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.

RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION

Hi,

We can’t in all honesty blame the American public for being frustrated at the failure of their government to resolve our Iraqi issue. If that is case, you can imagine how we the Iraqi people are feeling; we who are burning in the fires of the crisis and are being crucified daily in the most horrific way.

Yet, it is no use blaming those whose most urgent wish is to see the right outcome of this situation. We can’t blame the American people, whose indignation is righteous and is caused by their impatience at not seeing positive progress towards stability, democracy, reconstruction, respite from the daily horrors that goes on in Baghdad and elsewhere in the country, and generally progress towards the goals that we all wish for. This is righteous indignation, noble sentiments for which we as Iraqis should be appreciative and even grateful. Indeed, after all these sacrifices, there should be some more positive results to show for them. Yes indeed, when a great power with powerful allies, engaged in an enterprise that is basically very noble and enjoys the support of the majority of the people, stakes its reputation and prestige, not to mention the blood of its sons and daughters and the treasure of its land; it is not permissible to arrive at such a state of affairs as we have now. The consequences of failure are unthinkable not only for us, the Iraqis, but also for all free people in the world with the American people foremost, whether they belong to this party or that. Never mind the chorus of America haters, and all the discordant din of international hypocrisy. This fight against terrorism is more just than the struggle against fascism and Nazism was. There can be no neutrals in this battle. The terrorists are worst than the fascists, these killers specializing in murdering and torturing the innocent are by far more heinous than any other kind of vermin. No decent human being can find any excuses for these zombies. Worst still, anybody who heaps invective against those confronting this inhuman evil, is almost as guilty as the beast himself. America was not always right, but this time by God, its fight is a just as the sun is bright in an Iraqi summer day. Anybody who cannot see this is as blind in heart as in sight.

The only thing that America is guilty of is that of underestimating the viciousness of the enemy, and not so much his military capability; because the enemy’s weapon is not so much military prowess, but evil and viciousness. He specializes in hitting below the belt. He has no rules and no scruples, and will stop at nothing. He is absolutely devoid of any kind of human feeling. To think that you can reason with him or somehow accommodate his wishes and desires is absolute folly and suicide. This was clearly illustrated lately in Iraq when all kinds of overtures and approaches were made in forlorn hopes of appeasing him. This only resulted in boosting his morale and appetite for murder and violence. America seems to have become confused and loosing sight of the fundamentals of the issue and even who the real enemy is. Of course this was aided by a massive propaganda assault aimed directly at the American public from abroad and from within. Yet this is absolutely not a partisan issue. It is tragic that this matter is used for partisan purposes and for electoral considerations. When the ship of state starts sinking, it will take down everybody with it. You ask us Iraqis about this. And this is war, my friends. You can’t have half wars. In war you just have to go all the way. You either win or lose, and if you lose you are lost. In no other situation is this more true than this our war.

Democrat or republican, America has no option but to find a way to win this war. All real Americans must be as sure of that as all real Iraqis.

IN PRAISE OF TYRANNY

Hi,

I have no inclination to blog today. In fact I suffer certain relatively minor personal problems that oppress me at the moment. I just want you to look at this . So our kind leftists who care so much about humanity don't think that dictatorship and tyranny are as terrible as all that. This article is interesting because it expresses the point of view of many of the like of this individual. Read this my friends and wonder how low have our "humanitarian" liberals and leftists have sunk. I shall say no more.

Regards

NEWS FLASH

Hi,

The official spokesman for the "Anbar Salvation Council" has just appeared on the Al-Iraqia T.V. He announced that the Americans told the Council that if it tried to enter Ramadi to chase the terrorists out they would be confronting the American forces !! An astounding revelation which leaves one dumbfounded. From my own private sources, I heard many times that the Americans are not encouraging anti-terrorist elements to launch any large scale action against the enemy. Now this is stated openly by one of the official spokesmen of the Council. I wonder what is the real strategy of the Americans? I am mystified.

FLIRTING WITH SAYED ALI

Hi,

There is a popular Iraqi proverb known by everybody around here. Roughly translated it goes like this: “She neither got to keep her man nor managed to get Seyid Ali” (لا حظت برجيلها ولا خدت سيدعلي). The meaning should be obvious but still we explain it. It is about a woman who tried to get another man “Seyid Ali”; but the result of her flirtations was that she lost her husband and did not manage to get the other man who was only fooling around with her. The moral of this proverb should be clear.

At a time when the Sodomo-Ladinists proclaim the establishment of the "Islamic Republic of Iraq" which includes Baghdad (!!), and when large chunks of the capital (especially in the west) have virtually fallen to the terrorists where normal life has virtually come to a standstill, and innocent citizen are murdered in their own houses, and where shops are closed and street vendors are murdered on side pavements, and where corpses strewn in the streets and on pavements including men, women and even children have become daily sight; and when all this is taking place under the noses of the American and Iraqi forces; at this time it is concluded by some, that the problem is in areas outside the control of the abovementioned gentlemen, and we find the American forces surrounding the neighborhoods of Karadah and Sadr city, although it is only in such areas that any semblance of normal life goes on. And it seems that the problem is only the Mahdi army and that the Qaeda, the Mujahideen Shura Council, the Isalmic Army, Jaysh Muhammad, Ansar Al-Sunna, etc. etc. are harmless charity organizations that pose no danger and whose “human rights” are the main concern.

Of course, in a normal society, you don’t have armed groups running around outside the official law enforcement forces that alone have the right to carry arms and the duty to protect citizens and uphold Law and order. You only have to dial 999 and the police will come to your door. But do we have something like that here? A friend of mine had his son kidnapped for ransom last year, when the situation in Baghdad was much better by comparison with the present time. He went to the police asking for help. Do you know what they told him? They told him that they could do nothing about it and cheerfully reassured him not to worry as the gang was bound to contact him for ransom, and that he would do better to learn good bargaining technique to reduce his losses. The neighborhoods of Ghazaliya, Amiryah, Al-Jihad and others look like ghost towns at the moment. Many of the inhabitants have fled leaving their houses and all their belongings at the mercy of terror gangs to save their lives. Now that the death gangs (who do not all belong to the Mehdi army, by the way) ran out of Shiaas to murder in places like Amiriyah, they have turned against even the Sunnis. I can recount many horrific stories that I personally know for sure, but I would rather spare you the sordid details. I don’t mean to deny that the Shiaas are also guilty of retaliation and violent acts, but you have to remember who started this vicious cycle, and you have to remember that this was a premeditated plan that Al-Qaeda has been planning and implementing for a long time, as was explicitly described in that famous letter by the accursed defunct Zarqawi.

For the past year or so the Americans have been the main champions of Sunni rights and Sunni participation and all that. Of course it is right to uphold the rights of all communities and minorities, and it is right that the U.S. should not be seen to favor any particular group, sect or community. Everybody should have equal rights and equal opportunities. However, equal rights do not include license to terrorize and murder others and to insist on imposing the will of a minority over the majority, including demands to annul the political process altogether and cancel the results of the elections and the constitution which was approved by nationwide referendum. It got so far that there are secret negotiations between the Americans and “the resistance” in certain neighboring countries. The negotiations are mainly with the Baathists. There are reports that the U.S. has asked certain Arab regimes to intercede with the “insurrectionists” to beg them to lay down arms in return for God knows what kind of promises. And what kind of gratitude did the Americans get for their pains: the highest casualty rate since the end of major operations in 2003; and these casualties were not inflicted by the Mehdi army nor any other Shiite group for sure. In fact the Sodomo-Ladinists see all this as a sign of weakness and admission of defeat and are elated and are proclaiming their success and the soon to be achieved “final victory”, at the top of their voices in their propaganda organs whether on the internet or through their thinly disguised sympathizers and sponsors in certain Arab and non-Arab capitals. And the din of propaganda is getting more and more deafening from all sides. The objective of all this is so obvious. It is to break the will and morale of the American people above all, and to confuse the American leadership and lead them astray to policies and positions that are self defeating and counterproductive to say the least. And please don’t get me wrong, I still have the highest esteem, admiration and even affection for President Bush whom I think to be the most sober and clear minded of the lot. Yet the President is being subjected to terrible pressures from all sides and maybe some bad counsel too.

It is always important not to forget the fundamentals of any particular situation. And the fundamentals of the Iraqi issue consist of remembering which elements of the population have interest in the success of the new order and which other have lost privileges and interests and are trying with all their might to subvert and wreck the new system, with the hope of restoring their previous hegemony over society. They cannot seem to understand or accept that the previous state of affairs are quite impossible to bring back; that their stranglehold has been broken once and for all, by the American action; that not even America, which has been the main agent of the change cannot turn the clock back, even if we assume, for argument sake, that it wants to do that, which is highly unlikely. It is important not to lose sight of the essential facts on the ground; not to be so confused by the fog as to cease to distinguish who the real enemy is. Just ask yourselves the following questions:

- Who is responsible for most of the casualties that were suffered by the coalition forces.
- Who is responsible for beheadings, kidnappings, car bombs, attacks in market places etc. etc. ever since liberation in 2003.
- Who is responsible for sabotaging the essential services, electricity, water etc. etc.
- Etc. etc. etc.

Ask yourselves honestly and earnestly, and do not let propaganda and misinformation confuse you. I am sure the answers to the above questions are amply clear. The nature of the “insurgency” and its main perpetrators have been known and perfectly understood for a long time. President Bush himself has explained very clearly this matter on several occasions, not to mention other American and Iraqi officials. So let us not be like the soccer player who turns back to score in his own goal. But I am glad to see that there is at least one sober and wise person who understands this more than anybody else, and that is President Bush himself.

Regards

THE ANBAR SALVATION COUNCIL

Hi,

Actually, I think one of the most important developments recently is the situation in the Anbar and the rise of the anti-terrorist movement there in more developed and explicit form. This movement should neither be underestimated nor overestimated. But it is certainly real and a considerable split in the Tribes of the Dulaim. The U.S. forces have done a lot of work in this front since the beginning and have put in quite a lot of effort and have tried various approaches. In the Anbar, the Iraqi Government does not really exist at all, and it is only the American forces that have any real presence there apart from the various terrorist groups of-course. In the last year or so it seems that the Americans have been using a more subtle approach in trying to corner the enemy in certain locations and surround him without confronting him directly. It seems that he was allowed to concentrate in certain points (in and near the city of Ramadi) and almost given the freedom to exist and fester within these narrow boundaries. Thus the hapless inhabitants of these towns, such as Ramadi, were given the dubious honor of experiencing all the pleasures of living under the yoke of these hordes of Mujahideen who actually surpassed the Taliban in their zeal for various Godly practices.

For instance, here are some of the things that were declared haram (forbidden), not to mention the usual prohibitions of Islam that everybody knows:

- It is haram for men(let alone women) to wear shorts and even jeans, indeed the captain of the Iraqi tennis team was murdered in Baghdad for just this sin as he was leaving his house wearing one (to play tennis).
- It is haram for women to drive. Many women were murdered for this particular sin.
- It is haram to listen to music.
- Haircuts and hairdressing is haram and barbers and barber shops have been favorite targets.

All that is very well but wait for this:

- “Turshi”(pickled vegetables) is haram. I am told by some of my Ramadi acquaintances that jars of “Turshi” are secretly passed around much in the same way that drugs are traded elsewhere.
- Sammoun (bread that is baked in what is considered western style) is haram, and hence the many attacks on bakeries guilty of this practice.
- Last but not least, spoons forks and any such cutlery are haram !!!! The pious Islamic way is to eat with one’s bare hands.

The list can go on and on, with increasing absurdity. It gets to a point when it is clear that they want any excuse to murder people.

Can you imagine what it is like to be living under such regime, adding to that the lack of essential services and the total collapse of almost everything? In addition to that, the terrible murders and aggression against all kinds of ordinary and prominent people alike, including academicians, tribal leaders etc.; all that has resulted finally in the majority of the people of the Anbar reaching the limit and finally realizing the real source of their misery. And thus I can tell you with certainty, and based on personal acquaintances with people from that province, that the anti-terrorist movement there is real and widespread and given the right support and encouragement it could result in totally cleaning the Anbar in its entirety, which would be an important turning point in this war.

The fact that this "Anbar Salvation Council" that has proved its commitment against the terrorists is composed of the most Sunni of Sunnies, has the important effect of counteracting the sectarian tensions. And indeed already, strong expressions of support from the South and from Shiaa quarters have been expressed. The importance of this development should not be lost in the midst of the general “mess” (as expressed lately by President Bush). It is, in fact an opportunity to clean up this most strategic province and achieve an important milestone in this struggle. However, it is right that this movement should be carefully controlled and integrated within the framework of the Law and the Government. The locals have quite superior knowledge and intelligence of the nature and identity of the various terrorist groups, and have proved on several occasions their effectiveness against such groups. It is after all their homes and families that they are fighting for and they are not going to go elsewhere once they are in full control of their towns and villages. This is a genuine uprising of ordinary decent citizens who are thoroughly sick and tired of the scourge of this Sodo-Ladinist-Criminal gangs of zombies and vampires who do not represent any real ideology or civilization but are the putrid decomposing and stinking remains of a way of life that has died long time ago.

This is an urgent appeal to come to the aid of the risen decent tribes of the Anbar and to put this matter at the top list of priorities. You want some decent Sunnis to uphold, and redress the balance in the new political system? Well, here you have the right candidates. Help to boost, empower, organize and enable the "Anbar Awakening and Salvation Council" to launch the offensive and clean up their province and restore Law and Order. Do not allow the enemy to regroup and launch their counter offensive which is expected any moment now. Help the valiant Dulaim people accomplish what has eluded the U.S. and Government forces for more than than three years. It is in the Anbar that the problem has started and it is in the Anbar that it may end.

Wa Al Salmu Alaykum Warhmatullah

Hi,

The problem with the Mahdi Army is that its fortunes have changed dramatically particularly since the start of the civil strife (which we shall refrain from calling civil war). You should remember that when the 1st Mahdi Army uprising during the Alawi provisional government time, most Shiites shunned the Sadrists and despised them and the uprising was put down relatively easily. However, since the destruction of the Samara shrine, the Sadrists have emerged as the main active participants in the internecine civil struggle, and are seen by many Shiaas as their main defendants against the extremist Sunni attacks. Many Shiaas, particularly in the Baghdad area will tell you that if it hadn’t been for the Mehdi army not a single Shiite would have been able to stay in Baghdad. It must not be understood that I am trying to defend this Militia, but what I am trying to do is to state some facts that exist on the ground these days. I was planning to write to warn of this dangerous situation in which I have one of these feelings that the American are about to commit one of their big blunders.

Of course the Militia problem must be solved; of course the generally reiterated position regarding this issue whether by American or government sources is theoretically correct; however the problem is how to go about it. I don’t have much time today, however, since fighting has already started in Diwaniya and is likely to spread elsewhere, I feel it is urgent to sound the alarm. I am not condoning sectarian tit for tat reprisals; in fact only yesterday we have lost three members of our extended family who happened to be Sunnis at the hand of some sectarian gang. Nevertheless, I will state this emphatically, the U.S. army should not be enticed into any kind of military confrontation with the Mehdi army; as this can be quite disastrous and opens up a hellish new front and will not lead to any results other than driving this militia underground to splinter into proper clandestine terrorist organizations.

Another point that requires much explanation will be said today hurriedly. It is a strategic mistake to lump all events in the Middle East region into one basket. More specifically and frankly; the Israel-Lebanon conflict, the Iranian Issue, and the Shiaas in Iraq are three quite separate subjects. It is true that the main protagonists in all three can be labeled as Shiaas, but the common denominator ends there. The first is a border dispute about a farm and a question of prisoner exchange and not much more despite all the flamboyant rhetoric and high emotions. The second is basically the same old ancient Persian illusions of grandeur and nationalistic ambitions cloaked in religious garb. The third, i.e., the Shiaas in Iraq is a much more complex situation and is pivotal for the success of the mission in Iraq, which in itself is a key to influencing the other issues.

Allow me to pontificate a little, since this is the crazy cybernetic world of blogging; and hence let me imagine myself as some great theoretician and therefore I shall enunciate my views as some Laws:

Alaa’s first Law: The relations between the Shiaa’s of Iraq and Iran are reciprocally proportional to those between them and the United States. In other words; the worst the latter gets the closer becomes the first and vise versa. Therefore this question must be dealt with, with the utmost caution to avoid quite undesirable results.

Alaa’s second Law: The best way to confront the theocratic regime in Iran and all other dictatorships in the region is for the Iraqi experiment to succeed; that is something that is clearly understood by all around us, which explains their desperate efforts to abort this project. Therefore it is wise to concentrate on this matter and avoid opening new fronts at the moment.

Alaa’s Third Law: The United States of America has become the Sole Super Power in the world of today; and has been cast into this role almost despite itself; its success has been so unbelievably complete, especially after the dramatic collapse of the Soviet block, that it finds itself charged with such global responsibility that is almost unbearable and for which it may not be entirely prepared. Just look around you: which other nation has such armies and fleets and economic involvement spreading over the entire globe? Consequently America has become the obsession of friend and foe alike, world wide. Just listen to any standard discourse of our Arab commentators, for instance. You will hear the word America or something to do with America, in every other sentence; if not in each one. America is deified, demonized, believed to be the source of everything that is happening. My son once told me that one of his teachers (of wahabi sympathies) emphatically told his pupils in class, that it was America that caused the Tsunami that struck the shores of Asia. Ordinary American folk may not quite realize or understand this; it is rather like some of these fairy tales when some quite ordinary person finds himself crowned as King or something of the sort.

The question is this: Is the American political and social system really fit and prepared for such huge responsibility? That I shall leave to friends to ponder about.

What I really wanted to say in this respect is that American policy cannot afford to be subservient to any one particular concern, interest or pressure group. It has to take all aspects and all sides of issues into consideration.

Of course the issues that I raised today need to be discussed at much greater length and clarity. What I want to emphasize for today is an urgent advice to the Americans to deal with Sadrists in quite a different way from last time, i.e. politically and through their still great influence, while there is time. I am throwing these views into wide open debate and would be very interested to read the opinion of my friends.

Regards

BIBI

Hi,

It was quite sometime ago, in the early days of explosions in Baghdad, maybe a couple of years ago or more; I don’t remember. Those days almost seem to have been peaceful compared to nowadays. The scene was not particularly the most violent of what has become routine daily life around here. Yet, for some reason it continues to haunt me and always comes to my mind. There was this explosion near a house in the middle class neighborhood of Harithiya, West Baghdad. It was reported on T.V. and the reporter was near the house interviewing the neighbors etc., as this kind of event still made news then. The house itself had suffered some damage though not very extensive. It was one those typical villas of this part of Baghdad, with a nice garden and the kind of usual quite good hardwood furniture made by local carpenters out of teak wood. No doubt the owner of the house spent the better part of life in building a family, acquiring the house and furnishing it. You entered the guest room to see all the little trinkets and souvenirs that were collected for many years exhibited proudly to impress the guests, a valuable Persian carpet on the floor, and the inevitable sofa set which has been there most likely for many years. To cut it short this was the kind of family very similar to ours.

And there was this boy, he must have had ten years or so, quite decently dressed and handsome looking; and he was talking rapidly in an agitated way as boys do, trying to describe the explosion and how he was somewhere in the house and how he ran out to the street and then came back to the house and a lot of excited babble like that. “There was no one in the house, only Bibi, only Bibi” ( Bibi is the equivalent of Granny in your slang ), “only Bibi, only Bibi,” he kept repeating almost nonchalantly. “Bibi has died, Bibi has died”. I don’t remember exactly the rest of what he said but his bewildered face and excited tone, almost like when kids go on blabbering about something that astounded them and that they saw for the first time. This image keeps flashing in my mind ever since. This Bibi, clearly the grandmother of the boy, most likely on his mother’s side, is so typical of Iraqi households. Both parents, probably, were middle class working parents, usually government employees; and the boy typically brought up by his grandmother from his earliest childhood. Therefore Bibi, was the human being closest to this child; she held him when he was still a baby, fed him his milk bottles (the Mammiyah’s), changed his nappies, wiped his face, washed him, cleaned him; spent many a sleepless night by his side and all in all, was the real mother. The violent death of this old woman must have been a real trauma for this boy.

You see, we have in the house our own Bibi, may God protect her, she is the mother of my wife. We are indebted to her for bringing up all my children and looking after us for many years. She is now very old and senile, and no longer able to do anything. My children, now grown up, still call her Mamma. We would never abandon her for anything in the world. We could not go anywhere without her. She is just the most precious member of the family and in any kind of relocation or travel plan for the family she is a major consideration. I think you can understand why the incident of the boy affected me so much. I shudder as I try to avoid imaging him as one of my boys and his Bibi as our Bibi. It is a kind of nightmare.

I don’t think the Bibi of that boy died from any wounds, because there were few signs of any serious damage in the house. I imagine she must have been startled to death, shocked by something which she did not really understand, something so out of the ordinary. All these years of routine existence, cooking in the kitchen, washing dishes, hanging up the linen, looking after the children, waiting for her daughter and her husband to come home from work; all this ordinary uneventful existence, filled with the worries, little problems and tenderness of family life; all this came to a sudden brutal and violent end. And the little boy, what scar he is going to bear for the rest of his life, if he survives, that is! And how many other Bibi’s, and how many other children and parents and all sorts of ordinary people have suffered and met with such rude and violent end to their lives! You know, it is violence against the weak, the delicate and the frail that really pains the heart.

One of my favorite American writers was the playwright called “Tennessee Williams”. I never had the opportunity to watch any of his plays on stage, but I did see the films and also read some of his plays in print. What touched me most in his work was this compassion for the meek and the frail; for the suffering of the vulnerable and the weak. Violence inflicted upon the helpless is one of the most painful things in the world. Is pity a weakness that we should be ashamed of? One line in one of his plays (Night of the Iguana, if I remember right), has remained engraved in my mind and always remembered in difficult times. This was a verse of a pathetic poem written by one of his typically pathetic characters. The poem addresses a tree, admiring its perseverance and strength in standing erect and high for so long in the face of storms, tempests and hurricanes. I would like to conclude with these verses, hoping that I remember them correctly:

“Oh Courage, would you not as well,
Select a second place to dwell,
Not only in that Golden tree,
But in the frightened heart of me.”

Regards.

testing testing testing

Hi,

It seems that the trouble has not been the result of an attack but a malfunction from Blogger. Now it is working. I think I have something say which I consider important which should be forthcoming soon, Inshallah ( Gods Willing ).

Regards

Richard,

You are someone who really does understand me and then goes on to forumulate practical plans and ideas that I believe are really worth being considered. The military doctrine of the U.S. forces in Iraq does really need fundamental rethinking. To follow up the question of the situation in the Anbar have a look at this. It must not be assumed that this is some minor development. The split in the Anbar has been developing for some time now. The anti-Qaeda and anti-terrorist sentiment has been growing steadily in the province. The atrocities committed against the people there are not less terrible than those perpetrated against the Shiaas and the people elsewhere in Iraq. This is an urgent call not to let down the people in the Anbar who want to do the right thing. Don't let us have a repititon of the tragedy of Shaik Ussama Al-Jadaan. I have my own personal connections in the Anbar and I know this movement is quite real. They need help, support and encouragement urgently. Please someone take notice.

Regards.

THE GRAND FITNAH

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Hi,

Fitnah, is one of these words that I find difficult to translate succinctly; perhaps there is an English synonym unknown to me. Fitnah is sawing discord that results in conflict and violent antagonism. But in Arabic the word has much stronger connotation. There is a verse in the holy Koran that contains the following expression: “Fitnah is worse than murder”. What is happening in the land of the two rivers right now is one of the worst Fitnahs in our long eventful history. We have known in the past, persecution, intimidation and murder; but that was always organized and perpetrated by the state and its repressive organs. We have never seen though, neighbor turning against neighbor and friend upon his erstwhile friend, even kin against kin; not in our recent history at any rate. The Cancer is spreading and the Plague is raging. The atrocities committed are of unimaginable horror. Gangs are out hunting for prey everyday; anybody of the wrong sect they come across is doomed. They are not content with murder, but the most bestial tortures are inflicted on the poor innocent victim before the killing. Not to mention the eviction of families from their homes under threats of extermination, threats which are made good in case of refusal to comply. The plans of the accursed Zarqawi, rotting now in his grave, and his accomplices have proven more serious than many might have thought. The attack on the holy shrines in Samara was a masterstroke planned on the highest level by the “Elders of ToraPora” as the opening move of a serious escalation of the sectarian war that they have been seeking desperately, hoping to finally force the other side to react and thereby ignite the tit for tat acts that could deteriorate eventually into full sectarian civil war. The most important goal of the enemy is to force the general Sunni population to rebellion and total negation of the new order. They have been maddened by the lack of reaction on the part of Shiaas despite all the killings and atrocities perpetrated for more than three years, and it was more important for them to precipitate these reactions than any other consideration. They desperately sought that Sunnis be killed more than just wreaking more vengeance on the Shiaas. This time the religious leadership of Sistani and the Margiiyah could no longer restrain the people. And unfortunately, retaliation started to take place. And as usual, it is always the weak and the innocent who suffer most from both sides.

The vision of the enemy is to engulf the country in a quagmire of medieval bestiality that would completely abort all efforts of reconciliation and utterly thwart and bring down the elected government; and encouraged by noises coming out of the U.S. they hope to disgust and confuse the Americans out of Iraq with the help of the antiwar camp in the West, and some foolish councilors in America who think they know better when in fact, they understand nothing. With this main obstacle of the U.S. military removed, they can then unleash their full offensive and bring in all the "Jihadis" from all over the world and together with the Saddamists and local aroused Sunni tribesmen, they imagine they can overrun the country and massacre everybody and establish their Taliban style Emirate or perhaps Caliphate or whatever their sick minds are hallucinating. It must be said, however, that these people, despite all their exceptional capacity for mischief and brutality remain the irrational and stupid Morlocks that they really are. When it comes to calculating the consequences beyond the immediate desire for vengeance and destruction they cannot see much beyond their noses. This same trait characterized all the actions of deposed Saddam, and you all know where his policies brought us. They cannot see, for instance, that the days when they could subjugate the Shiaas and the Kurds as before are gone forever. Perhaps they might overrun Baghdad and its surrounds temporarily, but they will not be able to go much further south. As for the Kurds, they should remember that even at the height of Saddam’s power and even with the use of chemical weapons it was not possible to subdue this people. I am not related in any way to the Kurds, but I must tell you my opinion about them: this race of people is quite a decent one, considering the tough neighborhood where they were destined to inhabit. This opinion does not come from just some political bias but is based on my own personal experience. For those of you interested in history, the Kurds are the descendants of the ancient Parthians, sometime also called the Medians, a people classified as Arian or Indo-European by anthropologists. Once they had a large kingdom which is said to have been one of the most tolerant and benign in the ancient world. Archeologists have found relics of this empire. They wore very long, pointed and rather comical caps on their heads. They are tough mountain people renowned for their fortitude and constancy in friendship with those who chose to be their allies.

In the present complex befogged situation there are so many urgent questions to address that I find it hard where to start. What is clear, however is that the U.S. in particular and the West in general are facing serious challenges on several fronts, and these challenges are proving more serious than they expected and bargained for. This calls for reexamination and rethinking some previous ideas and notions and devising new approaches and methods to deal with situations that are quite different from previously conceived scenarios. The crucial questions concern the course of action that has to be taken now. What would be the best way to counterattack, conceding that the initiative seems to be in the other’s hands? The answers to these questions require much careful consideration. To start with we must ask ourselves quite bluntly: is there a way out that will ensure a satisfactory outcome from our point of view? Well to cut a long story short, I would like to begin with a conclusion contrary to good writing practice. I believe that despite all the mistakes that were made there is still a way to succeed. This way is both technical on the one side and political and economic on the other. But this has to be the subject of future posts.

As a footnote I would like to draw your attention to this . I have some inside information regarding the situation in the Anbar, where there is a real split amongst the Dulaim Tribes into anti-terrorist and pro-terrorist camps. That might be a subject for an interesting future post.

For the time being I bid you farewell and God Bless.

Richard,

Hi, and thanks for your sentiments.

I feel it is really time that I told you in more details some of my views regarding the current state of affairs in Iraq. More specifically, it is necessary that I convey some of my concerns regarding the way the Americans are dealing with the sectarian issue and particularly the relations with the Shiaa majority in Iraq and the larger issue of the Shiaa in the whole region including Iran. I think this is one of the more urgent issues at the moment and it is essential that American policy deals with it with wisdom, intelligence and the utmost caution.

God's willing, I must find some time this friday to talk about it.

Regards.

Dear Malanie,

I am so touched by your invitation. I am sure you meant it very seriously, as I know that Americans always mean it when they offer you something; unlike our rotten habbit of saying such things just to sound hospitable, without the slightest intention of honoring them. Although it is not practicable for me to move to the U.S. right now, nevertheless I really appreciate your compassion and decency. What a stark contrast to the behaviour of some people around here who are forcing families out of their lawful homes for no reason other than being of the "other sect" or ethnicity.

However, I and my family are well protected and looked after at the moment, although the future is not very clear. It seems probable that I might end up somewhere not very far from the U.S. eventually.

Regarding the situation in Baghdad, although we can't claim that the "enemy" has been beaten, one thing is sure: the Iraqi security forces are growing stronger and stronger, and are often blodying his nose quite painfully. It seems to me that responsibility is going to be transferred to the Iraqi side much quicker than what is being admitted in public. I don't know whether we are going to see a significant withdrawal of American forces soon, but I am sure that the nature of the role of these forces is going to undergo a subtle change. It will tend more and more towards observing and technical and logistic support, rather than direct involvement, although in some regions, such as the Anbar, this connot come soon.

The most urgent task of the moment is to combat this scourge of sectarianism, which unfortunately, Al Qaeda and the Baathists have succeeded in forcing upon us; a plan which was expressly and openly expounded, as for example in that famous letter by the defunct Zarqawi. Therefore, in principle, the goverment's strategy is in the right direction; i.e. to deal with the terrorists firmly on one hand and to push forcefully for "national reconciliation", on the other hand. The solution most certainly has to consider many aspects: technical, military, political and economic. I have definite ideas about some of these which I hope to find time to tell you about.

Thank you Malanie, and love to you and your family and to all my friends in the U.S. and may God bless you and bless America.

Alaa

Hi Friends,

Just to reassure my friends of my safety and all members of the familly. It is no longer safe to stay in the neighborhood where my house and all our property is situated. So I am rather uprooted these days. Otherwise things are more or less under control as far as my personal life is concerned. I thank God for giving me the means to survive. Many of my close relatives have left the country already. I am grieved at this situation in Baghdad, but it is something that I fully expected and warned of years ago. Most of the planning that is going on these days in Baghdad contains elements of the ideas that I proposed three years ago. Had action been taken then it would have been much easier.

Nevertheless, I don't think the situation is hopeless and I still believe that somehow the Government and the Americans will manage in the end, thanks to the patience and perseverence of the American leadership and the patriotic elements in the Iraqi side.

Al Maliki is proving to be a very sensible man, so far. I wish him luck.

I hope to find the time to tell you much more.

Best regards

Your friend, Alaa

Hi Friends,

Just to say Hellow and tell you that I am still alive. Things are really getting hot in Baghdad. What I have warned about always and since the beginning is sadly taking place right now. The battle of Baghdad is raging and we are still at the beginnig. Whoever wins this battle settles this business once and for all. Actually it may not a bad thing after all, and may bring a swift conclusion to this affair. A little bit of firmness, nay I would say justifiable ruthlessness and concentration of effort on this limited part of the map may bring things to a swift conclusion.

I shall try to find time to tell you some of my ideas but it is so difficult to spare the few minutes required in these treacherous and murderous times.

Regards to you all.

Your brother Alaa

Hi,

Thanks to all my friends who expressed their relief on being reassured of my safety. That means a lot to me and really touches me. Well I can assure my friends that I am a very careful man and take very good precautions but “Death will overtake you even if you be in built towers” as the holy Koran says. Human psychology is very complex and can adapt to any kind of situation such as the constant presence of danger. But we are not going to go into that right now, despite being a very interesting subject.

Today, I have something quite serious to talk about. At long last, it has come to be realized that any security strategy in Iraq must start from securing the Capital. This is something that I have said long ago and was probably the main reason for starting to blog just to get across this message. It would have been easier to implement such a strategy earlier before the “enemy” has had enough time to infest many neighborhoods and entrench in considerable areas of the Capital. Indeed it was the enemy who started the offensive with a deliberate and coordinated plan that escalated especially after blowing up the shrines in Samara, which was definitely an important part of the plan in order to escalate sectarian violence and invite retaliation which would then facilitate and help a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” to clear increasingly large chunks of the capital and turn them into “Faluja” style safe havens for the “insurgency”. I don’t know whether people abroad are really aware of the real situation in Baghdad right now. The capital is divided along sectarian lines with parts of it becoming no-go zones especially for Shiaa’s, and these zones are not just in the peasant outskirts of the city but have moved to the heart of middle class areas especially to the west of the city. The situation has worsened considerably in the last couple of months. Many of our relatives and acquaintances have left their houses and villas and taken refuge to safer parts of the city with friends and relatives. Certain neighborhoods in West Baghdad have almost become deserted.

Thus the government announced security plan for Baghdad is not so much an initiative but a badly needed counteroffensive to save the capital from a very dangerous situation. I have warned against this many a time to no avail. The onslaught is getting dangerously close to the part of the city where I myself live. The tactic used by the enemy is to concentrate terrorist operations on the areas where they plan to move to and then follow that with a campaign of intimidation and threats to inhabitants with few murders of whole families and the like to induce all undesirables to move out so that they can have a free hand and safe haven in the area and entirely take over the neighborhood. The intent of the sectarian gangs should not be underestimated or misunderstood; they have the serious intent and foul ambition to take over completely at least the western half of the city of Baghdad and that includes by the way the famous Green Zone. Thus you can understand that the true significance of the present operation by Iraqi Government and American forces; it is a necessary, urgent and critical counteroffensive to save Baghdad.

I don’t know if many of my western friends really understand the nature of the geography of Iraq and its cities. In many ways it is different from what you are accustomed to. In particular, Baghdad is a huge horizontal urban expansion of mostly low rise dwellings; i.e. brick and concrete single and two story houses. With the collapse of municipal services the whole city is turning into a great big slum including even the erstwhile prosperous and bourgeois quarters. Thus these vast urban growths with innumerable side streets and alleyways can be bewildering even for us who have lived most of our lives in this place. For instance, I myself in days bygone when one could drive safely anywhere in the city without any fear, could not find my way in many parts of city. The population of the Greater Baghdad Area is estimated at about six millions, that is roughly a quarter of the entire population of the whole country. The mass migration from the provinces towards Baghdad has been one of main problems in Iraq in the last century. The Baathists in particular have encouraged their clans from the Sunni Triangle to come and provided them with land and support to settle in the capital in deliberate scheming to change the demography of the city. Thus most of present day Baghdad did not actually exist half a century ago. The real original Baghdadis do not represent but a small percentage of the present population of the city. The deposed regime actually allocated land on the basis of professional affiliation. Elements close to the regime such as members of the Saddamist security forces and the like had the lion share in these housing projects which explain why certain areas in Baghdad are such hotbeds of terrorism and rebellion.

As I am writing these lines another horrible outrage has just taken place. A suicide attack has been perpetrated in one of the main Shiaa mosques in Baghdad, the ancient Bratha mosque, which had been attacked before recently. The attackers hid the explosives in shoes and slippers. An ugly mood and terrible anger is seizing the street right now, which can jeopardize all the government efforts at reconciliation and national unity. I was planning to examine coolly the requisites for the security plan to succeed but I fear the events are so exasperating that I cannot think dispassionately right now. All I can say is that if the plan does not shift gear and strike with iron fist on quite well known safe havens for the criminals in Baghdad itself, then the chances of success are not very promissing. We are all for national unity and reconciliation but those sensible and honorable elements within the Sunni camp must come forward and take the lead in condemning and fighting these awful killers who are based in their neighborhoods and their midst. The position of these is so crucial and any hesitation on their part can have quite disastrous consequences.

Regards

HELL WELCOMES ITS LATEST ILLUSTRIOUS INMATE

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Hi,

I extend warm greetings to all my friends after such a long absence.

Well, today is a good day. The urge to express my feelings is so strong that I am back at the keyboard despite the terrible apathy that has gripped me these last months. You can probably guess at some of the reasons for this state of mind. I am not going into details. Only it seems to me that intelligent people should not pay such a high price just to learn some few facts that have always seemed to me quite simple and mundane.

But I don’t plan to go into that today, because today is a good day indeed. An arch zombie has been blown to smithereens. You know, I am the sort of guy who gets distressed at the sight of blood and cannot bear the sight of even a dead animal, believe it or not. But you know, I was shocked at my own feelings of pleasure on beholding the photo of the dead face of Zarqawi. I would never have thought that possible. I have never felt this way my whole life. Yet the atrocities and outrages that these pseudo humans, these misanthropes, have perpetrated have engendered such anger, such sorrow, such rage that not even the most peaceful of souls can control their hatred of these criminals. My only regret was that the death was fast and sudden, and I felt pain that the true martyr of our country our beloved Ussama Al-Jadaan could not witness this day which he had predicted and played a big role in bringing about.

Well, I am not going to dwell on the reaction of people like Al Jazeera (again) who showed their true color today without even any attempt at dissimulation. So this arch murderer of day laborers, bakers, school children and etc. etc., this master be-header of poor hostages and planner of car bombings and all kinds of the most outrageous orgies of mass killings; this man is to be mourned and regretted as a martyr and mujahid etc. etc.!!! Yes, friends, believe it or not these sentiments were expressed openly and repeated hysterically on mass media like the notorious one referred to above. I still cannot understand why when whole countries and regimes are labeled as rogue states and suffer sanctions and the like when, here we have an official state owned media outlet that has played a major role in inciting and aiding and abetting the most violent forms of terrorism; and nothing has been done against them and those who sponsor and finance them. Indeed the state that harbors this state of affairs enjoys the blessings and the best of relations with the west and the free world.

But it is not that which I want most to say today. I want to congratulate the valiant eagles of the American Air force and all the men of the U.S. Army, the Iraqi security forces and all those involved in executing this just punishment and for being the instrument of providential justice. Blessed be the wombs that bore you, and please accept this expression of gratitude and love from an ordinary Iraqi man. And as for you American people rest assured that our faith in victory has not shaken on single iota. I can only end with the words of our dear President Bush: “God Bless Iraq and May God continue to Bless America”.

Al Salam Alaykum

Hi,

Another hurried urgent note.

There is no doubt that the political situation is very complicated at the moment. It is certain also that the U.S. and her allies remain one of the main players and important factors in this multi-sided struggle. The situation is so confused that it would need a super computer to work out all the permutations and combinations. One factor, though which must be very carefully weighed by the strategists concerns the changing fortunes of those currents within the Shiaa movement that are associated with the Sadrists and their fellow travelers and their relative weight within the Shiaa camp.

It must be realized that the situation has changed drastically regarding the public attitudes towards this group. This was largely the result of the sectarian onslaught especially after the Samara shrine accident. Since I don’t have time to give a detailed analysis at the moment I want just to jump to some conclusions to give a bit of advice to the U.S. in particular. It is crucial to avoid any direct confrontation with the Sadrists and their supporters at the moment, because the public Shiaa opinion is not going to be the same as last time. The way to combat the ambitions and aims of this group is to strengthen the other more reasonable and sane wings of the Shiaa movement. Also, of course it is necessary to resolve the political situation regarding the formation of the government. At the same time firmness against the Saddamists and terrorists should not be weakened.

It is crucial that one must not loose sight of who the real enemy is, and it is not wise to open too many fronts when the existing ones are far from being resolved. One of the few who seems to clearly understand this in the U.S. seems to be the President himself. This latest tragedy of the Bratha mosque has very profound implications. It is not just an attack on the Shiaas but also an attack on SCIRI at a time when the split within the UIA ( United Iraqi Alliance, the main Shiite group) is becoming public.

Wise rapid action has never been more necessary than at these critical times.

Hi,

I have little time for blogging right now. I just want to say that I think the ideas that have been put forth repeatedly by Richard are really worth considering seriously. I mean the ideas concerning electronic and technological means of controlling the identification process for secrutity forces and individuals. Of course this is not the sole answer to the problem but it would certainly help. Again I stress that the situation in Baghdad is very serious. The Capital is basically under siege, the terrorists are converging on the capital. Complacency about this situation can prove lethal for all concerned. Something must be done urgently.

For now I have no time to say more.

Regards

Hi,

The situation in Baghdad is deteriorating from day to day. I have warned about this long ago. The "insurrection" is lead by the Baathists, without any doubt, and they are converging on Baghdad and seriously bent on taking over. They are creating havoc in in the capital. Very soon, if this situation continues like this the city is going to be brought to a complete standstill and paralysis. The confusion and conflict between the Americans, the army and the Ministry of interior is producing a situation where the citizens don't know anymore whether the security personel in the street are friends, enemies, terrorists or simply criminals and thieves. Everybody is wearing the same uniforms. Whole sections of the city have virtually fallen to gangs and terrorists, and this is sepecially true for the "Sunni" dominated neighborhoods. People and businesses are being robbed and the employees kidnapped en mass in broad daylight and with complete ease as though security forces are non-existent, although we see them everwhere.

I don't know anymore what can be done to rescue the situation. At least, those who are supposed to be in positions of responsibility should stop lying and painting a false picture. It has to be admitted that the city is under siege and has become the front battle line. Emergency measures have to be put in place immediately, otherwise as everbody in Baghdad knows, the whole city is going to fall soon. I regret sounding so pessimistic, but the alarm must be sounded with the loudest volume possible, since what is happening is Baghdad is something really awful.

Regarding the latest developements connected to the relations between the Americans and the Shiaas, things are getting even more confused. If I have time and inclination I might post about this "weekend".

Regards to all my friends.

Hi,

Actually, it is not so much pessimism but rather realism that pushed me to write that last post. I think most people here, including the political elites realize that a civil war is something unthinkable that will tear the country apart. However, like in Yugoslavia, the sect or ethnic group that really caused the partitioning and break up of the country was non-other but that which most wanted to keep it one, namely the Serbs. By their brutality, cruelty and ethnic genocide, they destroyed any basis for coexistence between the various ethnic constituents of the old Yugoslavia. The Serbs desire for a united country stemmed mainly from their wish to remain the masters and lord it over all other groups. This situation is very similar to what is beginning to happen here. President Bush in his eloquent speech yesterday put it well. When asked who the enemy was, he defined him with precision, and he is the one who should know. For the American people, it is well to understand clearly what the President is saying.

However, amongst the Sunnis, there are some sober and decent ones; and all our hopes are pinned on these. As for the Shiaas, they should be handled with care like these notices you see on containers of glassware (and don’t turn them upside down); they have been brutalized and still are in the most savage way, and I think the whole world is becoming witness to that. It is true that some retaliation from their side is taking place at the moment but the main aggression is from the other side.

While it is right to try to build bridges and draw the Sunnis into the political process, this must not be done in a way that will jeopardize the fundamental base of support amongst those who were the real “liberated” from the Saddam regime. Some incautious and rash remarks will only benefit negative currents within the Shiaa movement. Indeed the so-called “Sadrist Current” of Muqtada has been one of the beneficiaries of this situation and has postured to appear as the real protector and defender of the Shiaa’s, making full use of the sectarian atmosphere as well as the rash remarks and attitudes by American Ambassador ( Zalmai Khalil Zad) and some other American officials. Admittedly, it would take more than just a diplomat to succeed in Iraq at the moment; he would have to be additionally an acrobat, ventriloquist, capable of tiptoeing on thin ice and a Houdini into the bargain.

Yesterday, as I was watching a program on “Al-Iraqia” T.V. dedicated to the anniversary of the start of the war on Saddam, one caller said something that is very revealing. How I wished then that the whole World could listen to this man. There was much discussion and many views expressed regarding the situation and the pros and cons; then this ordinary man of the people protested with passion and anguish in his voice, that he was a prisoner in Saddam jails for 16 years, that his father and two brothers were executed; then he started to recount some of the horrors that he had seen in jail (which I do not care to repeat); then he said this: “God has willed that Saddam commits the blunder of invading Kuwait, which brought upon him the punishment by President Bush to whom I am personally indebted and grateful, because had it not been for his heroic soldiers of liberation (these were the exact words used by this man of the people to describe the American troops), I would still be in jail today.

And yes, this summed it up. The ordinary people never forget. Never mind the fuss, never mind the fog, never mind the confusion; the psyche of a people is something fearfully profound. The American people too, should not forget the fundamentals of the situation. It was right, it was just and it was ordained by God; that a murderer and tyrant should be overthrown. The blood and sacrifices by the American soldiers and people will never be forgotten; the Iraqi people and history will always remember these “heroic soldiers of liberation” and honor their memory.

Hi,

Are we in a civil war situation already? I have no time today, only this quick note that I must tell you about it soon. Unfortunately, I must tell you that the situation is very tense and things are on the brink. Unless very energetic measures are taken quickly, I fear the situation may slip despite all the good work that has been achieved. I have definite ideas. The mood especially in the Shiaa side is getting really frightening. Beware the wrath of the Shiaa masses. Any other incident like the Samara shrine bombing will almost certainly trigger a mass uprising that will be impossible to contain even by religious leaders.

I pray that by the time I get to post to you about this subject nothing awful happens.

Regards

WAR OF THE MORLOCKS *

Bism I llah Al Rahman Al Rahim

Hi,

I must apologize to my friends for these long silences of mine. My lame excuse is the pressure of daily life, and the “struggle for survival”; and believe me, for an Iraqi in these days, this common phrase is no figure of speech.

As those who follow this blog know, it is dedicated to ideas and strategic conclusions and not a running commentary on the situation in Iraq. So let me share with you some thoughts and conclusions, which I have come to conceive over time as I observe events and actually live them personally from day to day.

To start with, let us examine the security and military situation. As I have always said, it is “no use crying over spilt milk”. Thus it is not useful and can be demoralizing to dwell on past mistakes. However, wisdom consists to a large extent in learning from one’s errors. And I think many people might agree that much of trouble that we are facing today was the result of the carelessness and slovenliness of the first couple of months after that great liberation day in April of 2003. This point of view is supported even in the book published by Mr. Bremmer, the civil administrator in the C.P.A. era, though he himself must take some responsibility for some of the mistakes. Some of the most elementary precautions that could have been taken in those days would have gone a long way towards establishing law and order then and thenceforth. It was much easier to do things then than it is now. The Iraqi people and the American and allied servicemen and women alike paid the price of errors of judgment of some “higher management” people.

However, it would be very unfair to the allied forces (mainly American) and their leadership, to belittle the tremendous efforts and sacrifices in the course of the past three years, and to underestimate the successes and achievements that were made. For instance, I have noticed that many in the States itself do not really understand the nature of military actions on the ground here. Thus, for example, the effective, sustained and carefully planned series of military operations in the western Euphrates valley of the Anbar province have been quite successful in largely pacifying this most dangerous hotbed of the insurgency, and while admittedly not completely subduing all subversive elements there, nevertheless averted a complete takeover of this large swath of the country by the enemy and creating an extremely dangerous base in which he would have been in complete control with open lines of communications, supply and logistic support from the west ( i.e. Syria and Jordan), while cutting off the country from its western boundaries. The American forces carried out the Anbar campaign mainly with little help from any other party. Some people have expressed exasperation regarding these operations thinking that they were isolated actions against an illusive and mobile enemy, whereas in fact there was a careful plan to drive the enemy on two fronts. The first front was from the east from Falluja pressing the enemy westward. The other front, which soon followed, was starting from the extreme west at the Syrian border at Al Qaim, driving the enemy eastward. The result of this campaign to date is that most terrorists are cornered nowadays in the Ramadi area, which is mid-way between Baghdad and the Western border, with much of the Anbar out of their reach. Another outcome of this campaign was that quite significant tribes of the western region turned against the terrorists, astonishingly led by that fierce “Karabila” tribe which erstwhile used to be considered one of the worst terrorist sympathizers. Nowadays, the “Karabila” together with some other quite powerful tribes of the western “Dulaim” are actively fighting against the terrorists led by the flamboyant and lovable Shaikh “Ussama Al-Jadaan”. This is the so-called “ Tribal Nakhwa forces” (Nakhwa is one of those untranslatable words meaning when one rises up in noble indignation and joins the fight in aid of a just cause). Even allowing for the bombastic and enthusiastic nature of Shaikh Ussama, no one can deny that the Nakhwa forces at least secured a large and strategic area near the important Qaim town on the Syrian border. Furthermore I can state with certainty that most of the people in the Anbar are thoroughly sick and fed up with the terrorists, having tasted Taliban style treatment (or worse) at their hands for such a long time.

Another area where the American forces have done very well is the Mosul northern area. At one time Mosul was almost completely overrun and fallen to the enemy. American forces together with Ministry of Interior forces have done very well and the region now is in much better shape, although again, pockets of terrorism still exist. Had it not been for these efforts, Mosul would have suffered the same fate that we referred to earlier regarding the Anbar province.

As a result of these successes, terrorism was pushed elsewhere in the country, notably the area near Samara in Salahudin governorate north of Baghdad, linking northwards towards the Himrin Mountains, Al Hawijah and Krikuk and of course Dialla province, infesting remote and extremely backward Sunni villages where the inhabitants can easily be intimidated and/or enticed with financial bribes, pandering to their natural bent for thieving and chaos, not to mention indigenous sectarian prejudices. Also the escalation of the frantic effort to precipitate a sectarian civil war by deliberate design and planning such as the blowing of the Al Askary holy shrine in Samara, is a sign of the desperation of the enemy, and not unrelated to consternation at the defection of the Anbar tribes of the Nakhwa movement that have dealt some painful blows against them.

But above all, and most alarmingly, terrorism gravitated towards Baghdad and its surrounding “Sunni Belt” of villages and farms, Mahmoudiya-Iskandariya-Latifiya etc. to the South; Tarmiya, Mshahda, Taji in the North; Nahrawan and the road to Dialla in the East and of course Abu Ghraib and the approaches to the Anbar in the west. These outskirts of Baghdad are the source of the worst sectarian atrocities that we have seen lately and the source of the corpses dumped daily in Baghdad these days.

So the latest military operation near Samara can now be understood in this context. The American and Iraqi military strategy seems to be to deal with the rebellious regions in turn trying to clean up the areas gradually. While we admit that Baghdad cannot be safeguarded without controlling the rest of the country this way, it is nevertheless very dangerous not to sufficiently protect the capital simultaneously with these efforts. This brings me back to my thesis, which I have expounded since a long time, and which I called “Green Zone Baghdad”, which means creating safe and stable conditions inside the capital. This will be the subject of the next post “Inshallah”, which I hope will not be another of these vain promises, which unfortunately I have made so often. I beg my friends’ indulgence and pardon for my laziness.

But before I conclude this post I don’t want my friends to think that I am disregarding the political side of the question, which is certainly of equal if not greater importance. But that aspect has to be dealt with separately. It is just that I want to finish what I have to say from the purely tactical military point of view first; because I think that in the short term it is critical to do the right thing militarily.

Finally I would like to say to all our friends in the West and America in particular, this: have no fear; the battle is far from being lost. The land of Sumeria, Akad, Babylon, Ur, Nimrod and Ashur will never die. The land where the Old Testament was written and the Aramaic of Jesus Christ was spoken cannot become extinct. The Capital of Harun Al-Rashid and the Arabian nights cannot die. Land of Abraham and the prophets, Mesopotamia is indestructible. Seven thousand years of turbulent history attest to this. Only this land will remain tortured and cannot rest or calm down until it achieves greatness again. This is a germ that has been genetic in this mystic land from the beginning of history. This same history will credit the U.S.A. in years to come to have been the one to arouse this long dormant genie.

* cf. "Time Machine" and my post some time ago.

Hi Everybody,

Greetings: Don't worry friends I am still around, only too stunned to post. Unfortunately, all the doom scenarios which I have nightmared before are unfolding in front of our eyes. Hope to post this friday or saturday.

Regards.

CARTOONS

IN THE NAME OF GOD THE COMPASSIONATE THE MERCIFUL

Hi,

Those who have been following my blog should know that I am a practicing believer in the religion of Islam; so naturally I consider it offensive to show disrespect to Islamic religious symbols or any religious symbols of any kind, for that matter. However there is more to this than meets the eye. It seems to me quite suspicious that this storm is created at this particular time. To start with this is certainly not the first time that insults and affronts of this nature appear on print in western media in many countries and places. Such things do not deserve any kind of reaction other rather the contempt they deserve. Yet there are those who seem to seize upon such opportunities for motives that have nothing to do with the apparent religious sensitivities. Clearly there are those who wish to harm relations between the West in General and the Moslem World and more particularly we should not forget the contribution of Denmark to the allied effort in Iraq. Yes friends, I who consider my self a fervent Moslem, tell you that this is an artificial storm stirred by the same kind of people who are beheading, kidnapping and blowing up market places and day workers in Iraqi cities etc. Those in the West who give such people the ammunition and pretexts to launch such pitiful shows and stir up the emotions of gullible simple people, are their allies and facilitators. Yes indeed extremism and misanthropy has many faces and colors. Myself, and many of my friends have seen even in the comments section of this blog site much of this blasphemous nonsense which most of us just dismiss as “trolling” which was a new word that my friends taught me. For my part it suffices to read just the first sentence of any such trash to dismiss the whole diatribe simply out of lack of interest above anything else and generally they do not stir any kind of emotion other than boredom. You have noticed perhaps that I never tried to ban or delete any such kind of talk; it is not even worth the trouble of deleting.

In this respect I would like to draw attention to the statement issued by the venerable Al-Sistani, who while deprecating the blasphemous sacrilege, nevertheless clearly lays the blame on the extremists and Takfiris for the harm done to the image of Islam in the World, and need I remind you of the religious status of Al-Sistani. The rage of the Islamic world would be far more appropriate if it is directed against those who blow up mosques during prayer time, kidnap murder and torture innocent travelers, and all the other repertoire of atrocities committed in the name of Islam, It is this that is the real blasphemy and real affront to the name and reputation of our religion and its great founder the Prohpet (PBU), and not some silly cartoons in an obscure Danish paper that nobody would have noticed were it not for this artificial uproar of which the real agenda and purpose is all too apparent .

Regards

Hi Everybody,

Referring to a comment by Mary: Hi Mary, you are most welcome to this forum. The post you are looking for was posted on Aug. 14, 2005, under the title “Pajama War Games”. So please look into Aug. Archives. For my part I also think that post to be one of the most important that I have made. Some other friends ask what would happen if U.S. troops withdraw hastily. I still think the scenario that I have painted then remains valid. One remark that creep Al Zawahiri made in his latest video, which was aired on that favorite Network of the terrorists, the Qatari Al Jazeera, has some truth in it, he said something to this effect: “If the United States with its mighty capabilities and its Warplanes, tanks etc. could not defeat the “Mujahideen”, how could the army of “the agents and hypocrites” (as he called the Iraqi Forces) be able to do that on their own.”

I hope my previous post is not misunderstood. I do not oppose dialogue and political means and methods; they are of course, quite necessary. However, it is as the proverb goes “Not what you do but the way that you do it”. That has been the main problem with the Americans in Iraq right from the start. None of the measures that were implemented can honestly be considered wrong, including the dissolution of Saddam’s Army and Security Forces (and this is where I profoundly disagree with all the critics of that decision). It is just that the style of doing it and the timing always seemed not quite right. What I am trying to say is that the U.S. should never loose sight of the strategic essence of its position in Iraq, no matter what political maneuvers are undertaken. It was essentially an act of liberation of a majority from the yoke of a minority. It is that deposed minority that is waging war, together with their foreign supporters who are motivated by a variety of agendas, ranging from the desperados of Al Qaeda to the scheming of regional powers trying to settle scores with the U.S., their own fears and problems being of main concern, while the Iraqi problems being simply means to selfish aims. Indeed the array of enemies lined up against the United States and its allies including the Iraqis, should never be underestimated. The fight is dead serious and the stakes are sky high, at least from the point of view of the enemies, not to mention the Iraqi people themselves.

So, accordingly, the fundamental base of support of the U.S. (even if often tacit and undeclared openly), remains that majority that stand to benefit the most from the change. While efforts are made to persuade and draw elements of the disgruntled minority into the political process and away from violence, the strategists should never loose sight of that fact and should never jeopardize their most important asset. Indeed this war is quite unique, in that it has initiated a very real revolution in the classical sense of the word. I mean a real revolution is defined as an "upheaval that results in deposing one ruling class and replacing it with another". That was the case in the American Revolution, French Revolution, Russian Revolution etc.; also the 1958 revolution in Iraq can be considered as belonging to the list. What is happening in Iraq is a classical revolution initiated by foreign intervention, because the Americans were a very special kind of invaders. I mean they never had any serious intention or will to impose any kind of ready made regime and left it to the Iraqis themselves to decide, and never mind the propaganda that talks about "puppets", "agents" and the like. There really are no agents or puppets in Iraq, and all the political groups are quite genuine representatives of their constituents, whether on sectarian, ethnic or ideological basis. If there are some opportunists, they are quite insignificant, and have not really been encouraged much by the Americans themselves. And these political groups will always determine their position according to their own interests and that of the people they represent, and consequently, the U.S. cannot count on blind allegiance from anybody important in the political scene and has to be very careful in its maneuverings, for the friend of yesterday can turn into the foe of tomorrow if circumstances leading to that change take place.

That was the point I was trying to make, in the hope that it might reach some people who are in the decision-making circles. For my part, I remain utterly convinced, that it is in the profound interest of our country and people and their future, to forge a lasting strategic alliance with U.S.; and that the Super Power can render a most needed help and protection to forge the kind of future that we are dreaming of. Furthermore, the American action in Iraq, regardless of its original motivations and causes, represents a godsend to the country and an opportunity that is not likely to happen again. And besides, the U.S. has made such a huge investment in blood and treasure, that to retreat and fail should be quite unthinkable and would have dire consequences on its future as a World Power, not to mention the War on Terror. Thus there is a fundamental convergence of interests between the Iraqi People and the Americans, to make this Project a success; and so it shall be despite all odds; God’s willing so it shall be.

Regards

TIGHT ROPE

Hi,

Happy New Year greetings to all my friends and readers.

I have not been able to post recently due to pressure of daily life. We are facing a major onslaught by the enemy. The U.S. presence in Iraq is trying a very treacherous ropewalk at the moment. The situation is fraught with danger. The U.S. authorities are being too anxious to ingratiate themselves to the various Sunni groups in a way that I think is going too far. I hope to find the time to say something more detailed about this. They are not going to win over the terrorists, but they run a serious risk of loosing their fundamental base of support in the country. It is of course, required and necessary to strike a balance and find a way to draw the Sunnis into the political process, but it must be done within clear boundaries and without giving any ground to the terrorists. And if there are any criticisms or misgivings about the conduct of the Interior Ministry or the Defense Ministry, they can be made known to those concerned through discreet and private channels and not by public statements and in the media. Al Zawahiri, Bin Ladens’ spokesman, has lost no time in proclaiming victory and stating with malice that the Americans are "begging" to engage the "Mujahideen" in dialogue. Serious correction of American policy is required urgently, otherwise this may prove the biggest error yet, and already the emboldening of the terrorists is noticeable, which I think is largely encouraged by the shift and indecisiveness of the American position.

The daily genocide cannot continue without reaction by the majority. Neither the MNF nor the Iraqi Government can afford to standby and watch this without action. This is the answer by the enemy to the development of the political process. He is launching an all out attack against the basic infrastructure and the daily life of the people in its most mundane details. The people are boiling and a general conflagration is just around the corner. A situation might develop which will completely wreck all the gains that have been achieved, and render the situation quite untenable.

I am sorry to sound so negative, but I just don’t have the time to be more diplomatic and this is a brief message of warning, which I am hoping might reach the people from this humble forum.

Salaam, and wishing that the New Year might be a little less disastrous than the previous one.

Regards