I have earlier lamented on my blog on the Iraq War; its futility and horror. The world listened to the death toll and the happenings in Iraq for a while but then it became a routine. Yesterday by chance I came upon a blog said to be written by an Iraqi girl. The last entry on her blog is dated October 22, 2007 when she fled with her family to Syria as a refugee. She has not written again and there are many who wonder what could have happened to that vivacious, freedom loving spirit that was in her.

Movies have made me cry but not blogs. But yesterday her words struck my heart. Why has the world forgotten Iraq? The war was wrong but isn’t there anything the world can do to correct this crime against humanity? I am not hoping for a changed US after the recent elections but I do pray that Obama is given a chance to keep his word and take the US out of Iraq and possibly take the curse that is upon those who sided with this war. Even if another Saddam may rise up, let it be, maybe this is the only way Iraq will have peace and prosperity. Let the Iraqis manage their country in their way.

She ends the last entry on her blog thus:

The first evening we arrived, exhausted, dragging suitcases behind us, morale a little bit bruised, the Kurdish family sent over their representative – a 9 year old boy missing two front teeth, holding a lopsided cake, “We’re Abu Mohammed’s house- across from you- mama says if you need anything, just ask- this is our number. Abu Dalia’s family live upstairs, this is their number. We’re all Iraqi too... Welcome to the building.”

I cried that night because for the first time in a long time, so far away from home, I felt the unity that had been stolen from us in 2003.

This is another entry:

Friday, December 29, 2006

End of Another Year...

You know your country is in trouble when:
1. The UN has to open a special branch just to keep track of the chaos and bloodshed, UNAMI.
2. Abovementioned branch cannot be run from your country.
3. The politicians who worked to put your country in this sorry state can no longer be found inside of, or anywhere near, its borders.
4. The only thing the US and Iran can agree about is the deteriorating state of your nation.
5. An 8-year war and 13-year blockade are looking like the country's 'Golden Years'.
6. Your country is purportedly 'selling' 2 million barrels of oil a day, but you are standing in line for 4 hours for black market gasoline for the generator.
7. For every 5 hours of no electricity, you get one hour of public electricity and then the government announces it's going to cut back on providing that hour.
8. Politicians who supported the war spend tv time debating whether it is 'sectarian bloodshed' or 'civil war'.
9. People consider themselves lucky if they can actually identify the corpse of the relative that's been missing for two weeks.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

The Great Wall of Segregation...


I remember Baghdad before the war- one could live anywhere. We didn't know what our neighbors were- we didn't care. No one asked about religion or sect. No one bothered with what was considered a trivial topic: are you Sunni or Shia? You only asked something like that if you were uncouth and backward. Our lives revolve around it now. Our existence depends on hiding it or highlighting it- depending on the group of masked men who stop you or raid your home in the middle of the night.

It also brings a hard truth; religion can be used in a brutal manner by anyone to achieve their ends. It can be used by those in your own country or by those who are outside. It can shatter peace and change the mindset of even a peace loving individual. It only needs constant feeding of fear and mistrust.


and now....

A former Deputy National Security Adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan has called on U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to deal quickly with the issues of Kashmir and Afghanistan.

India has resisted U.S. mediation on Kashmir in the past, but the growing U.S.-India strategic relationship may now make American involvement possible, The News quoted Meghan O’Sullivan, as saying in an article for a foreign newspaper.

Will it ever be worth it?

A few years down, there will be discussions and debates...

Was it worth it?

....More than 3,850 US troops have died during the Iraq war...
....More than 1.... civilians (Iraqis) have died.....
.... More than 1..... are displaced.........
......More than..1..... women have been widowed....
........More than ....1..... children have been orphaned...

nd for what?

... in return for democracy???
... in return for Saddam???
.... in return for Oil???

Evey day more women are selling themselves to feed their family.. they are begging and foraging on the streets for daily bread..

r these exaggerated news or the truth?

or will we one day say that it never happened like some say about the Holocaust.. since it would be more convenient...
----------------------------------------

Decay and death


David Smith reflects on the filthy state of a once-wealthy Baghdad neighbourhood and attends the memorial service for a fallen US soldier

Bin Laden

I keep wondering if Mr. Bush and Laden have secret moments over the communication system.

Hey Bin.. time for another tape man.. my polls are yet again going down and they want our boys to get out of Iraq. Why don’t you give those shivering brains a scare in your usual style and please don’t forget to mention September 11.
No problems Bushy boy.. as along as you don’t let your boys come anywhere near my bunker.

Sept 11 – 2001. And today it is more than 5 years and the world’s largest and most sophisticated military power is not able to capture their number one enemy. Even when they have considerable power over the countries like Afganistan and Pakistan, Bin Laden seems to keep shifting his hiding place every day. My puny brain is not able to digest these facts. Help me God!

Cowards!

There is no other word to call these heartless creatures who kill innocent people. Did they kill the person they wanted? Are they closer to their objectives? Of course not! They dont know what they want since they dont have a mind of their own. Just like how you train a dog to pick a stick these people are brainwashed (do they have brains?) and ordered to kill innocents. They would kill their own parents and siblings, since they have lost whatever humanity they ever had. They are mere zombies who gave up their conscience.

My heart goes to all those who are left behind with just memories of whom they loved.

To those who were taken away from our midst for no fault of theirs.

Let us also remember Iraq where this has become a routine. When cowards strikes your homeland it pains you, while for the Iraqis, it has become a part of their daily lives. Isnt the world too silent on this?

Iraq

Don’t know why I keep ending up with subjects so unpopular, especially since I should be blogging to fame. I guess I cannot stop myself, something compels me to write, even though I know that world wide web is teeming with similar reports, mostly first hand.

Yesterday the toll in Iraq was above 200. It was not 1 nor 2 nor 10 but more than 200 innocent civilians were killed.

The world finished Saddam since he seemed to be the threat to the peace in Iraq but did he leave any clones? Or who is so adamant that peace should never prevail in Iraq. I am sure the Iraqis would love to lead a normal life, drilling the oil and using the money to send their kids to schools, have some decent food and so many other things which we are taking for granted.

I googled Iraq for news and I find news from year 1941.. and it all started with oil.

WAR IN IRAQ ENDS; Vital Oil Fields of Mosul Are Under Control of...
$4.95 - New York Times - Jun 2, 1941
LONDON, June 1 -- Hostilities ceased throughout IRAQ today as Emir Abdul Illah, ... a brief outline of the TERMS of the settlement of the Iraqi-British WAR ...
All 6 related - Related web pages


No 'Smoking Guns' So Far, UN Is Told; Blix Says Iraq Failed...
Pay-Per-View - Washington Post - ProQuest Archiver - Jan 10, 2003
still, the Bush administration seized on Blix's criticism of Iraq, ... "there Is still No evidence that Iraq has fundamentally changed its approach from one ...
How lack of a 'smoking gun' complicates... - Christian Science Monitor
All 149 related - Related web pages


FOXNews.com - Bush: US Will Not Abandon Iraq - Politics | Republican...
FOX News - Dec 1, 2005
Leaving Iraq "would vindicate The beheadings and suicide bombings and mass ... terrorists in Iraq share The same ideology as those responsible for The ...
Bush Presents Plan to Win Iraq War - Washington Post
Bush hails 'real progress' in Iraq - Guardian Unlimited
Newsweek - Financial Times - All 238 related - Related web pages


What caught my eyes was this in the news “Bush presents Plan to Win Iraq War”

Republicans, meanwhile, were supportive, saying Bush had pointed the way to victory. "The president clearly and concisely laid out a plan for success in Iraq," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).
In his remarks, Bush continued to equate the war in Iraq with the nation's larger battle against terrorism. He acknowledged that those fighting the United States are largely Iraqi, but added that the most lethal among them are foreign fighters bent on targeting Americans everywhere.
"This is an enemy without conscience, and they cannot be appeased. If we were not fighting and destroying this enemy in Iraq, they would not be idle," he said. "They would be plotting and killing Americans across the world and within our own borders."

Now Bush talks about winning the war.. for whom? Is it for the Americans or the Iraqis? I am sure the Iraqis would care a damn about the Americans if they are let alone to manage their affairs. Maybe they will choose another Saddam but if that is what they want let them. At least few lives will be lost. And now instead of oil the Iraqis (the men who are still left behind after the daily killings) are forced to sell their women:

Sex for survival
By: Afif Sarhan in Badhdad

When Rana Jalil, 38, lost her husband in an explosion in Baghdad last year, she could never have imagined becoming a prostitute in order to feed her:

click to read further


Has the whole world lost its conscience? Or are they waiting for a nuclear bomb to finish what is remaining? I guess that would have been better than this daily killings, at least for some of us our conscience would not be tugging us.

Iraq War

Living in the Middle East, once cant be blamed if one forms an opinion about the Iraq war. Read the latest news.. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070523/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_terrorism

WASHINGTON - Rallying support for the war, President Bush' is pointing to U.S. intelligence asserting that Osama bin Laden ordered a top lieutenant in early 2005 to form a terrorist unit to hit targets outside Iraq, and that the United States should be first in his sights..

Is Bush talking about the same “intelligence” that asserted Iraq had WMD and that Saddam is closely associated with Osama? Yesterday he was talking about Iran’s work inside Iraq to force the American soldiers out. Is Bush having daily visions? I never could understand him in the first place and in turn the Americans as a whole when this whole Fiasco called Iraq war started. While growing up, I was told that America was the land of dreams and my entire knowledge of the Americans came in the small but lovely book The Readers Digest. My parents have subscribed for this book since its introduction to our country and I have always loved to read it. It showed the best of American culture. And then I came to Middle East and became a part of the growing resentment against the Americans. When they should have been called saviors they are being called occupiers and murderers. I blame the Americans for having turned a blind eye to the opinion of the rest of world. September 11 made the world sympathise with the Americans but what followed after was totally insane! How can I believe that Pres Bush after weeks of fasting and prayers suddenly had a vision to bring democracy to Iraq? There are other countries craving for democracy but why Iraq? Sadly the number of Iraqis killed has far surpassed the number killed by Saddam? Soon there will be no male Iraqis left in the country if this situation continues.

But who am I to talk about this?

UN Compensation

People are now worried. Some banks have asked them to return certain amount which was paid in excess.
It never felt right in my mind when the compensation was paid. I am a hypocrite since even we would have taken it if it was offered. Yes it was okay if one takes it if they did lose something. But we know many whose claims were bogus. They lived a life of a bachelor without a car and had the nerve to claim for 2 cars! For many others it was a blessing since they could have never saved that amount in their life time.

I have always thought this was blood money, especially since the Iraqis are still suffering. And it was not because of their fault that Kuwait was invaded. Everyone knew Saddam was a dictator, hence only he should take the blame. When the rest of the region is enjoying the wealth the oil is bringing the poor Iraquis can only pray that they dont die with in the next bombing.

Democracy at work

Finally we see democracy at work in the US with the recent anti-war demonstration.

Although it has come late, it is a welcoming sight. Couldnt understand when those who opposed the war were thought to be disloyal and not patriotic. It is high time America got out of the mess but the damage is already done. The world hates America even more and it has created heroes out of monsters.

Everyone knows that for a country like Iraq, Saddam was the best solution. They are not ready for democracy, not yet. The Sunni - Shia hatred has been re-kindled and now it will drag the neighbouring countries into it. Saudi with the Sunnis and Iran with the Shias.

And all this was predicted much earlier, before America plunged into this war. I hope they learn their lesson from this mistake. WAR should always be the last RESORT. War is dirty since there are many who want the war for their own interests.

Dont know why I keep writing only abt this bloody war! have to think of something else!

A good news from this war....

The only bright light in the bloody war being fought in Iraq is the interest the Americans are finally showing to alternate fuel. Bush spoke about it and hoped the Americans will depend less on oil. I wish he had thought about this before embarking on this war... all the money and the lives lost in vain! Instead they could have focussed on more research, developed more plants and educated the Americans in fuel efficiency. The big oil companies need not shut down, they can switch to the manufacturing of alternate fuels.. the atmosphere would be cleaner and less lives will be lost.

Look at Brazil.. they have done it! they have reduced their dependancy on oil, though they are in the category of Third World countries.

Will the future generation have an access to clean, efficient fuel without invading another country???

let us wait and watch!