A TOOTH FOR A MILLION TEETH

Hi again,

I did not want to talk about the momentous events of these historical moments before extending greetings and well wishes, for these are macabre moments in the awesome presence of death. Life and optimism must precede doom and gloom. Every Iraqi is now in a high state of tension and spending a sleepless night holding his breath in anticipation of the news of the execution of Saddam Husein. As suspense is growing every moment with conflicting news about his whereabouts and about whether he has been handed over to the Iraqi authorities or not.

Personally I have mixed feelings about this execution. To start with, if the punishment for murder is to be death, according to the Law in many lands, including that of the U.S.A., and in accordance with the writ of the Great religions; then Saddam deserves at least a million or so executions. His guilt is as clear as sunlight. The Trial was frustrating for most people around here. Perhaps there should have been an international trial so that the world can see and hear the full story of some of the most horrendous crimes in the history of humanity. But do you think that his friends would have been at a loss for things to say if that had happened? Well, when there is a culture that has lost respect for truth, reality, logic, decency; and become complete slave to prejudice and bias; anything can be said and any argument goes. It is a sure sign of decline, decay and fall when a civilization starts to lose its respect for veracity and when words can be twisted to suite any purpose and present any argument regardless of the truth. For the “Word” is sacred. Remember the first sentence in the bible: “At first was the Word, then was the World”.

But it must be admitted, that there is haste to execute Saddam for reasons other than simply justice and revenge; there are political considerations. The Government wants to get this over and done with as quickly as possible to forestall any unforeseen impediments, and in order not give his followers and supporters time to plan something. Besides, Saddam is still a symbol for some, and you may remember the demonstrations in Diala, Salahuldin and elsewhere brandishing his photos and shouting the famous slogan “with Souls, with Blood, we sacrifice our lives for you”. And then there is the so-called “Return Party”, which is a group of Baathist terrorists calling for the return of the Saddam regime under his leadership. Therefore, it is of political urgency to eliminate this symbol and put an end to any hopes and illusions of a return to the previous state of affairs. Due to the extreme personality cult that Saddam had cultivated, it would be difficult for "the enemy" to find a new convincing father figure. Also it is an act of defiance in the face of all the terrorists, the Bin Ladins & Co., the international chorus and etc. etc.; here we are stringing up your Saddam and you “can ride your highest horses” as the Iraqi proverb goes. We are not afraid of your car bombs, suicide bombers, I.E.D’s etc. etc.

Anyway, I am too excited to talk more, and it is very late and I, like almost all Iraqis at this hour, cannot sleep and are all awaiting the awesome announcement at this eve of the Eid Al-Adha.

Goodnight

NEW YEAR AND CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

Hi,

I wish to extend New Year and belated Christmas greetings to all my friends and readers; wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year. I pray to God that the New Year may bring peace and tranquility to our suffering and beloved Iraq, and happiness and blessings to our friends everywhere, especially the American people.

I ask my friends for their blessings and prayers, as with Gods Willing I am planning and expecting very profound changes in my own personal life and that of my family.

Peace be Upon you and the mercy of God and his blessings.

And for my Muslim brothers I do not forget to wish them Eid Mubarak for the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.

“Alsalam Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wa barakatuh”

FIRST WAR OF THE CENTURY- EPISODE I

Hi,

While events are still fresh in the memory, and for history’s sake, I thought it might be interesting to give my own testimony as an eye witness before an imaginary tribunal, the tribunal of history. An analytical examination of events leading to the present day situation might be instructive. This I hope to do this in installments as time permits and I hope my friends might find it interesting and entertaining.

1- Just before the day of the "Square".

Mr. Blair today said something that is important and should be realized. The situation in Iraq is not primarily a measure of the failure of American and allied policies but rather the successes of the Morlocks. The New Order forces are only to blame for not being able to understand and correctly appreciate the seriousness of the threat and hence find a way to thwart the deliberate plan of the enemy (Sadamists, Al-Qaeda etc. etc.). This plan came into effect from the very first week after that glorious day of April when the idol fell in Firdous Square. There is little doubt that much of the chaos, pilfering and arson were part of a deliberate plan prepared long before the fall and carried out by special cells of baathists prepared and trained for this kind of action as part of contingency plans for precisely this kind of scenario. This is no secret and actually Saddam himself often talked about it publicly when he was in power, vowing never to surrender Iraq but an empty land devoid of inhabitants. Al-Qaeda types, extremists and suicide volunteers were imported from Arab and non-Arab countries during the weeks and months preceding the battle of Iraqi Freedom, and these were frequently boasted about and shown and on T.V., they were housed in the best hotels (such as the Rashid hotel and the like) and looked after in a way that many of these miserable characters had never seen in their life before. The number of Arab volunteers was said to be about ten thousand just before the onset of military hostilities.

. Saddam realized very clearly what was going to happen and had no illusions about it. You must give him at least credit for that. If you saw him those days in public appearances he seemed to be almost in a trance. For someone like me who had the misfortune to observe this man for many years, it was clear to me personally that he was in a state of total despair and a kind of fatalist acceptance of his fate. So indeed, he was planning for the aftermath about which he had no illusions, for quite sometime before 2003. Thus, the presence of Al-Qaeda types, the Zarqawis and their alliance with the baathists were prepared carefully long before the events of April 2003. He laid the grounds and foundations for something that was going to grow and develop into the horror that we see today. These suicide volunteers were the unconventional weapon that Al-Sahaf, the famous and comical information minister of Saddam, boasted about so often before and during the military campaign. Well, this weapon may not have been very effective at the time, but it sure played a devastating role later on. Saddam knew that he had no immediate defense against a direct American assault, so he prepared for a different kind of response, a kind of posthumous revenge against all his enemies both American and Iraqi..

Let us next recall events in the immediate aftermath of the 9th of April 2003.

Next Post:

2- The Farhood.

THE EIGHTY PERCENT STRATEGY

Hi,

Quick Message.

A meeting of the highest significance and importance has just taken place. Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, though much reviled and hated by the SodomoLadinists et al, is undoubtedly the highest Shiite figure ever to meet the American leadership at the highest level. This meeting has very profound meaning and is a very important message to the various factions in Iraq. I refer you to my previous post titled “Flirting with Sayid Ali”. There are basically two camps in Iraq now. Not a Shiite Camp and A Sunni camp, but a camp for the new order including a majority of the Shiites, the Kurds, and many Sunnis (for example the tribes of the Anbar Salvation Council, and many, many other Sunnis), and another camp that is composed of sectarian factions totally opposed to Democracy and pluralism including anarchistic revenge groups and gangs of both sects. The first camp is by far the majority of the people.

The strategic instinct of President Bush is guiding him in the right direction again despite all the confusion and pressures. I have always said that it is necessary not to lose site of the fundamentals of a situation, never to jeopardize the strategic base for the sake of any temporary tactical maneuvers. It is not a question of taking sides in a sectarian struggle. It is question of knowing where one’s real popular base is; of knowing who has real interest in seeing the success of one’s strategic goals and objectives. Nothing encourages the enemy like seeing confusion and disorientation of the Western leadership; and nothing discourages him more than seeing resolve and commitment otherwise. The enemies have be tackled one a time, and opening many fronts at the same time should be avoided, a fairly obvious axiom which is so often forgotten. If a fight is necessary, so be it; one side has to emerge victorious. This will only take place when the backbone of the enemy is broken thoroughly and definitively. History teaches us this. America itself would not be the Great nation that it is today had it not been for the victories of the American Revolution, and the American Civil War. This is the eighty percent strategy, this is right. We shall have more to say later God’s willing.

Goodnight.

سلم البزون شحمه

Hello again,

The title is an Iraqi proverb which may be roughly translated as follows: Entrust the cat to guard a piece of mutton fat; meaning what do you expect if you put a tomcat in charge of guarding a piece of fat?

There seems to be some real geniuses in Washington. I must say, the brilliance of these gentlemen really makes me speechless. It seems that the commission charged with preparing a report dealing with the Iraqi question has come up with the inspired solution that the matter should be entrusted to Iran and Syria of all other, after the U.S. washes her hands clean and go home to live in tranquility never to meddle in world affairs again. Of course it is not stated in these terms but rather couched in reasonable sounding phraseology: gradual reduction of troops; involvement of neighboring states such as Iran and Syria to help resolve the problems etc. etc. Well! Well! Well! Iran and Syria above all and by name, too!! I congratulate these astute gentlemen on this amazing discovery. The world hold its breath in waiting for the official issue of this great report, that President Bush is awaiting impatiently to enlighten him as to the proper direction of the Iraq policy.

But really, it is not right to burden these poor elderly gentlemen with such hard work; it is rather inhuman; what with the problems of old age, Alzheimer’s disease and all that. One fully understands their inclination towards rest and quiet retreat. No wonder we hear of reports that the President is not very enthusiastic about the recommendations of this report, although politely the white houses announces respectfully that they are awaited and will be considered carefully. Of course, if the United States does withdraw altogether and leave the Iraqi government out in the cold to manage on its own, the latter would have no option but to acquiesce into an alliance with these two regional powers, as the least evil of all available courses. At least neither of these two regimes is going to be as bent on genocide against the Shiites and the Kurds as others might be. Neither could be very interested in seeing the Saddamists , Al Qaeda or any such groups, take over. Indeed the outcome of the American project would be the creation of an Iranian-Iraqi-Syrian axis, an axis in which Iraq would be the junior and powerless partner, forced to follow all the dictates of its seniors. Deprived of all western support it would be desperate for any help from anybody who can help it fend off the savage sectarian and genocidal assault that would undoubtedly be raging in the country. Apart from Turkey, there are no serious military powers in the region to rival these two. Turkey would have to be satisfied or it might well intervene militarily and complicate matters. God only knows what might happen, but whatever that might be it cannot be good.

I don’t think though, that as long as George Bush is president, such disastrous ideas can find their way to implementation. There are other courses of action less harmful, and I am sure that the President will try his best to win the race against time before the end of his term. Let us wish him success from the bottom of our hearts.