People’s Souls

Photo Credit: Hadi Mizban, Associated Press, via The New York Times

I was with my mother in the back seat of a taxi cab, heading back home from the market, when the driver said something that still rings in my ears. I was eleven years-old then and it was 1991, right after the U.S.-led coalition forces ended their Desert Storm operation.

The streets were alive with people going back to work, shopping and retrieving a bit of their normal lives as cease fire was announced. Then, a few months before Baghdad’s infrastructure was rebuilt, Baghdad looked like a broken skeleton.

“We’re destroyed,” said the taxi driver, as he started a conversation with my mother.

“Inshallah, everything will be rebuilt and return to normal,” my mother said in a very hopeful and positive tone.

“They sure will,” he replied. “But who will rebuild the people’s souls?”

Nineteen years later, those words cannot but make me think of what happened, still happening and will happen. For a while I got carried away with the busy life in America, until the last few days’ terror attacks that rocked Baghdad brought me back to my senses. They reminded me that Iraqis’ wounds are far from healing, and that it will take generations to overcome this trauma.

"Burn the Quran" Farce

It’s going to be really bad! I mean REALLY bad! This was all I could think of as I read the MSNBC article about the Florida pastor who is organizing the “International Burn the Quran Day” in Florida on the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I had a sinking feeling right away. It awakened memories of the Muslims’ protests against the satirical cartoons that lampooned the Prophet Mohammed five years ago.

I could see it again: protests, attacks on embassies, burning flags and attacking westerners.

This is such a bigoted and improper provocation of Muslims around the world. In fact, it is a killing of all what has been built of good will between Muslims and the rest of the world for the last few years.

Before heading to work this morning, I watched the pastor’s interview on CNN International. I focused on what he was saying to the anchor and noticed that he is totally ignorant of what Islam as a whole is and how different it is from Islamic fanaticism.

I could tell from the way he was talking, he was yet another Sarah Palin-like bigot and no more than that. No intelligence and no logic.

The Huffington Post quoted him in an AP interview, saying, “Instead of us backing down, maybe it’s to time to stand up. Maybe it’s time to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behavior.”

Well, let’s see. First he criticizes the Muslims of being violent when he himself is inciting violence. If he wasn’t, then why wouldn’t he find other alternatives “to stand up” and “not tolerate” their behavior? Isn’t it better to think logically and sit down with Muslims and hear from them directly or is it just an excuse to do something that may cause fury around the globe and probably create a religious war?

On the other hand, he is being smart. He is using THE most powerful weapon to poke the bear! He knows very well that the holy Quran is far more important to Muslims than the cartoons that were published in the Danish press. He knows that this may lead to a worldwide controversy that- God forbids- end up in a big mess, something he seems thirsty for.

And he is not doing it out of the blue. According to ABC News, he previously “launched an online video series called the “Braveheart Show,” which he uses to preach anti-Islamic sermons to an audience larger than the 50 families who belong to the church. He even once sent his children to school, wearing “Islam Is of the Devil” T-Shirts!

That tells you a lot about that guy!

Luckily, this controversy has drawn criticism from many who are trying to quell the fire before it’s lighted. The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan Gen. David Petraeus condemned the event and said it could “endanger troops” and damage the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.

The White House, the State Department, and Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders in the U.S. and around the world, including the Vatican, have condemned this plan as well and called for ending it. And today the US Attorney General was quoted, calling it “idiotic and dangerous.”

However, it worries me that despite all of this condemnation it may not be enough to avoid the anger of the Muslims around the world who will be extremely offended.

This event will definitely be a useful tool to terrorists to launch attacks anywhere in the world. Civilians will be hurt, soldiers will be killed and the gap between Muslims and the West will be way bigger than it is right now. Then, it will be too late to talk!

Quite honestly, I don’t know what will make this bigot stop! All I can hope for is that Muslims do not react to it-if it happens- violently and the Americans stand up to defend their fellow Muslim Americans and stop this farce!

The Hurt Locker: An Invitation to Think!

Now I know what this fuss was all about and why “The Hurt Locker” won all these Oscars. Simply, the movie is stunning from the very beginning to the very end.

There are two strong themes in the movie: courage and war addiction.

The protagonist of this film, Staff Sgt. William James appears to be enjoying the horrors that accompany his bomb-defusing job in war-torn Iraq. He is courageous and seems to be fond of what he does even though he knows he might die in any moment as he defuses bombs.

This kind of addiction does not stop there. It follows him home. What soldiers, citizens and reporters go through in a war zone change everything in their lives, something that was strongly portrayed in the film. Back in the U.S., James’ wife appears to be indifferent about the horrors he saw in Iraq. This is a major problem many armed forces members and reporters face after they leave the war zone for home. It becomes too normal for them to live there and that’s why I think many of them return back to the war zone or go somewhere disturbed by conflict to relate to. Others get divorced!

From an Iraqi citizen’s perspective, I think the film was believable. Director Kathryn Bigelow and the rest of the cast did a wonderful job in portraying how Baghdad looked like during the war. To me, the setting was very similar to that of 2006-Baghdad. Empty streets, trash everywhere, fear in the eyes of everyone, distrust everywhere, broken glass and insurgents running freely in the streets of Baghdad. What made the film even more authentic is the Iraqi actors who speak Iraqi Arabic.

The film is by all means a great portrayal of how war looks like. It invites people to think twice before uttering stupid words in front of those who witness war, like my grad school classmate who told me that he cat was “traumatized” back in 2006 when just a few weeks before that I had seen dead bodies in the streets of Baghdad. It invites people to endure hardships that might be nothing if compared to what others do in war zones.

FP: 33 Conflicts are Raging Around the World Today

Irish satirist Jonathan Swift once said, “War! that mad game the world so loves to play.” This quote is summarized by a new photo essay published by Foreign Policy magazine. In it, powerful photos of the world’s conflicts describe what words sometimes fail to express.

Entitled “Planet War,” the photo essay mentions that from the bloody civil wars in Africa to the rag-tag insurgencies in Southeast Asia, 33 conflicts are raging around the world today, and it’s often innocent civilians who suffer the most.

Déjà vu

It feels like 2006 all over again. Déjà vu. A flashback. Call it whatever you like, but the way violence has made its way back to Iraq is making me extremely worried, enraged and sad.

Because of the election and the unbelievable dirty politics being played behind it, innocent people are losing their lives and the sectarian war is not far from happening again. Many of the parties and candidates are playing the ‘sect’ card again, pressing on the fresh wounds of people who a few years ago were going through the horror of a bloody sectarian war.

As a result of the election wars, gunmen in Iraq have shot dead a family of eight and beheaded some of the bodies, amid a wave of pre-election violence, reported the BBC. The gunmen killed the family, who were reportedly Shiite Muslims living in a majority Sunni area just outside the capital, Baghdad, early on Monday.

On the same day, assailants burst into the home of an Iraqi campaign volunteer before dawn Monday, fatally shooting the man before they stabbed his pregnant wife and their five daughters to death, reported The Miami Herald. A sixth child, the only son, was found hanging from a ceiling fan with key arteries severed, a cousin told the paper.

Those are just two examples of the horror Iraqis have to face, something very similar to that they witnessed for years. I really hope what was built in the last year or so won’t collapse and that we don’t go back to where we started.

Capital Punishment and the Lessons Taught

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine and I had a very long debate on the subject of capital punishment. We have opposite stance on it as she thinks it’s brutal and should end and I think it shouldn’t.

I was extremely happy to read that the Iraqi government yesterday rejected calls urged by some 20 countries to abolish or suspend capital punishment.

What the opponents of the death penalty do not understand is that the situation in Iraq is far from stable and that to make it stable, convicted killers should understand there are harsh consequences for their crimes against humanity.

If we do not execute convicted terrorists, for instance, who blow up car bombs in a market where innocent people shop, killing hundreds, we let the other terrorists think they can get away with it and do the same. Theses executions should teach those who intend to do the same in the future a lesson that will cost them their lives.

Saddam, Chemical Ali, and the insurgents and militias who killed innocents do not deserve to live. Actually, the execution is the least that could happen to them.

There are other reasons why I believe Saddam’s execution was good. When the tyrant was alive and behind bars the insurgency war reached its peak, because he was an inspiration to the Iraq insurgents and the Arab foreign fighters. They had nothing to fight and the glue that was holding them all was gone. That, and other factors, resulted in decreasing the number of violent attacks which made Iraqis slowly move on with their lives and build their future.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Nothing in this world is better than seeing my beautiful Baghdad comes back to life after years of horrific occupation and terrorism. The bad news is still flowing everyday from Baghdad but some good news is flowing as well.

Lately, I have been fond of reading a blog by a fellow Iraqi blogger called “Sami” whose blog posts prove that his love to Baghdad and all of Iraq is bigger than anyone can imagine.

One of Sami’s posts that moved me the most is titled “Lightening.” In it, he expresses the positive attitude that he took in thinking about the future of Iraq. He took a walk in Al-Mutanabi Street, one of Baghdad’s oldest neighborhoods where arts and culture always meet. The things he saw were tangible. He saw a revival of life, a definace of the violence that crippled the very same culture for years.

My eyes became tearful as I saw the pictures he took. It reminded me that hope still exists and that some day homecoming may happen. Thank you, Sami for those great posts.

Obama in Cairo: Extending the Olive Branch

Nothing better illustrates the change Obama is trying to do with the U.S. policy towards the Muslim world than his speech today in Cairo.

By addressing the Muslims in Egypt, Obama opened a door that was closed for eight years due to the Bush administration’s horrible approach with the Arab and Muslim countries. Walking through that door, Obama was greeted respectably and lovingly by those who once hated his country to the bone.

The fact that Obama is approaching the Muslim world through such a speech is very similar to someone carrying the olive branch, in my opinion. He is seeking peace for the world, unlike Bush who sent bombs instead, not to mention his administration’s black-or-white attitude that led to ongoing wars.

In this speech, Obama didn’t show signs of weakness or humility like how some conservative republicans view it. In my opinion he was the most powerful person. He initiated approaching the Muslim world by extending his hands to combat the stereotypes and the mistakes committed by his predecessors. In it, I viewed the other good face of America. In fact, I saw that the American administration can actually be nice to the others!

Fair could also describe the speech as well. For instance, when he mentioned how Muslims and the Americans should not perceive each other depending on stereotypes. Another example is when he criticized both Palestinians and Israelis for being responsible for the horror happening in their region. I agree the Israeli settlements should stop and also agree that threatening to destroy Israel will not bring the Palestinians any good and that it should stop.

The other thing that attracted my attention was when Obama indirectly criticized what the Bush administration did. The fact that the American president acknowledges that the Iraq war was “a war of choice” is enough to say that Bush did not have to invade Iraq, yet he did. However, he stated that Iraqis are “better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein,” which I agree and disagree with at the same time. It was good to get rid of Saddam, but the life of the Iraqi people was wrecked by the ignorant policies that were made by the Bush administration. We can’t really say that our lives are better off now than under Saddam, because it’s still a complete wreck compared to that before the invasion. I’m hoping that it won’t last like this and by then Obama’s statement would fit.

Bush and his henchmen believed in imposing the Jeffersonian democracy upon the countries they invaded. It’s amazing how for the first time I hear Obama admitting that “no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by another.” When I heard that, I said, “THANK YOU!” Was it hard to acknowledge such a simple, yet powerful fact? That’s what Bush did not understand or did not want to understand. You can’t impose democracy; you teach it; you increase people’s awareness of it, but not force it the way you like, ignoring the background of that country.

Overall, I saw that the speech came in a time when tension between the Muslims and the West has reached its peak. It’s very nice to see that Obama took the initiative of extending hands. I know this speech may not leave a big impact on many Muslims and Arabs but I think it’s like baby steps. By course of time, things will change to the better hopefully if Obama continues his positive and peaceful attitudes. It’s a long road but the thousand-mile road starts with one step.

Cheney: Oops! Saddam had no link to 9/11. Oh well, I profited from this war!

What is it with all those Bush administration officials? As if it’s a game! Every time their terms end they show up and speak out loud about how they were mistaken regarding certain things. Wait, those things are not just things; they are decisions that created mayhem and horror.

After Bush’s first lying mate Collin Powell admitted on Meet the Press that Iraq did not have WMD, the ruthless former VP Dick Cheney confessed today that even Saddam had no link with al-Qaeda and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Hold on a sec here: let’s see, the two the main excuses for launching the Iraq war were the WMD and the link to 9/11! So basically the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the more than 4,000 Americans who were killed in the war were because of two lies?

And yet, there are still some people who believed that Bush was fighting terror and his henchmen fit the job. I mean Cheney is basically saying, “Screw the Americans. I needed to profit from this war financially and I did”! What else does this thug have to say so that you believe he is a criminal?

Deputy PM’s Tweeting

I’m following Iraqi deputy prime minister Barham Salih (@BarhamSalih) on Twitter and just read his latest tweet. A lot of people are talking about the improvements in Iraq, but there is a little coverage of the latest surge in violence. Apparently, Salih doesn’t agree with the Majority now! Here is what he tweeted:

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