As Iraq becomes 'old news' it gets harder and harder to find the truth of the consequences of our decisions to invade Iraq. Not all Iraqis feels we did a bad thing. Some think we did a horrible thing. All Iraqis are caught in the storm of violence we unleashed. The answers lie not in more violent responses, but rather in helping the Iraqi people recover what they once had. And that will come from aid in the form of economic help, not more bullets and bombs.
If we took all the money we have spent on the invasion and occupation of Iraq we could have given each Iraqi man, woman, and child some $250,00US. We could have really helped instead of really destroying an entire nation's culture, stability, and hope.
It's not too late to shift from violence to compassionate aid. It's not too late to drastically alter our military plans in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We can use our vast resources of intelligence, creativity, and (even in these hard economic times) wealth for building and not for destroying.
[You can click on the blue links to read the full stories excerpted below.]
GONE WITH THE WIND from McClatchy blog.
Dreams are one way for man to improve his or her life.
The biggest achievements started with dreams. The happiest moment for
us is when our dreams come true.
One of my dreams was to see more than one party in Iraq
and not to hear about people killed for political reasons as Baath
Party used to do for about 35 years.
Before 1979, Iraq was one of the best Arabic countries,
people used to live a very good life. We used to have the best goods,
the best factories and the best services but with the coming of Saddam
to the presidency chair in 1979, everything changed. The man started
his political life with an aimless war with Iran that brought nothing
to Iraq but death and destruction. The war lasted eight years and Iraq
lost about million men. We also missed...
Reported Security incidents: from War News Today March 24, 2009
Baghdad:
#1: Iraqi officials say
a car bombing in a mainly Shiite area of Baghdad has killed at least 14
people and wounded more than two dozen. Police and hospital officials
say the explosives-laden car was parked near a bus terminal surrounded
by shops in the Shaab district when it blew up shortly after noon. The
officials say the 14 dead included four children and three women.
Another official, in the Interior Ministry, gave a slightly different
casualty toll, saying 16 people were killed and 35 wounded.
#2: On Wednesday evening,
an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated on Omar Ibn Abdelaziz
street in Baghdad’s northern area of Adhamiya, wounding four
civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
A roadside bomb
wounded four civilians on Wednesday when it went off near a U.S.
military patrol in Baghdad's northern Adhamiya district, police said.
#3: Another device exploded in al-Qahera neighborhood, northeastern Baghdad, wounding four others,” the source added.
A roadside bomb
wounded five civilians on Wednesday when it exploded near a U.S.
military patrol in Qahira district, northern Baghdad, police said.
#4: A blast
killed two people and wounded four in northern Baghdad's Shaab
district, police said. They did not know the cause of the blast and
said the death toll may rise.
#5: A bomb
attached to the car of Qais Safaa, secretary to justice minister,
seriously wounded him on Wednesday in Haifa Street, central Baghdad,
police said. Another passenger and two passers-by were also wounded in
the blast.
Riyadh:
#1: An Iraqi
army soldier was wounded in an armed attack in the southwest of Kirkuk,
a source from the joint coordination center in Kirkuk said on Thursday.
“Unknown gunmen shot and injured a solider from the 12th division of
the Iraqi army on Thursday morning (Mar. 26) in Riyadh district in the
southwest of Kirkuk while on duty,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news
agency.
Al Rashad:
#1: Three electricity
workers were wounded Thursday in a bomb blast in southwest of Kirkuk,
the local police chief said. “An improvised explosive device went off
near the electricity department’s workers in al-Rashad district,
southwest of Kirkuk, injuring three workers who were rushed to a nearby
hospital for treatment,” Brig. Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq news
agency.
Kirkuk:
#1: Gunmen
attempted to kidnap one of the body guards of the President of the
Criminal Court in Kirkuk, Thursday morning. And during the ensuing hand
fight, people started to gather and the gunmen fled leaving the body
guard, Murad Fikret with superficial injuries.
Mosul:
#1: Gunmen attacked and killed a store owner in his store in Faisaliyah neighbourhood, central Mosul at 11.30 a.m. Thursday.