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Commentary: Letter from Baghdad
By former human shield Rev. Ken Joseph Jr., who initially was against the war, was so shocked at his experiences while in Iraq before the war as one of the few allowed in without government "minders," he changed his mind. EFL:I have been shocked at the difference between the Baghdad I found on my return and all the bad news from the city. Despite the recent bombings, Baghdad looks dramatically different. The stores are full of supplies. The streets are crowded with people and cars. The buses are working and police are on the streets, directing traffic. At night the streets are full of pedestrians, many families with children. I am at a loss to reconcile what we see on the ground with what is being reported. Iâm not. The "regular people" are much better off than they were. Security has improved with Iraqi police everywhere, telephones are starting to work, electricity, while off and on, is relatively stable, the stores are full of food, and, little by little, people are getting jobs back. Pensions have been paid on time. The schools are working and people for the first time have hope and a future. When I was here before the war what was most awful for people was that they had no future — nothing to look forward to. For us who have never experienced that situation, it is difficult to understand, but it is akin to being in prison without the possibility of parole. Those who naysay everything are very interesting. The people are very clear on who they are — they all were connected to Saddam. For the first time in their lives, they are going to have to work; no more handouts. The easy life is over. But the numbers are staggering. People estimate nearly 20 percent or more of the population was in some form on Saddamâs gravy train, some by choice, others by force. And nearly all of the population had been getting free food, tea and sugar. As for the crime, they emptied the prisons so nearly 50,000 hard-nosed criminals are on the streets. Another problem is just as it was before the war — the outsiders. I cannot understand why the United States has not done two basic things: sealing the borders and setting up a TV station. There is no border check so Iraq is becoming the magnet for every one that wants to get a chance to fight with Americans. This is a great puzzle to me. One might think it was part of a plan. What is happening, including the bombings, as far as people who I talked to are concerned, is the work of foreign nuts -- the same people who were the only ones to fight for Saddam at the later part of the war. They are coming from all over the world like they did in Afghanistan to get a chance to fight Americans. And that worked so well for them, didnât it? I always remember how in Jordan everybody loved Saddam, whereas in Iraq everybody hated him. Funny how that works, the left still feels the same way about Stalin. Great guy, as long as you didnât have to live under him. With all due respect, people in Iraq in general hate radical Islam. They are secular. They do not want to see an Islamic state. They do not want to become like Iran. At the same time, money and people from Iran, Saudi Arabia and other places are flooding the country using intimidation to accomplish what they cannot do by any other means. Think car bombs. And average Iraqi is concerned at what seems to be a U.S. position, that is soft on Islam. Gee, and here I thought we were trying to crush islam under the heels of our cowboy boots. Interesting article. Posted by: Steve 2003-09-04 |
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