Wednesday, 22nd. , April, 2004
Good evening...
The situation is difficult...and it is getting worst, we do not know
who is escalating the bombing acts, but it is clear Baghdad is living
difficult days, and the security conditions are in constant
deterioration...
At noon, Saturday, around 4 p.m., a powerful explosion rocked the
Embassies Quarter Area, on the High Way Bridge connecting that area
with the Airport Road. A trapped car hit an American convoy on the
bridge, killing a number of soldiers, the metal fences of the bridge
collapsed, the vehicles fell to the street below the bridge, the
Airport Road was closed for a day or two, then we passed that way
afterwards, and saw the remains of the accident, and the big hole in
the street...
And yesterday afternoon, another trapped car collided with an American
convoy in the Princesses Street, and blew up... the windows of houses
and commercial shops were smashed, the street was closed to lift the
bodies of the victims, the civilian Iraqis, the Americans, and the
military vehicles that were burned.
I do not like hearing the stories of death and victims, my heart feels
sad, if an Iraqi civilian or an American soldier dies, for they both
have parents, families, and loved ones, whose hearts will be torn in
pain, for the loss of their beloved...
War is something stupid and ugly...something that contains more
destruction and follies than wisdom and up building.
*****************************
Yesterday, the glass of the shop's window shook at noon, and smoke
rose up in space, in the area in front of us... the employees called
their families to check there were no casualties there...each asked
his wife were his children where?? We did not understand what
happened, some say it was a trapped car, others say it was an American
missile...we all shook our heads as fools, turned our hands, blew out
deep sighs, and said: There is no might or strength, but by GOD....
Then we went back to continue our speech and work.....
Today another car blew up, or it was the noise of another missile, in
the same area, almost at the same time... usually streets would be
closed, and then, who could reach his house?? We will circle around
for hours, only to find all accesses blocked...
*********************************
This week, two clerics were assassinated while walking in the streets
near their houses, the bombings never seem to end, and kidnappings
from streets and houses continue...
Some people kidnapped a man while driving his car in Al-Mansour Street
two days ago, the driver said: Imagine, um Raid, they stopped, and in
all insolence shot bullets in the air, so people run away, then they
attacked the man, got him out of his car in front of our eyes, leaving
the doors open, and they took him with them....
And the Police??? I asked in amazement, where were they??
He said: The Police? They run away from the area when they heard the
gun shots...
I looked through the car's window to the street on my way home...and
sank deeply in though... here are the streets filled with convoys of
American vehicles, what exactly are these doing here??
I do not understand....
Today Fallujah was bombed, and the driver didn't come, he went there
to check on his sister's house, whose windows were smashed, and to
check on his widowed sister's children.
And we called the engineer to come and install the systems we sold
yesterday, but he apologized, saying his house was near Al-Sadder
City, that the area is a blaze in confrontations with the American
Army, and all accesses were blocked. Perhaps he could come next
week...
And when I go home, I put my fingers over my ears in a spontaneous
movement, fearing a car or a missile would explode beside me, and I
would lose my hearing..., in the morning I am more courageous... I
read verses from the Holy Quran all the way...but at noon, I would be
tired, hungry, and tense.....
*****************************
I receive letters from American readers, asking: Do you really have
the beginnings of a civil war?? Do you think the time is right for the
American army to pull out of Iraq?? Don't you see that massacres will
take place, what with Al-Mahdi Army, Al-Sadder, the other parties,
Al-Zarqawi, and the Wahhabies??
The same questions are repeated every day....
That means they all hear those stories and analysis from their media
everyday....
So, the civil war tune is what they want to happen, for they have been
playing that tune since they entered Iraq...
But there is no civil war here; people are hiding in their homes
fearing for their children, going out for necessities only, and then
rush back to hide from the hell of explosions.
Where did the notion of civil war come from??
The clashes here are between the occupation forces and other forces,
so, where is the civil war??
In Beirut I saw the civil war; I saw the city divided to two halves,
this half bombing that half with random missiles, that land on markets
and streets, and there were some well-known organizations, who had
names, leaderships, and political communiqu�s, who fight and wrestle
openly, and people know them, some encouraging, others opposing...
But in Iraq, where are those local organizations that fight against
each other, and wrestle??
The conflict here is between local forces and foreign forces... is
this a civil war???? The kidnappings of foreigners and the bombings
are carried out by non-existing organizations, that have no faces, and
no real existence on earth, illusion organizations that have web sites
and documentary films on Al-Jazzera Channel...
Who are their owners? Who finances them? No one knows...
Then they say a civil war, did the people join in forming these
organizations?? Did they recognize them, did they give them
legitimacy??
Of course not... these are foreign bodies, which do not belong to this
environment, and someone created them, and forced them onto our
lives... for some certain calculations and benefits whom we might
understand some, but might not understand most...
But the certain and clear thing is: that the Iraqi people were the
victims of criminals and fools, who are raking havoc on earth...and
there is one to stop them, and shout at them: Enough.
****************************
Since the fall of the regime, and the entry of the occupation forces
to Iraq, and the media there wants to convince the world that Iraq is
on the brink of a civil war, but the bombings that took place to evoke
controversy between the Sunni and the Shi'aa did not work... nor did
those between the Kurds and Arabs, they did not succeed, unless you
count limited places in the northern cities... and they did not
succeed between Muslims and Christians, despite the bombing of
churches...
There is someone there who is trying, in vain, to start a civil war,
but the Iraqis are in another world.... The miserable Iraqis are
searching to provide their daily bread, and take shelter at home with
their families and children...thinking warily: Next month the schools
will reopen, how shall we send our children to school in these
conditions?? No security, no stability.... Shall we keep them home??
Shall we send them in risk of their lives??
The explosions do not stop...and the interim government is weak, and
helpless to present something that satisfies the citizen, and
convinces him that the government is seriously thinking about him, his
safety and security.
The daily government's newspapers headlines are full of beautiful
promises...but there is nothing new on the ground of reality.
******************************
The Iraqi Army and Police Force are also weak and fragile formations,
who cannot even defend themselves...so how could they defend the
people???
This is the same speech I have repeatedly written in my articles....
Whoever waged this war should have priorities and a plan...
Where is the plan??? Where are the priorities???
Has anyone ever asked the American administration this question??
Every company, institution, or association in society has a working
plan, and aims that the members keep following, and observe its
performance, then criticize it, in order to correct its path...
Is there someone who asks the American administration, from inside, or
outside of it? Is there someone who questions, criticizes, and
corrects the path?? Or are the clappers and hypocrites never giving a
chance to others to participate and correct...
If this was the case to what is happening over there...then this is a
sad disaster, with a sad ending to everyone...like the end of Saddam
Hussein, with his carelessness and follies, who brought desolation to
himself and his people.... And everybody paid the price of desolation,
those who were with him, and those against him...
This is how the world is....
We have an old song, saying: Injustice, however long it lasts, is
bitter.... Burning green and dry... and whoever doesn't believe, is a
fool!!
Definitely, those who don't believe, are fools...
******************
I want an answer to my daily question: what will happen if the
occupation forces pulled out of Iraq?? And my answer is: The
conditions that occurred after the occupation forces entered Iraq, the
disbandment of state institutions, the Army, the Police Force, and the
security forces. All that created a void, giving way to an escalation
of crimes, the entry of terrorist foreign forces, and the occurrence
of daily clashes. The Iraqis no longer know friend from foe?
All these things happened, either by the stupidity of the occupation
forces, or else by prior intent and planning. If it would have
happened because of mismanagement, poor planning, and confusion, it
could have been overcome with time, then corrected....but the program
is going on stubbornly, persistently, with the same cadency... a weak
interim government, guarded by the occupation army... a weak Army and
Police Force, with old weapons, and no technologies.... The American
army roams the land and skies of Iraq, using the most sophisticated
technology... and the Iraqi police carry an ancient Klashencove, and
so is the Army, driving small, miserable, pathetic vehicles, so that
one missile could make all passengers fly in the air... while the
tank, Helicopter, and Humvee could give more protection to their
passengers against accidents, and reduce causalities??
So, there is some contemptuousness and marginalizing to the Iraqi Army
and Police... or a plan to keep them incapable of taking control of
things...in constant need of another, strong, backing force, to rule
the country.
Of course, if three is a strong Iraqi Army that can control clashes
and confrontations, a strong Police force to control security and
thieves, and a government that is successful in managing the country
and economy... the question then would be, from Iraqis and non-Iraqis
alike: Here is the country going in the right direction, so, why is
the occupation force here??? Ha?
Yes, that is the dangerous question that the Bush administration does
not want to hear...
A weak Iraqi army unable to face challenges... a weak Iraqi police
force that does not control security and order... and a confused,
helpless government, without planning, without authorities, nor a
strong budget, nor finance, nor a clear vision to solve the country's
problems... and this is exactly what the occupation force wants...to
stay.
How would they leave the country in such a state of disorder,
weakness, and collapse??
Whoever person who has an ounce of brains, and quietness in his head
would tell them: Stay, do not withdraw, until conditions get better...
Well, now, the all important question: when will conditions get
better??? And what has the Bush administration done, in real, clear,
tangible steps, for almost one and a half years to make conditions
better???
Each one here asks himself the question, for this is the important
question now... whether Bush remains in office or not....
This is the question that he should be pursued with night and day....
In all conferences, meetings, and lectures... ask him this question,
for all the Iraqi people here... we cannot reach him, nor see him....
You are the ones who can reach him, and ask him, so ask him, if you
love the Iraqi people, or have kindness to them, and wish to help
them...
Ask him what more did he do, other than speeches and words.... Ask
him, in the hope he might take responsibility for those who fell dead
here, the innocent, Iraqi civilians, or the military Americans... your
boys.
When he has a clear, truthful plan to improve conditions and reduce
causalities... cheer him up, and re-elect him.
But if he retold the stories of terrorism, and the war on terrorism,
and the same old, boring tune... then you will be joining him in the
follies he commits here, and the mismanagement... and be responsible
for the victims who will fall because of this mismanagement, and
blunders.
A clear vision, and a realistic plan, strong and convincing, is what
we need now, after long months of waste, propaganda, lies, and
victims....
*****************************************
What is the meaning of Democracy, and participation??? Doesn't that
mean helping each other to overstep the cruel ordeals?? By thinking
and discussions to find the suitable solutions? That we do not submit
our necks to a fool who wields, makes mistakes, and destroys, exactly
as Saddam Hussein did to us??
Didn't he trick the Iraqis for long years, claming to be the national,
savior, hero, meaning the savior of the nation against loss.... How
many Arabs and Iraqis believed in him?? How many victims they paid, a
price for his follies... and how many long years were lost until the
Arabs discovered he was a lying fool, who led the nation to doom,
instead of salvation???
Is Bush leading the nation to doom, or salvation???
Do not be led behind him like blind men and fools, and repeat what
happened to the Iraqis...open your eyes and minds... so you wouldn't
be sorry when it is too late...........
****************************
In the evening the driver came, apologizing for his absence, and said
he spent the day in Fallujah, with his widowed sister and her
children... there was an American army camp near her house, and some
missiles fell, so the glass of the windows was broken, and the mother
and her children were wounded by the splinters.
He said: They called me at six in the morning, and I drove my car like
a mad man...till I got there... the mother was wounded in her hands
and face, her eldest son, 16 years old, had slivers in his head, and
is still in hospital. The youngest son, aged 6, was bleeding. In the
emergency room I saw a photographer working for the media, with a
camera. He wanted to take a photo of us, but I hit him, and threw the
camera on the floor...
I asked him: Why? He said: They are dogs; they do not care for us...
I said: Maybe he is an honest journalist who wants to write about you,
and support you...
He said: We saw nothing good from them, no body offered us any help...
we no longer trust them... do you??
There was no nutrient solution in the hospital...so they went to the
Maternity Ward, and found half a bottle that was left by a lady who
just gave birth, and no longer needed it, so they gave it to us, to
apply it to my youngest nephew...
People bring the needs for their patients, medicines and such, from
outside the hospital... the government and the Americans are carrying
out a blockade against supplying the Fallujah Hospital with medicine,
they say you are treating the Mujahideen.... Come with me next
week.... Come to see with your own eyes the families that live in
tents.... 82 big tents for families whose houses were demolished in
the American bombings... they now live in tents, looking at their
destroyed houses every day...
There are some rich people, from inside and outside of Fallujah, who
are contributing to the locals to rebuild their houses, so that
families could go back before winter... and there is a cleric in the
mosque, who receives the donations, then distributes them to the poor
and widows. My sister is a widow, and she receives (40,000) Dinars
monthly, to help with the expenses of life. She has six children....
And there are some Iraqi men, fighters, I'll introduce you to them,
not one among them is a stranger from outside of Iraq... no one
finances them with Dollars... they fight because they say we are an
occupied country...and fighting the invader is a legitimate right...
we are not terrorists, and there is no one with the name of Al-Zarqawi
here.....nor any followers of his... these are untrue, made-up
stories.
I remained silent, thinking...should I go to Fallujah?? Meet the
people, and listen to their stories??
What shall I add, to the world?? Didn't hundreds write about Fallujah,
and the suffering of its people??
Who cares??
**********************************
I said: Wait, don't go... I went inside the house, then came back with
an envelope in my hand, containing some money... I said to him: this
is a trust, for you to give to the cleric of the mosque, so he could
distribute it to your sister, and her other poor neighbors...
May GOD be with you....
I have nothing more to add.
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