News From Iraq

Daily news and comments on the situation in post Saddam Iraq
http://www.healingiraq.com/
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Back to normal
It's good to be back to normal again. By normal I mean total chaos, endless lines for gasoline, long electricity outages, and sounds of unknown explosions and gunfire. Yes you guessed it right, I'm back in Baghdad again. Though to be fair things have relatively improved since the last time. Electricity has been better since Christmas (only 12 hours of outage!) and queue lines at petrol stations are a mile or two shorter. And no I'm not being sarcastic at all. Thats the way it is.

I got back yesterday evening. My parents were really happy and I was surprised to hear that our neighbourhood was surrounded and raided by about a thousand American troops just two days ago. Thank Goodness our house wasn't raided.

I asked some pals in our street about it and they said that the Americans were polite and didn't really make a mess. While searching a house just three or four blocks far from ours, they inquired why the women were all dressed in black (they were mourning their son who was recently killed by a gang), and seemed to be surprised to know about the fact that Iraqi women dress in black when in mourning, and they asked the family "Aren't you supposed to dress in white or something?". I have to say I'm surprised too that they don't know anything about such a common Iraqi tradition till now.

A large number of weapons were confiscated and several suspects arrested. Attacks against Americans are frequent in or close to our area, and many people including myself have encountered Fedayeen on our streets. I just hope some of them were arrested. They're a huge source of trouble to us. And Iraqis from other areas have started to accuse us of being loyal to Saddam which is embarrassing, for example when I tell someone where I live he says something like "Oh I see, you're one of those sectarian Sunnis, so how is Saddam today?". And I don't feel very comfortable being talked to that way. But things are getting more quiet since Saddam was incarcerated.

I watched some bad news on Al-Jazeera just as I was settling down from the trip. First the deadly attacks in Karbala and then the devastating earthquake in Iran. When I was in Basrah I didn't follow any news because I thought it would be best to get away from it all for a change but it keeps stalking you wherever you go nudging you obstinately in the back crying for your attention.

Anyway, I got assigned to a village called Al-Muheijran (I keep forgetting it's name), its very close to Basrah city (about 10 minutes) and it has a wonderful view of Shatt Al-Arab. The bureaucrats at the Basrah Health Directorate didn't make it easy for us to end up in one dental centre or at least different ones that are close together. Omar and AYS had better luck as they were assigned to the same clinic which is about a 100 miles north of mine but they have a problem with their salaries for December. So I'll be back to Basrah next Friday to check out the place. I'm keeping my expectations very low so I won't be shocked.

We should have continued our negotiations with Saddam. Instead we knocked a pillar right out from under them. Even if it wasn't a good pillar. It was still a pillar. It has cost us and them a whole lot. Not much left over to help poor Iran. Just when the temperature of the earth is going up causing lots of strange weather around the globe, throwing off the natural balance of things causing sicknesses to spread. I am still certain I will reach an old age of good health. When I look at children I hope the same for them. I for one will get more involved.

U.S. Forces Raid Kufa, Kill 32 Militiamen

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U.S. forces fought militiamen near Kufa's Sahla mosque, then raided it for weapons after an Iraqi counterterrorism force had "cleared" the site, the military said.

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http://start.earthlink.net/newsarticle?cat=0&aid=523104553_breakingn
ews_story

The right to keep & bear arms,
one of the foundationes of the American Revolution!
Funny thing in another thread caves had made the statement that people shouldn't go around changing the historical accurracy to fit their present desire.

Like the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has been changed frrom its original intent. Those opposed to this right, maintian that its inclussion was to establish the militia which fought with the English Army.
But being into these types of weapons, armies were supplied with muskets & rather loose fitting rifled barrels which were better designed for extensive firing without cleaning of the bore.
The militia used smaller bored hunting rifles which were more accurate over longer yardage but needed to be more carefully loaded & cleaned after a few shots.
These units carried their own personal weapons which is why they were able to shoot at the advancing infantry then fall back to fire again. this type of guerilla tactics served the Patriot forces well aginst the Armies of England which had developed their stratagies fighting other armies in Europe.

http://start.earthlink.net/newsarticle?cat=6&aid=D839C1U80_story[/ur
l]

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Johnson, 49, who has worked in Saudi Arabia for Lockheed Martin for more than a decade, was kidnapped Saturday by a group calling itself al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. At the time of his abduction, he was working on targeting and night vision systems for Apache helicopters.

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Hearing stories of hostages taken we are all hopeful that people would treat others with compassion & love as GOD seeks us to do. We know that our government is not going to back down so we pray that those holding the hostage may have greater compassion then the war lords of these land.

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"I just want to ask the president of the United States and the Saudi officials to please make this happen," the son said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show. "Father's Day is right here. Bring my father home for Father's Day."

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If I could speak to those holding him, the only thing I could say is show mercy (compassion) have him admit to his crimes against your people (repent) then set him free . . . Jesus once taught to do good by those of foully abuse you that your goodness will be like a scolding stone upon their head.

For Those hwo some how are not aware yet, the big news is about Johnson's beheaded body found. What can be said to the family except expreesing grief at their loss. I heard it on the Fox TV channel, which has been identitied by some as being rather bias at best.
Not to be incensative to the Johnson family but there is something rather askewed in our reactions to this news.
The commentator reporting seemed stunned as she in anguish & disgust revial the terrorist who had done this deed.
They switched to correspondent, Stevensen for a report which almost seemed a rebuttal to some of her rage. Not mocking Johnson nor minimalize his death. He did note that Johnson's presence was a high paid technician involved in the war. About then they switched to Powell, who like Bush stand was that an innocent man had been murdered? Back to the young lady & more calls for greater action against these terrorist, questioning fingers being pointed at Saudi Arabian authorities. the president (Bush) calling for support for his war on terrorism (barbarians)!
http://start.earthlink.net/newsarticle?cat=0&aid=D839KN480_story

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"Let him taste something of what Muslims have long tasted from Apache helicopter fire and missiles," the statement said.

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It just made me stop & think is this man truly an innocent bystander? Recently, another young man loss his life in the same fashion but he wasn't (at least not publicly) involved with any military / industrial complex, so where was the outpouring of indignation then?
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=34549&s=1&e=1
Why does it come now, at the death of an active agent in the war?
America has your (values) way been led astray?

Maybe a better measure of the translation of our liberties into those we are trying to impose on Iraq comes from G.W. Bush: "We want to make certain Saddam stays in jail after we leave."

If that isn't democratic, I don't know what is.

You'll be a democracy, like it or not! And free. Free to do what we want you to do.

Let freedom ring, just not on my phone or my dime.

right on sqatteam, just political jargons & promotings . . .
hell of a thing to give your life for false pride!
Heard they blew up Iraq's oil line, might be Iraq's line.
Wonder whose oil it was?
I noted today's paper that they say they don't have Johnson's body? I thought they had found his body & the government had pressured the Saudi's into a retailatory strike against those 'barbarians' (Bush's word)?

C. getting rid of american military intervention in their forming their own government.
You seemed to have forgotten some of Iraqis sentiments?

Then who are the one's shooting you?

No, sorry, I honestly don't know what Iraqis think apart from what I get through cnn and aljazeera. But I do know that parts of Iraq really hate the US presence. IE, Sadr City, Fallujah or Samara what do Iraqis over there think?

That really reminds me of Nam, when one of the momasan's didn't return to work I starting asking about her.
Her boyfriend was NVA in a unit we had destroyed, after that I started crawling around under the hutches. We both know what I was looking for, have many Iraqis working within your compound?

Fair enough then, from the news it sounds like the US doesnt have much control over certain parts of the cities, IE that there are loads of no go zones, this true?

Well Teen, beyond that is whom does bmx have contact?
A general overview of the population or a select group?
Like in one of the recent bombings involving children & candy, sounded like common events from Viet Nam era.

I was enlisted Marine. Where was I at, well my normal respond with I was down South . . . (Around DaNang => just a few clicks south of the DMZ.)

Major action involved in? the withdrawl from Nam.
At least in my thoughts.