A MAP member sent me this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWUQ_N_vHc0
A brief suofftopicry: Veterans against the War (VATW) is a organisation composed of 1,200 members who are opposed to the war against Iraq and are requesting complete withdrawal. It speaks of some of the things that occurred during the war.
First, I would like to start by saying that Iraq would never forget the sacrifice of the servicemen and women who liberated it from the pestilence of Saddam Hussein. These servicemen and women are heroes in Iraq as much as they are in the U.S., and the other countries that participated in the liberation of Iraq. I cannot express my sincerest gratitude, and thankfulness to each and ever one of them.
I posted a thread a while back about myself, but here it is again.
I am an Iraqi who suffered first-handed the damnation of Saddam's regime. My father barely escaped with his life from execution, like the many hundreds of thousands scattered across the globe who spoke against Saddam's atrocities. As a child I was a refugee, running from one country to another until the U.S. accepted my family, and gave us the same opportunities as person born here. that may sound obvious to you, but it was a dream for us, and that is one of the reason I proudly proclaim that I am an American whenever I go abroad.
My mother had both of her siblings, teenagers really, executed just to instill fear in the family. Saddam's tools of torture didn't just go from city to city, but person to person. I can write pages upon pages about his atrocities, genocide, and crimes against humanity, and it still won't be enough. My mother is one of the lucky ones, some families were decimated to the suckling infant just because he/she belong to a particular group of people.
Yet, not all of Iraq suffered. In fact in was the southern half, the Kurdish, and a few other small groups, but the upper northern half remained largely unscathed and even prospered. Those Iraqi people are the ones crying foul because the U.S. and the collation forces ended their ill-gotten prosperity. Iraq is unstable due to these people, and the largely present Baath Party that hasn't been routed out. The worse thing that has happened to Iraq since Saddam is the withdrawal of the U.S. troops.
Now, I understand that I might be looking at this in a one-dimensional perspective, but whatever the reason the U.S. came into Iraq in the first place (I am almost 100% positive the servicemen and women came in with the idea of liberation) it's nothing compare to be gotton rid of Saddam. Without the U.S. and the collation force's effort, Saddam would have been there for many more decades. Iran tried for 8 years to snail across the border of Iraq but couldn't budge an inch. Iraq needed the war to be free of Saddam and that's the truth.
War is ugly, no matter what way or form, but alas sometimes it's a necessary evil. It's a thing that cannot be wholly controlled, and some atrocities are bound to be committed, but believe me when I say this: Iraqi casualties from the U.S. are nothing compare to the terrorists attacks that have decimated the country. I can name you friends who lost their life to a terrorist knife, family members who died because of a suicide bombing, people I knew as a kid who were kidnapped and sent home in pieces, and it keeps on going. Who's responsible? The terrorists who claim to be Muslims, that they are waging a holy war against the invaders, that the only way to get rid of occupation is by using the cowardly act of suicide bombing innocent men, women, and children because GOD DAMN IT THAT'S WHY.
Who protected the Iraqis from those sick-minded scum? Who? The U.S. and the collation forces.
Iraq right now, in all of its turmoil, is a piece of paradise compare to Saddam's regime, and more importantly there is genuine hope for a better tomorrow; something that did not exist during that bastard's time.
I know that Saddam came to power with the help from the U.S. in the 1980s, and that the U.S. supplied him with certain weapons that possibly played a role in the Kurdish genocide, but at least we corrected that mistake. U.S. politics change over time, and the Iraq war was a step towards a bright future for the Iraqis and the Middle East.
It was my dearest hopes to have been old enough to liberate my country. It would have been a dream, a badge of honor, and if I had died it would have been for a worthwhile cause. I cannot express my gratitude to the servicemen and women who sacrificed so much, and when I went to Iraq in 2008 people treated me with such respect just because I am an American, and I proudly let them know that every chance I got.
Iraq suffered tremendously under Saddam for decades, and it's going to take a few more years for Iraq to stabilize. The U.S. troop withdrawal extended the time, perhaps by a decade or so, but I am an optimist and I hope for the best.
Thanks for reading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWUQ_N_vHc0
A brief suofftopicry: Veterans against the War (VATW) is a organisation composed of 1,200 members who are opposed to the war against Iraq and are requesting complete withdrawal. It speaks of some of the things that occurred during the war.
First, I would like to start by saying that Iraq would never forget the sacrifice of the servicemen and women who liberated it from the pestilence of Saddam Hussein. These servicemen and women are heroes in Iraq as much as they are in the U.S., and the other countries that participated in the liberation of Iraq. I cannot express my sincerest gratitude, and thankfulness to each and ever one of them.
I posted a thread a while back about myself, but here it is again.
I am an Iraqi who suffered first-handed the damnation of Saddam's regime. My father barely escaped with his life from execution, like the many hundreds of thousands scattered across the globe who spoke against Saddam's atrocities. As a child I was a refugee, running from one country to another until the U.S. accepted my family, and gave us the same opportunities as person born here. that may sound obvious to you, but it was a dream for us, and that is one of the reason I proudly proclaim that I am an American whenever I go abroad.
My mother had both of her siblings, teenagers really, executed just to instill fear in the family. Saddam's tools of torture didn't just go from city to city, but person to person. I can write pages upon pages about his atrocities, genocide, and crimes against humanity, and it still won't be enough. My mother is one of the lucky ones, some families were decimated to the suckling infant just because he/she belong to a particular group of people.
Yet, not all of Iraq suffered. In fact in was the southern half, the Kurdish, and a few other small groups, but the upper northern half remained largely unscathed and even prospered. Those Iraqi people are the ones crying foul because the U.S. and the collation forces ended their ill-gotten prosperity. Iraq is unstable due to these people, and the largely present Baath Party that hasn't been routed out. The worse thing that has happened to Iraq since Saddam is the withdrawal of the U.S. troops.
Now, I understand that I might be looking at this in a one-dimensional perspective, but whatever the reason the U.S. came into Iraq in the first place (I am almost 100% positive the servicemen and women came in with the idea of liberation) it's nothing compare to be gotton rid of Saddam. Without the U.S. and the collation force's effort, Saddam would have been there for many more decades. Iran tried for 8 years to snail across the border of Iraq but couldn't budge an inch. Iraq needed the war to be free of Saddam and that's the truth.
War is ugly, no matter what way or form, but alas sometimes it's a necessary evil. It's a thing that cannot be wholly controlled, and some atrocities are bound to be committed, but believe me when I say this: Iraqi casualties from the U.S. are nothing compare to the terrorists attacks that have decimated the country. I can name you friends who lost their life to a terrorist knife, family members who died because of a suicide bombing, people I knew as a kid who were kidnapped and sent home in pieces, and it keeps on going. Who's responsible? The terrorists who claim to be Muslims, that they are waging a holy war against the invaders, that the only way to get rid of occupation is by using the cowardly act of suicide bombing innocent men, women, and children because GOD DAMN IT THAT'S WHY.
Who protected the Iraqis from those sick-minded scum? Who? The U.S. and the collation forces.
Iraq right now, in all of its turmoil, is a piece of paradise compare to Saddam's regime, and more importantly there is genuine hope for a better tomorrow; something that did not exist during that bastard's time.
I know that Saddam came to power with the help from the U.S. in the 1980s, and that the U.S. supplied him with certain weapons that possibly played a role in the Kurdish genocide, but at least we corrected that mistake. U.S. politics change over time, and the Iraq war was a step towards a bright future for the Iraqis and the Middle East.
It was my dearest hopes to have been old enough to liberate my country. It would have been a dream, a badge of honor, and if I had died it would have been for a worthwhile cause. I cannot express my gratitude to the servicemen and women who sacrificed so much, and when I went to Iraq in 2008 people treated me with such respect just because I am an American, and I proudly let them know that every chance I got.
Iraq suffered tremendously under Saddam for decades, and it's going to take a few more years for Iraq to stabilize. The U.S. troop withdrawal extended the time, perhaps by a decade or so, but I am an optimist and I hope for the best.
Thanks for reading.