were killed by Al-Qai'da, he decided to confront them, asking for the aid of the American army to arm a number of young men from the tribes there. His initiative succeeded, the American army supported him with weapons, while the Iraqi government refused to help him, ( this is according to the information by a person who is a member of a tribe which joined the Al-Anbar Awakening program).
Well then, I asked him: what is the difference between Al-Qai'da and the national resistance?
He said: Al-Qai'da entered our lands from all the southern and western borders (he means- Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan) into Anbar. He says- they owned weapons, at the beginning, the national resistance thought they came to support them, then it turned out that Al-Qai'da had a different agenda; they killed large numbers of clergymen, tribal sheiks, university professors, doctors, policemen, and army officers, accusing them of being enemy agents… they blew up houses, killed innocent people and families under the pretext that one of their members works for the Iraqi army or police force… they also attacked Sunnie or Shia'at neighborhoods and displaced a lot of families for sectarian reasons…
While the national resistance has a main goal of fighting the occupation army…
When the people of Anbar got tired of Al-Qai'da's presence and their inability to control it, because any member of a tribe in Anbar who is found to have a weapon will be thrown into the occupation jails (especially Camp Bucca prison in Basra), people found that their only refuge is to turn to the American army for help and conclude a deal with it: give us the weapons, and we will eliminate anyone who carries out operations against you, so security would prevail in the city….
I said to the man: don't you see that the logical explanation of the subject is that Al-Qai'da used to work for the occupation? Al-Qai'da killed your best men, ruined and deformed the image of the national resistance, and terrorized you to the extent of making you turn to the occupier to get the weapons in exchange of giving him security and acceptance in your towns? Don't you think the occupier had a hand in inserting these foreign elements; enemies to the Iraqis, who destroyed and hurt you until you got to the point of turning to the occupation soldiers as your saviors from your dilemma?
He said: yes, of course, this is a very possible opinion……
I asked: so, where did the national resistance go?
He said: we asked them to stop their operations against the American army inside towns, we told them to move to outward roads and struck them there.
I said: well; when I met you a year ago, you were proud of being a member of the national resistance, and when Fallujah fell, you walked out of it and were one of the people in the team which negotiated with the American army…. So, what has changed?
He said: we want to be a part of the political process…
I said to myself: humm….. the man started looking for a chair and a position in the government, praise God, how people changed? Now, his ideal person became Abu Risha, the man who shook hands with Bush and appeared on screen like a hero. Everybody talks about the huge amounts of money in his hands, I don't know from where did he get them? From contracts with the American army, or were they merely rewards for him, to tempt others to be like him?
I also understood that there are some 17 tribes in Anbar, and 4 of them signed a cooperation agreement with the American army. Meaning- Anbar now is divided upon itself, like all of Iraq….
There are no sectarian Sunnie-Shia'at divisions, but rather among the one faction. Divisions, some with the occupation, and some against the occupation, exactly like what happened at the days of the British occupation of Iraq…
And history wrote to us the names of the nationalists, and the opportunists; for they exist at every time and place……
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What has this ugly occupation done to Iraq and the Iraqis?
He ripped apart their unity, scattered their opinions, and made them the enemies of each other…
But I still bet upon the faithful, nationalist Iraqis, those who are not changed by the occupation's enticements nor it's threats…
By the will of God they will be victorious, they will have the leadership of the country one day, lead Iraq onto the road of safety, and then security and peace will prevail on the land of the two rivers all over again .........
Then the Iraqis will come back from the countries of their scatter, back to their homes in Iraq, to build a new homeland, full of love, security, and peace…..
Amen…

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