April 19, 2006
Still Strong Iraqi Spirits
This morning I read an article titled “Two teachers killed in front of students” A subsequent article changed the claim to a school security guard and a teacher being killed; but the most recent news is that both the local Iraqi police and U.S. forces investigated, but neither could find any evidence that such killings had taken place at all:
The Iraqi government said militants killed two people at elementary schools in a mainly Shiite district of Baghdad on Wednesday, but police in the neighborhood denied any attack occurred.
U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson also said American military teams went to both schools and found no evidence that any violent incident had taken place at either. It was unclear why the ministry released the statement.
How fleet of foot is rumor, especially when the tall tale is music to the ears of the antique media: horrific violence in Iraq! Bush a miserable failure! Video at eleven!
Then I read this tragic news from Iraq the Model: their brother-in-law was assassinated.
The victim was a doctor who received a degree in a foreign country, then came back after Hussein’s regime fell. He could easily have stayed on safe foreign soil, making a comfortable living with his wife and two children. Instead, he came back to help rebuild his country; he worked at a clinic for poor people who otherwise cannot afford medical care.
Since I started reading Iraq the Model, I cannot help feel like we're friends, even a large extended family. I feel great empathy towards the brothers, Mohammed and Omar; through their blog and others like it (including the blog of their other brother, Ali, which I couldn't get to today), I started to think of the Iraqi people as our brothers and sisters.
They are no longer just strangers in a strange and far-away land. So when something like this happens, it hurts me personally, almost as if I actually knew him.
He was not affiliated with any political party or movement and spent all his time working at the hospital or studying at home and he was dreaming of building a medical center for his specialty to serve the poor who cannot afford going to expensive private clinics.
We didn't know or anticipate that cruel times were waiting for a chance to assassinate the dream and kill the future.
These victims of terrorism -- doctors and schoolteachers (if not the fictional schoolteachers of the Ministry's announcement, there are plenty of others who were real) -- had nothing to do with politics. They were killed for no reason, just for doing something good for the Iraqi people.
Terrorists cannot allow Iraqis to have a stable society; they worship only death, chaos, and destruction. We cannot afford to lose people like Mohammed, Omar, Ali, and their brother in law. Iraq security forces must protect the citizens of Iraq... and for that, we need a stable government immediately, like yesterday!
A good news is that the Iraqi people are strong. Certainly our friends Mohammed and Omar are not giving up; they will continue to fight for Iraq's future.
The terrorists and criminals are targeting all elements of life and they target anyone who wants to do something good for this country…They think by assassinating one of us they could deter us from going forward but will never succeed, they can delay us for years but we will never go back and abandon our dream.
We have vowed to follow the steps of our true martyrs and we will raise the new generation to continue the march, these children of today are the hope and the future.
Unfortunately we cannot say the same thing about Iraqi politicinas. Acting Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari obstinately refuses to step aside, and the gridlock continues. There is something very peculiar about his obsession; Jaafari must know he can never be confirmed, even if every Shia voted for him (which they will not all do). So why is he so adamant in his refusal to withdraw his name?
We believe it has something to do with the future plans of Jaafari's boss, renegade cleric Muqtada Sadr, who controls the largest private militia in Iraq, the Mahdi. For some reason, Sadr seems terrified of somebody else gaining control of the government... including the Ministry of the Interior, which controls the police and prosecutors.
We can all draw our own conclusions... but there is still that untried murder charge hanging over Sadr's head. If the Iraqis wanted him out of the way, and if someone other than Sadr's sock puppet controlled the criminal-justice system, wouldn't that be a convenient way to do it?
The brothers refuse to arm themselves, but I hope they change their mind. There is no shame in protecting their lives with a little help from Colonel Colt. Even so, may God protect our friends in Iraq.
Hatched by Sachi on this day, April 19, 2006, at the time of 6:51 PM
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My heart goes out to Iraq the Model, whose brother-in-law was killed by a team of assassins. He has written a defiant, emotional post on the topic Kill us, but you won't enslave us. I believe Patrick Henry would recognize... [Read More]
Tracked on September 15, 2007 3:04 PM
Comments
The following hissed in response by: Binder
Well, I think these apparently false news reports rather supports Terry Pratchett's claim that "a lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on." (from "The Truth," definitley one of the better Discworld novels, but all of them are good).
Even so, however, it's disappointing. You're doubtless onto something about al-Jaafari's refusal to throw in the towel, although I seem to recall some speculation that Sadr has connections to Iran? In which case, given that nation's recent actions, perhaps al-Jaafari and Sadr are hoping for some more overt support from that side.
The above hissed in response by: Binder ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://biglizards.net/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
at April 19, 2006 8:15 PM
The following hissed in response by: American Patrol
>>Terrorists cannot allow Iraqis to have a stable society; they worship only death, chaos, and destruction.
Amen! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Those who attempt to assign logic to terrorism do so in error.
The sun shines on a dog’s ass every once in a while, which means they actually hit a target that “make sense” and may have an impact on furthering their cause. But this is the rare exception. An exception that the “drive by media, ala Rush Limbaugh”, globs onto.
>>A good news is that the Iraqi people are strong.
Yea no kidding. Iraq the model said it best that life sucks now and it sucked during Saddam. But this time they have hope.
The above hissed in response by: American Patrol at April 19, 2006 10:02 PM
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