One of Ours

... the former Iraqi government had created "us" and "them".. Kurds were "them" and Iraqis were "us".. "them" was bad because allegedly, was working with the enemies of "us", Israel, USA, Iran and you name it. So "them" had no rights and was meant to be terminated...

...Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabia, etc. They were showing a video clip about Fallujah and Najaf...A civilian was talking on TV and he was saying "These Kurds are working with the US and they are attacking us... what do they want from us ?" Note the words us and them.. And this was being repeated 1000s to the Arab world.. Now if an ordinary Arab watches this, he will systematically starts hating Kurds...

...Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, a newspaper published by a Saddam Hussein lover, Abdul Bari Atwan, he still calls Osama Bin Laden as "Sheikh" or "Sir". He usually puts a headline "Kurds did blah blah to Arabs"... "Kurds did that to Arabs" ...

All these examples have great impacts on Iraq...Just after publishing these reports, an Iraqi blogger, Raed, published this: "The decreasing possibility of having a Sunni-Shia war increases the possibility of starting an Arab-Kurd one."

He fell to the racism trap.

[...]

...so shall Kurds accuse the whole Arab nation just because the planes which bombed us with chemical weapons were Arabs ?! Shall we generalise the whole Arab nation just because the soldiers who conducted the genocidal Anfal operations were Arabs ?! Shall we start a hatred campaign against Arabs just because we have suffered on the hands of a few Arabs ?!

The answer is no ! We should never generalise ! There are many good Arabs.. But unfortunately, only the bad ones are getting a chance to speak on media.. and these ones are infecting the minds of thousands !

...most of the political AND religious leaders were calling for withdrawal of *all* armed forces and militias from the holy cities. No one called for jihad, and no one blamed the Americans, except for Sadr followers. There were almost no anti-American demonstrations regarding this issue, at least not any significant ones.

If one is to believe the media and the Arab leaders and Muslim clerics, the only conclusions that can be drawn from such a situation, is that there are no Iraqis in Iraq. The only Iraqis who seem to exist and “care about the Iraqi people” live outside Iraq! I can name in this respect, in addition to the above; the western media, the French, German and Russian governments and the “pacifists”. Otherwise why aren’t the Iraqis going out to the streets in hundreds of thousands to protest against their "oppressors"!?

I guess there are only few answers to this question. It’s either that the majority of Iraqis don’t feel there’s such huge violation that needs to be protested against, or that they are more interested in their daily lives; their jobs and the future of their children than whining about buildings that as holy as they are to them, can not match their care about their jobs and children’s future.

[...]

...Still there were political demonstrations, but the largest of these were, one demanding immediate elections and one condemning terrorism!!

...I'm not claiming that most Iraqis love America, although a good percentage certainly do. I'm only suggesting that more Iraqis are becoming day by day, at least, less anti-American and more realistic.

...Besides what could Hizbullah or the Iranian clerics do?! Send more fighters?? They are already doing this and they need no excuse for that!

The only way we can stop that is by continuing the building of democracy in Iraq. Once those outsiders lose any sympathy inside Iraq, and once the neighboring countries feel that it’s impossible to stop the process, they’ll give up and try to find other alternatives that might help them keep their decayed regimes alive, at least for few more years. It’s not that easy, but it’s that simple. This is a battle of wills above all.

My company is fuel transportation. We are the Army Reserve 724th Transportation Company. But in Iraq we have civilian contractors Kellogg Brown and Root. They do all the fuel hauling. So we basically become force protection for convoys. Friday, April 9th, about 7 a.m., my platoon started getting ready for a fuel convoy from LSA Anaconda in Balad to Baghdad International Airport (BIOP). We were running security for 21 civilian fuel trucks. We had 26 in the whole serial. I was in the 21st truck with a civilian, riding shotgun (passenger). I had never ridden with a civilian on a convoy before. The American civilians are non-combatants; they do not carry weapons, so I was the only one in the vehicle with a weapon...

[...]

...Then, the next thing I knew, my LT (lieutenant) - who is in the lead truck - comes on the radio and says, "We are taking rounds - everyone get ready!" then not even a minute later, someone else comes on the radio and says, "The LT’s truck just blew up and I don’t know where to go or what to do!" I looked at my driver and said "Oh sh** it’s about to get bad." Next thing I know, the truck about a hundred meters in front of us blows up right in front of us.

It was unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. We were in the middle of Baghdad on a main highway being attacked; there were buildings all around us, and people in the buildings firing weapons at us. I looked off to the left at a frontage road and I saw nine cars in rows of three. There was a line of women in front of all the cars, and some of them had children with them. I thought they were just watching us get attacked, and then men started popping up behind them firing at us - they were using the women as shields!! It took me a second to realize that. They were standing on the hoods of the cars behind the women and children; it shocked the hell out of me. Then we started getting hit with small arms fire, which sounded like golf balls hitting metal. I started firing back at them but I couldn’t get passed [sic] the women; they were all I could hit, and they started falling down. The [male insurgents] turned around and ran back behind the cars to fire.

[...]

Finally, we saw the overpass we needed to reach. At this time, there were only three other trucks remaining with us. One truck was traveling over the overpass, and two were behind us. The one behind us was about a mile or two back, and there was a Hummer behind it. We went up the onramp to the overpass, but as we were turning left to head towards BIOP, my driver started yelling. I leaned forward and looked out his window. I saw a smoke trail heading toward our truck; it was an RPG (rocket propelled grenade).

The next thing I knew, our truck rolled onto its passenger side...

[...]

...Then I realized the blood on his face was from my foot - when I was kicking him I got shot! I found out later that two of my toes had been shattered. Looking down and seeing the injury, I realized how badly it hurt. But there was so much adrenaline pumping through me that I could still stand. I looked back towards the rear of the truck to see if it was on fire. There was about a six foot hole in the tanker trailer, fuel was spewing out everywhere, and a small fire was building inside the trailer and on the tires.

[...]

I turned and looked towards the front of the truck, down the bridge. But before I turned my head all the way toward the front, something hit me in the chest. It hit so hard it felt like Sammy Sosa hitting me with a bat. It knocked me off of my feet, back into the truck. As I laid there, I looked down and saw a round (bullet) buried in the vest on my chest smoking. It smelled awful. I pulled it out of my vest and it burnt the hell out of my hand. I pulled myself back up and got out of the truck. I looked down the bridge in front of my truck and saw two little kids on the bridge, about a hundred to a hundred-fifty meters away. They both had AK-47s; one kid was about ten years old and the other was about seven. The seven-year old was holding his weapon upside down by the magazine, and the ten-year old was firing three rounds at a time at me. His first round hit the driver's side windshield on the truck - right next to my head. I turned around to grab my gun, and when I did, he shot me two more times in the back; the rounds went through me and into the cab of the truck.

It infuriated me as he kept shooting me. I grabbed my weapon, jumped out, and fired two rounds over their heads; I didn’t want to shoot them - they were just l'il kids. After I fired over their heads, they turned around and ran down the bridge. Then I fell down onto my hands and knees; I couldn’t breathe or move. I had been shot four times!...

[...]

...I reached back, grabbed the truck's passenger window, pulling myself back up onto the truck, then I jumped up onto the hood and lied down. I fired left and right into the city. There were people everywhere with weapons firing at us...I heard a weapon fire really close to us, closer then the others, coming from my right side, which was the driver's side of the truck. I looked over and saw the two little kids that were on the bridge earlier, they were firing at me again. The older one, who had shot me earlier, was firing at the trailer and the semi, and the younger kid was firing two to three rounds at a time directly at me. I fired another round over their heads but they didn’t budge, and apparently they were not about to. Then I aimed at the younger kid's chest and fired the round. It went into his throat and out the other side, and he dropped to the ground dead.

The older kid looked down at him, then up at me, and started laying into it; firing twenty to thirty rounds at a time at me. I rolled over, trying not to get hit, then I aimed at his head and shot, but I missed and it went over his head and hit the wall. Luckily it knocked enough debris down on him to drop him. I knew he wasn’t dead, but he was down on the ground and that was good enough for me...I fired into the buildings wherever I saw anyone. At that time, to me everyone was the enemy except my own.

[...]

...We were still about two to three miles from the gate, and we were under heavy fire. There was no time in this entire attack that we were not under small arms fire, RPG’s, or IED’s (improvised explosive devices).

...We sat there for about ten to fifteen minutes.

Then we heard a loud screaming like a banshee. Three of us stood up and looked out the roof of the Hummer. We saw a Bradley [armored personel carrier] coming towards us, it drove into the city firing at anything that moved, and two more tanks were following behind it. They pulled up on both sides of us, and two armored Hummers pulled up in the front and back. They boxed us in for security...

...Then I got in the back of the Bradley. The soldiers shut the door and it took off. There were five people counting myself in the back of the tank. Three of them were dead.

The tank took us to BIOP to the hospital there. I can’t remember much of what happened there; I was in so much pain. I believe I passed out. I spent two days in BIOP Hospital, then I was sent to Balad for a night in that hospital. The following day, I was sent to Landstahl Regional Medical Center in Germany for a week. After that, I returned to the U.S., to Walter Reed military hospital in D.C., where I spent another week. The doctors there thought it might be best for me to go home and spend time with my family, in order to try and get over what happened. So now I am home until May 25th. I will then go back for surgery. If I heal fast enough, I will get sent back over to Iraq. I hope I do get to go back.

John Kerry is a douchebag, but I'm voting for him anyway...he's not actually a douchebag, or not nearly as much of one as what the media, George W., and even perhaps John Kerry himself have made him out to be. It seemed that every time I saw, heard, or read something about Kerry, his doucheness factor increased. It wasn't until I did just a little research on my own that it became clear that most of these occurrences could be explained by his lies, deception, media excess, or simply poor campaigning strategy. It is beyond vital that we all overlook these minor blemishes and unpleasantries, and unite in electing John Kerry to be the next president of the United States of America.

[...]

...This is why I feel it is important to “clear the air” regarding some of the doucheier things that Kerry has done, been a part of, or been accused of doing. All of them have simple explanations, and in the end, stack up to almost nothing. When compared with his personal accomplishments, track record, and agenda, these instances prove to be nothing more than a spec of dirt on the bottom of his shiny, hopefully-soon-to-be-presidential shoes - when compared with the deeds of George W. Bush, they are naught but the sneeze of a field mouse against the sulfur and brimstone furnace-blast of unholy hell.

[...]

...As I relaxed with a bowl of cold, leftover macaroni and cheese, an interesting clip was shown on my favorite news channel. I was treated to a segment from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, during which John Kerry, clad in leather and denim, rode a Harley Davidson motorcycle onto the set and parked it right in the middle of the stage...My initial reaction, as should be the reaction of any card-carrying member of the Common Sense Club, was “Oh my God. What an ass.”...I don't have anything against motorcycle riders, but it seems that for every one I've met that is insightful, witty, or creative, there are a dozen that are indisputably the biggest dickfaces in the world. I may be wrong, but based on everyone I've ever talked to in my entire life, this seems to be the general consensus (exception: that show on the Discovery channel). It stands to reason that the only people who would be impressed by this stunt are males ages 12-15, and as we all know, this demographic has a poor showing at the polls year after year... he appears to be something of a motorcycle enthusiast, and it's a lot easier for most people to relate to a motorcycle enthusiast than, say, a yacht enthusiast, or a 24-karat-gold-bust-of-John-Denver enthusiast (not to imply that he is either of these). Kerry simply appears to have underestimated how douchey this stunt made him look. It is important to remember that this instance was just that – a stunt. It has little if anything to do with his political agenda, his stances on the issues, and certainly his ability to lead. It can be dismissed as folly without a single further thought...

Dozens of people killed in a U.S. attack in the Iraqi desert Wednesday were attending a high-level meeting of foreign fighters, not a wedding, and photos shown to reporters in Baghdad support that belief, according to the senior coalition military spokesman.

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said six women were among the dead, but there is no evidence any children died in the raid early Wednesday near the Syrian border.

Coalition officials have said that as many as 40 people were killed in the attack.

He said that video showing dead children killed was actually recorded in Ramadi, far from the attack scene.

[...]

"There may have been some kind of celebration," Kimmitt said. "Bad people have celebrations too. Bad people have parties too."

Kimmitt said that troops did not find anything -- such as a wedding tent, gifts, musical instruments, decorations or leftover food -- that would indicate that a wedding had been held.

Most of the men there were of military age, and there were no elders present to indicate a family event, he said.

What was found, he said, indicated the building was used as a waypoint for foreign fighters crossing into Iraq from Syria to battle the coalition.

"The building seemed to be somewhat of a dormitory," Kimmitt said. "You had over 300 sets of bedding gear in it. You had a tremendous number of pre-packaged clothing -- apparently about a hundred sets of pre-packaged clothing; (It is) expected that when foreign fighters come in from other countries, they come to this location, they change their clothes into typical Iraqi clothing sets."

At Saturday's briefing for reporters in Baghdad, Kimmitt showed photos of what he said were binoculars designed for adjusting artillery fire, battery packs suitable for improvised explosive devices, several terrorist training manuals, medical gear, fake ID cards and ID card-making machines, passports and telephone numbers to other countries, including Afghanistan and Sudan.

None of the men killed in the raid carried ID cards or wallets, he said. "We feel that this was an indicator that this was a high risk meeting of high level anti-coalition forces. There was a tremendous number of incriminating pocket litter, a lot of telephone numbers to foreign countries, Afghanistan, Sudan and a number of others."

Kimmitt said while the location was purported to be a sheep ranch, there was no evidence of ranching activities and no livestock.

[...]

"The more that we look at intelligence, more we dig in, more we are persuaded [that there was] no wedding," Kimmitt said.

"We had significant, multiple sources of intelligence" before ordering the raid, he said.

Few years ago we used to follow the meetings of the Arab Cheaters (Leaders) but not now! We don't give it a damn now. It is always the same they gather around the table to yell, curse each other, read what they prepare in their papers from bottom to top or either sides doesn't matter! It is the same scenario. It is a show performance and some time mime and pantomime!

Above all we feel sick of the same faces always. Same presidents, Kings, Oil Sheikhs, and name it and get it! Why the Arab leaders (cheaters) are leaders for life?? WHY?

On the time they gather now in Tunisia there is a new PM swearing in India after a new public election! Why there are no ELECTIONS in the Arab countries?

We are sure one of the main reasons for the production of TERRORISTS there is because of the oppression by the ongoing for life leaders...

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The problem is the Arab people blame the USA and the West for that rottenness system and leaders for life. Ask any Arab and he or she will tell you it is America which appointed these cheaters on us and supported them! It is America which is the cause of our misery! It is America which keeps this government over our necks and heads! If therefore a person slipped in the road because of a Banana skin he will blame America because their leader appointed by the US and they don't put rubbish pins in the roads. This is the view of the majority of Arab ordinary people (90%) or more. This is one of the most major causes why the Arabs hate America. More than that these leaders support the anti-American groups like the fanatics Wahabis to make the people feel that their suffering is not from their cheaters but from the USA and these cheaters indeed are heroes. If you like to become a hero in the ME be Anti-American! If you ask some one from the Gulf why they don't build a factory to manufacture cars; he will tell you because the USA put for us red lines we can't cross them!!!!

We feel sick from the Arabs system and governments! Are their leaders going to become civilised and ask their people to set out electoral system and change power through political civilised ways like India now and not by tanks, or force or death or the son either replace his father after his death or by an upheaval against his father after expelling him to the neighbour country! Bullshit! We don't give them a damn now a day!

Coalition troops and the militia of Moqtada al-Sadr withdrew from the centre of the holy city of Karbala on Saturday, more than a month after the radical Shiite cleric launched an uprising in Iraq, AFP reported.

Ali al-Kazali, a high ranking member of Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia, told AFP: “We have decided to remove all the (Mehdi) army presence from the centre of the city as we are waiting for the agreement with the other side to be finalised this afternoon.”

[...]

A US patrol of Bradley fighting vehicles, one M113 armoured personnel carrier and infantry conducted a three-hour patrol around the outskirts of Karbala’s Old City district before dawn today. An Associated Press reporter who accompanied them reported no shooting.

The soldiers sat cramped inside the Bradley vehicles, night vision goggles strapped to their helmets and weapons at the ready. Then they returned to their base on the outskirts of town.

Many of the worst abuses that have come to light from the Abu Ghraib prison happened on a single November day amid a flare of insurgent violence in Iraq, the deaths of many U.S. soldiers and a breakdown of the American guards’ command structure.

Nov. 8 was the day U.S. guards took most of the infamous photographs: soldiers mugging in front of a pile of naked, hooded Iraqis, prisoners forced to perform or simulate sex acts, a hooded prisoner in a scarecrow-like pose with wires attached to him.

...the new pictures and video published by The Washington Post depicted events on Nov. 8. At least one photo, showing Spc. Charles Graner Jr. with his arm cocked as if to punch a prisoner, is described in military court documents as having been taken that day.

[...]

The abuse came during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and reflection. The abused Iraqis, Sivits said, had been suspected of taking part in a prison riot that day. They were held at Abu Ghraib on suspicion of common crimes, not attacks on U.S. forces...

[...]

The International Red Cross temporarily pulled out of Iraq on Nov. 8 because of the violence, which also had included a deadly car bomb outside the aid group’s Baghdad headquarters on Oct. 27.

Three Iraqi prisoners escaped in the four days before Nov. 8 — and an additional half-dozen detainees escaped on that day, according to the military’s internal report prepared by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba...