بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Al Salaam Alaykum,

Friends, tears came twice to these old eyes yesterday; once in sadness, and once in happiness. The first was because of a sad event. Sheikh Zayid Bin Sultan Al Nahayan the ruler and founder of the United Arab Emirates passed away. Now this man is one of the very few Arab leaders who really had the affection and appreciation of the Iraqi people. He led his barren land which has no rivers, no mountains and hardly any assets apart from some oil, and not much of it, to be one of the most prosperous and advanced countries in the middle east. His wisdom, mildness and kindness helped to create a real gem on the shore of the Arabian Gulf. God rest the soul of this friend of the Iraqi people and great benefactor to his people. Inna Lillah Wa Inna Ileihi Rajioun.

The second time they were tears of emotion and happiness. As I saw the American people turn out in record numbers, to say their word. And it seems to be the word of defiance and courage. Despite all the propaganda and the feverish campaign, the American people have proved something very important, although the final conclusion still seems to be not official, but every indication is that this is only a matter of little time. This is a most significant and far reaching event. It was most gratifying to see the discomfiture and hardly disguised rancor of Al Jazeera commentators as the results started to take a definite direction. I believe that this outcome and the record turn out have largely for their motivation the considerations that we have in common and which I mentioned in my previous posts.

I shall withhold my real comments on the subject until the final outcome is established officially. It is worth mentioning something, though. One of the Arab networks was interviewing some American Arabs. One lady, who was probably of Syrian or Palestinian descent, was saying that most of the Arab Americans were going to vote for the Democratic candidate as kind of anti-Bush gesture. However, she added something very interesting. She said that however, amongst these, most of the Americans of Iraqi origin, were voting for President Bush. Now did you know that there is a considerable number of these, estimates range from half million to more than one million. I have the pleasure to know that our Iraqi compatriots in the U.S. may have made some real contribution towards the happy outcome we are awaiting with confidence “Inshallah”.

Salaam