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Dec 26 2009 News of Iraq - Why tell only part of the truth?

It's question time again. Today the media showed great alarm about the bombing of innocent Shi'ite pilgrims who died from bombs set by ...? Unknown assailants. Some Western media, including the UK's Guardian,  went so far as to label the bombing 'sectarian', although no evidence of the perpetrators has come forth. 

What most of the media failed to let us know about were today's other 10 bomb blasts, 5 of which were in Baghdad. Why would news outlets hide the truth about the other bombs?

I must admit that I am stumped. What comes to mind are rather simplistic answers, none of which really make sense to me, but maybe one will resonate with you...

1) We are so embarrassed by our failure to shape a reasonably safe environment after expending a trillion dollars [and so many, many lives of innocent Iraqis, not to mention the thousands of Americans who died needlessly in this farce of a war] that we cannot speak of the truth of the horrors we unleashed,

or

2) Owners of the media judge that their reading audience is so ashamed of the actions of the U.S. government that they will not buy newspapers that keep telling the sad truth.

Got any other ideas? Add them as comments or send them on to mail@121Contact.org

Peace to you and yours in these waning days of 2009.

Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Also on Saturday, three policemen and two civilians were wounded when a roadside bomb struck a police patrol in Baghdad' southeastern district of Zaafaraniyah, the police said.

#2: An Iraqi police official says a roadside bomb has killed three Shiite pilgrims in eastern Baghdad in the latest round of violence to strike worshippers during a revered Shiite observance. The official says Saturday's bomb was planted near a tent that offered drinks and food to pilgrims. He says 16 people were injured. A medical official confirmed the casualty figures.

#3: A member of the Baghdad local council escaped an assassination attempt when an improvised explosive device that targeted pilgrims in the east of the capital city who were heading for the holy Shiite city of Karbala, the council chief said on Friday. “Sabbar al-Saadi escaped the IED blast in the area of al-Maamil. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and his health condition is stable,” Kamel al-Zaydi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. Meanwhile, a source in Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr’s office in Baghdad said Sheikh Amjad al-Saadi, the office’s relations director, and a driver were wounded in the explosion, adding the local officials were inspecting the Husseini processions that were heading to Karbala, where Shiite Muslims are celebrating the Ashuraa.

#4: Three people were killed and seven others wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) attack targeted a Shiite procession in Baghdad on Friday evening, a security source said.
“The IED left three pilgrims killed and seven others injured in the eastern Baghdad district of al-Rashad, when they were going on foot in a procession heading for Karbala,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#5: Two persons were killed and eight others wounded in an improvised explosive device attack that targeted a procession of Shiite pilgrims heading to the holy city of Karbala to celebrate the Ashuraa. “Two civilians were killed and eight others wounded in the attack that took place near the Baghdad al-Jadida (New Baghdad) area, in the southeastern part of the city,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Abu Ghraib:
#1: Mahmoud Hussein al-Obiedi, a Sunni chieftain, was killed in a bomb explosion outside his house in Baghdad's western suburb of Abu Ghraib, a local police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.


Tuz Khurmato:
#1: Elsewhere, a policeman and four civilians were wounded when an explosive charge hidden in a garbage container detonated near a police checkpoint in the town of Tuz Khurmato, some 90 km east of Tikrit, the capital city of Salahudin province in north of Baghdad, a provincial police source said.


Mosul:
#1: Iraqi forces defused a car bomb that was meant to target security forces in eastern Mosul on Friday, a local security source within the Ninewa Operations Command (NOC) said. “The police managed to dismantle a car bomb that was parked in the area of Bazwaya, on the main street that leads to Bartala district, eastern Mosul city, without incident,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The explosive vehicle was meant to target the security forces heading for Bartala that has recently witnessed disputes between Christians and ethnic Shabaks,” the source added.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: In separate incident, Mallooky al-Jumaily, a police Lieutenant General, was killed in the morning by a bomb explosion in front of his house in the city of Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad, a anonymous source from the city police told Xinhua.

A civilian man was killed on Saturday morning when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near his house in central al-Falluja district, a local police source said. “An IED planted on the roadside in al-Jumhouriya neighborhood, central Falluja, went off right after a civilian man stepped out of his house, killing him instantly,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Dec 23, 2009 Salaam from Baghdad, the city of pain, hope, and magic tales...

Salaam from Baghdad, the city of pain, hope, and magic tales... This message is sent to all of my loved ones, to the people whom I do really love and care about, whether living inside or outside my Iraq, and since you're reading this message then you're surely one of them ! :)... This is to wish you and all of your loved ones a very special Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year Inshallah... I do really hope and pray that the year 2010 will be full of happiness, joy, love, success, peace, and warmth for you and for all of your loved ones, Amen... I also do really hope and pray that you'll always keep me in your thoughts and prayers, I do really need you to stand by my side, this is really a very difficult time period for both me and my Iraq, absolutely nothing seems to be going in the right direction, you put all of your faith and hope in something and all what you get in return is mere disappointment and a broken heart... But I am hanging in there, and trying my very best to keep my hope and faith in a better tomorrow alive, sometimes I succeed in that, other times I fail, but hey, at least I am trying here eh ?! :)... May be all of this fighting and struggle are what make us ordinary Baghdadis what we really are... May be all of this madness, mess, and disappointment are what urge us to move forwards and keep pushing us in the right direction... May be we do need to feel really sad sometimes or most of the time so that when it's time for us to feel happy at last we just cherish every second of it, I really do not know, after all the darkest hour of the day is right before dawn comes around eh ?! :)... What I do really know for sure is that I do really and urgently need all of my good and true friends (and you're surely one of them) to stand by my side and make me feel less alone during this really harsh time... You, my true and good friend, are my consolation... If you're happy then I am happy, so please just be happy OK ?! With my love... Your friend forever, Lubna in Baghdad...

Dec 8 2009 Baghdad erupts in Bombs-a precursor to Afghanistan's future? Dear President Obama

Just as the Iraq's leaders put the final touches on rules to govern the upcoming elections, Baghdad erupted in a spate of bombings which at last rough count have killed over 125 people and wounded over 450 [BBC News]. Mosul and Anbar also reported deaths and maiming from bombings and assassinations.

All indications are that alQaeda is behind the latest violence [BBC News, NYTimes]. Thankfully the Iraqis no longer turn to sectarian revenge for these attacks. They have come to know alQaeda as the enemy, and not each other. Unfortunately the Maliki government seems unable to stop these deadly and disruptive attacks, further weakening both the government's credibility and the general feeling of security that had been growing in recent months. 

While civilian deaths in 2009 are about 1/4 the highest levels of 2006-7, the current rise is disconcerting and destabilizing. The next elections are scheduled for March, 2010 and will require stability if they are to be accepted as valid. 

And now we deepen our engagement in Afghanistan, supporting a repression of the various Taliban groups and their allied alQaeda cells. As we ramp up our efforts we create more recruits for alQaeda by our violence. More and more innocent civilians will die from our weaponry and each will bring more into the fold that hate us deeply enough to join forces with the Taliban and alQaeda. When we pull out they will be on the rise again--no matter how long we stay. That is the sad ugly truth. The Taliban, unlike alQaeda, are native to Afghanistan and so do not inspire the 'resistance mentality' we saw in Anbar as the Awakening Councils took up arms against alQaeda in Iraq. While some tribal leaders have resisted the Taliban, they are few in number and rarely successful in stopping the Taliban from taking over large areas of the country.

Our destruction of Iraq's innocent civilians, their culture, infrastructure, and security should not be replicated in Afghanistan. Our incursion into Iraq has cost us lives, liberty, and a great deal of money. It has also generated more enemies who are against the U.S. and willing to kill innocent Americans while they seek revenge. We have no need to do this again in Afghanistan.

Dear Mr. President,

Please do not use violence to try and alter the political situation in Afghanistan. We can predict the result: more deaths of innocent civilians which generate more enemies of the U.S. who are willing to kill us for revenge. And the dollar cost: about 10 billion US dollars a month!

We should take half the military budget and put it to aiding the Afghans with civilian, infrastructure, and training programs. We can help build schools, hospitals, and roads. Then we can use the other half, about 5 billion US dollars per month, to help Americans into jobs, better health care, and improved education.

We can become a model for peaceful solutions, and not an example of the folly of violence.

In loving kindness,
Bruce Wallace
121Contact.org

June 17 2009 New York Times - as if Harith al-Obaidi was the only news from Iraq.

I got a chance to speak to Attorney General Holder yesterday...about Guantanamo. I was with a group of people who all lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. It was, of course, an emotional meeting. Old pain, fears, and anger flared again as we tried to make sense of what the Guantanamo detainees are treated and how they should be dealt with. many seemed willing to suspend basic morality because they felt, "why should these terrorists have any rights?"

Whatever happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'. Even the Attorney General conceded that among the 250 remaining prisoners there may be some that are totally innocent of crimes against U.S. Trials will have to determine their fate.

We did not talk of the other victims of 9/11: the Iraqi people. It wasn't that kind of meeting.

While Harith al=Obaidi made news in America, the daily terror that assaults Iraqis did not gain a mention. Our soldiers and innocent Iraqis are still being killed each day. The trauma persists, and the widows and orphans created by our intervention into their lives continue to struggle for sustenance.

I guess I fault the Times repeatedly because it's the one paper I read in hard copy, and because when I was younger I thought that it contained all the news I needed. I let it shape my opinions on many things, and I am sure it shapes the opinions of many today. Too bad. There is so much more news out there that is not covered. And so little time to digest it all.

I'm tired now. Got in late last night. But this afternoon I'll get a chance to spend some time with my granddaughter Maxanne, and that will lighten my day.

(Oh, and we got a new bunch of student writers from Iraq. It always feels good when we make these connections between US and Iraqi students. I know it's a small thing, but this one-to-one contact is important to me, and experience has shown it's important to the students, too.)

Y'all have a nice day now,
b

 

Reported Security incidents June 16, 2009:
Baghdad:
#1: Monday Four civilians were injured by a roadside bomb in Karrada neighborhood in downtown Baghdad on Monday afternoon.

#2: A roadside bomb wounded a U.S. soldier on patrol in northeast Baghdad, a U.S. military statement said, adding that one U.S. Humvee vehicle was damaged in the explosion.

[this child was killed on June 6 in an attack by unknowns on Shi'a civilians]
Samawa:
#1: An improvised explosive device (IED) on Tuesday targeted a U.S. convoy in Muthanna province, but no casualties were reported, according to a local security source. “A roadside explosive device detonated at the southern entrance of Samawa city while a U.S. convoy of four vehicles was passing the location,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. No casualties or damage resulted, the source noted. “The U.S. soldiers fired randomly at nearby civilian vehicles, but no casualties were reported,” the source added.

Al Rashad:
#1: Two civilians have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Kirkuk city, a local police chief said on Tuesday. “A group of gunmen kidnapped two civilians near al-Sud village of al-Rashad district (35 km southwest of Kirkuk city),” Brig. Sarhad Qadir told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.The motivations behind the kidnap remain unknown, the official said.

Kirkuk:
#1: One civilian was killed and five were wounded on Monday in a sticky bomb explosion in central Kirkuk, a source from the joint coordination center said. “A bomb stuck to a vehicle went off in front of the Kirkuk province’s building in central Kirkuk, killing a civilian and injuring five,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, giving no more details.

#2: One civilian on Tuesday was killed inside his store in downtown Kirkuk city, according to a local source. “On Tuesday morning, unknown men killed a civilian with a sharp instrument inside his store on al-Jumhouriya St., downtown Kirkuk,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The victim was the only agent for Cork Telecom,” the source noted.

Mosul:
#1: Judge Mohammad Najem, head of Mosul's Criminal Investigation Court, survived with wounds a roadside bomb explosion near his car in northern Mosul on Monday night, the source said. The blast wounded two of Najem's aides who were with him in the car during the attack, the source added.

#2: Two gunmen were arrested Monday while attempting to launch two Katyusha rockets at an Iraqi military base in northern Mosul, a military source said. “A force from the 3rd brigade of the Quick Response Department (QRD) managed on Monday (June 15) to arrest two gunmen in al-Arabi neighborhood in northern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The force seized also the two rockets,” he noted. “The rockets were prepared to be launched at al-Kindi base in northern Mosul, used by the 2nd division of the Iraqi army,” he also said.

#3: A civilian and a woman were wounded Tuesday by U.S. forces random fire in eastern Mosul, a medical source said. “One civilian and a woman were wounded when U.S. forces opened fire randomly in al-Adl neighborhood in eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The two were in a bus when the forces opened fire on them,” he added. “The woman is a Mosul University employee,” he noted.

#4: Four people including a policeman were injured by a roadside bomb in Bab alTob area in downtown Mosul city on Tuesday afternoon.

Tal Afar:
#1: Unknown gunmen on Monday blew up a store in Talafar district in northwest of Mosul, the local police chief said. “Unknown gunmen planted a number of bombs inside a store in al-Muthanna neighborhood in north of Talafar, northwest of Mosul,” Colonel Ali Hadi Ubeid told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A kidnapped cop was killed on Monday in northern Ramadi, a media source said. “Police forces found on Monday night (June 15) a body of a policeman one hour after being kidnapped in front of his house in al-Jarayshi village in northern Ramadi,” Major Raheem Zebn told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

JUNE 8 2009 Iraq Summer and Electricity, and the return of the resistance.

from the McClatchy blog:

Summer season used to be a lovely season in iraq because we used to have electricity for 24 hours a day.  Iraqi families used to gather each afternoon and eat the chilled watermelon. We also used to sleep on the roof of the houses only for one month or less especially in May when the weather is so nice and a little bit cold.  Yesterday night, I decided to return back in time and sleep my current summer nights as my ancestors used to...For the first time since the start of summer, I could sleep for full seven hours without the need to wake up to turn on the small generator of the family.

    Nowadays, many Iraqi families have no choice but to sleep on the roof of their houses because of the useless promises of the ministry of the electricity...they have electricity for less than 10 hours a day.

from Jamail's Mideast Dispatches:

At least 20 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq in May, the most since last September, along with more than 50 wounded. Iraqi casualties are, as usual - and in both categories - at least ten times that number...In early April I wrote a column for this website that illustrated how ongoing Iraqi government and US military attacks against the Sahwa, coupled with broken promises of the Sahwa being incorporated into the government security apparatus or given civilian jobs, would likely lead to an exodus from the Sahwa and a return to the resistance...the slaughter and suffering that is being caused by the US occupation of Iraq... the death and suffering that is causing the Iraqi Resistance to once again form, gain strength, and prepare to resume full operations.

May 17 2009 U.S. Liberates Iraqis: from safety, stability, honor, and ethics.

May 16, 2009

Dear Bruce

I am so sorry for being delayed to write.

love,L

    ((  It is very dangerous to return back for a visit to the homeland.  It took a long time to decide to do such a visit. When you think that you have to think deeply before visiting your own country you feel as if you have been deprived of the most basic of your rights and you are about to be uprooted from the roots and you know well that you didn't commit any crime except you love your land, home and your dear people. Is it fair? I think it's extremely oppressive. Especially when you realized that this situation appeared suddenly after the coming of people who said they came to liberate you.

      Do you know the truth? Yes, I think they liberated the country from  safety, stability, honor and ethics. And they freed people from all the facilities they need in their life.  They made their life so easy - as if they are living in deserts with no electricity, no clean water, and no fuel in the country of fuel . Before they came drugs were not existed at all in all Iraq to the extant that who tried to bring them to Iraq was punished severely by death penalty.

   When we went  to check our Baghdad house they told us that it was burned down, and we heard that the shops of my husband were robbed. They were full of equipments (air-conditioning   equipments). He tried to sell them from abroad but they informed him that the shops were nearly empty.

  What I want  is that,the honest people think or try to feel as we felt, with no house, no furniture, no money,  and loss after loss. Moreover when we decided to go back to visit we knew full well that we were in great danger and carrying our lives with our own hands.

      I took two kids with me R of 7 years and A of 14 years and left the rest here because they are older boys and the possibility of killing them is very real.

    In the border, when we took the exit visa I felt pained as usual for they all in this country never can pronounce my name as it is. But as soon as we arrived;  at the Iraqi border I heard my real name exactly as my parents gave to me, the correct pronunciation with its nice meaning that I have never heard for five years in the country of diaspora. At this moment, truly,  I was full of hatred against America.))

May 15 2009 U.S. in Iraq-Afghanistan: the children pay with their lives

I try really hard to focus on Iraq as America slowly lets the pain of the innocent civilians fade into dusty memory...but once in a while I am struck, really hard, by news from Afghanistan.

We are doing the same thing to the innocent civilians of Afghanistan as we did to those of Iraq. We are killing them, calling the collateral damage, and continuing to call in air strikes against villages, homes, and the people who live in them.

This is from the UK's Independent:

Iraq air raids hit mostly women and children

by Kim Sengupta, Defence correspondent, Thursday, 16 April 2009

[May 15 2009, Baghad]

Air strikes and artillery barrages have taken a heavy toll among the most vulnerable of the Iraqi people, with children and women forming a disproportionate number of the dead.

Analysis carried out for the research group Iraq Body Count (IBC) found that 39 per cent of those killed in air raids by the US-led coalition were children and 46 per cent were women. Fatalities caused by mortars, used by American and Iraqi government forces as well as insurgents, were 42 per cent children and 44 per cent women.[full article here]

39 percent killed are children.

46 percent killed are women.

And we are doing it again in Afghanistan.

And I hear Pete Seeger singing his haunting tune, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, and I weep.

Dear President Obama,
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?
b

May 13 2009 America: why you put islamist iranian occupation in Iraq?

Sometimes I am stunned by the clarity of the words that come out of Iraq. Here is a concise view, held by many Iraqis, that puts the American troop occupation in perspective. It is not the most important factor in this man's life. He is more affected by the rise of Islamists in his previously secular nation.

He knows that the U.S. troops will leave sooner or later. He knows that the imposition of Islamist terror will keep his beloved Iraq from progress. He knows the violence will continue because of the puppet government we installed, and its bent toward violent suppression of dissent.

And yet he is willing to open dialogue between his students and ours. Maybe we haven't driven all the hope out of Baghdad.
b

i saw your blog and i like the idea. I am Iraqi professor, I will give your contact to my students.

i would like to ask americans why they attacked us while iraqi had no role in 11th sept? And the terrorist who blowed themself in innocents in USA and world wide were not Iraqi, most of them were saudi and from egypt and UAE.

why america did not take revenge from saudi and came to take revenge from poor iraqi people?

and they still till now.

another question; after fall of saddam why modern america brought us islamists to govern us and they convert us from modern secular state to islamic stupid state on iranian model. they told us that they will bring us democracy and freedom but they put us in big jail under stupid islamic parties who believe in stupid myths and believe in killing language.

only that is iraq today under 2 occupation one of them is USA military stupid occupation and the other is more dangerous which is islamic iranian occupation.  we may get rid of US army sooner or later but it is very hard to get ride of iranian and islamic parties who threat by killing any one who resist them-because they call him infidel so any one who refuse to cooperate with islamists considered as enemy to god and you know what that is means.

that is the biggest not mentioned problem that america put us in and all americans should know it. we don't need democracy but we need secularism because by secularism most of developed countries get their development.

regards

--
Reported Security incidents, May 12, 2009:

Baghdad:
#1: A mortar round hit the Green Zone at 5 a.m. Monday. No casualties were reported.

Taji:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted the Head of Sahwa in Taji area, northern Baghdad killing him and injuring two civilians who were with him in the car. Some reports said that they were his sons but Iraqi Police did not confirm it.

Diyala Prv:
Khanaqin:
#1: Six Iraqi servicemen on Tuesday were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted their patrol vehicle near Baaquba city, according to a local security source. “Today, an explosive device targeted an Iraqi army infantry patrol in Naft Khana area of Khanaqin district (155 km northeast of Baaquba), wounding six patrolmen,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

A roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi Army foot patrol in the town of Naft Khana 120 km to the northeast of Baquba at 1 p.m. Tuesday injuring six servicemen, three of whom are in a critical condition.

Mandili:
#1: The body of a 13 year old girl who was kidnapped two days ago in the town of Mendili was found by Iraqi Police Tuesday. She had been shot several times. No ransom had been demanded.

Tikrit:
#1: Fires on Tuesday ate U.S. fuel tanker when a roadside bomb targeted a U.S. convoy north of Tikrit city, said a source from Salah al-Din police. “The attack took place on the highway, 5 km north of Tikrit,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The destiny of the tanker’s driver is unknown,” he said.The U.S. forces have not commented yet on this issue.

Kirkuk:
#1: A suicide bomber aboard a small pick-up truck slammed into an Iraqi police patrol in the tense northern city of Kirkuk on Tuesday, killing six people and injuring 14, police said. The attack in the southern district of the oil rich city killed at least three policemen while three policemen were also among the injured, local police major Salam Zangana said.

#2: A car bomb went off on Monday targeting a police vehicle patrol in southern Kirkuk, killing two civilians and injuring eight, the chief of the Kirkuk police said. “A car crammed with explosives, parked near al-Adl mosque in al-Asra neighborhood in southern Kirkuk, went off, killing two civilians and injuring eight, including three policemen,” General Tourhan Abdulrahman told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Mosul:
#1: A former army officer was killed on Monday by unknown gunmen in northeastern Mosul, a security source said. “Unknown gunmen killed a candidate of al-Hadbaa list of the recent local elections when they shot him in al-Muthanna neighborhood in northeastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The victim, Rakan Aziz, a former army brigadier, took part in the recent local elections held last January in he province, but did nit succeed,” he added, noting that he was assassinated while he was leaving al-Arqam mosque on Monday afternoon (May 11).

#2: Gunmen killed a policeman in Suq Al-Maash neighborhood in Mosul while he was in his off-duty.

#3: Gunmen on foot opened fire upon the guards of the Governorate building in Ghazi Street, central Mosul Monday morning killing one guard and injuring another while they were on duty.

May 9 2009 Counting our soldiers who die in Iraq- Spc. Shawn D. Sykes = 4,285

It's been a long time since we paid tribute to the soldiers who die in Iraq. You may already know that I am not a believer in disbanding the U.S. military. I don't believe we can exist without our military, and I don't believe for a minute that our soldiers choose where they will fight and die. These are decisions made by their commanders, and obeyed in acts of sacrifice few of us can come close to understanding.

Over a million Iraqi civilians have died as a direct result of our invasion and occupation of their country.
[This man carries the body of his daughter-Reuters AlertNet]

I think I stopped counting U.S. soldier deaths when the number was only about 3000. Now the number has climbed to 4,285. Both numbers were numbing to me as 121Contact concentrated more and more on the living victims; those innocents who survive and live through the pain and haze of the trauma we instigated.

Spc. Shawn D. Sykes died yesterday. He did not die in a fire fight. He died when a propane tank exploded as he worked in food preparation, cooking for his fellows as he had done since joining our forces in Iraq. A senseless death...among over a million senseless deaths in Iraq.

This often decorated soldier was real.HIs family is real. His mom is real, and she said, “That’s my only son, my first born.”

And the innocent Iraqis who have died? They are real, too. And their moms are real. And we really have to face up to the fact that we have done a horrible thing and continue in our madness as so many continue to die for our mistaken invasion and occupation.

It is time to end our occupation and let the Iraqis sort out their own problems. We have no business there, and there is no reason for our sons and daughters to continue to die for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the lies they used to justify their neocon dogma.

The United States of America has in its recent past been guided not by rational thought, but by polemic, dogma and irational persistance in the face of failure. May Obama's reign bring some sense to our foriegn policies. May he be guided not by theory but by reality-the total reality that takes into account the true consequences of decisions to use violence to solve problems. Inshallah.

[It was just reported that another soldier died today in an accident. That would make it 4,286 needless deaths of those who serve our Commanders in Chief. Enough, damnit! Enough.]

May 7 2009 An Iraqi guy goes into a bar...

So I'm sittin' around with this Iraqi guy last night. Not in a bar but in my living room after I'd just shown him this blog and explained what the 121Contact lecture tour is all about.

"121Contact lectures and gives workshops about the reality of life under the U.S. occupation to American high school and college students as well as religious and community groups. Our focus is not politics, but rather the truth of life under occupation in Baghdad as seen from the eyes of Baghdad students and others directly affected by our occupation. Slide shows, readings from Iraqi students, and material garnered from non-U.S. media sources serves to give the audience a different view of the consequences of our decision to invade and occupy Iraq."

"Yes, this is all good, but do you think you will change any mind? I do not see American mind as being able to be changed."

So I told him of the "teaching opportunity" I had last month when half the college kids in the audience told me they 'knew' that Iraq had attacked the U.S. on 9/11. I explained that they were only about 12 when that happened, and that all they really know is what they learned from the media blitz of anti-Iraqi propaganda that flooded every newspaper, TV and radio station for months. Every day, for months. I told him that America is a big country and that there are still areas where the truth has not penetrated, and that's why we go and talk to people around the country. And there has not been a commensurate media saturation of the truth so that people who live in more isolated parts of the country still believe the old lies.

"121Contact lectures and gives workshops about the reality of life under the U.S. occupation to American high school and college students as well as religious and community groups. Our focus is not politics, but rather the truth of life under occupation in Baghdad as seen from the eyes of Baghdad students and others directly affected by our occupation. Slide shows, readings from Iraqi students, and material garnered from non-U.S. media sources serves to give the audience a different view of the consequences of our decision to invade and occupy Iraq.

"Yes. Yes. I see. I have been here only 6 months, but I think I see that America has no way to understand the truth of Iraq. No way to feel about Iraq. No way to understand the crime to my people. I think I see that America has no moral base, like a place for morals to come from. You are so mixed up as a people. You come from all over. From so many places. Each one is from a different culture. It is so different. I don't know if I can say it in English. We are a different people. Here everyone is ignorant of my country. You know nothing about the Iraqi. Nothing about the Middle East people...how we are of friendship...how we are...

"Please forgive these words. People here do not speak to each other. When I say "Hello" then no one says anything to me. In Koran it says if someone greets you then you must greet them stronger still. I don't feel this here. If someone knocks me in the street then they do not say "Forgive me." There is no talking. People do not walk in your Manhattan. They are running. Without seeing each other. This is rude, I think. I think you don't feel this way. We are very different.

"I don't know if I want my brother to come here with his wife and daughter. I think the children here has no discipline. They grow and when they are 12 they are rulers of the parents. The school is mess. The children do what they want to and no one is punished.There are good things here. But there are bad things here. I don't know if it is right living here.

"I see teen doing things they would not do in Baghdad, or if they do them then someone will tell them to stop. Here no one says anything. And the girls are free to do too many things. It is not right.

"We are too different. I would go home if I would not be kill. When they kill my father and shot my sister...she was interpreter...I have to leave with her. But still I would go home. I think it is not right here. You know they kill them on my door. The outside door...to the street from the garden. Can you imagine this. Before my house. Before my family. They threatened her to leave but she refused. It is her Baghdad, not of the others. And then they came. And then we all left to be here. For safety. But there is something wrong here...

"When people ask me 'Where are you from' and I tell them, 'Iraq' they look like this...they do not know where is Iraq. They are in a war and they forget who we are. What kind of place is this? What kind of a people?"