Echo

Saturday, March 27, 2004

Hi Friends,

This is another article of interest concerning the matter, which has aroused the greatest response and heated arguments amongst my friends. Also a kind of introduction to what I am going to say:

Iraq-Israel relations could 'be the best'

Baghdad-born Iraq maven David Sasson on Israel's mistakes in pre-Saddam Iraq and the opportunities that beckon now
By: Isabel Kershner
David Sasson has always believed in peace between Israel, Iraq and the rest of the Arab world. Now, asserts this retired, Iraqi-born Israeli businessman, who has maintained contacts over the years with influential Arabs and particularly Iraqi exiles, including leading mem-bers of the Iraqi opposition, it is up to Israel to open itself up to the possibility of peace and not to repeat past wrongs. "We've made a lot of mistakes, " Sasson states to The Report in the wake of the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. "No Israeli politicians understood anything about the Arabs. They could never read the map of the Middle East. "
For an Israeli, Sasson probably has more experience of the Middle East than most. Born in Baghdad in 1931, he studied not at the Jewish school, but at a government school with his Arab Muslim neighbors. "I spent my best time there", he reminisces. But in 1950, along with tens of thousands of other Iraqi Jews, he fled to Israel, in his case via Iran. He studied at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, was "taken" into the army, then worked for many years in the travel business.
After the 1973 war, however, he wanted to leave the country. "I said the Israelis know how to make war, not peace, " he recalls today. Sas-son headed for the shah's Iran, where he be-came a partner in an Arabic-speaking business until he was forced to escape again, this time from the Khomeini revolution of 1979. Next stop was Cairo, where he lived for three years and established a trading business, shipping various goods between Israel and the port of Alexandria. After the war in Lebanon in 1982, though, "everything stopped. I felt very bad as an Israeli Jew Living in Cairo while Israel was bombing Beirut. "
At that point Sasson says he got "tired of the Middle East." Together with an Egyptian colonel from Nasser's rev-olution, he formed a commodities investment company in London. Now retired, he splits his time between London and an apartment in Tel Aviv.
In 1997, he founded the Iraqi-Israeli Friendship Committee in Tel Aviv, in solidarity with the Iraqi people, along with other prominent Iraqi-born Israelis such as Tel Aviv University Prof. Sasson Somekh and author Sami Michael. And now he says he is the only Israeli and Jew involved in the recently formed Development Fund for the Re-building of Iraq, a London-based forum of Iraqi-born businesspeople dedicated to helping the free Iraq get back on its feet.
An Iraqi version of a macher, Sasson counts among his best friends an old Baghdad school buddy who rose to become vice-president of OPEC and an exceedingly wealthy Iraqi exile whose family owned all the land on which Saddam 's palaces were built. He says he now plans on bringing them to Israel to address a meeting of former Iraqis living in the Jewish State.
The Jerusalem Report: You speak about Israel having made mistakes, and its politicians not having read the Middle East-ern map correctly. Are you convinced Iraq and the Arab world wanted peace with Israel?
David Sasson: I can tell you one thing: Following the 1958 revolution in Iraq, the new ruler, Qassem, was against Nasser and Arab nationalism, and wanted to make peace with Israel. The Is-raelis said he was mad and foolish, because he went with the Soviets against the British ... Then there was a coup against him and the Ba'athists came, [ending with] Saddam.
How did your Iraqi Muslim friends in exile react to the solidarity committee you established in Israel?
They sent me faxes you couldn't imagine. One said that the Iraqi Jews have more rights in Iraq than anyone else in the world. In the days of the caliph Harun al-Rashid, Baghdad was over 70 percent Jewish! My good friend is the editor of Al-Mu'tamar (the Iraqi opposition paper published in London). Now he's gone to Kuwait to establish Somer, a new paper for Baghdad, and he asked me to find Iraqi Jewish writers from Israel, Can you imagine that?
What is the nature of your activity in the Iraq Development Fund project?
It is not for raising mon-ey, only for making connec-tions between big firms from all over the world and the people in Iraq. There will be another meeting in June, to which I will invite Israelis to speak, and I will bring some big Iraqi businesspeo-ple from London to Israel.
Have they expressed a willingness to come?
Yes. They said they are ready to come to a meeting in Israel and speak. This is my life. I'd like my people to live in peace. I'm an Israeli. In all the pages of Al-Mu'tamar, you won't find anything about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They don't like the Palestinians because they went with Saddam in 1991.
How do you see things developing politically in Baghdad?
The Americans must quickly establish a new Iraqi government with a Prime Minister for a period of six months to a year, until elections can be held. I hope they won't stay beyond that time.
Do you foresee relations with Israel at some point?
They will be the best. Better than Israel's relations with Egypt or anyone else. I know the opposition leaders. They like us.
Are you in contact with Israeli politicians and leaders?
No. If they want, they know all about me. Why should I contact them?
Will you go back to Baghdad?
I want to visit. I don't know about going to live there. I'd like to go back to see my school. I could go if I wanted, even with my Israeli passport. I have the contacts.
When do you think other Israelis will be able to go to Iraq?
Speak to me in another six months.
From: The Jerusalem Report May 5, 2003


Salaam

Friday, March 26, 2004

As a kind of introduction to the relation of the "Jewish Question" and modern day Iraq, I thought this article might be of interest as a kind of historical background together with a recent experience.


Where Judaism Began


From the Jewish Report

By Yigal Schleifer


Babylon looms large in Jewish history. It represents the land from which the patriarch Abraham emerged, and it is a name that nearly a millennium later became almost synonymous with the term "Diaspora" - the place where "we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion." Ezekiel died here in exile, and Ezra returned from here to help re-establish the Jewish presence in Jerusalem. Babylon, too, was the capital of the country, where in many ways, the Jewish practice of today was developed and codified, in the form of the Babylonian Talmud. Indeed though Iraq's modern-day Jews left almost entirely en masse a half-century ago, the unbroken presence of a Jewish community over a period of nearly two and a half millennia has left Iraq with many physical reminders of their time here.

History in Iraq is measured in cycles of thousands of years. Travelling through the land, one get the sense that Iraq's almost overwhelmingly rich past continuously in-forms its often-violent present. Past and present live side by side, sometimes jarringly.

For many of us. a place like Babylon is something of an abstraction, a fairy-tale place shaped in our consciousness by Bib-lical stories. In Iraq, it is a national treasure, but also, at one time, a place for collecting building supplies and, more recently, a place to-pick up an air conditioner and some office furniture.

If anyone was aware of the power of the country's history, it was Saddam Hussein. "He used Mesopotamian history for nation-building in Iraq," says Amatzia Baram, a professor of Middle East politics at Haifa University, who has written extensively about Saddam. "He created, you can say, a new myth that today's Iraqis are the bi-ological offspring of the Sumerians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and the cul-tural heirs of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization.


"Saddam would appear in pictures with depictions of Nebuchadnezzar, with Ham-murabi," who founded the original Baby-lonian dynasty in 1792 BCE. "There was an attempt to create an Iraqi national myth that goes back 5,000 years," adds Baram. "This would also give Saddam an ideolog-ical basis for hegemony in the Arab world."
Saddam was trying to cast himself as a link in a long chain of Mesopotamian rulers. At Babylon, the bricks inscribed with his name are copies of the originals that are engraved with Nebuchadnezzar's name, a crude attempt at making himself eternal. Presenting himself as a latter-day Nebuchadnezzar, who conquered the Jew-ish kingdom of Judea in 586 BCE, fit in nicely with Saddam's efforts to portray himself as the leading Arab figure fighting Israel.

A major part of that long history is the area's Jewish past, which stretches back to the very beginnings of Judaism. The ruins of Ur, described in the Torah as the birth-place of Abraham, are in southern Iraq. In the north of the country, the remains of Nineveh, to which the Lord sent a reluctant prophet named Jonah to warn the residents of the Assyrian capital of their city's im-minent destruction, can be found in the middle of the contemporary city of Mosul. And then there's the actual Jewish pres-ence, beginning with the conquest of Judah in the 6th century BCE. "It's an area where there was continuous Jewish settlement longer than in Eretz Yisrael — 2,500 years." says Jacob Neusner, professor of religion and theology at Bard College, in New York. "There's no equal to that anywhere. It's quite an incredible record." "The [Diaspora] produced the Torah and the Talmud in Babylonia. What else mat-ters?" Neusner says. "The rabbis [of the Tal-mudic period] were ruling about the life of a regular, ethnic community that's not so dif-ferent from the Sunnis and Shi'ites of today," Neusner continues. "It's a polyglot, polycul-tural region. It's what it was and it's what it is today. You had Jews living side by side with Persians, Arabs and people speaking Arama-ic who were not Jewish. It was a mosaic. It was a meeting ground of peoples."

Almost all of Iraq's modern Jews, more than 100,000 people, left the country in air-lifts after the establishment of Israel in 1948. Today, fewer than 40 Jews remain in Baghdad

One of the prophets who warned against the destruction of the kingdom of Judah, Ezekiel was carried off to Babylon along with other members of the Jerusalem aristocracy 11 years before the destruction of the Temple, in 597 BCE. In exile, Ezekiel became the comforter of his people, a prophet who both helped explain to his people the reason for the their exile and provide them with a vision for a return to Zion.

I headed out of Baghdad in search of Ezekiel's Tomb. We headed south in the direction of Hilla, looking for a smaller town called Ki-fl. Avishur had told me Kifl might have been the site of Sura, one of the two academies of the Talmudic period, the oth-er being Pumbedita. It is an area that most Jews probably know little about and surely have rarely visited, but it was in this place that the Babylonian Talmud was compiled, an undertaking that, to a large extent, set the course of Jewish life from that time onward.

Kifl itself is a dusty, forlorn-feeling town of one-story mud-brick homes. Finding the site of Ezekiel's grave was surprisingly easy — the ziggurat-like, mud-colored top of the shrine built around it was visible as soon as we entered the town.

A small, covered bazaar led to a doorway into a large, open courtyard surrounded by very ancient-looking mud-brick buildings, some of them partially collapsed, revealing interiors with vaulted ceilings. A man in a white robe who was passing by told us the col-lapse was the result of a rocket that hit during the recent fight-ing. Another rocket fell on a house adjacent to another side of the tomb, but the shrine it-self was spared any damage, the man told us. A rocket or an artillery shell also hit his own house, the man said, killing his two-year-old son, flung across a room from the explosion, his head split open. He pulled up his robe to show a deep gash running across a meaty leg.
Soon somebody came to tell us the shrine was open and as we approached it, we stepped around the gray-colored sewage that was running down the mid-dle of the narrow alleyways.
According to former Baghdady Jews, large numbers of them would make a pil-grimage to the shrine for the holiday of Shavuot, sleeping in the small rooms of the building that encloses the peaceful court-yard, where olive, palm and fig trees grow.

Little is known about the death of Ezekiel, but his tomb is mentioned by the 12th-century Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela, who describes it as revered by both Jews and Muslims, though in the care of Jews, with a large library of Jewish books inside, including some dating from the time of the First Temple.
We took off our shoes and entered the shrine through a green wooden door into what was clearly once a synagogue, with Hebrew writing running across one wall. Under one arched doorway, a Hebrew in-scription reads, "And this gravestone is the gravestone of our prophet Ezekiel." Two elderly Muslim men were in one corner, prostrating themselves in prayer. In another room also filled with Hebrew inscriptions, under a spectacular roof cre-ated out of right angles, sits a large wood-panelled vault. The walls, which are painted with a floral design that is faded but still exquisite, also have glass inlaid in them, giving the room a jewel-like quality. The caretaker, a 50-year-old named Abu Khadum, opened a small door near the front of the crypt and told me to look inside. The wood was covering a much older stone tomb that had two tablets engraved with Hebrew at the front. I couldn't make out the writing on them except for one word, which was the name "Yehezkel."

Abu Khadum said his family had been watching over the place since Ottoman times, appointed by the sultan. He told us the build-ing was 750 years old, and that "this is the burial place of a prophet of God, and it is mentioned in the Koran." He left Kifl for a few days during the recent fighting and came back to find the door open and a marble tablet and a seven-arm silver candelabrum missing. No Jews had come to visit in decades, but before the 1991 Gulf War, European tourists would visit occasionally.

"I think more tourists will come now," Abu Khadum, a quiet man with a stubbly beard and a tan, wizened face, said. "I think Jews will start coming also.

A few days later, we headed farther south to look for the tomb of Ezra the Scribe. Ezra, with official permission from the king of Persia, which by his time-ruled Babylonia, led a return to Judah of Jewish exiles in 458 BCE.
Ezra, the son of a priest, set about to restore Jewish life in the land and was re-sponsible, to a large extent, for codifying various aspects of Jewish practice, helping create the weekly division of Torah por-tions, for example. He died in Persia, ac-cording to historical sources, which could explain his being buried in southern Iraq, near the border with Iran.
The tomb, is located on the bank of the muddy and fast-flowing Tigris River in a town called Al-Uzair, some 250 miles south of Baghdad. Al-Uzair, like Kifl, is a run-down place filled with mud brick homes, its main street lined with peddlers selling vegetables and live chickens. The shrine of Ezra sticks out among the drabness, topped with a blue-tiled dome and enclosed with a high cement wall that has what seems like a small minaret rising from one corner.
Leaving our shoes outside, we entered the shrine and met Zayir Zahlan, an 80-year-old man in a grayish robe and white keffiya, who has been watching the tomb since the last Jewish family left town in 1950. Zahlan, who has a white beard and cloudy eyes, said he had guarded the shrine during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, when most people had fled Al-Uzair, which was close to the front. He stayed here as well during the 1991 Gulf War and during the most recent fighting, he said. "I saw the prophet [Ezra] in a dream, arid he told me, 'Don't leave me, and I won't leave you,'" Zahlan said.

The 250-year-old building was renovat-ed two years ago with help from the Sad-dam government. Less ornate than Ezekiel's tomb, it also has a front room that leads into a domed chamber holding a large tomb covered in green cloth. The dome, painted white with blue outlines, has the name of God, YHWH, written in large He-brew letters on one side. Next door to the shrine stands what used to be a synagogue. White plastic lawn chairs were lined up against the walls of the room, which is used as an Islamic study center now. The caretaker and his grand-son, a 25-year-old Shi'ite imam with a wispy black beard, pointed to a large patched segment of the brick ceiling. An Iranian rocket came through that spot dur-ing the 1980s, tearing a hole in the ceiling but not exploding, they said. I asked if any old books remained from the time when the building was a syna-gogue. No, said the young imam, but we do have another book.
Walking over to a table lined with books in Arabic, the young man pulled out a brown hardback volume that turned out to be a Hebrew-Arabic dictionary, donated by a member of the local community. I asked Zahlan if any of the old Jewish residents of the town had come back to visit since they left. He said many years ago some Jews had arrived, disguised in robes and keffiyas, but no Jew has come since. "They are afraid of the government," he said.

Back in baghdad, I visited a shrine, also topped with a blue-tile dome, that Iraqi Jews consider to be the burial place of Jeshua the High Priest, who helped lead the return from the Babylonian exile in the 5th century BCE and was instrumental in restoring the Temple in Jerusalem. In the years since the Jews stopped com-ing to visit the domed Baghdad shrine, some confusion seems to have developed over whose remains it accommodates. A fairly new-looking tile inscription in Ara-bic declares it to be the grave site of Joshua, (Yehoshua Bin Nun), the disciple of Moses who led the children of Israel into the Holy Land. An old woman, who gave us direc-tions told us "the son of Moses" was buried there. Hassan Abu Nur, the 61-year-old caretaker of the shrine, wasn't sure, but said he knew it was a prophet and that he was dedicated to maintaining the place. "I'm a Muslim, but I don't distinguish between Muslims, Jews and Christians," said Abu Nur, who has a wild look in his eyes and a prominent nose. "We should honour every religion." Abu Nur showed us a spot where the old graves of two Jewish teachers were once located un-til the government had them destroyed in 1986. What look like the remains of a marble tombstone could be seen stick-ing out of the ground. "They wanted to destroy this shrine, so that the Jews wouldn't come back." Abu Nur said.

The condition of the Jewish shrines is actually much better than most of Iraq's other cul-tural-heritage sites. Like Baby-lon, Iraq's museums and ar-chaeological sites were picked over by looters during the final days of the war, the cost of the damage they inflicted so far unknown.


Salaam




Hi,

Although I don't completely agree with everything that is said here but please check this article:

http://www.time.com/time/europe/me/article/0,13716,604508,00.html

Salaam


Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Hi Friends,

Well, well, well!! I can’t say that I did not expect this avalanche of comments or their nature. I have tried to avoid this subject before exactly because it will completely distract us from our subject about Iraq. But can you really avoid it; especially if we are concerned about terrorism, and the root causes of it, at least in this part of the world? And does not the situation out there have a direct bearing and impact on the events down here? It seems unfortunately that we just cannot ignore that excruciating and horrible problem. We cannot hide our heads in the sand and pretend that the problem out there does not concern us. But do we have to open that wound? Do we have to rub that chronic sore? I hesitate truly. It is not that I am afraid to speak out my mind, given this wonderful Internet that lets you say what you want in comparative safety and have people read it too.

To be sure, I have definite views, and you probably won’t like them, not that I care much about that, but it would completely change the subject for this blog site. But let me at least say this:

What we have here is a completely different situation to that in Palestine.
Here there has been an act of liberation and an effort at reconstruction. Here, there is no danger of settlements or colonization of our country. Here, there is a sincere effort at building a democracy and a modern political system. Here, at least 85% of the population opposes the departure of Coalition troops, despite all vociferous manifestations colorfully amplified by modern media, suggesting otherwise. Here the “resistance” and terrorism are directed at delaying and sabotaging the emergence of a new “shining example” in the region. Here, the terrorism is more directed against the indigenous people rather than against the foreign troops. Here, then almost in every respect the situation is diametrically opposite to that existing out there.

And what concerns us most of all is that nothing should jeopardize this “experiment”, whose success may be the very key to solving all the apparently irresolvable problems in the region.

As for the Jewish question, I have absolutely no problem to tell all what I think about it; when I have enough leisure; another vain promise …

Salaam

Monday, March 22, 2004

J'ACCUSE

Hi,

I am beside myself with rage. Perhaps I should not post today and wait a bit until I can think in a more dispassionate way. But I cannot wait really. Mr. Sharon: Usama Bin Laden and his friends are delighted and send you their best regards. This stupid and senseless killing of an old invalid is a Godsend to all the terrorists in the region and has been timed at exactly the right moment. It is a stab in the back aimed at the U.S. and allied efforts and a direct attack on all their friends in the region.

America beware, and watch your step very carefully, your risks are enormous. This does not serve anybody, least of all the Jewish communities in the world, and most certainly does not help in the fight against terrorism, but quite the opposite.

Perhaps then, what they say is true. Perhaps it does not suit some people for the U.S. to make friends in this region. But enough of all this; I am too disgusted to continue.

Salaam

Friday, March 19, 2004

Hi,

The full text of Zarqawi Letter in english can be found Here. The full text in arabic is here.

Salaam
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Hi,

I have just listened to President Bush’s speech on CNN. I just couldn’t leave the keyboard without saying something. Because the warmth of the Presidents’ words of friendship and commitment to our people really did make my eyes moisten. Not even the openly hostile report by the CNN reporter could spoil the feeling.

God will be on the side of good men, and it is clear for this middle-aged man who the good men are.

Hail dear El Bush. Thanks to you and all the Coalition men and women. Long may live our alliance and friendship. Victory by the Grace and Help of Allah is assured.

Alaa

Greetings Friends,

The results of the poll with I have posted are interesting, indeed. A careful reading of Al Zarqawi letter, which I think is one on the most important documents that has ever come to light, together with the results of this poll show quite remarkable agreement. Consider, for example the last line posted:

On "Coalition should leave now"
Sunni: yes=29%, Shia: yes=12%, Kurds: yes=2%

Compare with these results:

On question of "Are attacks on Coalition forces acceptable?"
Sunni: acceptable=36% unacceptable=57%
Shia: acceptable=12% unacceptable=85%
Kurds: acceptable=2% unacceptable=96%


The percentages for the Shia and Kurds are exactly the same for both questions, which is consistent. However it is the position of the Sunnis that is interesting: 36% think that attacks on Coalition forces are acceptable (still a minority, but a sizable one), only 29% however think that the Coalition should leave immediately. A friend has noticed this difference and speculates that perhaps this 7% like the target practice!

But seriously, although we are loath to this sectarian classification of our people, we have to be realistic and admit that this problem of sectarianism (i.e. the religious division of the people) is real and is an important factor in the present situation. The policies of the defunct regime have much to do with this. For the Saddamist regime, having no solid foundation, had increasingly turned to sectarianism and tribalism in its attempt to find a solid base of support, and had encouraged these tendencies quite openly, and actually practiced blatant discrimination on all fronts down to the pettiest details of daily life. I am not going to explain this in more detail, because I think the practices of the Baathist regime have been quite extensively exposed, although I still think that many of these practices are still not really known, and for western people would be quite difficult to believe or even imagine.

If you consider the actual numerical weight of each community and multiply by the percentages above you will come up with an astonishing figure supporting the Coalition and the continuation of its mission. Lets do this simple arithmetic:

Should the Coalition leave now: 29% x 23% + 12% x 55% + 2% x 15% (quite conservative estimates in favor of the proposition) = 13.57% of 93% of the population. This assumes 7% for other minorities, which is an underestimate. Whatever error margin there is, say the overall percentage is about 15% of the population. This means that 85% percent of the population supports the continued mission of the Coalition. Personally I believe the actual percentage is even greater.

Now, I did not make up this poll. And I don’t think many can cast doubt on the integrity of the organization, which has produced it.

So we would request all those who comment and lecture and appoint themselves as spokesmen for our people to take note. Also American and allied people, take note. Despite of all our sacrifices, and life of terror and discomfiture, this is the true sentiment of the people in mathematical form.

Just read Al Zarqawi letter carefully and how I wish you could read the original eloquent magnificent classical Arabic of this diabolical and absolutely authentic document, and you will feel the hatred against the Iraqi people in all their sects and ethnicities not least the Sunnies jumping up at you from the lines of this text of hatred and lunacy. The greatest task is to rescue our brothers, compatriots and fellow countrymen in Ramadi, Fallujah, Tikrit, Mosul, Diala etc. from the murderous influence of such foreigners who do not wish them any good.

This is what he has to say of the majority of Sunnis:

As regards the Sunnis ……

1. The Masses

These masses are the silent majority, absent even though present. “Barbarians and Scum; following every screamer ( actually the noise an owl makes - Alaa). They did not seek enlightenment from the light of science and did not take refuge in a safe corner.( i.e the Wahabi and Salafi creed – Alaa)” These, even if in general they hate the Americans,wish them to vanish and to have their black cloud dissolve ( Indeed ?! : consult the poll figures- Alaa). But, despite that, they look forward to a sunny tomorrow, a prosperous future, a carefree life, comfort, and favor (which is an illegitimate aspiration according to this misfit – Alaa). They look ahead to that day and are thus easy prey for cunning information [media] and political enticement whose hiss rings out…. In any event, they are people of Iraq (a telling admission of hate : after all they are Iraqis too ! - Alaa ).


Fellow Iraqis, this is what they think of you.

American and Allied friends of the Iraqi people, take note and don’t be deceived by the hysterical propaganda of our common enemies.

Salaam

Alaa

Thursday, March 18, 2004

Nadia:

Are your questions supposed to insinuate that I am not Iraqi? Unlike you probably comfortable in the States or Europe, I live in Baghdad, and long for peace and security for myself, my children and all our people. As far as the South is concerned, despite all the trouble, they have never been happier, rest assured.

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Hi,

Jason- yes I think it was Fawaz. I have said it before, every non-Iraqi Arab commenting about Iraq should be regarded with great suspicion, for many reasons. Even the Arab staff working for some of the western media. As we say " there is much dust under the carpet"

Nadia - What is this interest in Al Amara - "Shlown Dag Al Amara, Heich w Heich"

This is very interesting and rings true to me.

ABC News has released more details from its poll of over 2,500 Iraqis. This time they break the statistics down by ethno-religious groups: Sunni Arab, Shia Arab, or Kurd.
http://abcnews.go.com/images/pdf/949a2SunniShia.pdf
On the question of "Was the US-led invasion right or wrong?",
Sunni: right=24% wrong=63%
Shia: right=51% wrong=35%
Kurds: right=87% wrong=9%
On question of "Are attacks on Coalition forces acceptable?"
Sunni: acceptable=36% unacceptable=57%
Shia: acceptable=12% unacceptable=85%
Kurds: acceptable=2% unacceptable=96%
On "Coalition should leave now"
Sunni: yes=29%, Shia: yes=12%, Kurds: yes=2%

I think George Bush could more easily get elected in Kurdistan than in the USA!

Results & Methodoloy:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/PollVault/PollVault.html
Jeff | Email | Homepage | 03.17.04 - 11:08 pm | #
--

Salaam
Friends,

I am listening now to an "Arab" commentator in CNN. What a load of lies and hysterical propaganda. Friends beware. The enemies are many and getting really vicious, and they include all those who hate the US and the Iraqi people.

It is sickening that Western media stoop to this low level.
Hi,

I have wanted to say this since long time now. There is need for an imaginative economic policy. The main objective should not be just to restore the infrastructure, but more importantly provide sizable employment to the people. There is need for a kind of economic offensive, and especially in the troubled regions. This I believe will probably be more productive than military and security measures in the final analysis. Economically feasible Labor-intensive projects may be conceived. Again I have to promise to do it later, if something awful doesn’t happen meanwhile “Inshallah”.

Salaam
Hi,

It is time to counterattack, the b…. s must be given a firm message. It is World War against terrorism isn’t it? Impose curfews, surround neighborhoods and areas, search every blasted house (courteously please! since this may include my own house, and don’t smash the furniture either!), and check vehicles. The reaction must be firm and punishing. We demand to find the perpetrators, to make their identities known to the public. Stop pretending it is a normal situation and that all the refinements of western democracy and normalcy should be fully observed. It is an emergency and a grave emergency. Neither the Iraqi, nor the American peoples can afford to loose this battle. Firmness works, check the last post by Kevin. Time to act and act quickly. It is a question of taking the initiative, It is not right for the Greatest Power on Earth, supported by the majority of the people of the country to be harassed in this way by gangs of thugs and murderers.

It is time to act.

Salaam to friends only

Friends,

The last two posts were written this morning but it seems that they did not go through. Just now another outrage; pure dastardly terrorism.

We are resigned to fate, but as with the prophet (PBU) at the death of his son, "the heart is hurting and the eyes are tearful". We are sad at the losses. So many good people are falling.

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

WARNING

The comming anniversary of the fall of the regime at the hand of Allied armies will see an intensified campaign of terror from the enemy to show that they are here. They have ambitions, very wild ambitions. Expect trouble.
Hi,

IN THE NAME OF GOD THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

Hi,

Each time that I intend to indulge myself to some relaxation and contemplation, which is good for the soul and the mind; I find that urgent events on the ground do not permit this kind of respite. It was my intention to start a kind of series of notes trying to analyze the phenomenon of terrorism from various angles, and to sound the views of my friends about it, but it seems that the thick of the battle does not allow such leisure, and the project has to be put off for now.

I wrote the above paragraph yesterday, but did not post it. I am trying to find time for some important things that I want to tell you. Meanwhile the ex-Saddam security agents together with their wahabi friends and with foreigners who sneaked into the country from “brotherly” neighboring states perpetrate the most heinous crimes daily against soldiers, welfare workers, women, completely innocent individuals, simply because of their kinship to some G.C. members, etc. etc. One of their latest victims was a fellow blogger Bob Zangas, a wonderful youth so full of good. These gangs are roaming the country with no serious attempt to stop them. They are getting away with their atrocities. The allied Forces and the Iraqi security forces might as well go home and cut the expense and trouble.

No, these losses are not acceptable and I blame those in charge of failure to put an end to this situation. Difficult you say? I say not. The thugs are known, those who shelter them are known, the areas from which they launch their attacks are known, and this is a World War against terrorism. For each innocent soul they have to pay tenfold. The blood of good Iraqis and their friends such as Bob Zangas must cost them dearly.

We shall have more to say about this “Inshallah”.

Hi,

The murder of Bob Zangas has made me very sad indeed. A real friend of our people. I feel it as almost a personal loss. I tried to leave my condolence message to his family, but I don't think it worked. He is a martyr of the Iraqi people. He joins the long list with Al Hakim and the others. After all these sacrifices, can we retreat? No we shall not, in honour of our martyrs, we shall not. As for the vile murderers, revenge will come, by God it will come.

Sunday, March 14, 2004

Thinker,

I seem to have lost your interesting comment. Can you resend it again.

Saturday, March 13, 2004

Dear Friends

I must admit this kind of debate is more to my liking; especially the comments by “thinker”, not to belittle the remarks by the other friends. I don’t claim to be some kind of guru or know it all but I hope to look at the matter in as detached a way as possible which is like watching a dissection of your own body, as might happen in some kind of a nightmare, since I and my family are right in the middle of the quagmire at this particular time, not to mention the lost decades of misery.

The task is difficult but necessary. Correct remedies cannot be conceived without proper understanding. This might sound obvious and therefore unnecessary to say. But after all I am not a professional writer, merely a poor blogger. But to share some sincere and honest effort at understanding with my cyber friends may not be an unworthy effort. Perhaps I can do it in brief installments, as time permits. But it will be a kind of groping for an understanding, with the help of some earnest dialogue something might emerge. It might be interesting this interaction of ideas from both sides of the fence, as it were.

What is important is to put all one’s cards on the table and that there should be no taboos, because we are not politicians, and we don’t really care what effect our words might produce. We have no hidden agendas apart from our love of Life, Peace and Happiness and consequently abhorrence of the opposite i.e., Death, Violence and Misery. If that is considered subjective and prejudicial, then I should admit it beforehand.

What I would like to request from my friends is to use the Comments section mainly and not E mail; it is proving impossible for me to service my mail.

Salaam

Friday, March 12, 2004

Hi Friends,

I see from the latest comments that many still feel bewildered and can't understand what is it all about. I mean some nice people cannot comprehend the motives and the passion that drive some to the extremes of terrorism. It seems that we have to do much to explain this phenomenon. The unfortunate infestation of the Islamic religion of fanatics of a particular minority sect who despite their relatively small number nevertheless have caused big damage needs to be investigated. The general western public is still quite uninformed and tends to view the matter in simplistic and naive terms.

The subject is complex and requires profound study. I hope I can find time to contribute to a better understanding of the phenomenon. Meanwhile I consider the Zarqawi letter an important document and a rare glimpse into the inner mind of an Al Qaeda terrorist, I suggest that this document be read carefully as a kind of preparatory work to a more careful consideration of the subject.

Thursday, March 11, 2004

Scott,

Defeating them in Iraq, not just simply in military terms, but also by succeeding in creating the model we all hope for, and cleaning up the place of their infestation, will deal a mortal blow to their whole ideology and raison d’etre, so to speak, and will be the beginning of the end of this obnoxious phenomenon worldwide. This is what I am trying to say.
Hi,

Scot from Oregon writes:

Alaa, I ain't nothing but a white guy who can't be mistaken for anything else. I am told to wake up because terror is loose in the world. So now I am supposed to look hard at every Man and woman of middle Eastern 'look', and suspect something evil. You probably have that 'look', yes? The sick reality about all of these bombings is I am being asked to not trust you first... then go from there. Aside from the loss of life, this is the most heinous aspect of these people. And I hate them for it....
Scott from Oregon | Email | 03.11.04 - 5:14 pm.


No Scott, the way to fight terrorism is not to suspect every person of Middle Eastern look. They have flocked to our land, and the main battleground is right here. If they are beaten and annihilated here, this will deal them a mortal blow. Just give us sufficient support and we shall rid the world of them.

WAKE UP PEOPLE OF EUROPE

THIS IS THE TIME TO START THE REAL GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM. WE ARE IN THE FRONT LINE. WAKE UP PEOPLE OF THE WORLD.

IT IS NOT ETA

I am almost certain of that.
Hi Friends,

1- The Salafis have issued frequent threats against the allies of the US in Iraq.
2- It is their hallmark to attack unsuspecting soft targets. And Spain is one of the easiest targets.
3- Massive simultaneous and multiple bombings designed to cause maximum civilian casualties are their usual technique.
4- ETA has never attacked in this way and they usually target individuals such as politicians and policemen.

I say it is they. Remember my words.

Alaa
Hi,

I a Moslem and an Iraqi would be very surprised if the criminal attack in Spain was the work of ETA. I say this is the work of the same animals who are at work in our country. Mark my words friends at this early stage.

To express condolences to the Spanish people is too empty and not enough. We pledge to them that we, the Iraqi people shall be in the forefront and will be the first line fighters to exterminate these monsters.

Alaa

Sunday, March 07, 2004

Hi,

Some time ago one friend commented something about my being anti-Bush!! And It has been in the back of mind ever since to say something about this. Me, anti-Bush!!!

Regardless of any election campaign, this man has already established himself in our hearts and minds, and forever. And it is one of my cherished dreams that one day his statue will stand in the middle of Baghdad and that all the people realize finally and unequivocally the friendship that this president of America had for them and the great favor that he has done them.

We sure wish that he be re-elected to complete the great work that he started. The job does not need any new experimenting and trial and error. But of course this is not for us to decide and we have to wait for the decision of the American people.

Nevertheless, and for my self I wish to send my heartfelt best wishes to my favorite American, El Bush, the Liberator, the Avenger.

Salaam

Saturday, March 06, 2004

Hi Friends,

A frieds comments:

Alaa,
I read on Fox News website today that Iraqi mourners are blaming the US for the deaths in the suicide bombings the other day. Just wondered what your take on this is.
Leathan Lund | Email | Homepage | 03.03.04 - 6:53 pm | #


I have been studying the Zarqawi letter very carefully and I think this is a most interesting and important document. Cynically speaking, it may be one of the most accurate and faithful appraisals of the situation in Iraq, notwithstanding the blind hatred and vituperation. Of course the chorus of monkeys have been jumping up and down and squeaking and screaming ever since its publication- It is a CIA forgery, American propaganda etc. etc.!! What I say is this: If the Americans are so clever as to produce this masterpiece of counterfeit, it might have been more worthwhile for them to do something about the missing WMD’s and the like. I mean if the CIA has such fine understanding of the mind of these people and such historical and theological depth a lot of this trouble might have been avoided. Forgive me for saying this folks; the “Americans” are just too dumb to produce something like this.

As for blaming the U.S. for the deaths and terrorism, well what do you expect Leathan? You should learn not to pay attention to this sort of thing. In addition to the terrorists themselves, there is the Monkey chorus and the anti U.S. motley crowd of all kinds and shape and description, Iraqis and non-Iraqis. Well, you may accuse the U.S. of ineptitude and carelessness, but nobody really believes the other ridiculous accusations. In any case all slanders have obvious ideological agendas and everybody knows that. They try to exploit anything and particularly to get it through the Media. Unfortunately they are being assisted even by the Western media, sometimes for some hidden agendas that have nothing to do with Iraq and the Iraqi people. But remember: if the U.S. has enemies, it also has friends here in Iraq, and these are by no means the minority.

Anyway we should examine very carefully the Zarqawi letter, for it gives a very important insight that could be most useful in understanding the whole situation. This I hope to do in a post soon.

Salaam

Tuesday, March 02, 2004

Hi,

It is also interesting that he doesn't mind a heap of abuse from another commenter, since that commenter heaps more abuse against the U.S., the occupiers etc. etc.

Friends, this is really fascinating.

Alaa
Hi,

I mean is this an "Al Qaeda" type plant trying on the one hand to slander the Iraqis and on the other presenting the American public as racist and hating fascists? This is precisely what they want people to believe.

Alaa
Hi Friends,

It is not my habit to pay attention to “trolls” but this is interesting:

Read Alaa's rant carefully. Do you want a violent savage like that living next door?
Anonymous | 03.02.04 - 10:03 am |
#”

This is more sinister than mere “trolling”. It is our turn to say: read this kind of ranting more carefully. Read between the lines. Why is it that he gets so incensed precisely when we are calling for more drastic measures against the terrorists? Of course the enemy is extremely interested in driving a wedge between the American public and the people in Iraq. Of course the images of discontent against the Coalition forces are extremely useful for this purpose. The fact that there are tens of thousands of Iraqi security forces “collaborating” and suffering and dying but never deserting or wavering is not mentioned at all. The many other positive things are never touched upon. But what is really interesting is this venom and hatred exactly when our anger against the terrorists is expressed in more emphatic ways? Is it that the enemy is honoring us with his presence disguised with false anti-Islamic and sort of white supremacist mask? Well, he is cunning and lives in our midst.

I wonder.

Salaam

Alaa

MASS MURDERS

Greetings friends,

Before, the Saddamist racist sectarian criminals used their security, police, army and all the other instruments of their camel-shit fascism to intimidate the poor people and suppress these Shiaa religious rites. Whether you like these rituals or not, and I am pesonally not very enthusiastic about them, it is the right of the people to practice them if they are peaceful.

Today the same elements, loose and free to perpetrate their atrocities have committed a most outrageous crime. The very same mass murderers who perpetrated the mass graves and all the other things so well known, have struck to demonstrate to the people that they are still around to intimidate and murder them and that they have not really become free to practice their religious customs. Is it not time to put an end to these insects and wipe them off of the face of this earth; If not for the sake of the Iraqi people, at least for the sake of the honour of the U.S. forces and allies, against whom they are spreading rumours and slanderous accusations? Those very Americans who made it possible to practice these rites for the first time in decades. Is it not time for the sacred revenge against the enemies of mankind, those very same who perpetrated 9/11 ? Is it not time ?

Alaa