Hi,

Long time no see. Your friend Alaa is still alive and well by the grace of God. So many things are happening that I was kind of jammed not knowing what to comment on. The speach by President Bush was great. It should be clear to anyone with even minimum amount of intelligence, that if anybody has the facts it is the President; he does have more that one hundred and fifty thousand men and women on the ground to report to him.

And I am always astonished at people wondering about how the Iraqis feel about the American and allied presence in Iraq. Was not the present Iraqi Goverment elected by 8 million people at the risk of their lives? Are the more that two hundred thousand soldiers and police not Iraqis, or perhaps they came from Mars? The first formally requested that the mandate of the Multi National Forces be extended, and the second are fighting and dying side by side with Allied forces. The President spelled out very clearly who is the enemy.

As long as the Americans remain pro-Iraqi, the Iraqis will remain pro-American, not matter what is said and no matter what din and noise is made. And as the famous arab proverb goes: "The caravan marches on and heeds not the barking of stray dogs".

Salaam