Tuesday, December 20th, 2005
Good evening .....
After I finished reading the book of Ibn Khaldoon, I went on to read
Plato's book: "Plato's Republic", to learn the roots of Western
Philosophy in ruling. This book was written by Plato, speaking by the
tongue of his teacher, Socrates, about 400 B.C. He was a genius no
doubt, for he discussed issues concerning states and societies,
western and eastern, since the dawn of human history, till this
present day.
At the beginning of the book, Plato discussed the concept of Justice,
and how to build a just state, or justice-loving individuals. In the
dialogues of this book, Socrates presents a definition of the Just
person; and he is- the Wise, and the Good. And the Aggressor is the
Evil, and Ignorant. He thinks that Man, by nature, tends to be
aggressive more than being just, and the state should teach the
individuals to love Justice.
He assimilates the divisions of the state to the parts of the human
body...
The state is divided into:
The class of Rulers, the class of the Army, and the class of the
workers and craftsmen.
And he divides the Human into:
� The Head; in it- the Mind, and its Virtue is Wisdom.
� The Heart; in it- the Emotion, and its Virtue is Bravery.
� The Belly; in it- the Desires, and its Virtue is Moderation.
The Just State is that in which every individual carries on the task
concerning his nature:
the Ruler rules, the Soldier protects, and the Worker works.
And so would be the notion of Justice in the Human being:
The Mind controls the Desires, the Emotions help the Mind in its work;
like getting angry against mean actions, or feeling ashamed from
lying.
And the Social justice would be a part of this inner justice/ the
Justice of the Soul.
********************************************
Then he wonders: shall we seek Strength, or Justice?
Is it better for us to be Good, or strong?
As for me, I see these are serious questions still keeping people's
minds busy, that is- the people who think, and wonder at what is
happening in the world today, and which logic prevails: the logic of
Strength, or Justice?
Socrates says in the dialogues that Greed and coveting more luxury are
the elements that push some people to attack their neighbors and take
their belongings, or the rivalry on the lands and its wealth, and all
this would lead to wars.
He says that Trade grows and flourishes in the state, leading to
dividing people into poor and rich, and when the wealth of merchants
grow, a class from among them would rise, its individuals trying to
reach the higher social classes by way of money, and so the state's
conditions would capsize, turning into a state ruled by merchants,
capital and bank owners, and so politics would fall, governments would
sink, and be obliterated.
Then, comes the time of Democracy; the Poor would win over their
rivals, butchering some, and sending some to exile, and they would
grant all people equal portions of freedom and authority...
But Democracy could crack and extinct, from being over-democratic, for
its main principal is that all people are equal to the right of
Position (reign), and to appoint the general political plan of the
state...
This system attracts the minds, but in reality, people are not equals
in Knowledge and Manners to become equals when the time comes to
choose the rulers and appoint the best, and here is where danger
lies...
From Democracy springs Autocracy; if a ruler comes on, praising
people, calling himself the Protector of the Nation, the people would
grant him the Highest Authority, and he becomes a Tyrant...
Socrates wonders at all this, saying: if we, in minor matters like
making shoes, do not trust but a skilled shoemaker, or when we feel
sick, do not go but to a clever doctor, not looking for the most
handsome, or the most talkative ones. If the state has an ailment,
shouldn't we look for the most suitable person to rule?
**************************************
He then says: the state resembles its offspring, and we should not
dream of elevating the state without elevating its offspring...
The human behavior has three sources:
Desires: these people (the men of Industry, Commerce, and Money), love
seeking money, ostentation, and conflict.
Emotions: these people (the Army Men) love Bravery, Victory,
Battlefields, and Fighting.
The Mind: and these people, a minority, caring about Contemplation and
Understanding, away from life and its greed, are the men qualified to
Rule, who were not spoiled by life.
He says that the best state is that in which Mind curbs Desires and
Emotions, meaning- the men of Industry and Money produce, but do not
rule, the men of War protect the state but do not hold the reins of
Ruling, and the men of Wisdom, Knowledge, and Science, should be fed,
clothed, and protected by the state, to Rule... because; if people
were not led by Knowledge, they would become a crowd of rabble,
without order, like Desires let loose.
People are in need of the guidance of Philosophy and Wisdom...
And ruin would befall the state, when the merchant, whose self grew to
love fortunes, tries to become a ruler, or when the Commander uses his
army for dictatorial, military purposes...
****************************************
Then Socrates suggests a way to Produce these "Wise Leaders", that the
state should raise them from childhood to Virtue and Science, that
they should pass many tests until they are Thirty five years old, then
they would move out and mingle with people in society, from all
classes, to find out all the tricks and cunning schemes some people
have, so as the book of life would become open in front of them.....
Then (without any tricks or elections), these people would be
appointed rulers of the state. They should concentrate all their
vision within the affairs of ruling, not to be busy with anything
else, so that from among them would emerge Legislators, Judges, and
Executives. And lest they should fall victims to the tide of loving
money and power, the state should provide residency, clothing, and
protection for them, and they should be forbidden to have Gold or
Silver in their houses...
Their ages would certainly be not less than 50 years, which is the age
of Maturity and Wisdom, as Socrates says.
If, by circumstances, we couldn't get people like those, we can at
least check the past history of this person, the candidate to rule;
what principals he carries, how much integrity? How did he spend his
life before ruling?
This is the simplest of ways....
And in the end, he says that Justice isn't in mere Power, then, and it
isn't the right of the strong, but rather the collaboration of all the
parts of society, a balanced collaboration, that would bring welfare
to all.
********************************************
Of course, to me, this book is astonishing, because it was written
some 2400 years ago, and spoke about problems that societies still
suffer from... it might seem Ideal, but it isn't without reality and
logic...
Here I am, looking at our states, and how they are tyrannized by the
Army and the Military, or a government elected in form only, where the
man in power remains tenacious of power, as if it was created for him
alone, and keeps clinging to the chair, tyrannizing others; he, his
Party, and his kin, as if the country and the people became a property
of his, to dominate as he wills.
I also look at the states of the West, as the class of Merchants,
Wealthy people, Banking groups, and Industrialists seized ruling,
allied with the Army leaders and Intelligence men, exactly like Plato
described the case in his book.
And where are the Wise men, the Rational, and the Just Thinkers in
countries like America and Britain? No one knows them, they live far,
away from the lights and society, while the Media, the magazines, the
newspapers and the Internet are dominated by the photos of the wealthy
and the politicians, and the likes of them. So, where is democracy
heading in those countries?
I was very, very surprised a few days ago, as I read the speech of the
British Novelist, the Literature Nobel Prize winner, for it was a
speech full of truthfulness and sincerity, criticizing the present
governments and their clumsy policies....
He started his speech by a sentence he wrote in 1958, in which he
wondered about the difference between the truth and the lie, or what
is real and what is fictitious, he says that he used to think, as an
artist, that there isn't a clear difference between the real and the
fictitious, but as a human I couldn't believe this, for the truth is
clear, and it is different from lies...
Then he spoke about the characters in his novels, and how he creates
them, then moved on to talk about the present governments of America
and Britain, criticizing all their aggressive behaviors against the
world countries, especially the war on Iraq, the American government's
interferences in the affairs of the Latin American countries, the
devastation, injustice, and poverty that befell these countries from
the American policies; as they ousted the nationally elected
presidents, those whom the people wanted, and in their places put
those who support America, or some military militias that would
corrupt the country, destroy its economy, and increase the poverty
there, and America would remain silent, without exposing them, or
making any hubbub, like they did about the stories of the Mass
Destruction weapons in Iraq, or the connection with Al-Qaida
organization.
By GOD, I saw as if he was talking like one of us, as if he lived
among us, and felt our pains, and sufferings... even though he was
British, and perhaps never visited Iraq all his life, but he possessed
this clear, sensitive perception that Thinkers and Artists have, so he
understands, from a far, the explanation of the stories, and can't be
fooled by the media machines that diffuse their poisons, tricking
people, and deforming truths...
He says; at the beginning of the war on Iraq, the British newspapers
published a picture of Tony Blair kissing an Iraqi child, as a sign of
his sympathy with the Iraqi people, then, a few days after the
beginning of the war, they published the picture of an Iraqi child
whose limbs were amputated, and whose parents were killed in the
American-British bombing, but this time they put the picture in the
inner pages of the newspapers, in a shy article away from
publicity....
I laughed, liking his intelligence and keen look in analyzing things,
he does deserve to win an international prize in Literature, as long
as he has a clear, humanitarian perception, which wasn't marred by
politics, or a culture biased against the "Other".
I wondered, though, how come the ruling factions in Europe didn't
interfere to put the "specifications" of that who should win this
prize. Or perhaps they were forced, because no one from the class of
merchants or money-men who dominate the ruling, likes reading artistic
books, or writing art, novels, or plays...
I said to myself: A respectable man like this, and we hear about him
now, in the seventies of his life, as if he was obscure and away, no
one would have known about him if it wasn't for the Literature Prize
that he won, which brought on a chance to know him and listen to his
intellectual speech...
Why don't men like these take the reins of ruling in their countries?
Why is ruling handed over to the class of corrupt merchants and
money-owners, who love the private interests, wage wars, and oppress
people?
What Socrates and Plato suffered from, by the corruption of the ruling
class in Athens, we are still suffering from...
As if humans are stupid creatures, who didn't know, all these
thousands of years, how to solve this complex problem?
And, authority is still in the hands of this selfish class, that
thinks of none but its interests, dragging the world into the chasm?
It is really a sad and shameful matter....
***************************************
Now I want to discuss this deformed democracy they introduced for us
into Iraq, after the war.....
First of all- they divided the country into sects, ethnics, and
conflicting tribes, they pulled us back to the age of Illiteracy, the
pre-Islam age...
Then they brought on the Voting boxes, the High Commissariat, and
lab...lab...lab..., and told the people: go on, vote...
And the tribes, the ethnics, and the sects moved a part, compressing
their ranks to defeat the other tribes, ethnics, and sects, and to
take their seats from them... instead of all the people joining ranks
in a civilized way, to face a comprehensive national program
addressing the people, with all their factions and hues, by a just,
comprehensive, intellectual address, speaking about the suffering of
the people and the country, presenting a program of National Unity,
and the country's Re-Construction program. Then, the people would
choose the leaderships from those competing national Parties,
according to their integrity, efficiency, and clean history...
This is what was supposed to happen...
This is the democratic process that we expected to see...
But what happened was- that the society was ripped apart after the
occupation entered the country...the leadership was given to a faction
of fanatic clergymen, who used their influence in the Southern parts,
where Religion and the clergyman are the authority without discussion,
and whoever objects to him is called an infidel, or told that his
prayers wouldn't be acceptable, and he shall go to hell. This is what
they spread among people, to frighten them, and push them on to elect
the list of the clergy, or some other lists of Technocratic people of
the same sect; meaning- if you wouldn't elect a clergyman from our
list, then elect an economy and money-man from our Party...
And so on....
As to the tribesmen, they started giving instructions to their people
to elect the lists that their tribe's head made an alliance with...
This means that the majority of people living in the Southern cities,
or at the outskirts of towns were controlled by their compliance to
the clergyman or the head of the tribe, and thus; the majority voted
for the clergyman or the head of the tribe, meaning- they were
will-robbed clusters of people, who didn't understand what the
elections were for, or what is the whole process, in the first
place...
Don't these people make some 70% of the Iraqi people?
This is about the men, but what about the women? And most of them do
not know but the house and its burdens? How will they participate in a
process they didn't even hear about, and didn't know what does it aim
to?
They will tell every one of them: go and put a sign in front of the
(...) list, dip your finger in the inkbottle, then get back home
quickly...
Is this Democracy?
Or is it a trick, as Plato described it in his book?
Or rather, is it the Victory Plan that President Bush spoke about, in
his last speech?
How will these masses control the political decision in the country,
while being poor, illiterate, uneducated masses, who went out of
Saddam Hussein's oppression, to the oppression of the sect leader? And
while the educated, rational, nationalistic factions end up with a
minority in the final results, and will not have any clear authority
to rule in the country?
I mean, for people who still have percentages of illiteracy and
ignorance, what will these people benefit from the elections, if it
was controlled by the laws of extinct societies, like the authority of
the clergyman, and the tribe's head?
These societies need long years of education and awareness raising, so
as to learn how to get the benefit of an election process, and
comprehend its essence, and meaning...
Now, I started imagining, if this same thing happened in a poor
African country, or a poor Latin country, I can understand exactly
that it is a deformed, unripe process, of which the only object is
some fake political gains.....
I mean, when a group of engineers or doctors elect a new
administrative board in their union, this process is usually carried
out in a level of awareness and comprehension suitable with the
education of those people, and then, of course, the fate and future of
the union, and the union itself are not in the same level of
importance as that of the fate and future of all the society...
I mean- where is justice when an ignorant, uneducated person votes to
choose the government's members, and be equal in the rights with a
university professor, a doctor, an engineer, or a lawyer, to decide
the nation's fate?
Where is the justice in a situation that an 18 or 20 years old
uneducated person, has the same right in deciding the nation's fate,
with a 60 or 70 years old man who has the experience and knowledge of
generations...
I see a lot of holes in this astonishing democracy.....
And I see that the democracy they are implementing in Iraq now is just
a malicious, crafty game, so that Iraq would remain torn, ignorant,
and weak, the reins of its fate held by a bunch of religious-sects
men, and tribe's heads, who clash with, and win over, an educated,
conscious faction, who make a small percentage, but is completely
aware of the dangers surrounding the country, and perhaps have the
ability, more than the others, to think, and lay down smart plans to
solve the country's problems, but who will not be able to make its
voice heard, for it will be lost in the crowd of the leaders of sects,
tribes, and ethnics....
This is the new Iraq that the Bush administration wants...
A torn, weak, ignorant, and retard Iraq...
And here are the days, showing us lessons, and exposing for us the
type of freedom and democracy they came to spread in our country, on
top of their tanks....
By GOD, in spite of all the disasters and calamities, here we are,
learning new things....
And we thank GOD in any condition, for this is His Will, and this is
His Wisdom...
*****************************************
History moves on, as Ibn Khaldoon says, like a brutal fate, with us
without an ability to change it...
And this is going on in Iraq now, makes everyone with a sound mind and
heart, feel sad...
We have none but to work as best we can to change the conditions into
the better, criticizing the mistakes to correct them, hoping that one
day we can put decision into the hands of wise, logical men, worthy of
trust...
I always remember the saying of the gracious Prophet, Muhammad: " the
ultimate of this nation shall not fare well, unless like its
onset...". Meaning- coming back again to gather under the canopy of
one religion, no difference in it between an Arab and a Kurd, a
Turkman, or a Persian, unless by devoutness, and GOD-fearing.....
Then, the nation will regain back its strength and health.....
And until that day comes on, we ask GOD to grant us patience about
what is going on, and we ask Him the guidance, to say and do what will
bring us His consent....
May Peace be upon you all.............
===========================
Translated by May/Baghdad.
Thursday, December 22nd, 2005
Good morning...
Today is one week since the general elections in Iraq, and I want to
describe how the Iraqi scene looks like..........
The day of the elections was a day of joy, happiness, and optimism to
the Iraqis, for they said it was the first true step to build a new
homeland, and a national government that would handle the
responsibility to rule and solve the country's problems...
The Parties participating in the elections noted some transgressions
and violations in some of the Iraqi towns and villages, they said they
presented complaints to the Independent Commissariat of Elections, and
that the Commissariat is responding...
Then, the Commissariat announced after the end of the elections that
it shall not be hasty in announcing the results, until some two weeks
at least, and that no one has the right to announce any unofficial
results before that date...
Things were moving in an excellent way, people were happy, and
optimistic, saying: Oh, dear GOD, these are the features of a new Iraq
looming on the horizon.... We shall get the reward of all the
sacrifices, blood, fear, panic, devastation, and the ruin we saw from
this war.......
***************************
Then, after three days, the Commissariat announced that there are some
preliminary results indicating the winning of the lists of the present
government's Parties, by very high numbers, which was something that
provoked the other Parties and lists...
And the fire broke out...
Each Party or list that participated in the elections had some
representatives standing in front of the TV cameras and the Radio
microphones of various space channels, all of whom were covering the
event...
And all those who spoke expressed their rage and anger at those
results, announcing their rejection of it, and accusing the government
and the Commissariat of forging the results, because each Party had
some overseers, and each of those counted the number of votes his
Party gained when the boxes were opened for each voting center...
All the Iraqi non-governmental TV stations started talking about the
subject, expressing anger, and made interviews with political
personalities and ordinary people, and all rejected what happened, and
discussed the violations that occurred; many reports came on to say
there has been some red violations-meaning: serious, that the
Commissariat isn't honest, and most of its employees are from biased
governmental Parties...
And on the same day, the government announced a rise in the gasoline
prices, from 20 Iraqi Dinnars per liter to 150 IDs/Liter for the
ordinary gasoline, and to 250 IDs/Liter for highly refined gasoline.
This means that I used to fill up my car (as they say) with 1400 IDs,
and now I have to pay 10,000 IDs for ordinary gasoline, or 17,000 IDs
for highly refined gasoline, for the same 70 liters I used to buy.
How many multiple folds did the price of gasoline go up?
And of course people stirred, got angry, and moved in demonstrations
of protest, the local media; TVs and newspapers criticized and talked
about this move from the government, and how bad was its timing, that
conditions weren't better, there are no new employment opportunities,
no clear services form the government for the citizens, and people are
still standing in long lines to get gasoline, besides; gasoline and
all the fuels are local Iraqi products, so why raise the prices?
Why can't they feel the people's suffering?
Now, the prices of transportations will go up, along with the prices
of vegetables and all other food provisions, under the pretext of
transportation prices...
The funny thing is-when people in the southern provinces walked in
angry demonstrations, they found none of the men from the winning
election lists that got the majority of votes there according to the
preliminary results, while towns used to be full of banners of
elections publicity, and the beautiful promises of a happy and
luxurious life and future for the Iraqis; now the offices are empty,
and nobody meets the people and calm them down or heed their anger- of
course, the elections are over, and they have won the votes, and while
the ink is still on the fingers of the poor voters, but it seems that
their hopes and dreams are the things that started evaporating....
This is the democratic process, it seems... merely a game and some
rules, banners, flags, conferences, honeyed-talk and promises, while
the people are complaining from a painful reality that needs to be
changed, then- after the elections there would be more unjust new laws
that doesn't satisfy the people, nor express the perception of their
sufferings...
But who cares?
The game is over...
This is what usually happens here and there, and perhaps in four
years' time you will get the chance to change those, in the coming
elections... It's a simple matter, for then you would have only lost
four more years of your lives, and patience is advisable.....
****************************
Anyway; when the people protested about the increase in the prices of
gasoline, they asked the government -why did you decide to increase
the prices?
The government said they took the advice of the International Bank;
for there are some external debts on Iraq, estimated between $120 to
$140 Billion, and the Bank promised the government to omit or
reschedule these debts if the government followed the policies and the
instructions of the Bank. Well then, and what are the instructions of
the Bank?
To lift the subsidizing and governmental support of the local fuels,
estimated at $6 Billion a year, and this is one of the items that will
decrease the deficit in the budget, or decrease the external debts...
What is the International Bank? I asked myself- I had a curiosity to
be closely familiar with it, I put on the internet, and found many
sites, in all languages...
Well- its history says it was established after the WW II, meaning;
the mid-forties, and its program was to reconstruct the European
countries destroyed by war...
But its program now focuses around decreasing the intensity of poverty
around the world...
By GOD, this is a nice talk, and a noble goal...
Well, I want to see how this shall be fulfilled?
I went on to other websites, and found the International Bank's
conditions to help the poor and growing countries, and among them I
found a condition compelling the countries that would receive the
loans to follow a policy that wouldn't contradict with the policy of
the country that granted the money. Of course, the country dominating
that Bank is America, and the present president of this Bank now is an
American named Paul Woulfvitz...
And who is Paul Woulfvitz?
I made a search in the internet, and found out that he was the deputy
American Defense Secretary before assuming the presidency of the
International Bank, and that he was one of the most enthusiastic
people in the Bush administration for the idea of the war on Iraq
after the September 11th events.
Hummm, useful information....
I found an interview of him with some Iraqis living in America before
the war on Iraq, in which he explains for them the future of Iraq
after Saddam....
I wish everyone would read that dreamy, romantic article, and think
how much of it was fulfilled? And how much truth there is in it?
**********************************
Then I went back to read on more internet websites, some economic
reports about the facilities presented by the International Bank to
some Arabic states, which depended on the idea of the reward and the
punishment; meaning- these states who would be in harmony with the
American policy get a bigger share than those who rebel...
Huh?
By GOD, how amusing these informations are...
Any way, the writer of the article gave a realistic example and in
numbers, as follows: of what could be explained by the development of
the share of some of the Arabic states of these facilities and loans,
in the period from 1973 until 2002...
For example; we notice that the share of a country like Egypt pf the
financing of these funds didn't exceed 1.1% of the total funds, after
the conclusion of the Egyptian peace treaty with Israel, while Syria's
share was 27.1%, and Jordan's 26.1% at that time. But in 1990, and
after the Egyptian stand of the second gulf war (between Iraq and
Kuwait), Egypt got the lion's share, and her share -in the period
1990-1999-, was about 39.5%, while Syria's share became 4.7%, and
Jordan's share was 6.2%, besides; the Gulf states ceded their debts
with Egypt, that were some 6.2 Billion dollars at the end of the
second gulf war.
********************************
Then I read about the procedures of implementing the conditions of the
Fund and the International Bank, which were:
Freeing the prices, the policy of Privatization, freeing the External
Trade, and achieving more mergers with the capitalist international
Economy. That means, part of these procedures are increasing the
prices of fuels, increasing the taxes on citizens; every day some kind
or another of a tax, of course while the wages would remain the same,
and also eliminating the principal of a minimum wage-limit, as I read
in the report.
Then, at the end of the report, I read the positive and the negative
results...
The negatives would be: an increase in the unemployment rates, the
deterioration of the poor or limited-income families' conditions, the
negative influence on the middle classes, the emergence of social
problems, and the retreat of the state's role and the reinforcement of
the privet sector's role...
While the positive points would be: the decrease of the deficit in the
general budget of the state, the decrease in the external debts
percentage of the state, and some other points relative to the state's
economic system...
Well then, I am not an economic expert, but I do think we can all
deduct what is going on... this means that people shall endure the
sufferings and sacrifices in order to solve the state's problems, and
at the same time, a rich class of merchants, private sector men, and
finance men will be the beneficiary class, which-as a result- shall
mean a weak state, a marginalized public sector, poor people,
increasing unemployment, increasing taxes to fill the deficit gap in
the budget, and increasing fuel prices to redress the deficit. Then,
what would be the result?
And here I saw the explanation of the common phrase: the poor get
poorer, and the rich get richer... meaning- the states patch up their
problems and incapacity from the people's pockets, and of course, the
pockets that would be hurt the most are those of the poor...
Hummm...
We have a saying that says: knowledge is enlightenment.... It means
you would be enlightened, and your view of the world would get clearer
when you learn what is going on around you...
Should I get back to the International Bank's website, and send them
an e-mail asking - how come you say that you are working for the poor,
but destroying the lives of the poor?
I do not know if anyone will answer the question?
***********************************
And going back to miserable, sad Iraq... here they are, the people in
the whirlpool of the conflict about the results of the elections and
the stories of forgery, the increase in the prices of gasoline, then
the transportations, then the commodities...
And, another story on the screens... the trial of Saddam and his
men...
A British radio station called me yesterday, asking my opinion about
the Saddam trial, if it is an indication of justice in the new Iraq,
and if it is an indication that the Iraqis regained the rights for the
victims of the former regime?
I laughed... by GOD, these people are living in another world...
I said to her- my dear, who cares now about the story of Saddam's
trial? People are cursed by poverty, unemployment, the lack of
security and settlement, the results of the forged elections, and the
increase in the fuel prices, Saddam Hussein became an object from the
past, we are busy with the present problems, and we think how shall
the future be....
She said- but the settlement of Saddam's story is a leap from the past
to the future...
I said - yes, that would have been true if we had a real sovereignty
in Iraq, a state and a government about which the people are content,
and then, yes, perhaps after 4 or 5 years of settlement, then the
trial of Saddam could be an important issue in the lives of the
Iraqis, with lessons and examples for those who rule after him, but
now, what does it signify? Do you think it signifies justice? Are we
taking the rights of the Saddam's regime victims who were imprisoned,
tortured, and killed? And who shall take the rights for the victims of
the present regime, the detained, tortured, and assassinated?
We understand right and justice as being balanced principals, not
exclusive for some people, while others are exempted from them...
We see this trial as a mere silly play, meaningless... perhaps the
occupation and the Parties in the present government see it as a
victory, and a political gain, but for the ordinary Iraqi on the
street, it is a silly story, and meaningless.
****************************
My son wondered; why didn't they try Saddam for his war with Iran? For
the chemicals he threw at the Kurds? For killing the Iraqis in the
south after the 1991 uprising? For entering Kuwait and his war against
it?
There are some agendas more dangerous than the issue of Dejail, so,
why did they choose this one precisely?
Yesterday, I understood...
The victims were from Al-Da'awa Party , and the witnesses now are from
Al-Da'awa Party, and Al-Da'awa Party now is the government, meaning;
getting personal scores even, not achieve justice for the Iraqis.
And why didn't they start an inquiry in the other files?
The answer, of course, is- because it would expose everyone, and
reveal everyone's involvement in those criminal acts, embarrassing the
American administration and the British government, and some other
European and Arabic governments who formed the coalition to wage the
war on Iraq in 2003, and that's why they chose that small agenda;
which is an internal Iraqi issue, and that's it, this material is
enough for a play of that limited size.
*****************************
Iraq today is surrounded by a lot of dangerous challenges....
Challenges about the unity of its people... its wealth... the
independence of its political decision... and its future....
All these are in danger....
This is what reality says......................
May GOD help the people of Iraq.
********************************************************
Translated by May/Baghdad.
# posted by Faiza Al-Arji @ 9:18 AM
Friday, December 16th, 2005
Good morning...
Yesterday was a day of happiness to the Iraqis...
On Iraqi TV stations, I saw through direct and live transmission how
the day went by in most Iraqi cities, as people went to the voting
centers to participate in the elections. Sometimes we saw a group of
women or young men going to a voting center, sometimes husbands and
wives, and perhaps whole families with their children (who are not
allowed to vote), but who came with their parents to satisfy the
curiosity in their young hearts. And like the people said- we take our
children with us when we go out for a happy occasion, and this is a
happy occasion, for the adults and the children as well...
In some voting centers there was a shortage of in the voting papers or
the boxes, and the General Commissariat rushed to supply the requests
of the centers, with the direct TV reports confirming the
Commissariat's role in helping the Iraqis to complete this matter in a
way that would satisfy them...
And in the evening, they announced that the duration was extended for
one more hour in some voting centers, due to the crowds...
I think that yesterday was the first day since the war on Iraq, in
2003, which held hope and joy to all the Iraqi people's factions, who
participated, all of them, in the hope of getting out of the dark
dilemma in which the country fell, and hoping to build a new,
beautiful country, governed by security, freedom, and the good
livelihood for all.
************************************
Why do the Iraqis put a wager on these elections?
Because the one before it wasn't comprehensive; there was violence
against some of the people's factions then, which made them boycott
the election process, and of course, a lot of people sympathized with
them, seeing that the general conditions in the country weren't
suitable to have an election, and that such an election wouldn't be
fare because some party would exploit the situation and seize
authority, being unjust to the other parties. And also because the
lists of candidates then were full of strange names, which the
majority of people didn't know; who were they? What was their history?
And what is the measure of their credibility?
And the lists were announced then without work programs...
So, why should we vote? And what is the evidence that those coming on
to authority had a real program to reform the country?
That was the query of a lot of the Iraqis at that time, and I,
personally, and my family were among them, that's why we boycotted the
elections, because we saw in it just a propaganda act for Bush and his
administration, that it didn't have any serious will to make the
change, but would be held at the expense of the Iraqis fate and
future, which no body cared about....
**********************************
And true to the word, the new government came along, and spent three
months distributing positions and fighting about them; This is for our
party, and that is for yours...
This is a catastrophic mentality, increasing the intensity of
conflicts in Iraq, and it did just that for the duration of their
being in power, since almost a year.
Well then, what have we gained from the policy of a government
controlled by a faction of the people, while the other factions are
marginalized?
The result was dictatorship, monopolization of decision, arrests,
prisons, night raids, assassinations, and sectarian and Party
militias...
Meaning- we never progressed from the mentality of Saddam Hussein, the
one Party, and the only acceptable viewpoint, as for the other
viewpoint; it would be marginalized, because it doesn't land in our
interests...
You are either with us, or else, you are our enemies...
This is the mentality that controls the leaders of Globalization, a
mentality that came back to Iraq, to control the ruling faction... And
in their speeches, we always hear them accusing "some hidden parties"
of being the enemy, lurking somewhere for them, and that they are the
honest who are giving their efforts up for the people's welfare...
Well then; if we had seen any positive aspects of respecting people's
dignity and rights, of not arresting them in an abusive way, by
providing the necessary services for daily life, improving employment
opportunities for citizens, providing security by the
well-organization of the new army and police force in Iraq, all these
would have been the positive manifestations for the government's
performance strength and her good planning and implementations on the
reality ground.
But where is all that from what the present Iraqi government achieved?
The officials in that government arrange press conferences to deny the
charges addressed against it...
And where are the achievements that would silence the opposition?
Where are the improved services, security, and economy?
Nothing happened except more scandals of robbing the public funds, the
security deterioration, the militia racking havoc in Iraq, killing and
detaining whoever they wanted; the government denies, and the people
wail, call for help, and present photos, evidences, and
accusations....
The Iraqis lived in this whirlpool since the fall of Baghdad until
now; a temporary Governing Council came on, then an interim
government, then a government elected but not from all the people, and
conditions kept getting worst, and deteriorating...
But this election of a new parliament, and the- next- four- years-
government made the Iraqis stand up seriously for the situation, and
re-asses it; either to boycott it and leave the arena as it is, with
more ruin, destruction, and the loss of Iraqi blood and funds..... Or
to get in and participate to stop this bleeding, violence, and
madness.....
And this is what happened yesterday; that is why the Iraqis are happy,
why they smiled, and felt hope renewed in their hearts, that was the
feeling that the fate and future of Iraq in the coming years should be
manufactured by all the Iraqis.....
Enough what we have lost, and been through... it is time we should get
up, open our eyes, and act maturely and responsibly, for we are tired
of this conditions...
We left the field for new leaders who entered Iraq after the fall of
Baghdad, presenting themselves to the Iraqis as the opposition against
the Saddam regime, and that he oppressed them, that they ran away to
struggle abroad, and to think how to deliver the people from this
unjust dictator, and here they are, coming back on an American tank,
happy and glad by the victory on the dictator, they went to
Al-Ferdowes Square and toppled down the statue, then sat down with
Premer, the American governor, who chose the members of the new
Governing Council from among them, then an interim government, then
elections dominated by those patriotic leaders who took most of the
parliamentary seats and the ministries' positions...
Well then, as we look at them, we say; let's see what's new those
victims of Saddam has brought on, the patriots who spent most of their
lives in exile?
And we saw the wonder of wonders...
We saw them surrounding themselves with armed militia, and accusation
fingers started pointing at these militia as being involved in a
campaign to assassinate the political rivals from other Parties, or
some poor Bathists, who has done no harm except being forced to enter
the then ruling Party so they could get a job in the state and earn a
living...
They increased the provocation of people with the stories of the Mass
Graves; everyday we hear that same tune, like the (Two minutes of
Hate) in the George Orwell novel- 1984.
Then, people started seeing that positions are being given to those
whose relatives were killed, expelled, or imprisoned by Saddam...the
priorities of employment landed near those- well well, what about the
poor who were not involved with all this, nor gained anything?
Oh, it doesn't matter; this is a government of patriots, who will give
a priority to patriots.
So, the poor people went to seek a mediate to join the new Parties, to
get membership ideas, so they could get a job in the state, or to join
the Politically Expelled Societies, to get employment...
And so, here we are; getting out of the tyranny of Saddam and his
Party, to get in the tyranny of new strugglers and their Parties...
That's in addition to the series of violence, and the sectarian and
Party settlements led by the new Parties in power, against whoever
opposes them, or against whom they bear an old vengeance....
So, who says these are better than those who went?
The same mentality and the same behaviors...
Plus- they take refuge with the occupation army...
And that's another catastrophe, meaning; they control the government,
they mishandle the administration, and take shelter with the
occupation...
In the beginning, the American administration used to defend those new
Iraqi leaderships, and justify all their actions. But with time,
mishaps increased, and scandals, like the administrational corruption,
the robbery of millions of dollars from ministries, the governmental
detaining centers, and the stories of torture...
So, the American administration started changing its tactics with
these leaderships, discovering that they bring bad reputation to the
American administration, and they started talking in the American
newspapers about those violations...
...
And here, America decided to lift its support from those leaderships
and their Parties, and open the door for Iraqi powers and Parties that
have been marginalized before, to enter through a widely-open door
into participation in the political and election process...
And the first step was the Cairo conference, like a reconciliation
conference, and to give legitimacy to the powers that were outside the
government in order to take their role in the political process.....
The new powers and Parties from outside the government were rejoiced
for this event, and used it in an excellent way by announcing their
open opposition of terrorism that targets the Iraqi civilians, and
demanded it to be distinguished from the legitimate resistance against
occupation...
And they agreed to participate in the elections and the political
process in Iraq ...
And I saw that the Parties in the government, which appropriated
power, were forced to attend this conference, as if America put
pressure on them to attend, for many reasons; some of which are; the
American deadlock in Iraq, which didn't reap any success on the ground
of reality, and secondly; the complaints of the Arabic governments
near Iraq, like the Gulf States and Jordan, from fears about the
spread of fire from the Iraqi field to their countries, and the
threats to the security of the region.....
And I could see the Iraqi government was going to die of rage, because
the red carpet was beginning to be pulled from under her feet.
*********************************
At the beginning of that government's assumption of power, some talk
moved around the street about the necessity of a national
reconciliation, and a gathering of all political factions on the Iraqi
field. The government used to burn with anger at that talk, holding
press conferences in which her representatives would say: And who are
the resistance? Who are these Parties? They are Bathist criminals,
their hands are stained with the blood of Iraqis, and the mass graves,
and lab, lab, lab....
And we always used to say; oh, and who says they are like that? Have
you met them? Have you sat with them? Did you listen to their
ideology?
The government has no right to monopolize the media and the press
conferences to say- we are the only ones who are right, and the only
ones to decide the future of Iraq. Give the others a chance to
participate, and dialogue.
But to no avail, months passed, and the conditions keep deteriorating,
and the embarrassment increases on the American administration and the
Iraqi government, which makes the near and the far say- all the
parties must participate in the political process, In order to get
quiet and balance in the next government, and the violence would
decrease in the street, for perhaps this political opposition has her
way of pressuring the armed opposition to lessen the violence in the
Iraqis street, which would bring what is good to the Iraqis in the
first place, and even if Bathists whose hands are clean, who didn't
kill the Iraqis, would get in the new government, what's with that?
Wouldn't that be better than turning them into an enemy; a displeased,
indignant faction that would hurt the government, and effect the good
performance?
We want peace and security in the Iraqi street, and we are supposed to
knock on all doors, and open all doors to achieve peace, and stop the
blood shed of the Iraqis. The narrow, spiteful attitude will bring us
nothing but ruin, devastation, and blood on the streets.
And this was what we saw in the past months; the harvest of what those
narrow, ignorant, selfish minds have planted, wanting nothing but
their personal interests, heedless of the Iraqi interest, heedless of
the Iraqi blood.
And may GOD bless all who seek the reconciliation, if his wish was to
stop the bleeding in the Iraqi streets first, and build the country of
peace and justice.
********************************************
Thank GOD......
All those conditions pushed and compelled the American administration
to change its policy in Iraq, not because she loves the Iraqis, but
because her reputation was soiled in Iraq, and she found herself in a
mess, and an endless whirlpool, and everybody started criticizing what
she is doing there, and that made her permit, constrained, opening the
field for a wider-range of forces to join in the political process in
Iraq, in spite of the fact that almost all of these new forces say: NO
to the occupation, and put the issue of removing the occupation from
Iraq as a priority for them in their political programs, after
providing security, building the army, police force, and state
establishments, by more national and logical standards; without
sectarianism, without parties, without factionalism, so the state and
its establishments would be in the service of all people, not in the
service of one faction withholding the others, like what the former
government used to do, I mean; the present government, which was
dominated by the mentality of revenge and vengeance, with the theory
of: back to get revenge... so, they transmitted destruction and ruin
upon all Iraqis... then that government reaped the results of that
stupid policy; she was hated by a lot of Iraqis, who no longer wanted
the return of any of its personalities in the next stage, because it
was a government that dedicated sectarianism, hatrids, Injustice, and
segregation among people, and didn't succeed in handling any one of
the Iraqi files, like security, services, economy, and
administrational corruption in a serious and sound way...
******************************************
Did the Iraqis have to go through this bitter experience to learn?
Well, perhaps -yes, for now people became more articulate and
perceptive, looking for leaderships who have a clear, logical, and
mature program, with a comprehensive Iraqi mentality, not a sectarian
one, a leadership with a mature, calm, and responsible intellectual
speech, and that's what the Iraqis are hoping to get after the results
of the elections would be revealed; leaderships more mature, more
experienced, and more true in handling the problems of the Iraqis
after the war, and the fall of the state.
The political analysts are talking about the after-election
coalitions, and people do not care for such talk...
The People want clean, honest, and mature leaderships, ones who are
capable of carrying the responsibility of solving the problems of this
wounded country, and the tired people....
The coming months will show us if this election was truly a step in
the right direction? Or shall we go back to Square One?
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