An American Soldier in Iraq named Michael writes a very interesting blog called A Day In Iraq. He's a very fine writer and fine example of the modern American Soldier.
Michael puts himself in harms way voluntarily on a daily basis. In his off time, which is seldom, he concerns himself with how he can help to improve the life of Iraqi kids. Recently he came up with an idea of starting a drive to get soccer balls to as may Iraqi children as he can.
The idea is not a new one as many other American Soldiers have come up with the same thing. However what is so compelling about Michael's idea is the amount of heart and thought that went into it. You can read about it here:
Operation Soccer Ball
I was sitting on guard the other night, trying desperately to do something productive, or at least think of something productive to get me through the four hours of boredom. I started thinking about all the good things that are happening in Iraq, the things that you’ll never hear about on your nightly news or read about in your morning newspaper. Whether the terrorists, the media, or misinformed public know it or not, democracy in Iraq is on the move. Like a freight train, whose momentum can’t be slowed, so it is with freedom and democracy in Iraq. There is no stopping it. It’s no longer The Little Engine That Could, crying out “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”Iraq is now the Big Engine that Did, having already climbed the mountain of heartache and sorrow to reach the plateau of promise, the view of peace and prosperity in its sights, flourishing in the valley below. There is still work to be done though. That train is still on the plateau, but I have no doubt it will soon reach the downward slope, momentum taking over, propelling it downward, with nothing to impede its progress down the prosperous path in its future.
Maybe it’s naive of me to think I can do something to help it reach that slope, but I’ll be damned if I don’t try. Sure we’re out here fighting the good fight, pursuing the bad guys in every corner of Iraq. Sure we’re building schools, rebuilding infrastructure, helping restore pride in Iraqis for their country. Sure we’re helping to establish and nurture a government from its infancy to one that will soon be heard on the world stage. Sure we’re spreading good old fashion American Goodwill throughout Iraq, as only our great country can. Naysayer’s be damned, I’m proud of what we’re doing in Iraq, and I’m proud to be a small part of it. The critics can sit on the sidelines like cackling hyenas’, salivating over the misfortunes and casualties of this war, but we’re in the arena actually doing something. You’re doing something. The good old US of A is doing something to make Iraq and the world a better, safer, more prosperous place to live. But I want to do something more. I look forward to every time I go outside these gates, the opportunity to hunt down a terrorist driving me onward. It’s why I signed up, why I don’t mind being over here away from my family for a year. Sure I may voice my frustrations on this blog, but those frustrations aren’t meant to diminish the honor I feel in serving our country and helping the people of Iraq. This blog may be nothing more than the inane rambling of a wanta be writer, with no value to its author or readers, but maybe I can turn it into something of value, something good and worthwhile. So that’s when I came up with an idea.
What are the Iraqi people in general, and the Iraqi children in particular, passionate about? In a word, soccer. Actually it’s football to them, but we know it as soccer. They have more passion for the game of soccer than we ever thought of having for football or baseball. I’ve yet to meet a child, or an adult for that matter, who doesn’t have at least some interest in the game of soccer. Forget bowl season, the World Series, March Madness, and the Super Bowl, they don’t care. Their ‘Field of Dreams’ isn’t a baseball field in the middle of an Iowa cornfield. Their ‘Field of Dreams’ is a soccer field in any open area of Iraq. Streets, fields, farms, the dusty ground off the side of the road, or the lush green land of a farm. On sand or on pavement, no place is safe from the stampeding feet of Iraqis chasing a soccer ball. In every mission I’ve been on, I’ve never once failed to witness a game of soccer.
On one overcast evening, before the sun had fully set, I saw a group of men divided into teams, each wearing bright pastel jerseys. These jerseys contrasted beautifully against the tall green grass and the light gray color of the cloud filled sky. There was something electric about the whole scene, reminding me of Saturday night football games on a college campus in America during the fall. I’ve seen this same scene through the thermal sights of my Bradley, each player a bright red figure, indicating the heat radiating from their body as they chase the precious ball. More often the scene is of children in rags playing on the dry hard packed dirt of a schoolyard. They’re all passionately chasing that elusive soccer ball.
If they don’t have a soccer ball they’ll use anything as a substitute. I’ve seen kids kicking around a rock with as much passion and glee than if they were playing in the World Championship. They need soccer balls, and I want to give them one. What a better way to convey the goodwill of America and American soldiers than by giving them the soccer balls that they so desperately desire. You want to continue to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis, give them the tool that will enable them to do something they love. Besides guns and ammo, every humvee, tank, truck, Bradley, Stryker, and helicopter should come armed with soccer balls as well. How I would love to be standing out the top of my humvee, having the guys below feed soccer balls up to me, so I could then throw them to any children I pass. Why not airplanes too? I can picture C130's flying over cities and towns throughout Iraq, dropping soccer balls from its cargo hold with little parachutes attached to each one. It’s doable. Crazier things have happened. Or have helicopters hover over a school during recess and drop a bunch of soccer balls to the delight of the kids below. We can rain down hellfire on the heads of terrorists, turn around, and shower the good people of Iraq with peace in the form of a soccer ball. The love of sports, in this case soccer, can be an instrument of peace and a bond that is common to us all. It will transcend our cultural differences and our languages. It will also mitigate the feelings of some Iraqis that see our presence in their land as aggravating.
Imagine the anticipation, the childlike excitement, that would fill the hearts of thousands of children upon seeing a U.S. soldier, or vehicle, delivering the gift of soccer balls. Sure the children need school supplies, clothes, and shoes, but what would you rather have as a kid. I can’t begin to count how many times kids have asked me, “Mister football.”Those other items are important. I’m not discounting that, but there are plenty of other organizations that are doing good work supplying them. There’s something wrong when it’s easier for a kid to get their hands on an AK that it is a soccer ball. Terrorists are a dying breed. Who are these kids going to look up to more? People who bring chaos and terror into their lives, or Americans who bring peace and soccer balls?
So how can I do this. How can I get soccer balls into the hands of Iraqis? I’m open for suggestions. I thought about a website that would help facilitate getting soccer balls from Americans back home to the soldiers here in Iraq. I was thinking of some kind of forum or message board based site linking people with soldiers, but I don’t have the time or expertise to accomplish something like that. We would have to have some way of spreading the wealth around all of Iraq. I don’t want just one area of Iraq receiving soccer balls. I want every corner of Iraq covered. Maybe everyone living east of the Mississippi River could send balls to soldiers or units stationed east of the Tigris River and vice versa. Of course, not only would we need people willing to send soccer balls, but also soldiers willing to receive them and distribute them. I don’t think there would be a problem with soldiers distributing them once they received them, but the problem would be to get addresses of soldiers or units. Or maybe it wouldn’t. I don’t know.
Maybe we could get the Department of Defense involved in some way. That would be ideal. They could be a clearing house for the delivery of the balls into Iraq and spreading them throughout. Maybe the Honorable Secretary Rumsfeld would sign off on it. He may think it’s a good idea. The DOD could set up a place for everyone in the states to send their soccer balls. The DOD could even donate their own soccer balls. Forget the $160,000 new sight that our Bradley needs. We can use another Bradley in our platoon, which we’ve been doing anyway. Put the money toward soccer balls. How many can that buy? Close to 20,000. Buying soccer balls with that money would do more for the war effort than that one Bradley ever would. Who needs a Bradley? I’d rather go out in humvees anyway. Hell, I’d rather go out on a bicycle. Forget about the most wanted playing cards. Why not put the faces of the most wanted on those 20,000 soccer balls. Imagine thousands of Iraqi kids kicking around a ball with Zarqawi’s likeness on it. That would be a beautiful sight. This culture frowns upon showing someone the bottom of your feet or placing one’s foot on another person. It would help foster contempt for terrorists and manage to humiliate each person on the most wanted list.
Corporations could get involved as well. They could place their logo on each ball. Imagine the exposure and positive publicity they would receive after donating a few thousand balls. Nike would be a good one. Come on Phil, how about 5,000 balls with a big swoosh emblazoned on each one. Microsoft and Mr. Gates could buy a ball for every person in Iraq, but I’ll settle for another 5,000. They could mark each one with the name of their latest software. The possibilities are endless. What a great way for New York City to win its bid in hosting the 2012 Olympics than by sending 5,000 soccer balls with New York 2012 stamped on each one. I think Paris is in the running as well. France wanted nothing to do with the war, but they could send soccer balls to help with the peace. They might even manage to earn my respect again. Hollywood could get involved too. You know those movie stars, they’re always looking for some charity to attach their names to. High school and college soccer teams could donate used soccer balls. These kids don’t care if it’s used, anything is better than a rock. Web sites hoping for that elusive exposure could donate as well.
How about the blogging community. Glenn could send a bunch of instaballs. Drudge could spread the word throughout the world in one hour. The military blogging community in particular could help spread the word.
I bet Greyhawk and his wife wouldn’t mind spreading the word. We could get traditional media outlets involved as well. They could at least help spread the word. More than any of these, I need you. I need you to spread the word. I need you to contact any soldier that you know serving in Iraq. I need you to donate balls. I don’t care if we get 100 or one million balls into the hands of the Iraqi children. Each one will make a difference. We soldiers can only get so many packages filled with snacks, baby wipes, magazines, and other nonessential items. Don’t get me wrong, these packages are greatly appreciated, but I bet the majority of us wouldn’t mind sacrificing a few packages for a soccer ball that we can pass on to some kid.
Every kid should have a soccer ball, even the girls, especially the girls. They are the most precious segment of the Iraqi population. We could start an Iraqi women’s soccer movement. Why not? It could help liberate them from the background of obscurity that this society already places them in, even at a young age. I want to be able to give a soccer ball to that shy little girl standing behind the boys, watching her angelic face become a bright shining light as I reach over the boy’s head’s to place a ball into her hands. Of course there will be so many balls that the boys standing in front of her will have already received one. Maybe one day they can field an Iraqi women’s Olympic soccer team. They could make their entrance onto the world stage at the 2012 Summer Olympics in New York City.
You may think all of this is impossible, but I don’t. When I dream, I dream big. If you’re going to dream, might as well dream big. So I’d thought about all of this and wrote it down on paper when I decided to do a search on the internet for any similar plan out there. I went to google, typed in operation soccer ball and hit the search button. Guess what? Yep, three different pages appeared in the search results here, here, and here. I was amazed, and yet not surprised that someone would have thought of this before me. You can read the stories yourself, but one in particular really amazed me. Some Kiowa pilots from the 1st Cavalry Division had actually been dropping soccer balls from their helicopters after completing their mission’s. They even dubbed their little project Operation Soccer Ball. Are you kidding me? There are pilots out there that are actually willing to do it. One story in particular really stuck out.
“I remember this one time when we came down, ready to drop a few balls and we see this kid standing off in the distance. He had his arm cocked back to his ear, just ready to hurl a rock at us. I pulled one of the balls out and tossed it to him. The kid just stood there for a second, like he really wasn’t sure what to do, but then he dropped that rock, grabbed the ball and gave us the thumbs up. That was cool,” Chief Warrant Officer Sonny Hinchman, Kiowa pilot.
Man, that’s beautiful. At first I was a little frustrated to read that others had the same idea before me. I felt like I was arriving late to the party. Then I thought, well why not take it to the next level. I’ll be the guy that arrives fashionably late, kicking off the party in style. They say they’ve procured 1000 soccer balls. That’s wonderful but nowhere close to the number of balls that we can and should provide for these people. These men can claim all the credit for starting the project. I don’t care. I want no credit. Maybe we can make a difference together.
You can read more of Michael's excellent posts at http://www.adayiniraq.com/
Friday, May 20, 2005
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Meet Major K
Major K is an intellgence officer with the American Infantry Brigade in which Coporal Glenn Watkins served and died. This is from Major K's blog:
---------------------------------------
April 17, 2005
Ladies & Gentlemen, We got 'em!
I am finally able to post this one because I now have reasonable certainty that we have all off the scumbags involved in the killing of CPL Watkins in custody. They all went down without a fight when we burst through their doors in the middle of the night. We got the first 2 about a week ago and have since rounded up the others. I hope that CPL Watkins is pleased with us as he looks down from above. These cowards are going for a nice long stay in Abu Ghurayb Prison. It took a while to drill down the details but the wait was so worth it. Most of the time, I hate being the Battalion Intelligence Officer, as I am an infantryman by training and most of my experience. Times like these, however, it is a great job, as not only do I head up the detective work that goes into catching these guys, but I get to go through the door with the assault team on the raid that bags them. The bigger fight is far from over, however, and after another 28 hour shift on the job, I conked out for about 3 hours to be awakened by fresh developments from informants. I woke, worked again for another 20 minutes to provide guidance to my staff and then conked back out. That was a few days ago. We are back to the grind looking for other scumbags, like the ones that killed a guy from our sister battalion here on the FOB. I hate RPG's. Back to Work!
Read more from Major K here: http://strengthandhonor.typepad.com/
---------------------------------------
April 17, 2005
Ladies & Gentlemen, We got 'em!
I am finally able to post this one because I now have reasonable certainty that we have all off the scumbags involved in the killing of CPL Watkins in custody. They all went down without a fight when we burst through their doors in the middle of the night. We got the first 2 about a week ago and have since rounded up the others. I hope that CPL Watkins is pleased with us as he looks down from above. These cowards are going for a nice long stay in Abu Ghurayb Prison. It took a while to drill down the details but the wait was so worth it. Most of the time, I hate being the Battalion Intelligence Officer, as I am an infantryman by training and most of my experience. Times like these, however, it is a great job, as not only do I head up the detective work that goes into catching these guys, but I get to go through the door with the assault team on the raid that bags them. The bigger fight is far from over, however, and after another 28 hour shift on the job, I conked out for about 3 hours to be awakened by fresh developments from informants. I woke, worked again for another 20 minutes to provide guidance to my staff and then conked back out. That was a few days ago. We are back to the grind looking for other scumbags, like the ones that killed a guy from our sister battalion here on the FOB. I hate RPG's. Back to Work!
Read more from Major K here: http://strengthandhonor.typepad.com/
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Cpl. Glenn Watkins
This is a follow-up post to my last regarding the tragic death of Cpl. Watkins. I found this information on Red2Alpha's blog 'This is Your War'. I can't recommend his blog to highly. His writing style is unique and riveting and offers a different perspective than some of the other Soldier's Blogs I've been following. Here is Red2Alpha's account of the Memorial Service for Cpl. Glenn Watkins.
-------------------------------------------------
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Saying Goodbye
The memorial for CPL Glenn Watkins was held on the dusty basketball court near Battalion Headquarters. Bars of sunlight stabbed through the steel grey layer of clouds, shifting with the winds aloft.
C for Charlie sat on rough wood bleachers, in front of us sat Alpha Company on folding metal chairs. I felt like and intruder, like walking in on a family fight at your friends house. This was Alpha's private grief and I wouldn't have wanted all these outsiders watching as I said goodbye to one of my buddies. For the most part it was a good memorial, the Battalion Commander, LT COL. Tall, spoke, the Chaplin, Major Blessing, and two of CPL Watkins buddies - both of whom were visibly upset. What bothered me most. Though, was all the pomp that went with it. It could have been much simpler, a formation, the field cross, and some words about the man. This was to parade ground, it was somebody's idea of how to have a memorial, like a movie set and we were all just actors in the scene. The video cameras and photographers didn't help either. To me it cheapened the man's life and all he sacrificed by extending an extra year so he could serve with his old friends in Alpha. CPL Watkins was married, with four children. And he stayed here, in Iraq, so he could be with his old unit... And paid for it with his life. Think about that next time you have to stay late at the office or some other bullshit that you think is a burden to do in your safe civilian life.
Nobody spoke in the crowd, which is unusual for a group of Grunts. Usually somebody will make some kind of comment on something. I thought a lot about my reasons for being here, about my Dad, and Wendy. I wondered, if I were him would I stay an extra year? I tried to feel something for this Soldier that I had never met. I did feel a nameless loss, there was and empty place in my chest for the loss his family feels but I was never really sad until the end when the Alpha
Company 1SGT called roll.
"PVT Smith!"
"Here First Sergeant!"
"SGT Jackson!"
"Here First Sergeant!"
"SPC Alpert!"
"Here First Sergeant!"
"CPL Watkins!"
Everyone stands at attention, in the quiet a flight of Blackhawk helicoptors peels off to the north.
"CPL Glenn Watkins!"
I can feel my throat tighten up and tears come to my eyes.
"CPL Glenn James Watkins!"
Taps.
At the end, we all stood and waited for or turn to saulte the memory of the man, embodied in the field cross. A pair of dusty desert boots, at the base of his M-203, muzzle down, helmet placed on the stock. Watkins dog tags fluttered and clanked in the breeze. We all saluted the cross and photos of him at the base, some knelt and bowed their heads in prayer, others left something, spent casings, notes, pictures. I had nothing to offer, though I wanted to leave something. Instead, as it came to be my turn, I promised to not forget this man or those he left behind.It's the least I can do."Everybody's acting like we can do anything and it don't matter what we do.
"Maybe we gotta' be extra careful because maybe it matters more than we even know." - PVT Eriksson, from the movie 'Casualties of War'
Update: Red2Alpha closed his blog not too long after the above post for personal reasons.
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
When they come I will stand my ground
Stand my ground I’ll not be afraid
Thoughts of home take away my fear
Sweat and blood hide my veil of tears
Once a year say a prayer for me
Close your eyes and remember me
Never more shall I see the sun
For I fell to a Germans gun
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Where before many more have gone
Joseph Kilna McKenzie: Lyrics
-------------------------------------------------
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Saying Goodbye
The memorial for CPL Glenn Watkins was held on the dusty basketball court near Battalion Headquarters. Bars of sunlight stabbed through the steel grey layer of clouds, shifting with the winds aloft.
C for Charlie sat on rough wood bleachers, in front of us sat Alpha Company on folding metal chairs. I felt like and intruder, like walking in on a family fight at your friends house. This was Alpha's private grief and I wouldn't have wanted all these outsiders watching as I said goodbye to one of my buddies. For the most part it was a good memorial, the Battalion Commander, LT COL. Tall, spoke, the Chaplin, Major Blessing, and two of CPL Watkins buddies - both of whom were visibly upset. What bothered me most. Though, was all the pomp that went with it. It could have been much simpler, a formation, the field cross, and some words about the man. This was to parade ground, it was somebody's idea of how to have a memorial, like a movie set and we were all just actors in the scene. The video cameras and photographers didn't help either. To me it cheapened the man's life and all he sacrificed by extending an extra year so he could serve with his old friends in Alpha. CPL Watkins was married, with four children. And he stayed here, in Iraq, so he could be with his old unit... And paid for it with his life. Think about that next time you have to stay late at the office or some other bullshit that you think is a burden to do in your safe civilian life.
Nobody spoke in the crowd, which is unusual for a group of Grunts. Usually somebody will make some kind of comment on something. I thought a lot about my reasons for being here, about my Dad, and Wendy. I wondered, if I were him would I stay an extra year? I tried to feel something for this Soldier that I had never met. I did feel a nameless loss, there was and empty place in my chest for the loss his family feels but I was never really sad until the end when the Alpha
Company 1SGT called roll.
"PVT Smith!"
"Here First Sergeant!"
"SGT Jackson!"
"Here First Sergeant!"
"SPC Alpert!"
"Here First Sergeant!"
"CPL Watkins!"
Everyone stands at attention, in the quiet a flight of Blackhawk helicoptors peels off to the north.
"CPL Glenn Watkins!"
I can feel my throat tighten up and tears come to my eyes.
"CPL Glenn James Watkins!"
Taps.
At the end, we all stood and waited for or turn to saulte the memory of the man, embodied in the field cross. A pair of dusty desert boots, at the base of his M-203, muzzle down, helmet placed on the stock. Watkins dog tags fluttered and clanked in the breeze. We all saluted the cross and photos of him at the base, some knelt and bowed their heads in prayer, others left something, spent casings, notes, pictures. I had nothing to offer, though I wanted to leave something. Instead, as it came to be my turn, I promised to not forget this man or those he left behind.It's the least I can do."Everybody's acting like we can do anything and it don't matter what we do.
"Maybe we gotta' be extra careful because maybe it matters more than we even know." - PVT Eriksson, from the movie 'Casualties of War'
Update: Red2Alpha closed his blog not too long after the above post for personal reasons.
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
When they come I will stand my ground
Stand my ground I’ll not be afraid
Thoughts of home take away my fear
Sweat and blood hide my veil of tears
Once a year say a prayer for me
Close your eyes and remember me
Never more shall I see the sun
For I fell to a Germans gun
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Where before many more have gone
Joseph Kilna McKenzie: Lyrics
Friday, April 08, 2005
The Ultimate Sacrifice
As the great redeployment in Iraq has taken place new soldiers are blogging. One of them, an administrative officer runs a blog called 365 and a Wake Up, in reference to the year long deployments currently in practice. (The General Staff is cuurently reviewing that policy and may make the deployments six months instead of twelve to make it easier on the troops. Interestingly the Marines do seven month deployments)
The following story is about a soldier who volunteered for a second tour. I found it quite moving.
---------------------------------------------------------
The day before yesterday a roiling thunderclap shook my office. As I walked outside to get a fix on the situation I watched an ugly black cloud stack up like a black adder on the distant horizon. It was an ugly column, like some giant fingernail was ripping a ragged line in the hazy sky and revealing a ribbon of twilight. As the black smoke rose ever higher it started to dissipate and I walked back inside.
A few minutes later one of the runners came in from the TOC to pass along bitter news, one soldier had been killed and four others were wounded by a VBIED. I sprinted back outside and climbed up onto the roof hoping to trace the ashen column to its base, desperately needing to connect with the tragedy that was slowly unfolding. But by time I was up on the roof the ebon column had melted into the low haze that blanketed Baghdad in a long grey shawl. I stood up there for several minutes scanning the horizon before clambering down.
Later that day the frenzied initial reports coalesced into a picture of the event and the soldier who had been killed was identified as Corporal Glenn Watkins. The best way to describe CPL Watkins is by retelling a little story about the man. I was one of the first troops in my unit to arrive here in Iraq. The unit that we were replacing had spent a year in Southern Baghdad, and by time we arrived they were utterly spent. During those early days I made it a point to talk to as many soldiers as I could to get a feel for the AO (Area of Operations). I figured any institutional knowledge they would be willing to pass along would save my troops a lot of agony in the long run. The troops were more then happy to oblige – they were willing to do just about anything to guarantee a quick ticket back home. In conversation after conversation I listened to a few vital tips liberally salted with stories of the adventures they planned to embark on when they got home.
It was only weeks later that I found out that not everyone was desperate to get home - there was one Corporal had volunteered to stay another year in Iraq. That Corporal was Glenn Watkins. After hearing so many of his comrades talk about their respective homes in incessant detail I was shocked by this piece of news, and made a mental note to ask him about it if I ever bumped into him.
Two weeks ago I finally had the chance to ask him once why he decided to spend another year in Iraq. He replied by flashing a quick smirk and then saying in a conspiratorial voice “Sir - someone’s got to teach these guys the ropes”. Corporal Watkins didn’t have to stay in Iraq, he had already served with honor and distinction. But stay he did, taking the time to teach our troops the hard lessons of survival so they wouldn’t have to pay for those lessons in blood. He will never again enjoy the freedoms he secured for others, but I know that his reward isn't here on this sad little ball of dirt.
http://thunder6.typepad.com/365_arabian_nights/2005/04/the_dying_of_th.html
I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan's Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.
William Butler Yeats
The following story is about a soldier who volunteered for a second tour. I found it quite moving.
---------------------------------------------------------
The day before yesterday a roiling thunderclap shook my office. As I walked outside to get a fix on the situation I watched an ugly black cloud stack up like a black adder on the distant horizon. It was an ugly column, like some giant fingernail was ripping a ragged line in the hazy sky and revealing a ribbon of twilight. As the black smoke rose ever higher it started to dissipate and I walked back inside.
A few minutes later one of the runners came in from the TOC to pass along bitter news, one soldier had been killed and four others were wounded by a VBIED. I sprinted back outside and climbed up onto the roof hoping to trace the ashen column to its base, desperately needing to connect with the tragedy that was slowly unfolding. But by time I was up on the roof the ebon column had melted into the low haze that blanketed Baghdad in a long grey shawl. I stood up there for several minutes scanning the horizon before clambering down.
Later that day the frenzied initial reports coalesced into a picture of the event and the soldier who had been killed was identified as Corporal Glenn Watkins. The best way to describe CPL Watkins is by retelling a little story about the man. I was one of the first troops in my unit to arrive here in Iraq. The unit that we were replacing had spent a year in Southern Baghdad, and by time we arrived they were utterly spent. During those early days I made it a point to talk to as many soldiers as I could to get a feel for the AO (Area of Operations). I figured any institutional knowledge they would be willing to pass along would save my troops a lot of agony in the long run. The troops were more then happy to oblige – they were willing to do just about anything to guarantee a quick ticket back home. In conversation after conversation I listened to a few vital tips liberally salted with stories of the adventures they planned to embark on when they got home.
It was only weeks later that I found out that not everyone was desperate to get home - there was one Corporal had volunteered to stay another year in Iraq. That Corporal was Glenn Watkins. After hearing so many of his comrades talk about their respective homes in incessant detail I was shocked by this piece of news, and made a mental note to ask him about it if I ever bumped into him.
Two weeks ago I finally had the chance to ask him once why he decided to spend another year in Iraq. He replied by flashing a quick smirk and then saying in a conspiratorial voice “Sir - someone’s got to teach these guys the ropes”. Corporal Watkins didn’t have to stay in Iraq, he had already served with honor and distinction. But stay he did, taking the time to teach our troops the hard lessons of survival so they wouldn’t have to pay for those lessons in blood. He will never again enjoy the freedoms he secured for others, but I know that his reward isn't here on this sad little ball of dirt.
http://thunder6.typepad.com/365_arabian_nights/2005/04/the_dying_of_th.html
I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan's Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.
William Butler Yeats
Thursday, March 10, 2005
In Praise of American Soldiers
I started writing here because of Spc. Colby Buzell, who created quite a stir in the blogging world, not to mention the MSM and the Pentagon. His blog, My War, became a cause celebre and something of a problem for the military because of concerns about conflicts with OPSEC (Operational Security).
Eventually CBFTW as Buzell was then known, (it doesn't take much imagination to figure out what FTW stands for) quit blogging altogether so that it wouldn't interfere with his job as a machine gunner in the Stryker brigade stationed in Mosul. The blog earned him a great deal of attention and a book deal. His book will be out in the fall and there is an excerpt from it in this months Esquire.
I then moved on to The Questing Cat another blogger now back at his home base in Germany. His name is Specialist Nick Cademartori and he and his close friend The Jersey Cowboy (Michael Anthony Cotignola III) both alternated posts in a website operated by one of the Cat's brothers.
Specialist Nick Cademartori is 22 years old , soon to be 23 and it was an amazing thing to watch his personal growth as well as the improvement in his writing skills. His blog is till up and anyone interested in reading it can find all the archives at :www.thequestingcat.com/blog/index.shtml/
These two bloggers started me on a search for other Soldiers blogging from Iraq. I found quite a number of them. I'm fortunate in that my office job is such that I can browse blogs in my downtime.
What I found was common thread running through these blogs and that is the decency of these bloggers, these American Soldiers in harms way in a strange country. Considers this:
" What you won't see in the news, but what is a recurring scene around here, is the kindess that the vast majority of the Iraqi people have for us and the reciprocating kindness that young U.S. soldiers have for them. By far the coolest thing about being over here is the children. They make all the b.s. and all the long days worth the effort. If the children of this nation are the future of Iraq, then the U.S. can expect good relations with this country in the future. There isn't a city, town, or small community that I've been through where the children don't wave and smile enthusiastically at our presence. I never miss an opportunity to wave and smile back. "
This was written by Michael in his blog; A Day in Iraq. He goes on to say: "The first town we came to was a small community surrounded by farmland. Everyone except the drivers and gunners got out on the ground to walk and talk with the locals and pass out leaflets of information. Kids and grown ups of all ages were crowding around the humvees and the guys on the ground. Even the Iraqi Army guys were busy laughing with the locals. The kids, most of them on their way home from school, could hardly contain themselves in their desire to talk to us. The little girls, with beautiful smiles that reminded me of my niece, would wave and try desperately to talk to us in English. The more outgoing boys, with arms full of textbooks, weren't as shy. They would walk right up to the humvee and stick their heads in the window to talk to the cool American soldiers. Besides asking questions, and wanting us to give them pens, I could here them on more than one occasion telling my driver and me that America was good, Saddam bad. I don't know what it is with pens, but they love them. Unfortunately I only had one, which was soon in the possesion of a young boy. I also had a little video camera and they all wanted to be filmed. Even the little girls loved waving and talking in to the camera. Once again my driver, an all-American guy from the Midwest, displayed the kindness and humor that is ever present in young soldiers. I was also pleased to see some of the older teen boys and some men approach the vehicle with smiles and questions. Even more remarkably, the usually reserved women of this land, waved and smiled with enthusiasm. In this place and others we visited, the scene was the same. It was hardly the type of footage you would see on your nightly news. Watching CNN back home, you would think that this whole nation is on fire, chaos and death all around. "
He can be found at:http://www.adayiniraq.com/ In future posts I will highlight some other great blogs. This is a completely new phenomenon in the history of warfare. Not even in Destert Storm was this possible and it's catching on. More and more soldiers are blogging, and guess what? They are well educated, dedicated and caring people.
I'm a former Canadian soldier who fully supports George W. Bush and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Don't get me wrong. I'm proud of our military men and women who serve bravely under very trying conditions; overstretched and underfunded. I'm proud of our soldiers, but my government isn't. My government treats our military like shit. They continually rotate them into harms way, while underfunding them and housing them in substandard units. But that's for another day. This day is about American Soldiers, Bless their hearts.
Eventually CBFTW as Buzell was then known, (it doesn't take much imagination to figure out what FTW stands for) quit blogging altogether so that it wouldn't interfere with his job as a machine gunner in the Stryker brigade stationed in Mosul. The blog earned him a great deal of attention and a book deal. His book will be out in the fall and there is an excerpt from it in this months Esquire.
I then moved on to The Questing Cat another blogger now back at his home base in Germany. His name is Specialist Nick Cademartori and he and his close friend The Jersey Cowboy (Michael Anthony Cotignola III) both alternated posts in a website operated by one of the Cat's brothers.
Specialist Nick Cademartori is 22 years old , soon to be 23 and it was an amazing thing to watch his personal growth as well as the improvement in his writing skills. His blog is till up and anyone interested in reading it can find all the archives at :www.thequestingcat.com/blog/index.shtml/
These two bloggers started me on a search for other Soldiers blogging from Iraq. I found quite a number of them. I'm fortunate in that my office job is such that I can browse blogs in my downtime.
What I found was common thread running through these blogs and that is the decency of these bloggers, these American Soldiers in harms way in a strange country. Considers this:
" What you won't see in the news, but what is a recurring scene around here, is the kindess that the vast majority of the Iraqi people have for us and the reciprocating kindness that young U.S. soldiers have for them. By far the coolest thing about being over here is the children. They make all the b.s. and all the long days worth the effort. If the children of this nation are the future of Iraq, then the U.S. can expect good relations with this country in the future. There isn't a city, town, or small community that I've been through where the children don't wave and smile enthusiastically at our presence. I never miss an opportunity to wave and smile back. "
This was written by Michael in his blog; A Day in Iraq. He goes on to say: "The first town we came to was a small community surrounded by farmland. Everyone except the drivers and gunners got out on the ground to walk and talk with the locals and pass out leaflets of information. Kids and grown ups of all ages were crowding around the humvees and the guys on the ground. Even the Iraqi Army guys were busy laughing with the locals. The kids, most of them on their way home from school, could hardly contain themselves in their desire to talk to us. The little girls, with beautiful smiles that reminded me of my niece, would wave and try desperately to talk to us in English. The more outgoing boys, with arms full of textbooks, weren't as shy. They would walk right up to the humvee and stick their heads in the window to talk to the cool American soldiers. Besides asking questions, and wanting us to give them pens, I could here them on more than one occasion telling my driver and me that America was good, Saddam bad. I don't know what it is with pens, but they love them. Unfortunately I only had one, which was soon in the possesion of a young boy. I also had a little video camera and they all wanted to be filmed. Even the little girls loved waving and talking in to the camera. Once again my driver, an all-American guy from the Midwest, displayed the kindness and humor that is ever present in young soldiers. I was also pleased to see some of the older teen boys and some men approach the vehicle with smiles and questions. Even more remarkably, the usually reserved women of this land, waved and smiled with enthusiasm. In this place and others we visited, the scene was the same. It was hardly the type of footage you would see on your nightly news. Watching CNN back home, you would think that this whole nation is on fire, chaos and death all around. "
He can be found at:http://www.adayiniraq.com/ In future posts I will highlight some other great blogs. This is a completely new phenomenon in the history of warfare. Not even in Destert Storm was this possible and it's catching on. More and more soldiers are blogging, and guess what? They are well educated, dedicated and caring people.
I'm a former Canadian soldier who fully supports George W. Bush and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Don't get me wrong. I'm proud of our military men and women who serve bravely under very trying conditions; overstretched and underfunded. I'm proud of our soldiers, but my government isn't. My government treats our military like shit. They continually rotate them into harms way, while underfunding them and housing them in substandard units. But that's for another day. This day is about American Soldiers, Bless their hearts.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
IRAQI TURNOUT HIGHER THAN 59%
Now that the results of the recent elections in Iraq are in we can understand more about the process. The voter turnout of 59% was based on the list of 'registered' voters. This system was based on the ration cards and in the event it turned out that some of those 'registered' had either left the country or were in fact dead. As no census was possible the number of 'eligible' voters is not known but based on anecdotal evidence post election, it now appears certain that the number of registered voters was significantly lower the 14 million quoted prior to the elections. What follows is an analysis of the vote by Ali Fadhil at Free Iraqi:
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Some observations from the Iraqi elections.
The results of the Iraqi elections were generally expected (at least after the primary vote count) but it did result in some interesting statistics and facts. The first noticeable is that the "Unified Coalition List" did not get the number of votes its members as well as most spectators expected. Shortly before announcing the results, and as I mentioned in the previous post, a "high official" from the coalition list stated to Radio Sawa that they were informed by the electoral Commission that their list achieved 60% of the votes!
Anyway, I was personally relieved by this result, not because it's not enough for the religious parties to impose Share'a law, as this is totally impossible in my opinion, but because it meant that a considerable percentage of She'at chose other than what their spiritual leader favored. The She'at generaly showed more maturity and trust in the future of Iraq than the Kurds whom their vast majority of votes went to the "Kurdish Alliance". I believe that in the next elections with better security and with other parties more inclined to run a wide public campaign, whatever list Sistani would support would get even much less than what the coalition list did get.Also I was doing some calculations and found out the following:
1-the religious parties (including Christian, Sunni and Yezidies) achieved together 4 323 923 votes which equals about 51% of the total vote. (This includes the Coalition List which is not entirly religious)
2-Ethnic parties (Kurds, Turkmen, Arab nationalists) achieved 2 289 713 votes which equals about 27% of the total votes.
3-Individual lists achieved all together 52399 votes but none got a seat.
4-Parties based on tribes got only 3850 votes.
5- Secular democratic parties got 1594829 votes which comprises about 19% of the total votes.
6-Communists which are one major and one small party got 73354. The Iraqi communist Party which is the major one got almost exactly its members total number! Most polls here expected them to score better than that but it seems that only communists vote for communists, and it makes sense! I for one sympathize with the communists but would never vote for them.
7- Monarchists and other local groups achieved together 118098 votes but none got a seat.
8-only 11 parties got seats in the national assembly.
9-only 19 lists out of the total 111 lists achieved more than 10 000 votes. One of these is an individual running alone.
10-Small democratic parties failed to achieve any good results with most of them scoring between 1000 and 500 votes.
11-Al Pachachi failed to get a seat, as his list got only 23302 votes.
12-Also former GC member Nassir Al Chadarchi's party "National Democratic Party" that was established in the 30th of the last century achieved only 1603 votes. Another party, "The Democratic Community Movement" That has 2 former GC members in it and the former spokesman of the GC scored 3527 votes.
13-The highest votes received by a single list was 4 075 295 for the "Unified Coalition" and the lowest was 411 votes for an individual list.
14- Our party, "The Iraqi Pro-Democracy party" achieved 1 566 votes which is a small number but it was worth the effort as we learned a lot from this experience. There were also 26 parties that scored lower than that. This showed clearly that small young parties with no religious or ethnic affiliation must consolidate together and form one entity in order to survive and I guess most of these parties see this now.
In the end I'd like to point out something about the turn out that may have been missed. Outside Iraq the number of eligible voters depended on rough estimations while the registered voters' number became known after the elections. So the turn out outside Iraq was correctly calculated among registered voters not eligible, as this last one remains not well identified.
However, inside Iraq the system depended on the food ration coupons which contained not just the names of Iraqis inside Iraq, from which the eligible voters' number was calculated, but also so many Iraqis outside Iraq and some dead even! All those above 18 that are enlisted in the food ration coupons were considered registered voters. I and all I know did not have to register. We just received our ballot that contained our family members' names who are above 18 that are enlisted in our food ration coupon including my sister's name who left Iraq for more than a year and came back just few months ago. We never reported her departure so did most families who had their sons and daughters leaving Iraq after 1991 fearing interrogation or even punishment as it was seen as an unpatriotic act!
One of my neighbors received his family's ballot with his father's name included even though he died a year ago. Under reporting of deaths was not that uncommon but it became more common after the last war as a result of the total collapse of the system for months. Another neighbor had his two sons' names registered although they both left Iraq since 1995. This means that many Iraqis outside Iraq, regardless whether they voted or not, were considered registered eligible non-voters inside Iraq!
I saw the turn out in our neighborhood which is mainly a Sunni ex-Ba'athist one and I and most my friends thought it was more than 80%, which makes me think that the announced turn out is even much less than the actual one and it's definitely not just for registered voters, a term that gives the impression that there are Iraqis who did not register, which did not happen as there was no registeration except for very limited cases.
It's been a great event in Iraq and we intend to celebrate the results formaly as winners because there are no losers in Iraq now except the tiny minority formed by hardcore Ba'athists and Salafis.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Some observations from the Iraqi elections.
The results of the Iraqi elections were generally expected (at least after the primary vote count) but it did result in some interesting statistics and facts. The first noticeable is that the "Unified Coalition List" did not get the number of votes its members as well as most spectators expected. Shortly before announcing the results, and as I mentioned in the previous post, a "high official" from the coalition list stated to Radio Sawa that they were informed by the electoral Commission that their list achieved 60% of the votes!
Anyway, I was personally relieved by this result, not because it's not enough for the religious parties to impose Share'a law, as this is totally impossible in my opinion, but because it meant that a considerable percentage of She'at chose other than what their spiritual leader favored. The She'at generaly showed more maturity and trust in the future of Iraq than the Kurds whom their vast majority of votes went to the "Kurdish Alliance". I believe that in the next elections with better security and with other parties more inclined to run a wide public campaign, whatever list Sistani would support would get even much less than what the coalition list did get.Also I was doing some calculations and found out the following:
1-the religious parties (including Christian, Sunni and Yezidies) achieved together 4 323 923 votes which equals about 51% of the total vote. (This includes the Coalition List which is not entirly religious)
2-Ethnic parties (Kurds, Turkmen, Arab nationalists) achieved 2 289 713 votes which equals about 27% of the total votes.
3-Individual lists achieved all together 52399 votes but none got a seat.
4-Parties based on tribes got only 3850 votes.
5- Secular democratic parties got 1594829 votes which comprises about 19% of the total votes.
6-Communists which are one major and one small party got 73354. The Iraqi communist Party which is the major one got almost exactly its members total number! Most polls here expected them to score better than that but it seems that only communists vote for communists, and it makes sense! I for one sympathize with the communists but would never vote for them.
7- Monarchists and other local groups achieved together 118098 votes but none got a seat.
8-only 11 parties got seats in the national assembly.
9-only 19 lists out of the total 111 lists achieved more than 10 000 votes. One of these is an individual running alone.
10-Small democratic parties failed to achieve any good results with most of them scoring between 1000 and 500 votes.
11-Al Pachachi failed to get a seat, as his list got only 23302 votes.
12-Also former GC member Nassir Al Chadarchi's party "National Democratic Party" that was established in the 30th of the last century achieved only 1603 votes. Another party, "The Democratic Community Movement" That has 2 former GC members in it and the former spokesman of the GC scored 3527 votes.
13-The highest votes received by a single list was 4 075 295 for the "Unified Coalition" and the lowest was 411 votes for an individual list.
14- Our party, "The Iraqi Pro-Democracy party" achieved 1 566 votes which is a small number but it was worth the effort as we learned a lot from this experience. There were also 26 parties that scored lower than that. This showed clearly that small young parties with no religious or ethnic affiliation must consolidate together and form one entity in order to survive and I guess most of these parties see this now.
In the end I'd like to point out something about the turn out that may have been missed. Outside Iraq the number of eligible voters depended on rough estimations while the registered voters' number became known after the elections. So the turn out outside Iraq was correctly calculated among registered voters not eligible, as this last one remains not well identified.
However, inside Iraq the system depended on the food ration coupons which contained not just the names of Iraqis inside Iraq, from which the eligible voters' number was calculated, but also so many Iraqis outside Iraq and some dead even! All those above 18 that are enlisted in the food ration coupons were considered registered voters. I and all I know did not have to register. We just received our ballot that contained our family members' names who are above 18 that are enlisted in our food ration coupon including my sister's name who left Iraq for more than a year and came back just few months ago. We never reported her departure so did most families who had their sons and daughters leaving Iraq after 1991 fearing interrogation or even punishment as it was seen as an unpatriotic act!
One of my neighbors received his family's ballot with his father's name included even though he died a year ago. Under reporting of deaths was not that uncommon but it became more common after the last war as a result of the total collapse of the system for months. Another neighbor had his two sons' names registered although they both left Iraq since 1995. This means that many Iraqis outside Iraq, regardless whether they voted or not, were considered registered eligible non-voters inside Iraq!
I saw the turn out in our neighborhood which is mainly a Sunni ex-Ba'athist one and I and most my friends thought it was more than 80%, which makes me think that the announced turn out is even much less than the actual one and it's definitely not just for registered voters, a term that gives the impression that there are Iraqis who did not register, which did not happen as there was no registeration except for very limited cases.
It's been a great event in Iraq and we intend to celebrate the results formaly as winners because there are no losers in Iraq now except the tiny minority formed by hardcore Ba'athists and Salafis.
Monday, February 14, 2005
THE RESULT OF THE IRAQI ELECTIONS ARE IN
it looks as if the parties are going to make every effort to include the Sunnis in the writing of the constitution. There have been serious behind the scenes negotiations between Sunni groups and Shiites since the elections occurred. It appears theSunnis now realise that it was a mistake to boycott the vote.
I predict that, while the process may be difficult, the outcome will be inclusive to all Iraqis regardless of religion, tribe, or any other issue which might marginalize people. I don't think a theocracy is possible now. Democray in Iraq is on the march. This is a new era in history, and a major shift in the middle east.
A'ash Al-Iraq.
The following story is from the Award Winning Blog, Iraq The Model:
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Democracy in progress.Congratulations to the Iraqi people,The results are for the best of Iraq and its future; Iraqis have put the corner stone for the state of law and constitution and have proved to the world how the region's nations are eager for freedom and how much they reject the concepts of violence and despotism that were imposed by fire and steel.The ballot and the box have won and the purple fingers garnished the beautiful picture.The high turnout in circumstances that were considered to be the most dangerous was like a candle that leads the road for the rest of freedom seeking people and gave lesson in courage and determination and reminds even those who lived their whole lives in democracies about the bravery of their founding fathers who struggled and sacrificed for the sake of their children's future and prosperity.The winners are in front of a historic responsibility of drawing the future of Iraq and defining its new identity. Their load is heavy but the most important thing is that the people back them and back the writing of the permanent constitution.I was so happy today while watching the results being displayed on TV although I didn't get the seat I dreamed of. Little parties like ours couldn't compete with the larger ones that own radio and TV networks and had their banners and posters filling the streets while I had to borrow from my friends to pay the 5000 $ registration fees of the party because the support we received for the party from our friends and supporters hasn't reached Baghdad till this moment because of some banking bureaucracy. All we had was 3000 $ to spend on advertising and publicity and managing all the party's affairs.Add to this that the candidates of small parties had to accept risking their lives as we made ourselves easy targets for the terrorists; we don't have the adequate personal protection like the famous figures who live in heavily protected quarters and protected by hundreds of bodyguards.While candidates like me live among the people and walk on the streets, in the past few weeks we saw several Iraqi politicians targeted and assassinated, but our participation was more important than anything else because it gave more credit to the elections and we're happy with that role.The world will remember the number "7461"; these were the candidates who didn't submit for blackmailing and decided to take the responsibility despite the threats and the dangers.If small parties like ours haven't participated, the elections wouldn't have succeeded the way it did.I see that we didn't lose at all, on the contrary, we won and the only loser is terror and its dictators allies.We will always have the chance to participate again and our voice will always be heard and we will not give up on what we started.The political map in my opinion will witness many changes in the coming 6 months and alliances will be reshaped and the small entities will seek forming bigger masses in order to get a better representation in the future elections which are not far away.And I believe that the major parties will try to form an alliance to balance forces with the winning list of the United Coalition which I assume will be working hard on its end to satisfy the other parties as it needs the support of the other half to pass its projects and legislations and now its obvious that the United Coalition is 'flirting' with others through messages of reassurance focusing on the idea that the United Coalition has no will to make Iraq an Islamic state and on that Islam will not be the only source of legislations in the coming constitution.On the other hand, the SCIRI demands for respecting Islam seem reasonable and realistic more than conservative, as securing the unity of the coalition requires also reassuring the secular members of the list. Moreover some members from the same list stated that they would like to see a Kurdish president for Iraq and in a statement for Hussein Sharistani, one of the coalition's leading figures, he said "to prove to the people that the coalition is democratic in nature, the ministers or PM that are to be chosen from our list will be elected by the 131 members and not by the elite or the big figures of the coalition".Also there were other statements coming from inside the coalition refusing the idea of planning a withdrawal schedule for the Multinational forces from Iraq as Ibrahim Al-Jaafari said who considered that calls for a withdrawal are aiming at creating chaos and a civil war.These statements and many similar ones refute the expectations about Iraq becoming a "copy" of Iran. All this and more proves the reasonability of the suggested choices with an invitation for open talks and negotiations.Generally speaking, all politicians realize the role of the United States and the coalition forces in protecting the new born democracy and most of the major players realize the necessity of a strategic partnership with the United States for the good of Iraq and for the success of the war on terror.The event of elections in Iraq was a huge turning point in the history of the region and Iraqis and their political parties have proved-despite the lack of experience-that they can do well and show high performance in a process of change that represents the first signs of a bright future for this country and the Middle east. No one will stop the train of democracy and those who stand against the change will soon be nothing but forgotten.
Mohammed. http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/
I predict that, while the process may be difficult, the outcome will be inclusive to all Iraqis regardless of religion, tribe, or any other issue which might marginalize people. I don't think a theocracy is possible now. Democray in Iraq is on the march. This is a new era in history, and a major shift in the middle east.
A'ash Al-Iraq.
The following story is from the Award Winning Blog, Iraq The Model:
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Democracy in progress.Congratulations to the Iraqi people,The results are for the best of Iraq and its future; Iraqis have put the corner stone for the state of law and constitution and have proved to the world how the region's nations are eager for freedom and how much they reject the concepts of violence and despotism that were imposed by fire and steel.The ballot and the box have won and the purple fingers garnished the beautiful picture.The high turnout in circumstances that were considered to be the most dangerous was like a candle that leads the road for the rest of freedom seeking people and gave lesson in courage and determination and reminds even those who lived their whole lives in democracies about the bravery of their founding fathers who struggled and sacrificed for the sake of their children's future and prosperity.The winners are in front of a historic responsibility of drawing the future of Iraq and defining its new identity. Their load is heavy but the most important thing is that the people back them and back the writing of the permanent constitution.I was so happy today while watching the results being displayed on TV although I didn't get the seat I dreamed of. Little parties like ours couldn't compete with the larger ones that own radio and TV networks and had their banners and posters filling the streets while I had to borrow from my friends to pay the 5000 $ registration fees of the party because the support we received for the party from our friends and supporters hasn't reached Baghdad till this moment because of some banking bureaucracy. All we had was 3000 $ to spend on advertising and publicity and managing all the party's affairs.Add to this that the candidates of small parties had to accept risking their lives as we made ourselves easy targets for the terrorists; we don't have the adequate personal protection like the famous figures who live in heavily protected quarters and protected by hundreds of bodyguards.While candidates like me live among the people and walk on the streets, in the past few weeks we saw several Iraqi politicians targeted and assassinated, but our participation was more important than anything else because it gave more credit to the elections and we're happy with that role.The world will remember the number "7461"; these were the candidates who didn't submit for blackmailing and decided to take the responsibility despite the threats and the dangers.If small parties like ours haven't participated, the elections wouldn't have succeeded the way it did.I see that we didn't lose at all, on the contrary, we won and the only loser is terror and its dictators allies.We will always have the chance to participate again and our voice will always be heard and we will not give up on what we started.The political map in my opinion will witness many changes in the coming 6 months and alliances will be reshaped and the small entities will seek forming bigger masses in order to get a better representation in the future elections which are not far away.And I believe that the major parties will try to form an alliance to balance forces with the winning list of the United Coalition which I assume will be working hard on its end to satisfy the other parties as it needs the support of the other half to pass its projects and legislations and now its obvious that the United Coalition is 'flirting' with others through messages of reassurance focusing on the idea that the United Coalition has no will to make Iraq an Islamic state and on that Islam will not be the only source of legislations in the coming constitution.On the other hand, the SCIRI demands for respecting Islam seem reasonable and realistic more than conservative, as securing the unity of the coalition requires also reassuring the secular members of the list. Moreover some members from the same list stated that they would like to see a Kurdish president for Iraq and in a statement for Hussein Sharistani, one of the coalition's leading figures, he said "to prove to the people that the coalition is democratic in nature, the ministers or PM that are to be chosen from our list will be elected by the 131 members and not by the elite or the big figures of the coalition".Also there were other statements coming from inside the coalition refusing the idea of planning a withdrawal schedule for the Multinational forces from Iraq as Ibrahim Al-Jaafari said who considered that calls for a withdrawal are aiming at creating chaos and a civil war.These statements and many similar ones refute the expectations about Iraq becoming a "copy" of Iran. All this and more proves the reasonability of the suggested choices with an invitation for open talks and negotiations.Generally speaking, all politicians realize the role of the United States and the coalition forces in protecting the new born democracy and most of the major players realize the necessity of a strategic partnership with the United States for the good of Iraq and for the success of the war on terror.The event of elections in Iraq was a huge turning point in the history of the region and Iraqis and their political parties have proved-despite the lack of experience-that they can do well and show high performance in a process of change that represents the first signs of a bright future for this country and the Middle east. No one will stop the train of democracy and those who stand against the change will soon be nothing but forgotten.
Mohammed. http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/
Friday, February 11, 2005
IRAQI POLITICIAN DEFIES TERRORISTS
Interview: Iraqi Official Mourns Sons, Vows To Fight 'The Ghosts Of Death'
A prominent Iraqi politician and the longtime head of the De-Ba'athification Committee, Mithal al-Alusi, survived an apparent attempt on his life when armed men fired on his car on the morning of 8 February. Two of al-Alusi's sons -- Ayman and Jamal -- and a bodyguard who were inside his vehicle were killed, however, when the assailants struck just outside al-Alusi's Baghdad home. Radio Free Iraq (RFI) spoke with al-Alusi, who is secretary of Iraq's Democratic Umma Party [Hizb al-Umma al-'Iraqi al-Dimuqrati], after the incident. The following is an edited transcript of that interview.
Al-Alusi: Again, the ghosts of death are going out. They are ready to kill a person, ready to kill the peace, ready to kill the victory of Iraqis and their right to life. Again, henchmen of the Ba'ath [Party] and dirty terrorist gangs, Al-Qaeda and others, are going out convinced that they can determine life and death as they desire. Iraq will not die. My children, three people [in all] -- one of my bodyguards and two of my children -- died as heroes, no differently from other people who find their heroic deaths.
But we will not, [I swear] by God, hand Iraq over to murderers and terrorists. We will pave the road for peace. If [the attackers] thought that by attempting to kill Mithal al-Alusi, the advocates of peace in Iraq will be stopped, then they have made a grave mistake. We will be calling for peace. We will be calling for peace with all neighboring countries [of Iraq]. We will be calling for peace with all countries of the region. And we will be calling for fighting terrorism by any means [and] against all forms [of terror]. They claim that Islam is a message of killing, while Islam is a message of peace. They claim that the principles [of Islam] encourage killing, while the only principles that encourage killing are the principles of the Ba'ath [Party] and of the heathens from Al-Qaeda groupings.
The Sunni areas groan under the hands of murderers and criminals who are neither Sunnis nor Iraqis. They are intruders in Iraq from among Al-Qaeda groupings and Ba'ath [Party] henchmen. They are the ghosts of death.We will be building Iraq. We will be building Iraq despite all that has happened. May God help us.
RFI: How long [do you expect] some political circles to continue speaking the language of violence and terror? Do they have any political program? Do they have any clear goals? Do they have any slogan on which they might bring forward, discuss, and lead a dialogue?
Al-Alusi: That would not excuse them. If they have a slogan, a goal, a language, and an activity, it is killing. They [Ba'athists] were killing us for more than three decades. They want to kill us and enslave us, over and over again. That is why I have always urged politicians to avoid trying to lead a dialogue with terrorists.
Any kind of inviting murderers to dialogue means giving them a little bit of legitimacy, which they do not have. They do not have the right to play with us. Consequently, I [ask] my friends and colleagues in the political leadership inside or outside the [Iraqi] government...to take a clear, frank, and firm position to enforce the law over all, whoever it is -- be it a religious or non-religious party. There should be no debate or dialogue with a murderer who calls for killing. This cannot be the [right] way.
The [right] way is the way of law, the way of dialogue, the way of building, and the way of leading the Sunni areas [in Iraq] out of confusion. I would like to focus on that very clearly: The Sunni areas groan under the hands of murderers and criminals who are neither Sunnis nor Iraqis. They are intruders in Iraq from among Al-Qaeda groupings and Ba'ath [Party] henchmen. They are the ghosts of death.
RFI: You have been the target of repeated assassination attempts. Do you believe the reason is your opinions and political attitudes, or is there another factor that has made you such a target?
Al-Alusi: They do not exclude anyone [from violence]. They target a [normal] citizen on the way to do shopping in the market; they target hospitals and schools; they target everyone. On the fact that I have been targeted personally, I have kept saying, "There is no way for Iraq but the way of peace," and, "There is no way for Iraq but the way of dialogue and institutions," and, "Nothing should exist in Iraq except according to the will of the Iraqi people."
As for the advocates of religious intolerance willing to kill the [Iraqi] identity, or those who now imagine they might establish a [new] state in Iraq, be it religious or non-religious, I tell them, "Brothers, verily you have made a grave mistake." I tell them, "There can be no state in Iraq except for one founded on institutions and law." Mithal al-Alusi says from his unshaken positions, "I was calling for peace, and I will continue to call for peace -- even [for peace] with Israel." And may all the world hear that there will be no war if the Palestinians, Syrians, Egyptians, and Jordanians do not want war.
I am not prepared to allow Iraqis to be turned into kindling for the flames of terrorists and ghosts of death. We want to build Iraq; there has been enough destruction. We want to build schools for Iraqis, hospitals for Iraqis, and state institutions. We will not allow Iraq to become a tool in the hands of others.
(Translated by Petr Kubalek.)
A prominent Iraqi politician and the longtime head of the De-Ba'athification Committee, Mithal al-Alusi, survived an apparent attempt on his life when armed men fired on his car on the morning of 8 February. Two of al-Alusi's sons -- Ayman and Jamal -- and a bodyguard who were inside his vehicle were killed, however, when the assailants struck just outside al-Alusi's Baghdad home. Radio Free Iraq (RFI) spoke with al-Alusi, who is secretary of Iraq's Democratic Umma Party [Hizb al-Umma al-'Iraqi al-Dimuqrati], after the incident. The following is an edited transcript of that interview.
Al-Alusi: Again, the ghosts of death are going out. They are ready to kill a person, ready to kill the peace, ready to kill the victory of Iraqis and their right to life. Again, henchmen of the Ba'ath [Party] and dirty terrorist gangs, Al-Qaeda and others, are going out convinced that they can determine life and death as they desire. Iraq will not die. My children, three people [in all] -- one of my bodyguards and two of my children -- died as heroes, no differently from other people who find their heroic deaths.
But we will not, [I swear] by God, hand Iraq over to murderers and terrorists. We will pave the road for peace. If [the attackers] thought that by attempting to kill Mithal al-Alusi, the advocates of peace in Iraq will be stopped, then they have made a grave mistake. We will be calling for peace. We will be calling for peace with all neighboring countries [of Iraq]. We will be calling for peace with all countries of the region. And we will be calling for fighting terrorism by any means [and] against all forms [of terror]. They claim that Islam is a message of killing, while Islam is a message of peace. They claim that the principles [of Islam] encourage killing, while the only principles that encourage killing are the principles of the Ba'ath [Party] and of the heathens from Al-Qaeda groupings.
The Sunni areas groan under the hands of murderers and criminals who are neither Sunnis nor Iraqis. They are intruders in Iraq from among Al-Qaeda groupings and Ba'ath [Party] henchmen. They are the ghosts of death.We will be building Iraq. We will be building Iraq despite all that has happened. May God help us.
RFI: How long [do you expect] some political circles to continue speaking the language of violence and terror? Do they have any political program? Do they have any clear goals? Do they have any slogan on which they might bring forward, discuss, and lead a dialogue?
Al-Alusi: That would not excuse them. If they have a slogan, a goal, a language, and an activity, it is killing. They [Ba'athists] were killing us for more than three decades. They want to kill us and enslave us, over and over again. That is why I have always urged politicians to avoid trying to lead a dialogue with terrorists.
Any kind of inviting murderers to dialogue means giving them a little bit of legitimacy, which they do not have. They do not have the right to play with us. Consequently, I [ask] my friends and colleagues in the political leadership inside or outside the [Iraqi] government...to take a clear, frank, and firm position to enforce the law over all, whoever it is -- be it a religious or non-religious party. There should be no debate or dialogue with a murderer who calls for killing. This cannot be the [right] way.
The [right] way is the way of law, the way of dialogue, the way of building, and the way of leading the Sunni areas [in Iraq] out of confusion. I would like to focus on that very clearly: The Sunni areas groan under the hands of murderers and criminals who are neither Sunnis nor Iraqis. They are intruders in Iraq from among Al-Qaeda groupings and Ba'ath [Party] henchmen. They are the ghosts of death.
RFI: You have been the target of repeated assassination attempts. Do you believe the reason is your opinions and political attitudes, or is there another factor that has made you such a target?
Al-Alusi: They do not exclude anyone [from violence]. They target a [normal] citizen on the way to do shopping in the market; they target hospitals and schools; they target everyone. On the fact that I have been targeted personally, I have kept saying, "There is no way for Iraq but the way of peace," and, "There is no way for Iraq but the way of dialogue and institutions," and, "Nothing should exist in Iraq except according to the will of the Iraqi people."
As for the advocates of religious intolerance willing to kill the [Iraqi] identity, or those who now imagine they might establish a [new] state in Iraq, be it religious or non-religious, I tell them, "Brothers, verily you have made a grave mistake." I tell them, "There can be no state in Iraq except for one founded on institutions and law." Mithal al-Alusi says from his unshaken positions, "I was calling for peace, and I will continue to call for peace -- even [for peace] with Israel." And may all the world hear that there will be no war if the Palestinians, Syrians, Egyptians, and Jordanians do not want war.
I am not prepared to allow Iraqis to be turned into kindling for the flames of terrorists and ghosts of death. We want to build Iraq; there has been enough destruction. We want to build schools for Iraqis, hospitals for Iraqis, and state institutions. We will not allow Iraq to become a tool in the hands of others.
(Translated by Petr Kubalek.)
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