September 11 was a tragedy. Not because 3,000 Americans died but because 3,000 humans died. I was reading about the recorded telephone conversations of victims and their families on September 11. I thought it was awful, and perfectly timed. Just when people are starting to question the results and incentives behind this occupation, they are immediately bombarded with reminders of September 11. Never mind Iraq had nothing to do with it.
It was timed to the second anniversary. but you, of course, are implying it is done to somehow increase support for the action in Iraq. Well, I guess you are used to government controlled media and don’t understand how freedom works!

I get emails constantly reminding me of the tragedy of September 11 and telling me how the Arabs brought all of this upon themselves. Never mind it was originally blamed on Afghanistan (who, for your information, arent Arabs).
Too bad you are so misinformed! The September 11 hijackers were, in fact, Arabs, who were being sheltered and supported by the tyrannical non-Arab government of Afghanistan. Who do YOU think did 9-11? And this is not a war against all Arabs, it is a war against terrorists and rogue governments (like Saddam’s) who shelter them or may arm them with weapons of mass destruction.

I am constantly reminded of the 3,000 Americans who died that day and asked to put behind me the 8,000 worthless Iraqis we lost to missiles, tanks and guns.
Perhaps you don’t realize that there is a significant difference between intentionally killing civilians, and the accidental deaths that occur when fighting a vicious regime like you Iraqis lived under (although none of you seem to take any responsibility for it). Perhaps you don’t realize that for the scale of this war, the civilian casualty number was amazingly low, or that Americans and British took extra risks and spent huge amounts of money specifically to minimize civilian casualties. Nobody is happy about the deaths of Iraqi civilians, and those who ask you to forget them are fools. But you need to gain some perspective!

People marvel that were not out in the streets, decking the monstrous, khaki tanks with roses and jasmine. They wonder why we dont crown the hard, ugly helmets of the troops with wreaths of laurel. They question why we mourn our dead instead of gratefully offering them as sacrifices to the Gods of Democracy and Liberty. They wonder why were bitter.
We don’t need the roses. However, one does wonder why in this entire screed you do not once refer to the evil government that we displaced. We didn’t do it for you, we did it to protect ourselves, but you still benefit!

But, I *havent* forgotten

I remember February 13, 1991. I remember the missiles dropped on Al-Amriyah shelter- a civilian bomb shelter in a populated, residential area in Baghdad. Bombs so sophisticated, that the first one drilled through to the heart of the shelter and the second one exploded inside. The shelter was full of women and children- boys over the age of 15 werent allowed. I remember watching images of horrified people clinging to the fence circling the shelter, crying, screaming, begging to know what had happened to a daughter, a mother, a son, a family that had been seeking protection within the shelters walls.
I remember seeing families of civilians in Israel, intentionally blown to pieces by terrorists that your government funded. I remember little children who will live the rest of their lives with bits of nails in their bodies from those bombs. I remember those who bled to death because of the rat poison (warfarin) included in the bombs. I remember that Saddam paid rewards to the families of these terrorists whenever they successfully killed civilians, many of whom were Americans in Israel. But I guess, to you, the only innocent are Iraqis.

...

I remember the day the Pentagon, after making various excuses, claimed it had been a mistake.
And I suppose you think that the Pentagon intentionally killed hundreds of civilians? I’d like to hear the logic behind that! Of course it was a mistake, because it had no benefit whatsoever to the US - quite the opposite. Perhaps you should be asking why Saddam’s army had a command bunker in the same shelter as a civilian shelter? Could it be that he wanted your people to be killed for the propaganda value? Nah... he wouldn’t do anything like that! You save all of your criticism for the Pentagon, without a shred of logic to support it.

I remember 13 years of sanctions, backed firmly by the US and UK, in the name of WMD nobody ever found. Sanctions so rigid, we had basic necessities, like medicine, on waiting lists for months and months, before they were refused. I remember chemicals like chlorine, necessary for water purification, being scrutinized and delayed at the expense of millions of people.
No WMD’s? I remember the Anthrax (not totally accounted for). I remember the botulin toxin, the aflatoxin, and all the other biological weapons banned by internationial law. I remember the mustard gas, chlorine gas and nerve gas, which your country used to kill thousands of its own citizens and more Iranians, whom your flawless country had attacked without provocation. I remember the huge nuclear weapons program, with its supply of yellowcake, its huge calutrons, its vast facilities. I remember the radiological dispersion device ("dirty bomb") that your country TESTED (again in violation of international law)

I remember having to ask aid workers, and visiting activists, to please bring a book because publishing companies refused to sell scientific books and journals to Iraq. I remember having to share books with other students in college, in an attempt to make the most of the limited resources.
I remember UN Inspectors being lied to at every turn. I remember them being blocked in their activities. I remember that your government successfully concealed its biological weapons program through four years of inspections until one of Saddam’s relatives revealed the details. I remember your country expelling the UN inspectors, knowing that to do so would continue the sanctions. I remember that suitable inspections, which only took a few months in South Africa, would have resulted in the lifting of the sanctions. Can you explain why your country would not allow such inspections?

I remember wasted, little bodies in huge hospital beds- dying of hunger and of disease; diseases that could easily be treated with medications that were forbidden. I remember parents with drawn faces peering anxiously into doctors eyes, searching for a miracle.
I remember your leader, whom you have failed to blame for anything, building over 40 opulent palaces during this time. I remember that medications were not forbidden, but not affordable because Saddam kept the money for himself and his cronies, and intentionally allowed children to die for the propaganda value. It obviously worked in your case. Didn’t you notice all the construction of the palaces while you were there? How could you miss it? How often were you a guest?

I remember the depleted uranium. How many have heard of depleted uranium? Those are household words to Iraqi people. The depleted uranium weapons used in 1991 (and possibly this time too) have resulted in a damaged environment and an astronomical rise in the cancer rate in Iraq. I remember seeing babies born with a single eye, 3 legs or no face- a result of DU poisoning.
I know that depleted uranium is no risk. I know that there are many studies that have been done to show that. I know that babies are born all the time with deformities, and there is no scientific way to establish any particular cause, especially DU. You can check here for details on DU’s lack of health risk, or here for other scientific information on radiation - something you clearly need to learn!

I remember dozens of dead in the no fly zones, bombed by British and American planes claiming to protect the north and south of Iraq. I remember the mother, living on the outskirts of Mosul, who lost her husband and 5 kids when an American plane bombed the father and his sons in the middle of a field of peaceful, grazing sheep.
Obviously, we declared the no fly zone so that we could bomb shepherds at will. It’s one of our favorite things. We have no better use for our money than to buy expensive weapons so our fighter pilots can bomb whatever innocents they can find!

What are we to make of this? Do you think that Americans bomb families just for fun? Could it have been an accident? Could you have been lied to by your previous regime? I remember the Kurds who are very happy because those aircraft protected them from Saddam, who had previously been slaughtering and gassing them.

And we are to believe that this is all being done for the sake of the people.
No, the battle of Iraq was to protect the world from Iraq’s dangerous regime, its weapons of mass destruction, and its support of terrorism, a regime which the people of Iraq did not remove themselves. We are glad that you now have the freedom to express your thoughts as a result of our effort, but we didn’t send out people to die to save your sorry rear end! The war (of which Iraq is just a part) is an attempt to protect the world against terrorism magnified by weapons of mass destruction.

A friend of E.s, who lives in Amiriyah, was telling us about an American soldier he had been talking to in the area. Es friend pointed to the shelter and told him of the atrocity committed in 1991. The soldier turned with the words, Dont blame me- I was only 9! And I was only 11.

American long-term memory is exclusive to American traumas. The rest of the world should simply put the past behind, move forward, be pragmatic and get over it.
Those of us who were a bit older were horrified and saddened by the attack on the shelter, although we remember the difference between an atrocity (as practiced frequently by your leader) and accidents, which are an inevitable part of war. Keep in mind that many of our casualties in that war were inflicted on our own forces by our own forces. War is difficult, something you clearly do not understand.

Someone asked me whether it was true that the Iraqi people were dancing in the streets of Baghdad when the World Trade Center fell. Of course its not true. I was watching the tv screen in disbelief- looking at the reactions of the horrified people. I wasnt dancing because the terrified faces on the screen, could have been the same faces in front of the Amiriyah shelter on February 13 its strange how horror obliterates ethnic differences- all faces look the same when they are witnessing the death of loved ones.
Maybe Iraqis didn’t dance in the street. I don’t know. I do remember that Arabs danced in the street in a number of countries.