I understand what Ahmad is saying

Submitted by Brett (United States), Dec 16, 2007 at 22:41

To better understand what Ahmad is getting at - imagine living under a dictator. Upon rising to power as head of the secret police (mukhabarat) the head of the resistance (moqowma) is actually an agent for the dictator. He kills his opposition, dries up the marshes to displace the marsh Arabs and forces the migration of some 1.2 million people. Later, he wages war for control of iol fields in Iran which costs another million or so lives. He practices using blister agents like chlorine musters and organophosphates like saren b gas on his population of Kormanji folks to the north. He then tries to invade a smaller country (Kuwait) to steal their oil fields - presumably to hold energy leverage on the west. (after all, OPEC did decide to put production caps on exports; Saudi Arabia was the first to break from this, followed by Kuwait) The US got involved personally and thus began over a decade of sanctions.

After decades of executions, torture, war, displacement, sanctions, and yes, starvation - our President, G.H.W. Bush, advised "the Iraqi People should overthrow Saddam Hussein". 25,000 people joined that cause - while we had troops there on the ground. When they committed to battle - we turned our backs on them.

I don't expect the Iraqi people to trust us ever again... why should they? But if they can forgive and learn to trust us again... we cannot desert them again. It is only fitting that if they bleed, we should bleed with them. For the sake of US integrity, and for the sake of righteousness... Some people think that that is worth fighting for, and possibly dying for.

Many hundreds of thousands of Arabs work with Coalition Forces to bring stability to Iraq - and we can't do it without them. While we get to return to fortifications every day - they have to go to dangerous areas.

I solumnly salute the brave Muslims who can forgive and help to fight against terrorism.

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