Democracy in Iraq (is here!)

Another Step Forward

2005-12-18T01:11:00.000+03:00

Despite the questioning put forth by so many people about my nation, about what we could do, we continue to move forward. Those of you who e-mailed me, those of you who have questioned this entire episode in history - the sands of time are proving you to be WRONG.

I am happy to say that the current elections are going on without any problems, it is strange that we have no violence during elections though, if anything - it shows me that our security forces are growing in strength and that is another signal that we are moving forward.

What else can I say - except to say to the naysayers that you must stop your nonsense, and realize that Iraq will be built in a democratic fashion - and that it will happen. Despite all the violence, carnage, and negativity, the Iraqi people continue on the path to freedom.

I cannot emphasize this enough, I don't think that non-Iraqis understand the bloodshed here, everyday for the last three years, there has been some type of violence, someones family being robbed of love, someone being crippled, and yet, and yet, Iraqis have seen through this cancer and remain comitted to the goal.

This election is encouraging for this reason, and because we are finally seeing progress in unification, the Sunni leaders are finally seeing that we must stand united with our Shia and Kurdish brothers, or else our country will never be strong. How fitting is it that in this month, the animal Saddam goes on trial, and that we build a new parliament.

I am obviously excited, and optimistic, I look forward to the continuing progress, and the day when Iraq is a completely sovereign nation and that foreign troops leave our nation, and we stand on our feet. Then, all this bloodshed that we have been put through will truly be worth it, then it will be clear to us, that it was all worth it.

God Bless Iraq

The Horrors of War and Terrorism

2005-07-19T00:50:00.000+04:00

I have been away for a very long time, my great and deep apologies to all who read my blog, and to those who have e-mailed me. I have done a great dishonor by not keeping up with e-mails. In my culture, it is looked at very badly if one does not return the warmth that one is given by a stranger, friend, or any other human being. Please do forgive me.

In my time away, Iraq has seen daily bombings on the scale of what happened in London two weeks ago. I am very sad to see what happened in London, but for me, it is nothing new, those of us in Iraq have become used to tens of people dying on a daily basis, it is sickening, as I think we have become used to it, almost as if we are losing our humanity in the midst of so much death, pain and agony. The bombings in London are important though beacause they show that my religion is being molested by evil forces who use religion for their own agenda. The same fanatical mindset that causes so called "mujahideen", which means holy warriors, but which are in reality nothing of the sort, to blow up Iraqi children, this mindset has clearly spread to the rest of the world, even in the Unitd Kingdom.

I was distressed to learn that the bombers in the UK were born there, but I am no longer surprised. The tentacles of bin Laden and his brothers are very long, and the entire world must do what it takes to not only cut them off, but to destroy the center of the growth. It is like a tumor, one branch is cut off, yet others keep growing. Despite all the sucesses of the US in killing and catching terrorists, terrorism continues, and it has only gotten worse and worse here in Iraq. We never had public death on this scale in the days of Saddam. Strange that there can be some good comparison to his regime.

But don't think I am sympathizing with him, no, he should be killed tommorow. His trial is only going to foster more attacks on Iraqis, and one way to show his demons that Iraqis will not fall to them is to nip their inspiration at the root, and kill Saddam. Sure, attacks will go on, but we will have sent an important message to his sympathisers, and to those who think that terrorism can work. It cannot. People only get sick of violence, and they themselves react in order to bring peace to their community. Every man on earth is looking for a peaceful place to live, and this cancer is depriving us of it.

Either men do something, or we get used to it. I have hope that Iraqis will do something, and there are always good signs demonstrating this, but I also see the sickness of getting sick falling over my people, even over myself. None of you, my dear readers, have seen the horrors of what war and terrorism bring. I have seen it all. The first time was in the opening days of the American invasion when I saw victims of errant American bombs, they were no longer people, they were nothing more than clumps of human muscle, fat, and so on. Faces no longer existed, it is for this reason that such things are even more heart-breaking for the family.

Imagine your loved one dying, and you having to see them in their end, no longer looking like the beautiful human that they once were.

Do you know what a person looks like who has been subject to war? I hope not, it is disgusting. The worst image that is burnt into my memory is that of a young man, I believe he was a victim of a road-side bomb, and his head was there, but his face was no more. It looked like his head had vomited out his insides. God help the dead, and God help us cure the insanity that is gripping our nation and the world.

Long Absence

2005-06-01T20:47:00.000+04:00

I am sorry to have not posted for two months now, it has been a very crazy time for me. I lost internet connection due to funds, I was arrested for a few weeks, and then Baghdad was attacked by insurgent attacks. I am however, by the grace of God, alive, I can say that and many others cannot. It is amazing to me when I think back and see that it has been almost a year since we got our own government formed. Yet there is a lot of work yet to be done. Tehre is still corruption here, there is still violence. These things are taking their toll on us, I find it hard sometimes to remain patient, my own experiences have made it difficult. I will elaborate later, right now, I just watn to post once again in my online world where I can forget about bad things, and focus on the good, and meet friends who care about my country and me and my brothers.

Although I have to be frank and say it has been a bad last few months, I hope that this summer will be good. The Iraqi army, yes the Iraqi army, not the Ameriacn army, has begun operations to clean up Baghdad. Let us hope that they spread from tehre across Iraq.

Responses to the 2 Year Anniversary

2005-03-22T20:24:00.000+03:00

Thank you all for the messages you have sent me in response to my reflections on the two year anniversary. I did not realize that they would reach so many people, and I am honored to have touched some of you. While the vast majority of the responses I received were positive there were some negative ones. I must frankly say I have a hard time understanding these people who attack me. For what for expressing my opinion? The vast majority were from countries outside of the Arab world. I must say that one thing I am learning through the work I am doing on my blog is that there are some people even outside of Iraq and the Middle East who seem to content to want to live under dictators, in an environment where expression is crushed. I will share some letters below in italics and my response:

Dear Hussein:

What the hell is wrong with you, you don’t mind having your country blown up by others but you mind people not understanding you. This is a pure crock, and you sir are either mentally unstable or working for the United States.

Oliver Jordan

Because you dont say what you want to hear I am a liar? This is a great insult to me, this is something that gives me anger. You sit in your box and tell me what is happening in my nation?

Husayn, you are an idiot, I think you are really American. No, I know you are American, no Iraqi feels like you do you lying scumbag. How much is the CIA paying you to spread lies about the occupation of Iraq? I hope you get yours.

Nameless

This is a very common thing I hear from people, they say I work for the USA or the CIA! I do not work for either, although I am sure if I did my family would be better off. I am a simple Iraqi young man who is scratching a living for his family. I tell things how I see them, and I am giving you what I see in Iraq so that our message, our voice is not extinguished. Interesting how the nameless have the most bravery in slinging insults!

Sir I was linked to your blog by another website. What I found is quite interesting. Despite what everyone else in the world says, you are saying that things in Iraq are good. Ignorng the fact that everyday bombs are blown up, you are happy. Despite the fact that Americans are wasting money in Iraq, you thank them. May I ask you, are you blind or just stupid?

Richard Jones – UK

All these things happen in Iraq, but they are not things I focus on or Iraqis focus on. They ahve become part of our life, but we look to the future, and do not want to dwell on evil. That would be self-defeating, and that would be stupid, not what I type.

Mr. Husayn-

Your website would be more enjoyable if you gave us accurate news rather than just telling us about hope and other abstract things. Sure you have hope, but do your countrymen? Do those who died for imperialism have hope? How does it feel to get robbed for oil by the worlds strongest nation? Talk about these things, and then I might start reading your blog. BTW – I found it by accident

Charlene Spector
Boston

Hope is worth more than oil, money or anything else that dictates your life.

This is a sample of what I have received, it is in a way a rude awakening to me of the attitudes that some people in the West hold. Perhaps I was a big naive in the past, I thought these were fringe ideas, but I see that you in the West have people similar to the self-defeating terrorists who infest our nation. If the US or Europe were in a similar situation that Iraq is in, then these people would surely be the ones blowing up innocents so that your nation would be stopped from progress.

And on that note, let me remind my friends, and these enemies of mine that progress is being made, slowly, but surely in Iraq. Yesterday we learned that the terrorists have lost more men this month than in any other month. That is not progress? The more of them that die, the closer we come to absolute freedom. They are like roaches that must be stepped on, and the more that we step on the less there are to eat at us later, and the less there are to breed more!

Long Live a Free Iraq
Long Live Freedom
Long Live the Free World

2 Years

2005-03-20T00:10:00.000+03:00

It has been now two years since the United States, UK and other countries invaded our nation. It has been two years since Iraqis have had to live with daily violent attacks and rampant terrorism. It has been two years since our nation began being turned upside down. It has been two years since the road to democracy began.

It has been a very hard two years. So many people have died, so much has been destroyed, so many drops of tears and blood have been shed, so many have been robbed of loved ones, and so many words have been spoken about Iraq, it's future, and this war.

Two years...seems like yesterday that I was awoken by bombs going off in Baghdad, and the realisation that my life and that of my country was going to change. That very day I remember being scared that my house might be destroyed by a bomb, or that my relatives who were forcibly put into the Iraqi army might be killed.

Two years since Saddam came on TV, and pledged that Iraq would never fall. Little did he know, he surrendered like a rat in a whole only months later. Two years since my father had a heart.

Two years is about 730 days. In those days what have I seen. My eyes have seen more than I had ever hoped, more blood, more death and more pain, then I ever imagined or hoped I would have seen.

In those days I have seen the worst of humanity, the animal that lives in all humanity, the ability of humanity to destroy at will others, and rob the life given to others by God almight himself.

So you ask me, Husayn, was it worth it. What have you gotten? What has Iraq acheived? These are questions I get a lot.

To may outsiders, like those who protested last year, who will protest today. This was a fools errand, it brought nothing but death and destruction. I am sheltered in Iraq, but I know how the world feels, how people have come to either love or hate Bush, as though heis the emobdiement of this war. As though this war is part of Bush, they forget the over twenty million Iraqis, they forget the Middle Easterners, they forget the average person on the street, the average man with the average dream.

Ask him if it was worth it. Ask him what is different. Ask him if he would go through it again, go ahead ask him, ask me, many of you have.

Now I answer you, I answer you on behalf of myself, and my countrymen. I dont care what your news tells you, what your television and newspapers say, this is how we feel. Despite all that has happened. Despite all the hurt, the pain, blood, sweat and tears. These two years have given us hope we never had.

Before March 20, 2003, we were in a dungeon. We did not see the light. Saddam Hussain was crushing Iraq's spirit slowly, we longed for his end, but knew we could not challenge him, or his diabolical seed who would no doubt follow him and continue his generation of hell on Earth.

Since then, we now have hope. Hope is not a tangible thing, but it is something, it is more than being blinded by darkness, by being stuck in a mental pit without any future.

Hope has been the greatest product of the last two years. No doubt, many have died, many have died by accident or due to crimes. But their sacrifices are not, and will not be for nothing. I refuse to let it be, and my countrymen stand with me.

Our cities are smoking, our graveyards full, and terrorists in our midst. But we are not defeated. We are not down, we are not regretful. We are not going to surrender. For all that the two years have brought, the greatest thign they have given us is a future, and a view of the finish line.

Iraqis see the finish line, the finish line of freedom and democracy and a functioning nation. We can smell it, taste it, and like a sprinter, one who has broken his legs, but who has a heart full of passion, we will crawl there no matter what the cost. No matter what we must endure, we have realized what we can become, and that is the biggest result of the last two years.

Noone can take that from us. Not the terrorists, not those who want to question the good of the removal of Saddam, not those who want to reduce our glory for politics, none.

We have been brought from darkness to light. And not only has the future been made better for Iraq, but the martyrs of our nation, their blood is watering the roots of democracy across the world. We are watching our neighbors come closer to the light, and this only pushes us more, and makes us stronger in our burning desire to reach the finish line, to realize the dream that our people have had for so long.

No, we will not give up, and we will not say that the last two years were a waste. They for all their trouble have been momentus. They for us, have been a turning point in history. Whether or not you agree, this is how it looks from Iraq.

The Spring of Democracy

2005-03-12T06:11:00.000+03:00

There has been more bombings, yesterday in Mosul another bomb went off. A lot of sadness has been brought to that city in the last few days, showing that we still have bumps in our lives.

We are getting ever closer to forming a functioning government. Since January 30th, the government has been doing a lot of maneuvering behind the scenes setting up coaltions and future alliances and I suppose other secret dealings.

It is however now publicly known that a government will be elected on Wednesday when our parliament, the one that we elected in our "Purple Revolution", meets. This is surprising because it is earlier than expected. The Shia and Kurds who won a large part of seats, because of the Sunnis being scared, unwilling, etc. to vote have in the past month been going through negotiations and it seems they have come to agreements for the formation of a functioning government that will accelerate the process towards complete freedom.

Although I didnt vote for or support the Kurdish and Shia parties, I am very excited about this news. I am surprised it is not more well known in your news, I didnt see any mention of it last night when I was watching television with my friends. The talk on the street is that the formation of this body will help to crush the insurgency, because there will now be a strong, central and indigenous government in Iraq, rather than the jumbled state of affairs that has persisted.

So, I am just telling you all my dear friends, do not forget about us in Iraq. Things are continuing on the right path! The next week should bring interesting news. It also seems that we are quickly coming to having our first real President and Prime Minister. It is likely that Jalal Talabani will be the President, and the Prime Minister will be Ibrahim al-Jafari. They are a Kurd and Shia respectively. Where that will leave Sunnis, I do not know, but I hope that one of our leaders will step up to be an ally to both.

If our government can function with men of different backgrounds leading us, it will indeed usher in a new Iraq. It will definately be a very important dynamic that will have great impact and meaning for our future. IF they can work together, then I pray that Iraqis of all backgrounds will work together more, and throw aside animosities that have been present for so long, fostered largely by Saddam.

If things go well, not only in Iraq, but across the world, then InshAllah this Spring will bring in the birth of Democracy in more parts of the world. What great symbolism, and how beautiful!

Im not Retired

2005-03-09T06:27:00.000+03:00

Thank everyone for their kind words, wishes, and help. It is appreciated by all. But i must clarify, I am not stopping the blog. I have come to realize just how much we Iraqi bloggers mean to the outside world because we provide voices for our countrymen and therefore we help our future, so my last message was not an indication that I am ending the blog, no, I just will have less time.

There is not a lot of new news out of Iraq, the most notable over the last day was that there was a large weapons dump found in Mosul. They are not sure what is in here yet, or the nature of the weapons. I dont think it will be anything really important, probably jsut some terrorists' hiding their weapons.

The focus of the world seems to have shifted from IRaq to Lebanon. Things are not peaceful here, and horrendous terrorist attacks continue, although thankfully we havn't had one as big as the one that killed my cousin. In Lebanon the issue of Syrian occupation has come to the forefront since the Prime Minister Harriri was killed. I have not heard conclusively who did it, people on satellite tv speculate that it was Syria, but in Iraq people are divided as usual, everyone is being blamed from the Syrians to Israel to the KGB to God knows who, but you must understand this is the way things normally are here.

Living in Saddam's society, and a part of the world that generally has bad and controlling governments, we have become acclimated to doubting what we hear and knowing that there is always more to what is happening than what is visible to us, especially when we get it through tv or other mediums.

But thats not the important topic. Lebanese are having different demonstrations for and against Syria. What is really going on? I dont know. Some speculate that yesterday's pro-Syria was a sham, others say the same about the anti-Syrian demostrations. Whatever is happening, I hope that the true will of the people will come to dominate.

But I think we must all remember things are complex there. My barber is from Lebanon and what he told me was this: Most Lebanese want Syrians out, with Syria in Lebanon there is always this ghost hanging over the country, I think this happens anytime that a country is occupied by a foreign army. So naturally, the Lebanese want the Syrians to leave, for example he told me, after Hafez Assad died, a man went around yelling "Assad is dead, and we are happy!" and he was promptly arrested.
On the other side of the coin, he said that the Lebanese were fearful of Israel. Israel had afterall invaded Lebanon, and was involved in the civil war due to it's alliance with Christian groups. So, in a strange way, the Syrian presence is a buffer to this, and some lebanese fear that the removal of Syria will give Israel a freer hand in Lebanon.

What is the real case though? I dont know, these are just some ideas that were shared with me by a Lebanese man, let us all pray that the will of the people is paramount in the future there. Lebanon is a beautiful place with beautiful people, especially women :-), so it is a shame for it to be in such a bad position.

My cousin

2005-03-03T19:28:00.000+03:00

I am sure everyone has heard of the large bombing of many days ago, it was a very bad day, a very bad scene, blood flowed like water in a river, and over a hundred people died. Even more hundreds, perhaps thousands of others were somehow affected. I am among one of them. Throughout this entire time I have been lucky because my family has been generally safe from the affects of war and death and all that has stood over Iraq like a black cloud during the last two years. I can no longer count myself like this. The bombing claimed the life of my cousin, who was an innocent man who never did anything to hurt anyone, and who only wanted to live a good life, and to provide for his children. They are now orphaned, and without their father who strove to make them smile, and liked nothing more than to hear their laughter. The animals who do this do not care for my poor nephews and neices, they...I dont know what they want, but I am now more resolved than ever to crush them somehow. I wish i could lay my hands on the master of all this terror, Zarqawi or Bin Laden or whichever dog it is who is behind this terrible campaign.

I am just tired, and my eyes are burning. I will not be able to post as much as before, I feel I owe it to my cousins children to somehow help them. I have decided to take up more work so that I May earn more, and help my cousin's family through this time. His children, I hoope and pray to God will never have to feel pain like this again...of course I think it would be hard in any situation, now that their father is gone, murdered for no reason.

Democracy in the Middle East

2005-02-25T04:25:00.000+03:00

The last week has shown that things are indeed changed in the middle east. our elections seem to be a stimulant for getting others, our neighbors into the mood for demanding more rights, for freedom and democracy.

In Lebanon, their beloved former Prime Minister was assasinated. We do not know who did it, but people are suspecting Syria, and this alone is pushing Lebanese to demand Syria to leave their nation. For those that do not know, Syria has thosands of soldiers in Lebanon for over twenty years now, and this obviously gives Syria government the ability to have a hand in the affairs of internal Lebanese government. Now people want Syria out. I think it should be done, I have heard that Syria says it will, but I am highly untrusting of the government that says it will do so on its own. Let us support the Lebanese in this quest and raise our voices with them.

The same is the case in Iran, it has been for many years now. The blogosphere has many Iranians who try to share their thoughts, but unfortunately they are being molested by the government who try to restrict what they say, and talk about. This is being used to push a regime change in Iran from what I have seen in American online websites. I cannot agree with this though. Iran is a much more populous and mountainous nation than Iraq, any attempts to forcebly change the government there will be much harder than what happened in Iraq. There is no question that the theocracy there is not well liked, but we must help the Iranians do it on their own, I hope the United States will find some covert means to do htis, rather than actually going to war, something that is the news of the day on the streets today. I think it is especially important for American government to remember that Khomeni was not necessarliy very popular for himself when he took power, but since Iran was attacked by Saddam, people rallied to him. There is a human innateness to rally around your own than an outsider, only in extreme caes, such as what happened to us at the hand of the evil Saddam do you see something else.

Finally I want to talk about Egypt. Egypt is the most populous Arab nation in the world, and is very important to our region. Culturally it has a very important impact on other Arabs, we get a lot of our media from Egypt, and Cairo is the sort of metropolis of the Middle East. They too live under an autocratic government of Mubarak who looks like a man who is melting. i dont know how they have tolerated him for the three decades he has been in power now (almost), but I think that Egyptians, who in a way are more free than other Middle Easterners, indeed they were better off than we were under Saddam, are starting to see our freedom and wonder why we have surpassed them. I think this is the reason why these protests are arising in Egypt against Mubarak.

The United States should pay attention to Egypt, just like it does to Iran. There is no doubt difference, Egypt is not a threat to neighbors, but there is a feeling in the Middle East, and Iraq that double standards come into play. Egypt is an American ally, and is never chastised publicly for its horrid government which is as corrupt as any other, yet Iran is constantly under the microscope. I hope that people outside of the Middle East can understand that not only are Iranians opressed by their government but I would be willing to say that most countries citizens are opressed by corrupt governments.

For this reason, I ask you all to keep an eye open to the peoples voices in the Middle East. Do not entirely rely on what the news tells you, I have learned that no matter where you are in the world, the news only looks for something that catches your eye. It is for us to be smarter than them. Understand that people all over the Middle East want democracy and freedom, not just Iranians, and try to support them in whatever way you can.

We Iraqis are on the road to acheiving ours. It is no doubt a bumpy road. The elections of last month were a victory, but since then we have seen so much violence that I am literally sick of hearing about it, I want to be a zombie sometimes, I am tired of hearing about attacks and whatnot. But still, I try to keep a optimistic face, and I know that in the end this will pay off down the road once we clear this process and smooth the bumps on our road to freedom.

Days of Mourning

2005-02-20T08:06:00.000+03:00

The last few days are religious days for Muslims, both Sunni and Shia. The days are symbolic of Prophet Moses receiving revelation from God, and of the martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Husayn.

Unfortunately we have not been able to enjoy these holidays, to celebrate them as we normally do because Iraq has been rocked by attacks. They were especially bad here in Baghdad, I have lost count of how many people died due to these attacks. The targets were mostly Shiites, but other Iraqis died, and that is the bottom line. Iraqis continue to die at the hand of these murderers, cowards, and animals who cannot let others live in peace, freedom and happiness.

What do they want from us? I wish they would just burn in hell, go away you evil scum eating garbage. I wish to curse at them, but I would then lower myself to their level. I am especially personally touched by these tragedies, some people that I know were affected, an old classmate of mine, a beautiful woman was robbed of her life, and many of my friends have lost loved ones. The only thing I am thankful for is that my own family is safe, but when Iraqis die, I bleed, I hurt, and now that I see it on a more personal level it burns more than ever.

At least the authorities are trying harder to crack down, but I begin to wonder if they are doing enough. I will not let emotion overwhelm me however, a finger must be pointed at Iraqis who are too cowardly to tell about these terrorists, who harbor them through their silence. I would like to see our new government formed quickly and take a strong stand against these quiet collaborators. Fear should not stop one from doing the right thing.

The Results

2005-02-13T05:38:00.000+03:00

The Results should be officially announced today. It has become clear that the Shia list will win the most votes. The Kurdish list will come in second, and Allawi will finish third, with about twenty percent of the vote. The strong showing of the Kurdish party is demonstrative to us that not only the Shia, but the Kurds also embraced elections, and made their voice heard. It is for this reason, that Iraq will now be tilted in the favor of the two groups that have been marginalized for so long. What is very important to me is how well the Kurds did. Kurds are not as numeorus as Sunnis, but they have set themselves up to make a great impact on the future of Iraq.

This shows that while many more Sunnis voted than was expected, a good number still did not vote. I am very sad to realize this. It shows that the terrorists were able to scare some, and that some were stupid enough to listen to others and not vote. I hope that the new Iraq, whatever it is, will move Sunnis into participating more clearly. My last post on the idea of theocracy is one possible factor to acheiving this, but now that I see how strongly the Kursd have done, I realize that theocracy is even further from possibility than anyone can imagine. The Kurds are divided in their religious makeup, and it makes no sense for them to support the theocracy.

In a way the Kurdish gains may be good for Sunnis, if Shias overstep their bounds, they can provide a partner with which Sunnis can work and get back into the politica game and thus be involved with Iraq. But knowing the feelings of many Kurds after the terror of Saddam, I dont know how realistic this would be.

Sunnis are now, unfotunately going to learn the hard way the folly of not participating in the elections. The terrorists have stepped up their violence, targetting Shias especially, but I think that their attempts to badger the Shias will only result in more patience, or if the Shia get a real grip on power, bad news for the Sunnis. I can only hope that this is averted though, and that these idiotic terrorists do not cause more trouble inadvertantly, in addition to the deliberate troubles they have caused for all of Iraq.

The atmosphere has changed after the elections, but I must say that some people are growing a bit angry at the fact that the terrorists continue to make attacks. I suppose their patience is wearing thin, they thought that the election would bring a sort of overnight change, but we must all realize and remember that this is a process that will take some time.

I must apologize again for my reduction in posting frequency. I hope I can pick it up soon, things have been rough for me.

The Week After

2005-02-08T06:28:00.000+03:00

Im sorry that I havnt posted for many days, my internet service was cut for a few days, and I was short on money to access internet cafes, but I think things should be back to normal for the time being.

The elections have come and gone, and I think everyone wants to know who won. This question should be answered by the end of the week, but it seems that the Shia list, of Sistani is going to come out on top. This should not be surprising, afterall, he told his followers that it was a religious obligation to vote. You cannot argue with a divine commandment, and I miscounted in the past the effect that this would have for pressing votes to the Shia Iraq list. I thought that many Shias would perhaps vote secularily, but I forgot to understand that Sistani's edict would not only encourage voting, but give a divinie aura to the Shia parties.

I am still confident that things are going to end up well for Iraq. Despite reports, and I have many emails sort of in a panic, that this party is encouraging a theocracy, I think there is a misunderstanding of the language used by these clerics. Indeed, this win will give clerics more importance, but it does not mean they will rule us. I have posted before, that Sistani does not mix politics and religion, this makes him different from Khomeni. He has always said that religious leaders should be more like advisors. I do not necessarily have a problem with that.

The call for Islamic law to be mixed with law is not a problem. I do not envision our nation turning into Saudi Arabia. The reality we must all understand is that all laws are based on moral principles. Religions in their skeletal phase are just that, a system of moral principles. The basics of law, wehtehr they are Islamic or secular call for a just society where organization is maintained, people are respected, and personal rights are not infringed upon.

The ultimate reason for my confidence is that Iraqis in Shia areas have lvied with some theocratic forms of government in some parts. I doubt that they are going to stand by and let the entire nation fall under such a government. Undrstand that people here have been very patient, there has been much upheavel. We waited for Saddam to be done with, and he was. but then we had to live with violence and a foreign army in our land. Now we are ready to wait this out for the bright future. For this reason, the Shias have seen the theocratic flashes as nothing more than a waiting period, any attempt to make this nationwide will be met with fierce resistance.

Let us not forget that Iraq does have many Sunnis, Shia are majority, but we the Sunni are a very large minority. Sunni leaders have begun to realize that they must participate in the new government, for this reason they are now openly making concilliatory gestures to the government and beginning to integrate themselves. With the addition of more Sunnis to the government, it only guarantees that we will have to have a pluralistic system that look sout for all people.

I tell you all to not worry, people have worked so hard, have given so much, to be free, we are not going to turn around and elect in people who will shackle us again. And if those who we elect aim to do this, we will not stand for it, and we will deny them with as much excitement as with which we have turned our backs on the terrorists who continue to be like a hard to kill mosquito.

Al-Qaeda's baby follies

2005-02-02T06:29:00.000+03:00

Remember how I equated Al-Qaeda to babies crying, well they have taken it to the next step. I dont know how well known this is in the media, but someone sent me an interesting article.

Seems the cavemen have claimed to caught an American soldier with the very generic name "John Adam". They put up some pictures, and I must say to the lazy eye it looks legit, but it turns out the cavemen got their hands on a doll of a soldier, and found a small gun and made a small flag to make it look like they captured a soldier.

Is there any better indicator of how pathetic, how weak, and how threatened they feel that they have to resort to this low-grade fake attempt at producing another set of pictures? Im sure many Iraqis will have a good laugh at this one when they hear about it. These same people declare war on our democracy, and now they are taking pictures of childrens toys.

I can forsee one inadvertant effect of Iraqi democracy being that it reduced Al-Qaeda to a rather bad comedy brigade.

Long Live Iraq, and Long Live Freedom!

Marvelous Cartoon

2005-02-01T01:48:00.000+03:00

Just a quick post, I'm still awake answering e-mails, or trying to. Anyway, our friends at Cox and Forkum have posted a fabulous cartoon about the elections. It really really sums up how I feel, and is very touching to me. It just shows the strength of the people to overpower the terrorists.

The Cartoon

Dear Al-Qaeda

2005-01-31T22:37:00.000+03:00

Go to hell you pathetic bastards.

After being unable to stop our elections, the cavemen are now whining and screaming, and telling us they are going to pursue a holy war against us! The election was not only a triumph for our freedom, for our rebirth, but it was a nail in the coffin of Al-Qaeda. They had tried hard to stop us, to scare us, and to convince non-Iraqis that the election would be a failure...but we proved them wrong.

People voted, it is seen across the world as a sucess, and Al-Qaeda was unable to damage the election. Now, like an irritated baby, it is going in the media and screaming that it is going to get us now. The failure of Al-Qaeda to do anything to the elections has turned more Iraqis against them, the few who sympathized with the terrorists are now disheartened at the failure of their pathetic allies.

I hope that the world takes note of the impact of our elections on the future of Al-Qaeda. By encouraging democracy in other countries, terrorism will be slowly extinguished. The next target should be Saudi Arabia, our neighbor that is badly in need of reforms and a breeding ground for all these terrorists who cause trouble in not only Iraq, but across the world, and who were responsible for 9/11.

It is simple in my mind, terrorism is the result of autocracy. If you confine people, they find strange outlets, and lash out against others. If you give them freedom, then they are content, and abandon terrorism. I promise you that this will be the result of our election, and if this model is implimented in other nations it will shrink.

Let us not forget Afghanistan, which had its own election months ago, and has become much more stable then it ever was before.

Let me also take this time out to condem non-Iraqis who continue to deny what has happened in Iraq. I have read all over the internet comments by idiots who insist that the elections were false, that Iraqis are opressed, and that the future is Civil War.

YOU KNOW NOTHING

You are not here, you are not living as we are, you do not get an accurate picture. The election was a resounding success, Iraqis are hungry for freedom, and we are building the future together. All this gloomy talk is nothing more than lies and evil vitriol by people who want to see our nation in trouble, and wish to deny us freedom and liberty.

Shame on you people. If you do not know what is happening in Iraq, then do not open your mouth, it will only make you look dumber than you already do when Iraq is a strong, democratic and free country.

I also want to say to my fellow Iraqis that we have made great progress in the last few months, but let us not be content. There is a lot still to be done, we have just began on the path, but we have shown that we have the resolve to finish the job. Let us continue working towards a unified Iraq, let us put the past behind us, and look to the bright future, one that will only be forged if we all combine our strengths!

Democracy in Iraq is here!

2005-01-30T18:20:00.000+03:00

I have changed the header of my page to reflect the new, improved, democratic Iraq. The turnout has been higher than expected, even Yahoo had an article reflecting this. I link it below. The article states that turnout was about 75%, so I believe it was in reality somewhat higher. And all this despite the fact that the terrorists did indeed carry out attacks, but as we all knew, it did not stop Iraqis!! People do not get scared that easily when they are so close to their goal.

What a day it has been. I am very tired, but I am at peace, something I havn't felt in this regard before. I am happy to report that I found very few people during my post-voting trip through Baghdad who had not voted. I even got a few to "convert" and go out and vote. When confronted with the fact that staying away from voting was futile, some who had opposed the election relented, and went and made their mark.

Even now, I have no idea who is going to win, but it really isn't important. It is enough for me to know that our new government won't be the result of a sham election, that it will be the will of the people. We will not know who won for a few days, maybe weeks, but this is just a minor headache, and should not be taken by anyone to attack the election or it's validity. We don't have the machinery or technology available in the United States or other countries where you can find the result of elections overnight. We will one day though, and today is the first step on that path.

Let me end today's posts with a picture I found of a woman who was so overcome with emotion at voting that she cried. I believe this picture symbolizes every Iraqi's feelings today.

The Historic Day Has Come

2005-01-30T08:39:00.000+03:00

I am happy to report...no I am honored to report that I have cast my ballot in our election. It is such an amazing feeling to be able to have some control over the destiny of my nation, a feeling I have not known before! I was one of the first ones to report to our local voting station, and I placed my vote, my stained finger is proof (The authorities are using such a system to make sure people do not vote twice). I was not the only one to show up at the opening of the voting area, there were at least a dozen other Iraqis waiting to take part in this momentus event, and as I left, I saw tens more file in.

It is early in the day, but I am confident of the turnout of the vote. The terrorists have not scared us. They made some attempts at disrupting things yesterday when they attacked an American buildling, and in attacking balloting areas, but it has not been effective. People are going to vote. From the conversations I have had with people across Baghdad, it looks like the Iraqiya list is going to come out on top. But this is speculation and is not as important as the fact that we are voting as a nation now. No more of the shams that Saddam put us through, no more of not having control over the political future, it ends today.

It will be a day forever remembered. My voting was only a simple act, I went, I identified myself, got my finger stained, filled out a ballot, and dropped it in a box. It is not a complex or grand process to the eye, but it is one that I will forever remember and will recount to my children, and their children. And God willing it will be remembered through the ages.

So, there is not much more for me to say on this day. I am just elated and excited. So much hard work and sacrifice has gone into making this day come, and I am so speechless now that it is here. I plan on having a big breakfast and heading otu to encourage more people to vote. Let us all hope that all the recluses will come out, the Sunnis realize the importance of the election, and that all Iraqis vote in a party that builds a strong, free and secular Iraq!

PS - I am sorry for being slow with e-mails over the last few days, it has been a very hectic time for me.

One Day Left

2005-01-29T07:58:00.000+03:00

There is only one day left until the momentus day of Iraqi history that will always be remembered, celebrated, and looked upon with happiness by future generations. It will also be a day that inspires our neighbors to develop their own democracies. I cannot wait, I have been busy the last few days with my own attempts to encourage voting in my neighborhood, I hope that these efforts were put to good use.

Its going to be a very exciting next two days. Today, the country is under a curfew which is aimed at stopping terrorists from carrying out attacks. I hope it will work. It also has the welcome effect of giving people a day to rest, and thereby sit around and talk...about politics. This will hopefully have an inadvertant advantage on the voter turnout. The borders have been shut down too, I hope this will reduce the possibilites of Iran and Syria interfering with our election.

Speaking of turnout, it is going to be higher than expected. The lack of any major terrorist attack in the buildup to the election has encouraged people greatly and made more people confident in voting, and feeling safe from the tentacles of the devilish evildoers who lurk in the shadows.

Its going to be great. Those who doubted the elections will be proven wrong on Monday, and we will have a new concrete direction for our nation. I have no idea who is going to win this round of elections, but I continue to hope and pray that it will be a party that takes Iraq upwards and turns us away from the tumultous past that many of us have grown up in.

I hope all Iraqis living outside of their motherland have taken the steps necessary to be involved in this momentus event. Those of us in Iraq are gathering up our will and are ready and willing to serve our nation. I will be among the first, and I hope to continue my efforts at encouraging people to partake in this miracle.

Bloody Day - 4 Days Left

2005-01-26T19:13:00.000+03:00

Despite today being a very bad day for American soldiers, I believe over 30 died, I feel the pull of destiny stronger than ever. While the press is focusing on American deaths reaching a certain number, and we mourn all the dead who died for our freedom, it is at least comforting to know that the terrorists were not responsible for their deaths. The terrorists are getting weaker. The attacks they have carried out today were an anomoly, and if you look at statistics, attacks have been down.

However, if there is anytime for them to have a resurgance it is now. I have long expected that terrorists would launch an offensive before the election, and i think we are seeing the start today. Still, despite the attacks on polling stations and other targets, the will of Iraqis to vote has never been stronger. Newspapers are publishing polls that are showing high expectations for the election, in some areas over 90% are promising to vote! all this despite the tricks of terrorists.

Registration lines are starting to get more like shopping lines. In Baghdad, the rates of registration have been inconsistant, but on my way back from work today I saw a good number of people at the local governmental office taking part in the registration process. This only means that people are losing their fear of the terrorists. I only wish that the Sunni parties would stop the madness with their claims that Sunnis will be unable to vote! Sunnis are as able to vote as other Iraqis, the only thing restricting them is the parties themselves.

This is one thing that is greatly worrying me. I get this sick fear in my stomach that these Sunni Parties that are boycotting the elections are going to ruin it. They will afterwards cry that they were not fully involved, and ignore their own stupid and childish boycott!!! Just watch. The one thing that Iraq needs more than democracy right now is good leadership. Unfortunately, among the Sunnis such leadership is rare. How good can a democracy be if the leaders aren't good. This is an issue that I have not pondered before, but that I am realizing is very important.

All hope is not lost with the Sunnis though. There are some Sunni parties that are still involved. More important is the actual participation of Sunni citizens. I see their numbers rising, and polls back me up. The existance of unified Iraqi parties, meaning ones that do not cater to a specific faction is a godsend because these will probably gain a lot of vote from Sunnis, and secular Shias and some Kurds. I hope that this will put them into power, as they seek to form a constitution that seeks equality, that is secular, and which avoids tribalism, secterianism and ethnic problems.

Zarqawi is getting pathetic

2005-01-23T19:05:00.000+03:00

The big news today is Zarqawis declaration of war upon democracy. He says that democracy is evil, and that it goes against Islam. Of course, in his version of Islam everyone you disagree with must be killed, he doesn't really follow Islam, but facism, the problem is that he is too stupid to distinguish the two.

What will the effects be of this? I think it will primarily affect those who have decided to not vote for whatever reason be it feeling threatened by the rise of Shias, or anger at the coalition forces or whatever it is that has spurred some to not vote. Perhaps some of the undecided and cowardly will be scared off. But those who are determined will not be stopped.

There isnt much for me to say about this except to reiterate how this is a sign of how pathetic Zarqawi is. He is an idiot who cares not for Iraqis, and he is desperate thats why he is taking the drastic step of actually declaring war on democracy.

I would like nothing more than to hear tommorow that he has been captured and decapitated just like so many of his victims. Even if he continues to live he will never win. He should take a page from his mentor Osama and go to hell in a cave, we dont want him here, I wish he was as brave as he claims to be and would stop hiding like a woman trapped in a burka.

He will eventually be caught, and will forever be remembered as the Iraqi version of Guy Fawkes or Benedict Arnold. It is only a matter of time. Its just a shame that many people are going to have to suffer for his evil.

Iraqi Bloggergate?

2005-01-21T21:47:00.000+03:00

I have been ignorant to the big hubub from an article on our friends at Iraq the Model but it seems that people are angry at their views in the US. I dont understand why, is there not a freedom of speech. So what if what they or other Iraqis say is not in line with what the media says.

This is why I think polls are stupid. The opinions of people, especially a large group of people like those in Iraq are so different and diverse that simple polls are not going to give you insight into what people are thinking. For this reason it is good that there are different voices, whether they be of the Fadhil broters or Riverbend, or even some of the other Iraqi wierdos on the internet. I would think that the American media would encourage a diverse set of ideas, because we in Iraq need such thinking. For too long we have lived in a society where only certain ideas are tolerated, and frankly its going to be a change to live under a system that has freedom of speech.

For this reason, I would hope that others would encourage the discourse of ideas out of Iraq. Only encouraging a certain set is going to do nothing but retard our growth and send us back in the direction that Saddam put us in.

Its shocking and sad to me to hear the charges leveled against the Fadhil brothers. That they are CIA agents or not even Iraqi just because they have a certain set of ideas, this is stupid. This is no different than when Al-Qaeda claims that certain people are non-Muslims because they do not support Al-Qaeda. Believe me this is a common tatic of people who think in this way- if they dont agree with you, label them as being something evil or bad.

Case in point, Al-Zarqawi al-Kalb (the dog) has called Ayatollah Sistani an apostate or kafir or something because he did not denounce the action against terrorists in Falljuah. How timely that this example arise to back up my point!

I think in the end though, that this whole affair with the New York Times is good. It will give Iraqi blogs a larger voice to the world. the NYT has given us free publicity, and I think more Americans and people across the world will read our blogs and get a better sense of how things really are in Iraq - that everything is not black and white, that Iraqis are like all other people, we have divergent opinions, and you can't paint us all with one stroke of the brush!

By the way, thank you to everyone who left me Eid messages, it really touched my heart to see people from other faiths and parts of the world giving me such greetings. Even if you dont celebrate it, to share a greeting is very touching, Thank you

Eid Greetings

2005-01-20T06:17:00.000+03:00

Today is Eid al Adha, which is the biggest Muslim celebration of the year. It is done to commemorate the sacrifice that Prophet Abraham was willing to make for God when he offered one of his sons to God and it was replaced by a ram. Many people conflict on whether it was Isaac or Ishmael, for some reason many Muslims feel that it was Ishmael instead of Isaac...in reality there are no texts in Islam which say which son it was but I guess people have their preferences.

Its sort of a day of thanksgiving for us to thank God for everything he has given us. Practically we will go to the mosque for prayers. I have already gotten ready, I am waiting for the rest of my family. Everyone gets up early and gets washed up and puts on the nicest clothes. Then we go to the mosque, which can be boring but its part of the tradition.

Afterwards its a time of fun. Everyone has their own way, people usually get together with family and friends and eat dinner or play games or sports or whatever takes their interest. The entire celebration is actually four days so we have a bit of a holiday, but today is the day we go to Pray. We must also have animals slaughtered on our behalf, and we give the meat to poor people so that noone is hungry on the day.

Im excited, its nice to have a day off to celebrate. I know that today will probably be a subdued Eid, but it is Eid nontheless. There is sadly no doubt in my mind that some attack will happen, probably a larger one. And again I point out the hypocracy of these terrorists, claiming to be working for God or godliness, but they have no problem disrupting religious festivals, or just people getting together to be happy which is in itself Godly.

Still it is a time to celebrate and be thankful. Whatever tragedies today may bring are being slowly erased. I am thankful for a bright future, for coming freedom and prosperity, for my family, and for my life. A lot of people have a lot less than I or most others, so we should be thankful for every small bit we have.

Whether or not you celebrate the day, I hope it is a good one for you and your family, and let us all pray that it is one of peace for Iraq, although we all know the animals will try to ruin it in some way.

Elections, Abu Ghraib, and Bush

2005-01-17T06:26:00.000+03:00

Iraqi authorities are moving towards making the elections more safe through various new measures that will stop the insurgents. Perhaps the most important is allowing people in certain areas to register on the day of elections. This is a fantastic idea as it makes it much harder for insurgents to threaten people. By allowing them to register when they vote, it will take them out of harms way and make it harder for the terrorists to shut down elections before they can happen. This combined with the idea of making the elections a holiday, beefing up security and restricting cars puts us in a better position than we were in earlier. I am already hearing people encouraged by these moves. All this just shows you that we are not going to be stopped. Iraqis are determined to go ahead with the elections, no matter what the cost. These terrorist scums can keep trying to stop us, but they will ultimately fail. Iraqis are too close to tasting from the cup of greatness.

The soldier who was apparently the ring leader of Abu Ghraib was given a ten year sentence. I dont know what to feel about the sentence. The abu ghraib thing was bad, it was very embarassing for both Iraqis and American soldiers. It doesnt seem to be normal though, I think it was indeed a rare case as the army said. It did cause a lot of anger and was a very bad move for public relations though. In that regard it is important for the US to make sure it doesnt happen again. It was in a way a victory for the terrorists because some people got angry...but the effects have subsided, if the media starts talking about it now it will only open up old wounds and cause trouble again. So in this aspect, I hope not much attention is paid to the punishment given to the soldier. It was something stupid, we shouldnt even have to discuss it, to do so is counterproductive.

I also saw a tv interview with President Bush when I was at the cafe the other night. I dont know what it was, but it was an interview with him and his wife by an old woman. He seems to be a simple man. He is not very elegant, and this is why many people criticize him. However, he is not the monster that some make him to be in the media. He doesnt seem like it to me. Many people claim he had ulterior motives for invading Iraq, outside of helping Iraqis. Whether this is true or not, I dont know. And I dont think it is proper or even worthwhile to wonder if we have no evidence. The interview struck me because he seemed comitted to having American involvement in Iraq until our democracy is set up. For that I am thankful.

Monarchy?

2005-01-15T23:47:00.000+03:00

Our friends at Iraq the Model posted an intersting link from the Washington Post about people in Baghdad talking about politics. One gentleman reminisced about the monarchy Iraq once had, and got me thinking about it.

For those who do not know, Iraq had a monarchy after World War I until 1958 when King Faisal the younger was killed during a coup by General Kassem. This dynasty was like the one in Jordan, in fact they were both related, both were Hashemites. The Jordanian and Iraqi democracy were originally from the Hijaz (Which is where Mecca and Medina are), but were forced out when the Wahhabis took over after World War I.

These Hashemites had been ruling that land for a long time, they claim to be descended from the Prophet Muhammad, how accurate that is, I have no idea, because many people make such claims as if it entitles them to some status or better position. Anyway, the British took the sons of the last Hashmite ruler and made the kings of Iraq and Syria and Jordan. The Syria plan didnt work, so it was really only for Palestine and Iraq.

I obviously didnt live during this time, but I have heard stories. Sure, Iraq was more peaceful then, but I think the entire Middle East was. Times were just differnt then. I have seen pictures, and the king of Iraq looked like a bufoon really, trying to emulate the British king. This isnt England, its Iraq.

The fact that this monarchy was imposed on us by a colonial power is interesting. There isnt a lot of support for monarchy now, but the man in the article seems to be longing for it, yet complaining about America!!! How ironic is that. Some Iraqis worry that America will impose a government of its choosing on us, but they want the monarchy back, pure stupidity.

Its ironic too when you consider Jordan, which is still ruled by this dynasty, which really isnt native but from somewhere else. They are telling us how to vote and acting as though they are representitives of the Sunnis in Iraq, yet they are led by an imposter, a remnant of the colonial occupation.

I sometimes dont understand how these things work, I mean its just plain stupidity and hypocracy on the behalf of the Jordanians to try to interfere with our elections when they are ruled by a monarchy, one that isnt even native. This is one reason why Faisal of Iraq was killed, he wanted to united Jordan and Iraq, the late King Hussein was his cousin, and they were great friends. I am not saying that the coup was a good thing, it actually ended up putting us on the path to Saddam, but I dont think the monarchy was either.

If the British had given us elections, back in 1920, instead of forcing us into a monarchy after they couldn't tame us...if they had been like the Americans and encouraged democracy, Iraq would be a million times better today, and without the problems we have today. I wouldnt have to encourage democracy, I wouldnt write this blog, Americans wouldnt be in Iraq, Iraqi children wouldnt have starved, we wouldnt have had to dealt with Saddam, or the Saudis or the Iranians.

Funny how so much can change from one action in the past.

Terrorists kill aide to Ayatollah Sistani

2005-01-13T22:02:00.000+03:00

I got home from work, and there was a bit of a commotion. Word is that an aide to Sistani was murdered after the Maghrib prayers here in Baghdad. It was in the southern, I guess what you would call suburbs, but news of it has spread across the city quickly. I hope that this is not the straw that breaks the back of the Shias and leads them to violence. I am a bit worried though, I hear commotion that there might be some type of protest or march to show force or support for the slain aide. We havnt seen anything like this in months, I hope it doesnt turn into something bad with clashes between angry Shias and Sunnis.

Unfortunately the terrorists are still around, and today they have struck again. I just hope that the reservation that has been shown by the Shias and Iraqis in general continues so that we can get these elections done. i hope that this attack isnt the first in a string that will explode over the next few days. We'll see what happens.