One of Ours

One year ago, the name Ali Sistani was forbidden in Iraqi newspapers. Today, a whisper from the grand ayatollah's house sends Western journalists scrambling, their Iraqi stringers ordered into action..English-speaking Iraqis cringe at the simplistic generalizations we see on Western television. The Sistani you see and the Sistani we see are, in many ways, two different people...
...Sistani has always been a peaceful spiritual figure...

...it would be a mistake to assume that all Iraqis — let alone all Shia — support the grand ayatollah, or see democracy as simplistically as he does. I represent a mixed Sunni-Shia area in Baghdad. My constituents understand that fair elections are impossible without safety and security...

... I'd guess that most of the crowds for hire, paid by some Shia political parties to rally around Sistani's beck and call, are also aware that elections are impossible at this juncture...

... I do not deny Sistani's religious importance; there is no doubt that religiously, the Shia are better organized. But such organization does not necessarily translate into a powerful voting block. Iraq has the most educated population of any Arab country: Iraqi Shia doctors, dentists, and engineers may be respectful to Sistani because of his age and learning, but would laugh at the idea that they should take political advice from a man who was born in Iran and hasn't been out of his house in decades...We also resent the implication — from so-called experts in the U.S. State Department and British Foreign Office — that the only "legitimate" Shia are those wearing turbans, just as we resent the view that "legitimate" Sunnis are those who set off bombs and explosives...

...Sunnis question the assumption that the Shia are the majority in Iraq. The Shia sparsely populate the south, while the Sunnis live in concentrated clusters...

...The United States has made many mistakes in Iraq, but they have given us freedom of speech. This frightens the Iranian mullahs, who fear that Sistani will muck around in Iranian politics, just as he now does in Iraq. The irony is that Sistani may even have a greater following in his home country, Iran, than in Iraq. These Iranian agents — from the Qods Force, Revolutionary Guards, and Iranian intelligence service — seek to muzzle Sistani, just as the Iranian regime has muzzled Grand Ayatollah Montazeri and dissident voices from Qom...

...By kowtowing to his beck and call, the Americans have bolstered Sistani's prestige. Sistani has tasted power and likes it. He will use his bully pulpit to voice Iraq's frustration. It would be a mistake, however, for America to overestimate Sistani: He is a barometer, nothing more. To treat Sistani with anything more than polite respect will only antagonize the vast majority of Iraqis — Sunnis and Shia alike — upon whom the new Iraq will be built.

Yes you read that right, because as it happens mosquitos (or fleas or bugs or whatever) now play a huge part of my daily life. I'm blogging from lovely Basrah again and the heat is 30 degrees...

...The creeks have also been clogged lately by smuggled crude oil which is spilled during loading to the various vessels in the many ports on Shatt Al-Arab. The oil is shamelessly being smuggled under the eyes and noses of the Iraqi police and British forces in the area. Each morning we witness endless lines of tanker trucks parked on the road to the Abu Floos port waiting for their turn to enter the port. On several occasions Basrah IP have claimed they are investigating and intercepting smugglers but practically nothing is being done. Months ago some large operations were carried out by Brits to put an end to it, but none lately according to the people over here.

Frankly, the above task continued to be done by the united states not by the UN, cause the united states of America has the power and courage to change things, she entered the war and liberated a country with his people who were waiting for someone to help them for 35 years..

So, for those who don’t agree with the war on Iraq I want to tell them if we depended on the UN and other countries who refused the war decision we would still live under Saddam with his thugs for the rest of our lives!

God bless Iraq, USA, UK and all those who helped in liberating us.

After the horrific March 2 bombing that killed 170 at Shi'a shrines in Baghdad and Karbala, one Iraqi had an answer for those in the West who wonder if such tactics can work. His words speak to the horror of the events in Spain last week and in Baghdad on Wednesday. His name is Ali and his Web log said this about the terrorists and their allies: "They are spitting in the face of the wind."
One of the interesting developments in post-Saddam Iraq is the appearance of amateur Web sites, where Iraqis are taking advantage of modern technology to give voice to their newfound freedom...

...Today, Iraqis who are fighting and dying for the "New Iraq" are numerically the largest member of the Coalition. While they are not as well-trained or equipped as American forces, they have many advantages because they know the country and the language. They're the "home team" and enjoy tremendous popular support - to the terrorists' frustration. It is altogether appropriate that Iraqis should fight to defend their country, and it is heartening that they continue to volunteer in large numbers despite the enemy's attempts to frighten them...

...Ali, the Iraqi blogger, put such attacks into a larger perspective: "Some people still wonder what would be the relation between the liberation of Iraq and [the] war on terrorism. I think that the fact that nearly all the terrorists are gathered on our land to fight so fiercely should be more than enough explanation." He added: "We are...showing [other Arabs] what they can achieve once they are free...I see these evil powers show their true and ugly face and play their last card - surer than ever that we are winning."

...Those soldiers are changing history in a way that will make America and the world safer. Our soldiers are making it possible for people to build free and stable governments that will join the fight against terrorism - and our children and grandchildren will be safer for it. Someday, Iraq will be one of these free and prospering nations. As Ali put it so well: "It's just a matter of time."

The war profiteers like Chalabi and his associates in the Pentagon must be kicked out. Otherwise, we are in serious trouble.

I have just listened to President Bush’s speech on CNN. I just couldn’t leave the keyboard without saying something. Because the warmth of the Presidents’ words of friendship and commitment to our people really did make my eyes moisten. Not even the openly hostile report by the CNN reporter could spoil the feeling.

God will be on the side of good men, and it is clear for this middle-aged man who the good men are.
Hail dear El Bush. Thanks to you and all the Coalition men and women. Long may live our alliance and friendship. Victory by the Grace and Help of Allah is assured.

...The results of the poll with I have posted are interesting:
On "Coalition should leave now"
Sunni: yes=29%, Shia: yes=12%, Kurds: yes=2%
Compare with these results:
On question of "Are attacks on Coalition forces acceptable?"
Sunni: acceptable=36% unacceptable=57%
Shia: acceptable=12% unacceptable=85%
Kurds: acceptable=2% unacceptable=96%

The percentages for the Shia and Kurds are exactly the same for both questions, which is consistent. However it is the position of the Sunnis that is interesting: 36% think that attacks on Coalition forces are acceptable (still a minority, but a sizable one), only 29% however think that the Coalition should leave immediately. A friend has noticed this difference and speculates that perhaps this 7% like the target practice!

Should the Coalition leave now:..the overall percentage is about 15% of the population. This means that 85% percent of the population supports the continued mission of the Coalition...Despite of all our sacrifices, and life of terror and discomfiture, this is the true sentiment of the people in mathematical form.
...American and Allied friends of the Iraqi people, take note and don’t be deceived by the hysterical propaganda of our common enemies.

...things in care packages that would make our life extremely cool, external speakers, power converters [220V @ 50Hz], electronic gear that can run at different voltages, dvd movies, games, books, drink mixes, beef jerky always goes well, flashlights, homebaked goods that will survive the trip, the PX out here isn't too bad but there's still big holes in the inventory...

President Aleksander Kwasniewski told President Bush today that Polish troops would stay in Iraq "as long as needed, plus one day longer,"...

...because of what he said was progress in bringing stability to Iraq, Polish troops might be able to begin withdrawing near the start of 2005, earlier than the mid-2005 date previously estimated.

Here's a question worth asking: whatever John Kerry's record, could he afford in office to be weak on terror? Wouldn't he be obliged to continue Bush's policies in Iraq and Afghanistan and even, as he has already promised, actually increase troop levels in those countries? I don't think it's out of the question. John McCain knows Kerry and says he doesn't believe he'd be "weak on defense." Sometimes, a Democrat has to be tougher than a Republican in this area - if only to credentialize himself. I can certainly conceive of Richard Holbrooke being a tougher secretary of state than Colin Powell. I'm not yet convinced and want to hear much more from Kerry. But I'm persuadable. Four more years of religious-right social policy and Nixonian fiscal policy is not something I really want to support.

...Europeans, remembering centuries of experience in stomping out separatists, anarchists and fanatics, will now go their own way, without guidance from Paul Wolfowitz. French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, looking like two cats who shared a canary, held a joint press conference in Paris on Tuesday touting their own approach to fighting terrorism; there they offered words of welcome to incoming Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, inducting him into their non-American -- maybe anti-American -- alliance..Western Europeans have concluded that stirring hornets nests in faraway places is not the way to keep from being stung...

...the most serious consequence of appeasement-accusing is the assumption that goes with it: That counterterrorism strategy and conventional war strategy are one and the same...

...Those who doubt the master plan must be silenced with charges of "dishonor" and, of course, the A-word -- "appeasement."..
...Bush's war in Iraq was bad strategy, if the enemy is al-Qaida. And the search for a better strategy isn't cowardice, appeasement or surrender. Maybe Bush-bamboozled Americans will figure that out when bin Laden is finally nailed and nothing changes.

...Every time Bush lies, it forces Kerry to set the record straight, taking him off message and wasting a news cycle in the process. The last few days have shown the tactic works better than the truth...

...A unified, on-message Democratic Party would have seized the opportunity to show America how they'd lead differently. But just in time for the anniversary of the Iraq invasion -- a critical moment for Americans to hear from their leaders -- and as his conservative critics go to town, Kerry is having downtime on the slopes in Idaho. Everyone needs a break, and no one knows that better than our vacationer-in-chief George W. Bush, but maybe this isn't the time...

...A year ago, blogs were still pretty much an underground fad...In the last year blog readership has grown from 4 percent to 11 percent of U.S. Internet users, or 33 million people...

...In the April Vanity Fair, writer James Wolcott burbles that blogs are "the best thing to hit journalism since the rise of the political pamphlet."

The Columbia School of Journalism now tracks political blogs on a blog of its own...Columbia's Project for Excellence in Journalism noted that a "strong movement" toward personally owned blogs is part of an "epochal transformation" in the news business - a change comparable to the invention of the telegraph or television.

...Bin Laden captured dead or alive will have no visible impact on terrorist actions around the world. He will simply step out of mythology into martyrdom.

...Spain has changed al-Qaida’s calculus. Islamists around the world can see major and lasting political and strategic results for their cause. What the Soviet Union failed to achieve during 45 years of Cold War, al-Qaida did in three days — a key European ally was detached from an alliance built by an American president.
The Bush administration rejects any correlation between the grinding, sub-human poverty of large parts of the developing world and transnational terrorism. Its answer to Islamist extremism is a geostrategic vision of a democratized Middle East...

Borchgrave’s answer [i.e. a new Marshall Plan for the Middle East] is impractical. Anything remotely similar to that plan would be hotly resisted as Western imperialism. Any serious program of economic revitalization is necessarily one of modernization which is, by definition, a violation of every tenet of the Islamist creed.

The U.S. Army is setting records for getting new recruits to join up, and getting people already in to re-enlist. But there are serious problems with some key personnel who are being attracted to higher paying, and less dangerous, jobs in the civilian world. Special Forces troops, helicopter pilots, linguists and computer specialists are among the key people who are being recruited heavily by civilian firms. Offers of higher pay, less dangerous working conditions, and less time overseas, are proving attractive.

The army is considering extra pay, especially for overseas service, plus additional civilian education and higher rank to keep Special Forces troops in uniform...It would require Congressional action to allow the army to add hundreds, or thousands, of new Warrant Officer positions for senior Special Forces troops. This move would increase the pay of senior Special Forces operators by about a third. Other bonuses could increase the bump to 50 or 100 percent. SOCOM commanders will have to calculate how much they can afford to pay. But given the fact that a Special Forces operator with twenty years service has cost the army several million dollars in pay and training expenses, and two decades of effort, there is an incentive to do a whole lot to hang onto these guys...

...Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Thursday he did not believe Democratic candidate John Kerry, a friend and Senate colleague, was weak on defense or would compromise national security if elected president...
...Asked on NBC’s “Today” if he thought Kerry was weak on defense, McCain said: “No, I do not believe that he is, quote, weak on defense. He’s responsible for his voting record, as we are all responsible for our records, and he’ll have to explain it. But, no, I do not believe that he is necessarily weak on defense. I don’t agree with him on some issues, clearly. But I decry this negativism that’s going on on both sides. The American people don’t need it.”
McCain and Kerry, both decorated Navy veterans of the Vietnam War, have worked together on veterans issues in the Senate...McCain said last week he would consider an offer from Kerry to be his running mate...

SADDAM WILL RETURN! And written underneath: THROUGH MY ASS!
DEATH TO ALL DIRTY BAATHISTS, THE TYRANTS!
LONG LIVE BUSH THE BELIEVER, THE HONEST, THE HONORED, AND DOWN WITH SADDAM, THE INFIDEL, THE ATHEIST, THE UNBELIEVER!
HIS COMING WAS A DISASTER, HIS STAYING WAS A DISASTER, AND HIS LEAVING IS A DISASTER
WE ARE BELIEVING MUSLIMS WITHOUT SECTARIANISM; WE ARE IRAQI PATRIOTS WITHOUT FANATICISM
WOE FOR THE WINE SELLERS AND THE VENDORS OF NUDISM AND LIBERTINISM
SHAME AND DISGRACE TO THE AGENTS AND TRAITORS WHO SOLD THEIR IRAQ CHEAPLY WITH THEIR OWN HONOR TO THE AMERICANS AND THE BRITISH AND THE ZIONISTS

This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel describes a young Nebraska farmer who joins the Army during World War I.