I have decided to journey to Iraq. No, I am not going to physically go there. However, the internet has to be used for more than just Ebay and staring at hot girls (although that is pleasant as well).
Anyway, every day the Jayson Blair Times, and their comrades at the Communist News Network, among other Trotskeyite rags disguised as real news organizations, tell us that everything in Iraq is sheer misery. They do everything but yearn longingly for the glory days of Saddam Insane.
Although at this stage in my life I will go to my grave believing that removing Saddam was the legally and morally right thing to do, I want…heck, I need…to know that the Iraqi people believe in what we are doing. It took 13 years from 1776 to 1789 to get America on track, and it has been only four years since Saddam fell. I hope thye still believe in this fragile experiment called democracy.
Even though I know the mainstream media is wrong, I need to know that I am right. I have therefore decided to begin contacting Iraqi bloggers. I want to have dialogue with as many of them as possible.
I am sending them this note…
“Dear Iraqi Citizen,
I would like to know how Iraq is really going, and I am concerned that the media in the USA (I live in Los Angeles) are only giving bad news all the time. I suspect there are many positive developments that do not get reported.
I would like to hear opinions of real Iraqis living everywhere, since that would be more informative to me.
I am Jewish, and while I hate terrorists and radical Islam, I deeply respect and admire moderate Islam.
I would consider it an honor and a privilege if you would add my blog “The Tygrrrr Express” www.blacktygrrrr.wordpress.com to your list of linked sites if you feel the quality is high.
Happy June and God Bless.
eric”
I will speak with any and all of them, provided that they are not America-bashers (they can disagree with us, but if they want to kill us as infidels, that is a nonstarter) or anti-semites. They can disagree with Israel, so long as they do not hate me merely for being Jewish. I truly believe this exchange of dialogue will benefit many people globally.
We live in a nation of America where people form opinions without talking to people that are directly affected. We discuss drilling for oil in Alaska, without asking how the Alaskans feel. We debate how Israel should act without discussing it with Israelis, especially their military. Some people make comments about flyover country, without ever taking the time to meet the many wonderful people living in the USA between the coasts.
I am not going to sanitize or revise the results of my attempt at dialogue with Iraqis. Perhaps I will get answers that contradict my own viewpoint. Nevertheless, I will not cherry-pick the results. I want to honestly know about the quality of life in Iraq from ordinary Iraqis, and I hope they will come away with a better understanding of the goodness of America, and that my graciousness towards them is the norm, not the exception.
I look forward to my Iraqi journey, and I pray that it is a peaceful one for Jews, Christians, Muslims, and everyone else living everywhere from Mainland America to Mesopotamia.
May the blogosphere continue to reach out to good people everywhere.
eric
You might have a look to
Iraqthemodel.com , run by a baghdad doctor that live in Iraq
baghdadee.ipbhost.com , a bilang blogger run by expatriot Iraqis
Two moderate optimistic views but from different prospectives
Good luck
If you want a journey to Iraq, you should visit my blog. I’m an Army wife of a soldier who spent a year in Iraq. He then worked under GEN Petraeus until he took command of MNF-I in Jan. Your assessment of Iraq is correct, particularly when using American history as the backdrop.
Good job! Great article. I’m voting for you over at RCP.
Eric,
Your heart appears to be in the right place. As suggested by one of the commenters here, ITM is a good blog site. I actually found your site from your comment on that site!
I may agree with you that removal of Saddam is morally right, but we will disagree that it was the business of US to do so with a gun! Democracy cannot be infused by foreign occupiers, no matter how noble their intentions. It has never worked anywhere especially not in the ME. I happen to be a student of history, and have spent time in the ME.
Part of the problem is people tend to see issues in the dual world of “good and evil”, and you will agree that the world is a little more complicated and nuanced. But because it is so much comforting for people to understand, they usually accept that characterization. As an example, it is easier for Arab children in the ME to be raised to believe that Jews are “bad” people!
Today such terms like “islamofascism, GWOT, etc have crept into common lexicon!
The problems in Iraq is not just one of poor planning and management of the war, even though that may be true. That assumes that the invasion was warranted. We have to operate from the premise that the invasion was wrong-headed. No matter how you look at it, there is not much good news out of Iraq. You may want to blame the MSM. And we don’t have to recount the litany of mayhem, refugee problems, etc here. I talk to friends in Iraq, Saudi arabia, Kuwait,etc regularly, and you only have to read reports coming out of the Pentagon(forget the MSM).
There is no comparison of Iraq to America’s fight for independence, that would be disingenuous. That will not be taking the 6000 years of the region’s history into account, that will not be taking into acount the last 1400 years especially. One has to wonder why the only country in the region with a functioning democracy is Israel, no matter how imperfect it is-all the others from north africa to the ME are all dictatorships/monarchy. This is a conversation I have had with colleagues from the region. Even other arabs that find themselves as refugees in other arab countries(Lebanon since 1948, Iraqis in Syria and Jordan), are not welcomed! Some friends of mine who grew up in the region have some views that may surprise you.
So where do we go from here? Is it morally right that the US should now leave Iraq after virtually destroying the little that was there? Should we abandon all the internally-displaced people? Should we leave a vacuum for AQ and all the other death gangs to roam freely? etc. Those are the issues that we have to contend with now.
I’d also add that if you really want to engage, you might want to drop the bit about hating “radical Islam”. I suspect you don’t really know what “radical Islam” is (nevermind the rabbit hole that is defining what a terrorist is), and it doesn’t accomplish much to declare that you hate it. Listen some, first. Good luck with your venture.
Hello, this is Alexis from Only-In-America.net; I was visiting your site. I like the idea of finding out from the source about what is really happening over there. I have not believed much I have seen in the news in a long time. I will check back and see if your get any responses from Iraq.
I am going to add you to my blog roll as requested and would like you to do the same if what you have seen at http://www.onlyinamerica.wordpress.com meets your standards.
Have a good day,
Alexis
There are several blogs up and running by Iraqis. Their views are interesting.
BTW, Tag, you’re it, LOL. You have been tagged. Read details Here
Eric, one good Iraqi site that should give you good insight is,
http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/
I believe there are also links to other Iraqi based blogs as well.
Is there anyone that can give me an idea of what the Iraqis sentiment towards the U.S is ? I,m having a debate with a liberal that keeps saying that the Iraqis don’t want us there. I think its just wisful thinking on his part or the push of a purpose driven rumor that liberals will hope catch on one day to the point where everyone thinks its true.
You see heres the deal, I live a couple miles from Kaneohe Marine Base in Hawaii ,
and just about every Marine I ask says that the Iraqis are a warm and hospitable people. And that they want us there so we can clean things up to the point where Iraqis can secure their own country. I’m definatly sure that Iraqis are weary of our presence , but I doubt that they want us to leave before they have a decent armed force. I also believe they know it would be a blood bath if we left now.
Can anyone help to clarify how the Iraqis feel ?
My husband is active duty, been to Iraq for a year and now helps with the Lessons Learned/war doctrine side of the war. I have a contact in Baghdad who works at a very high level who told me and my husband that Imams are VERY eager to talk with American Imams (i.e., chaplains). He went on with this:
“The most eye-opening thing he said was that many Imams are intimidated constantly by ‘bad guys’. If they openly preach in support of CF they are killed. If they preach neutral sermons they are threatened and asked why they do not encourage support for the insurgency, and they are threatened with death if they do not show public support of insurgent groups. The bad guys do this because THEY ARE AFRAID of the influence and power of the Imams and faithful, devout congregations.”
Iraqis themselves are mostly good people (although like the U.S. they have bad apples complicated by a history of violence at the national level) but we have no idea how up against a wall they are in terms of their own security. We hear butt heads like Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid and the rest of the party of losers blame Iraqis over and over again for just not stepping up to the plate. The reality is that we sit in our little A/Ced offices and ponder our thoughts about the war and how unwilling Iraqis are for freedom, some suppose them incapable of it, while in reality they have a gun to their heads if they don’t active speak out AGAINST the U.S.
With that, I’d suggest that a lot of the anti-American rhetoric we hear is a result of Iraqis saying what they need to with a gun to their heads by insurgents and al-Qaeda.
So I believe they like us, want us there until they can stand on their own. This is my understanding from reliable sources on the ground. We also have Iraqi friends who support the mission. They are mostly Catholic priests and bishops, lifelong Iraqis who serve in the Church there.