A good season.

The date palm remains as one of the most important symbols of Iraq and a tree that is very dear to her people, one that fed them for thousands of years till it became holy in many aspects and there’s an Iraqi saying that goes “a house with a date palm will never starve” and there’s a date palm in almost every house in Iraq except in the far north.
We were the 1st country in the world when it comes to the number of date palms and their quality, as Iraq had more than 30 million date palm in the 70s of the past century. Those orchards of palms maybe the most beautiful scene one can see in Iraq and there are almost 400 types of these palms many of which are considered the best in the world.
The date palm starts to conceive after 5-10 years of planting it and this depends on the type of the tree and the nature of the soil and it can carry 5-12 clusters. A good tree can carry up to 100kg of dates. The dates start to mature in the middle of July and can be reaped totally near the end of September.
The date is considered as a fruit and food and you can get many products from it such as vinegar, arak (the most famous local alcoholic drink in Iraq) and date honey (dibis) and the leaves of the palm has always been used in building cottages and furniture in the urban areas of Iraq.
Generally there’s a strong bond between Iraqis and date palms and there’s a saying that is believed to be one of Mohammed the prophet sayings that mention the date palm as being created from what was left of the ashes that Adam was created from, and the date palm was mentioned several times in the Koran.
Like most of living souls in Iraq, the palm was not spared from Saddam’s destructive nature, and as a result of the successive wars and the erasing of palm orchards by Saddam in the areas he believed was against him or was used by his opponents Iraq is left with only half of the original number of palms.
Today there’s a large campaign to bring Iraq back to its special position regarding the date palms and there’s also a plan prepared by the ministry of agriculture to plant thousands of these trees that are considered a beautiful Iraqi icon. The current season promises good outcome and we all hope that one day, the Iraqi desert will be full of this Iraqi symbol.

By Mohammed.

Iraqi army takes initiative.

Last Wednesday I was at the hospital just as any other day. It was an ordinary morning and everything seemed quite except for 2 American helicopters that was patrolling above us. There was nothing abnormal in that but I noticed that they were flying at an altitude lower than usual sometimes maneuvering in between the buildings of the medical center just at the eastern bank of the tigris.

I didn’t expect anything serious as it’s been a while since we heard serious fighting at these hours of the day. Even the gun shots that we could hear frequently at night has considerably decreased in their frequency lately. However you could hear several explosions everyday without any particular timing.

Suddenly and out of no where fire was opened heavily on the other side of the river just in front of our eyes and we saw people running in every direction trying to take shelter. It was unfamiliar at this time of the day but I thought it won’t take long before it gets quite again, but as minutes passed the gun fire kept being heard and grew lauder and was followed by sounds of several mortar shells and RPGs exploding everywhere.

From the sounds I heard I thought that it was a confrontation between terrorist and IP or Iraqi army since the only heavy fire you could hear was that of mortars and RPGs. The strange thing was that it took this long, as after nearly an hour the fighting was still going on and getting more fierce. One of these bombs, and I guess it was a mortar shell, even crossed the river to land about a hundred meter away from our hospital causing the whole building to shake strongly.

All these events made me and the others wonder what was going on. it can’t be a terrorist attack because these thugs usually cut and run whether they faced resistance or not. They come after a certain target and after blowing it up they flee away fearing the response.
Why are they still fighting?
Where is the American support?
Could it be that these terrorists are trapped?
Why are they so confused to shoot in this random way?

My father happened to be at the area where the fighting ensued and he told me later that as he was driving in Haifa Street, a man armed with an AK47 jumped into the street and started shooting into the air! My father rushed back with his car from where he came but he found the entrance blocked with units of the Iraqi National Guard and he barely got away from that place.

After more than an hour of what seemed to be a fierce fighting, 2 American helicopters came in and kept flying above that area but they didn’t open fire. I remember hearing heavy machine guns only once and I think it was American. Few minutes later it was quite again with sporadic shooting every few minutes. I kept thinking about this and it didn’t make sense to me at the beginning as it didn’t simulate any other fighting I saw or heard in the past few weeks. I asked my friends about what they thought and whether they heard anything about it but no one had an explanation to what happened.

The only thing that I thought was logical is that it was a trap or a very well planned attack but I couldn’t tell who was trapped and who was the trapper but I favored the possibility of the Iraqi army attacking the Ba’athists and terrorists who took shelters in Haifa Street’s building although I had a difficulty in imagining that the Iraqi army was already strong enough to take the initiative instead of keep defending its places.

A friend of mine who his relative work in the Iraqi army told me later that it was indeed a trap carried by units of the Iraqi National Guard against the terrorists in that area and that dozens of those thugs were killed and others were arrested. I didn’t really take that to be the exact truth since I didn’t hear or see anything in the local or foreign news to support this story and I’ve seen so many “eyewitnesses” on Al Jazeera and other channels tell stories that only a fool can buy and that appeared to be just lies or exaggerations.

It appeared that my guess and what my friend told me was right as yesterday it was announced that it was a very well planned attack carried by the Iraqi national Guard and resulted in killing and capturing several terrorists. Here’s Al Sabah story:

In an operation to attack dens of terrorism in Baghdad, a platoon of the Iraqi National Guard has carried out a successful operation Wednesday against groups of Saddam's remnants and a number of Al- Zarqawi followers who were gathered in four buildings in the said street. That operation comes as a practical indication to transfer the initiative of the attack to the hand of the National Guard." An accurate intelligence information reported a group of Saddam's men and Al- Zarqawi followers were crowded in four buildings in Haifa street " Mr. Hazim Sh'lan the minister of defense elaborated, adding that the operation started in installing search points in front of these buildings for instigating the hostile elements who thought they could control the battalion of the national guard. Clarifying the details of the operation, the minister said that the battalion was able to be sheltered and specify the hostile fire sources further for cordoning the four buildings in pure Iraqi efforts, saying that the multi –national forces took the role of the monitor by the helicopters. Fighting were occurred from floor to another, from flat to another, about 19 terrorists killed and nine others arrested. Meanwhile one member of the National Guard was killed and 12 others wounded. Among the prisoners and dead were a number of Arab infiltrators.

-By Ali.

Splitting the resistance.

When a group of armed men wearing masks appeared on TV threatening Zarqawi, many people considered it a good development. Some thought that “Iraqis are moving”, others thought that GWB plan of “turn them against themselves” was working. “The resistance” was splitting, they thought and considered it a hopeful sign.

I, however, couldn’t share their optimism and I have many reasons to be so skeptic about this group and its likes, but let’s 1st ask ourselves some questions:

Who are those people and why are they hiding their faces?
What exactly they want and why moving now when Zarqawi’s crimes were so obvious for a long time?
Are they really serious in their threats?

Let me start with saying that I totally reject the idea of civilian Iraqis taking arms to fight militias and terrorists, as this will create a great confusion and will lead to the emergence of new militias that we have to deal with in the future starting almost from where we began, only with huge sacrifices. We have stopped trusting people who ware masks a long time ago, as we should! Why would a man hide his face while he’s doing the right thing and in his own homeland?? Are they afraid of Zarqawi? Or are they afraid of the authorities?

We have a long experience with people wearing masks starting with Saddam’s Fedaáeen and I can tell you without much doubt that these people are not who they pretend to be. They are not ordinary Iraqis and most likely they’re either part of Sadr militias or other similar groups.

But why would such groups do this and what would they gain?!
Anyone who follow the Iraqi issue should notice that the term “resistance” is losing its legitimacy and support among Iraqis day by day. Soon after the liberation, some Iraqis looked at the IP and the new Iraqi army as “collaborating with the invaders”. It wasn’t far when members of the new Iraqi army were wearing masks to hide their faces fearing that they maybe recognized and then they would face serious threats, this is not the case anymore.

Iraqis can no longer sympathize in any way with those who kill Iraqi children and destroy Iraqi infra structure and make their lives harder and harder, thus came new terms for old groups such as “real resistance” and “legitimate resistance”. These people are seeking recognition as the real resistance. They’re saying “killing children and destroying infrastructure is Zarqawi’s followers doing while we are real resistance; we only resist the occupation and we'll do it peacfully” It won’t matter what they actually do since we cannot find who committed this terrorist act and who did that. These people can never, and more important, will never fight Zarqawi.

Another goal is to tell the world that the coalition and the Iraqi government have failed to provide security and that they can succeeded where the coalition have. How can we ever accept such a statement!? I don’t want the "security" brought to me by thugs, as this is a pure delusion. It’s like the "security" we had under Saddam’s regime.

Moreover if you examine the speech made by this group you’ll find a serious threat to people who give him shelter. Do you have any idea whom they’re referring to? They mean Arab Sunni in general and people of Ramadi and Fallujah in particular. It’s true that those who shelter Zarqawi are most likely Arab Sunni but we don’t generalize this while they will, as it serves their masters’ agenda. It’s enough to just try and imagine what would it mean if a Sheát group started attacking some Arab Sunnis claiming they’re sheltering Zarqawi to reconsider whether this is as promising as it may seem.

By splitting these groups or accepting this as a fact we are giving one of them the legitimacy they desperately seek. These armed groups are all the same, they all pursue the same goal; preventing democracy in Iraq and we should deal with them as one. Splitting the so called resistance might be a good thing for America if this was a war on Islam or on Iraqis, but we must remember-as we may forget-that this is a war against terrorism and thus must be, among other goals, a war for Iraqis and for Muslims.

By Ali.

We almost thought we were hallucinating!

After the authority handover at June 28, Ali wrote a post about that event and included a description about Paul Bremer’s farewell speech to the Iraqis. We were surprised that it wasn’t covered by the major media and moreover the Los Angeles times even went as far as saying that Mr. Bremer “ left without even giving a final speech to the country — almost as if he were afraid to look in the eye the people he had ruled for more than a year”.

A day after that Mohammed wrote another post in which he included some of what Bremer said in that speech. Still there was no mention in the media to that speech and some readers started to question- and they have every right to-whether we were not telling the exact truth, as how could it be possible that such a story is not only ignored by all the major media but also some of them reported the opposite in the front page and refused to change their statement!?

However few people like Tim Blair and Roger l. Simon had more trust in us than the major media and linked to our story. Then Patterico took it upon them to focus on this issue and it was also linked by Instapundit and dozens of other websites. Of course we were not the only site that reported this story as others did, but I guess we were the 1st and we had more details about it.

We received dozens of mails asking for the script of that speech and we searched everywhere in the internet to try to find a trace for that speech but all was in vain. We tried to get Bremer’s mail and many readers offered their help but we couldn’t find his address. We were very embarrassed as we failed to provide another story that back up ours.

One of our American readers sent a mail to his local newspaper telling the editor about our story but she said she couldn’t get to our website and she can’t print anything without our permission. I sent a mail giving her the address and the exact link to the posts in question and asked her to publish it, but she didn’t respond!

Finally and after more than a week, the Los Angeles Times corrected their statement about the story. Maybe they received many mails and letters driving their attention to the “mistake” they’ve committed. It could be true that this was an unintended mistake but it would be a very strange one.

It seems that some people in the major media still think they’re the only ones who have eyes and ears and cameras and that ordinary people cannot have access to the information except from the major media outlets. They underestimated the prevalence and the effect of the internet in connecting people to each other and making the readers in direct contact with real eyewitnesses at the scene of events. I hope this will serve to make them more careful in the future on what to report, or make sure that they report from a place in which there are no bloggers. Here is the L. A. Times correction.
Thanks to all the bloggers who helped to reveal the truth this time, and thank God for the Internet.

Iran; an enemy or a potential ally?

An Iraqi military check point that is situated at the western bank of Shat El Arab north to the city of Faw at the Iraqi-Iranian border named Shehan was subjected to Iranian fire on Friday. The same thing happened to some Iraqi army patrols between Gazeel and Hadida north to Basra.

Colonel Dhafir Sabah Al Timemi mentioned that this was the 4th time the Iranians have opened fire on Shehan check point during the last week in addition to several other aggressions along the line from the north of Basra down to Al Shalamja.

Colonel Timemi said also that Iraqi border guards have captured 83 Iranians who were trying to cross Iraqi-Iranian borders illegally. He said that these Iranians were detained in Al Shalamcha border check point, interrogated and then were handed over to the Iranian side.

The Colonel who’s the Iraqi border guards chief in Basra said that the Iraqi side showed discipline and did not respond to the Iranian aggression in the same manner. He mentioned that he was under pressure from the British forces in Basra to respond similarly but he refused saying that this was a “purely Iraqi-Iranian issue” and that there’s no place for any interference from the coalition forces operating in Iraq.
Al Sabah.

Hmmm...I think Colonel Timemi’s intentions are good and he probably did the right thing by practicing self discipline, but I seriously doubt that it was purely his decision (and it shouldn’t be). Besides, his statements are in my opinion, are incorrect regarding considering this a purely Iraqi-Iranian issue and also the role of the coalition forces in Iraq, as they still have the major responsibility in Iraq and they will be questioned and blamed for any serious security problem.

Anyway, I think this issue is very serious and it shows clearly that Iranian authorities attitude is a clearly aggressive one and they don’t seem to be keen on at least keeping their efforts to hinder the progress in Iraq a secret. They seem to be very frightened (and they should be) by the democratic changes in Iraq that they have lost their caution and are not considering how dangerous it is what they’re doing.

The Iranian regime (not only the Mullahs)is of course nothing like Saddam’s regime. They’re much more sane and they have a considerable degree of approval among their citizens. They have some sort of democracy, they have a relatively more freedom compared to Saddam’s regime and most of the Arab regimes, the opposition act openly in Iran (some of them at least) and there’s sharing of authorities to a good extent between the major (only?) Two parties.

All the above mentioned factors make Iran and despite her opposition to the USA, all the lack of clarity that surrounds her nuclear program and her lack of complete cooperation with the UN in this issue a totally different story than Saddam’s regime, as there’s absolutely no place for large military operations here and if it is to be done, it’ll be a total failure.

These facts seem to have encouraged the Iranian authorities to go on with their aggressive attitude against new Iraq whether directly like what was happening lately or indirectly by allowing terrorists to cross their borders into Iraq, not to forget the support and instructions they offer to their puppet Sadr through the evil Iraqi cleric "Al Ha’airi" who lives in Iran. This particular Mullah has been the source of many “Fatwas” that were printed and posted everywhere in Iraq and that encouraged violence against not only the coalition but also the Iraqi Arab Sunni in an attempt to start a civil war. It is refreshing though that they have ‘picked’ this idiot ( Sadr ) as their man, as there is no one who could possibly make all their efforts go in vain other than this retard.

The situation in Iran is a very complicated one and it’s not an easy thing to decide which force (conservatives or reformists) have the major role in forming Iran’s policy towards Iraq and on what they agree or disagree on.
There were real democratic changes and reforms that have taken place since 1988 but the theocratic nature of this regime makes it extremely difficult for the reformists to go much further and there is a serious need for some serious changes to make this happen, and in my opinion this can be made without the use of military force, at least not in a large scale. I have great hope in the Iranian people to fight for their rights and achieve the necessary changes and all that is needed from the free world is to give them the support they need.

The reason I’m talking in length here about the Iranian internal affairs rather than dealing with this event as an Iraqi-Iranian conflict is that I think freedom and democracy in both Iraq and Iran are not only very important but also very closely related. Instead of focusing entirely on how to deal with the Iranian threats (which is important of course) we should try to sort out Iranian political powers, decide who are our potential allies and seek ways to support them. By this we can ensure a better future for both countries, although we may have to endure sacrifices in the present and near future.

Of course securing Iraqi-Iranian borders is a vital issue for controlling security and promoting democracy in Iraq and this can include very restricted military actions that show the Iranians that these aggressions cannot passed unpunished and it’s not easy to decide who should carry these and respond to Iranians intimidations.

To sum it up I think the Iranian Mullahs are outraged and thus are confused and making series of mistakes and they’re wright in that America cannot ‘invade’ Iran but they’re misjudging her ability to support Iranian freedom lovers and the pressure she can put on to minimize the role of the conservative Mullahs on decision making.

How to take advantage of these mistakes is a matter of strategy and the tactical points should not weigh against the ultimate goal of democratizing the Islamic world. One just have to imagine how wonderful it would be to have strong allied democracies in Iraq and Iran and the enormous effect this will have on the entire Muslim and Arab world. I know it’s a dream now but I do think it can come true.

-By Ali.

Rock, Paper, Saddam.

I think you'll like this. I did.

On security.

-The security forces in Sulaimaniya aborted a suicide attack on " Al Sulaimaniya Palace" hotel when the attacker drove his car fast into the front of the hotel but the hotel guards were faster than him and opened their fire towards the car which resulted in failure of the attack and the death of the terrorist.
Radio Sawa.

-In Diyala, another terrorist attack was carried by a Syrean suicide bomber who tried to break through the The barricade in front of the ICDC headquarters in Ba’aquba. The ICDC guards opened fire on the attacking car which resulted in the car exploding outside the headhunters. The attacker and a civilian Iraqi were killed in the explosion.

-The explosives experts in the IP managed to disarmed two bombs in Baghdad; one near the railway in Al Dawoody and the other near the Brazilian embassy in Al Mansour.

-Iraqi Police in Kut, 170 km southern of Baghdad, have discovered large quantities of underground stored weapons in a farm near the city. The police arrested a man working as farmer in the farm. As-Sabah reporter says that police and civil defense men loaded a couple of trucks full of weapons ammunition of former Iraqi army left in the said farm.
Al Sabah.

It seems that Iraqi security forces are fighting back harder day by day and soon Iraq will not be that open field for the terrorists.

Anti-war actress changes her mind after visiting Iraq. Via Tim Bliar.

Iraqis write an open letter to the American people. ( from The Iraq-America Freedom Alliance). Via Instapundit.

The Questing Cat has a wonderful post in which he compares the attitude of some Iraqis with that of one of his close friends. I nearly missed this one, you shouldn't.

On Saddam's trial.

To provide the readers with some view of the responses of Iraqis and Arabs to the trial of Saddam, I’ve translated some of the opinions posted by Iraqis and arabs in the Arabic forum of the BBCArabic website.

There were 129 posts at the time I’ve I started translating these comments. 57 of those came from Iraq and the rest came mainly from Egypt, Jordan, the gulf states and other Arab countries. 6 Iraqis out of the 57 were against the trial while the rest expressed great joy and happiness in response to this event.
Among the rest 72 comments that came from Arab citizens, there were 37 posters who opposed the trial for one reason or another while the rest shared the majority of Iraqis their happiness and optimism about this trial. Most of the Arab posters supporting the trial were from the Gulf state, while most of those who opposed it came from Egypt, Jordan and Palestine. Here are some of these comments that I’ve selected:



-Handing over Saddam and his assistants is a positive step and a definite proof that the Americans consider spreading and supporting justice in Iraq as a priority.
Ali Dia’a Al Deen-Baghdad/Iraq.

-If we are to claim arab and Muslim brotherhood, then at least we should not accept the murder of our brothers. I don’t know how can anyone defend a man like Saddam when he killed hundreds of thousands of your brothers in Iraq, Iran and Kuwait.
A fellow Iraqi once said to me, “if Saddam had treated us in the same manner Sharon treats Palestinians, we would’ve sacrificed our lives to defend him!” If the arab nations see Saddam as a hero then I’m not an Arab anymore and congratulations for your remaining “heros” (God bless them!).
Mohammed Mohsin-Iraqi in Dubai.


-We wish, by God we wish! We count hours and minutes to see justice done. Everyone here wants to take revenge by his own hands. Yet, let justice take its course.
Mohammed Al Badri-Nassiriya/iraq.

-This trial will show that Saddam is a hero that will be remembered by history and it’s enough to see that it was broadcasted without the sound.
Mohammed Al Salami-Egypt.

-Let the those who judge Saddam take his place, and if the world want to judge someone let us start with America and Israel.
Khudir Al Dagdad-Amman/Jordan.

-Thank God for this trial and for humiliating Saddam just as he humiliated Iraq and almost destroyed her entirely if it wasn’t for the US led coalition. We (Iraqis not Egyptians or Palestinians) demand his execution and we thank the Americans for saving us from his tyranny.
Gazwan-Syrea.

-Congratulation mother, the day you’ve always prayed for has come. Rest in peace father, now I see with my own eyes what you sacrificed your life for. Thank God Almighty, and all the gratitude to the man; GWB who made this possible and humiliated the Pharaoh of the present time.
Ahmed-Australia.


-The Americans are the ones who will judge Saddam behind the curtains therefore anyone who calls for Saddam to be judged is a Zionist-American. We in Palestine call for his release.
Al Salih Rami- Al Quds/Palestine.

-To Mr. Al Salih Rami: putting Saddam into a trial is part of Iraq’s freedom and independence, the freedom that you don’t have, and By the way; where can we find this Palestine you’re talking about?
Arif-Iraq.

-Congratulations for our people. The tyrant’s hour has came. As for Arabs; congratulations for your slavery and your submission to your tyrants.
Shakir Al Ajili-Babylon/Iraq.

-Saddam and his assistants are valuable national treasure. They should be put in the zoo and anyone who wants to watch has to pay 10$ to the Iraqi treasury. Maybe it’ll compensate for some of the losses and the damages they’ve done.
Ali Al Hussaini-Iraqi in Iran.

-Let the open trail for Saddam be a lesson for all those who don’t know the meaning of freedom in the ME. Here are Iraqis starting a new era. Iraq will be the first and the rest will follow.
Kasim Al Haj Ali-Sweden.

-May you rest in peace, victims of the mass graves and chemical weapons, Kuwaiti and Iranian youths. It’s the justice hour.
The Iraqi government is capable of handling Saddam’s trial, as for the protection, Iraqi armed forces can provide it and there is no harm in getting help from the American army. We’ll send the good news to all Saddam lovers and we will show them how we handle justice and we will not forget to thank the Americans; they are who saved us from him, arrested him and handed him to us and they are the ones who keep their promises. We wish that Al Zargawi and his gang get arrested and face justice soon.
Mohammed Al Khafaji-Babylon.

-I say, congratulation for the Iraqis, as America is proving that she is keeping her promises opposite to what some Arabs and fundamentalists claim. She promised to topple Saddam and she did, she promised to hand over the authority and she did and she promised to hand over Saddam and she did. She promised to help us have free elections and this will happen by God’s will. As for some of the arabs who weep upon Saddam, they need urgent psychotherapy. I wish some of these people come to Iraq (not in a car loaded with explosives) and voice their opinion here in public.
Mohammed-Baghdad

From the frontpagemag.com

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

So sorry for being late in this but Omar and Mohammed aren’t here yet and I had a duty at the hospital yesterday and I have just came now and the 1st thing I want to say is:
Happy 4th of July!
God bless America.
God bless American soldiers wherever they’re.

Happy 228 independence anniversary. This is a happy anniversary not only for Americans but for all the freedom loving people, as this day announced the birth of a great nation that served good and fought evil since that day and rescued humanity several times and prevented evil powers from controlling the world.

We all should be grateful for America; Yes they make mistakes but who doesn’t. We should be grateful for Americans because they saved the world from Nazism, totalitarian communists and we, Iraqis have more reasons to be grateful and to love Americans. They have saved us from one of the worst dictatorships ever, gave us freedom and are helping us so generously as we march towards democracy and as we try to build a prosperous stable and developed Iraq.

And here’s America volunteers again to save the world from one of the most fanatic, evil and dangerous power that wants not only to control the world but also don’t hesitate to declare that their ultimate goal is to destroy civilization targeting it where it stands best, in the USA. We should all stand by America in this war and opposing her for the sake of narrow interests or even standing aside and watching is not only a disgraceful attitude but also one that carries very dangerous possibilities.

Go America Go! And we are with you all the way.

Happy 4th of July my brothers and sisters and I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

-Ali.

A very deep analysis.

I was sitting watching a program on one of the Arab channels; the program was talking about the latest wave of terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia. The host asked "what do you think is behind the increased frequency of attacks recently in the KSA?" addressing an Arab "political expert", the "expert" replied saying "Iraqi is occupied, you know and her borders are wide open for terrorists to move in and out freely".

The host looked surprised by this answer and tried to tell the "expert" that the attacks were carried out by fighters from Al-Qaeda and KSA is the original home land for this terrorist organization but the expert said once again "The Americans are now ruling Iraq and they drew the terrorists attention to the region". The host started here to look intolerant and said "But these were not the first attacks to happen, KSA was the field of a lot of violence since the 90's".

Maybe you won't believe me if I told you that our "expert's" reply was "Yes, but the Americans are occupiers and the borders are left widely open".

The host said with apparent distress "Sir, but every single human being knows that Iraq is the victim of terrorism and fighters from all over the world are coming to fight in Iraq and they cross the borders from Syria, KSA, and Iran to get INTO Iraq, not out of it".

"See!, this is the point; the borders are open and terrorists can move freely and this is why terrorist attacks increased in KSA" replied the "expert"………………!!!.

This conversation may look funny, but it's actually not that funny because, it really happened.

I've just found this poster and I like it so much that I can't help but posting it. (Caution rough language ahead)

The Devil's Advocate.

One of my fellow iraqi citizens has wrote an article about Saddam’s trial and sent it to me, and I see it worth publishing and I thought it will help readers to have more knowledge about how Iraqis think and feel regarding this trial. If you have any comments, please send them to the original writer’s e-mail.

The Devil's Advocate.

Facing the newly formed Iraqi court today, Saddam Hussein defiantly questioned the authority of the tribunal. Gazing at his surroundings, he sarcastically smiled, calling the set up a mere "theater". Promptly, numerous articles, many written by human rights activists and journalists, have come to signal the difficulties the Iraqi authorities will face in the process of prosecuting Saddam. Stories of missing evidence, unclear chains of command and invalid court legitimacy have come to surface, thus undermining the success of an effective trial.

Saddam, still claiming to be President of Iraq, held that he was immune to the jurisdiction of the court and refused to sign any document without the presence of an attorney. Participating in a bloody coup and ruthlessly rising to rule the ba’athist party are few of the many ingredients Saddam used to cook his so called legitimate presidency, and yet, the man who once shot his minister of health while presiding a meeting speaks of legal immunity.

The theater Saddam claimed to be standing in was also criticized for being a puppetry of stooges, with nothing but hand picked judges. How undemocratic one would say, forgetting that some of the world's leading judicial systems still handpick their Supreme Court judges. Furthermore, Saddam's legal defense team, which ironically does not include a single Iraqi lawyer, complains of the difficulties it faces in obtaining official recognition and a general lack of Justice. A 20 -strong team consisting mostly of Jordanian lawyers was assembled by Saddam's loving wife, and I ask, where are the unaccounted billions of dollars that mysteriously disappeared before the US-led invasion and how is she paying their salaries?

There is no perfect legal system and the people of Iraq thirst for Justice. We have seen the failures of International Law in the handling of the Milosovic case, and though the current Iraqi tribunal is far from perfect, it should follow its course without unnecessary delay. In an ideal world, all humans should be treated with equal dignity and respect. Sadly, those who least deserve this universal right seem to receive greater priority.

-By Zayid Al-Baghdadi

Yesterday we received a 2nd payment of the donations sent by our great friends and readers. The process went more smoothly this time and the transferred money was 5800$; 2700$ for “Iraq-the model” and the rest for A.Y.S, Sarmad, and Alaa. I’ve contacted Sarmad and A.Y.S and they said they’ll come to get their money and Alaa’s (Sarmad’s friend). Omar has left to Basrah and Mohammed to Samawa, so I have no plan yet of how to use this money and I think I’ll wait for their return. Any suggestions would be welcomed. Many, many thanks to all those who helped us to keep and update our blog and of course to the wonderful Mr. Tom Villars for all his great efforts to help all Iraqi bloggers.
For more information, you can visit the Iraqi technical support site. which is run by Mr. Tom Villars.


Ali.

Saddam is in the cage.

For fourty years, the Baáth ruled Iraq with iron fist and committed crimes more than any other group of savages did along the whole history of Iraq.
Today comes the moment of justice that Iraqis and all the people who suffered from Saddam awaited for so long.
We reached a state of frustration during Saddam’s reign to the extent that we doubted for a moment that he was a human being or that one day he would die. Some of us even began to believe that he was Iraq’s destiny and that he, his family and his gang would rule forever.

What shall we sue you for, Saddam?
For what?.....For what!?
For murdering millions of Iraqis? For the torture you used against anyone who dared to oppose you or even against those you doubted their loyalty?
Or for the impoverishing Iraq and her people and wasting Iraq’s fortune?
Or for the fear we lived in for thirty five years; the fear that made us die a thousand times a day, we were getting scared to death when someone knocks on the door or when the phone rings or when we see one of your wretched dogs watching us in the street or at work.
We were getting scared to death when we see a look of anger in the eyes of your Mukhabarat and we’d go back to review everything we said that day; have we criticized someone? Did we not smile when your ‘great name’ was mentioned? Did we say anything that offends your "immortal party" even with a hint?
What shall we sue you for?
For your innovated methods to terrify people?
For chopping off tongues, hands and years?
Or for burning the prisoners alive in front of their friends to make them see, hear and smell pain and death?
What shall we sue you for?
For Halabja? The city of tears, pain and sorrow.
For Al-Anfal? For turning the desert of Iraq into a huge graveyard after crushing the uprising? Or for the endless humiliation that forced us to walk bending our heads with our eyes looking at the ground?
For stupid wars that cost millions of lives?
Or for mass graves that we still don’t know their number?
For millions of our educated youths who left the country to get out of your hell?

Where are your supporters and where are your loyal servants?
Why didn’t we see millions cheering your name or calling for your innocense?
Why didn’t any Iraqi lawyer accept to defend you?
We reject you and we’d like to expel you out of our minds forever.
We’re nothing like you and we’re not going to treat you the way you treated your opponents when you grabbed power.
We’re going to get a fair trial and you’re going to have lawyers to defend you and we will listen to you although you refused to listen to us for thirty five years.
We will not start our new life with mistakes like you did; this is a new Iraq, an Iraq that neither you nor any of your fellow criminals can recognize.
The new Iraq is totally different from what you wanted or planned in your sick mind.
This is the Iraq where everyone listens to anyone even to criminals like you.
The people of Iraq have judged you decades ago, from the first day you came to power.
Your denial to the people’s judgement didn’t do you any good; all the killing and all the torture you did will haunt you.
This is the moment to carry out a sentence that was agreed on decades ago.
I cried when I saw you in that cage because it took a very long time to happen and it has cost us a lot.
We hope that the world will never allow such a crime to happen again.
A whole nation had her history written with tears and blood and pain and humiliation and death.
Please do not let this happen again.
Please....please.
Let’s learn a lesson from the suffering of Iraq.
And let’s make it a trial for the history that caused all this to happen, not only for Saddam.

By Mohammed.

From Um Mushtaq to Abu Haider.

I was taking a walk in the street with one of my friends when suddenly I heard a shout “Dr. Mohammed!” I turned back to see who it was and I found that it was one of the nursing staff who worked with me in Samawa and got transferred to Baghdad.
After greetings and asking about each other’s health he said “I was just thinking of you” why?, I asked.
“Do you still run that website?” he asked. I said “yeah”.
-Can you do me a favor?
-Sure.
-Do you know Abu Haider’s (Mr. Bremer) e-mail address?
-No! Why?
-I want to send him a letter.
-What for?
-To say thanks. Actually it’s not only me, it’s my mother Al-Hidjiyah; she made me promise her to send a letter to Mr. Bremer.
-Me too. I want to do that but unfortunately I don’t have his e-mail.
-Can you ask your American friends. Because I really feel bad that the man didn’t get the reward he deserves for his great efforts; we could at least make a party for him or a decent celebration. Did you listen to his farewell speech? it was incredible.
-Yes, it was and I’ll try to get his mail although I think it’s difficult but what did your mother exactly want to tell him?

-Well, Al-Hidjiya said “son, tell this man that Um Mushtaq says go with the blessings of Allah, you have suffered a lot for the sake of our country and we were not able to thank you in person and this makes us so sad” and she also said “although this is not right, because he is not Muslim but I have to say it and I don’t care what others may say”
My friend laughed as he said that.

I should mention that friend is a hard core communist who paradoxically bares strong admiration and gratitude and for America.
-How can she ask for Allah’s blessings for Bremer when she believes that it’s not right for a Muslim to ask so? I said with a smile.
-You know these old people with their old fashion minds but she said she loves him as if he were an Iraqi Muslim.
I said good bye to my friend and thought about what he said, and I thought about writing a letter to Mr. Bremer and I don’t know how to deliver it.

I don’t like to give much credit to an individual no matter who he is, as I believe it’s one of the reasons we’re so behind the others. People in the east generally get attached to individuals more than ideas and the fact that Iraqis support Al-Yawer and Allawi more than they support the government as a whole is just one example of this. However I find myself compelled to write about Mr. Bremer because this man was never given the credit he deserves. That of course includes all the good people who worked with him.

We miss you Sir and we know that it’s been difficult for you too. Your speech has touched the hearts of all the Iraqis I have met just as your efforts have contributed in drawing the outlines of the bright future of Iraq, the new free democratic Iraq and we will never forget you. You worked hard as if you were a true son of Iraq and in fact you’re one of Iraq’s sons, that’s how we look at you.

I never heard anyone talk badly about you, I heard people say a lot of bad things about GWB and the GC members but you were the most respected and loved political character among Iraqis and I can say I’m almost sure that if there was a poll about who’s the most popular person in Iraq, then you would’ve been the winner.
You maintained an equilibrium in a very intricate situation and at a very difficult time and I doubt that someone else would’ve been able to do that.

You’ve understood the mosaicism of the Iraqi people and the desires, fears and demands of each group and dealt with them in the wisest possible way.

You were working hard to convince one group and satisfy another one to guarantee the progress of the process and you faced one crisis after the other and an attack after the other but all that didn’t affect your morale, stamina and high level of professionalism.

You were keen on leading Iraq to the shores of peace despite the harsh environment, and most Iraqis recognize that you succeeded in your mission.

Sir, Iraq loved you just like you confirmed your love in your farewell speech. We were touched just as you were. You have taken a place in our hearts just as you said we’ve taken our places in your heart.
We will be waiting for you to return with your grandchild Sophya (as you promised in your speech) and we’ll share your will to teach her the history of Iraq and I’m sure that she’ll love Iraq as you do.

Yes, we’d like you to come back to your country, Iraq. And we’d love to have you share the moments of joy with us as you shared the moments of sadness.
We would like you to live the moment of victory with us as you lived the moment of hardships.

I was never surprised when none of the western media broadcasted your impressive speech because I doubt their interest in showing the world the nature of the relation between you and the people of Iraq. But I’d like to tell you this:
Iraq loves you just as you love her.

*These are the verses which Mr. Bremer used in his farewell speech. They are too difficult to translate (in fact they’re difficult to understand even for Arabs, as it’s an old verse with difficult vocabulary that’s no longer used in daily life) and I’ll post them in Arabic, but they generally say:

I’ve left my heart in the hands of God in Baghdad
I said good bye to him when I wished instead..
That I would say good bye to the days of my life.


أستودع الله في بغداد لي قمرا ..... بالكرخ من فلك الأزرار مطلعه
ودعته وبودي لو يودعني ..... صفو الزمان وأني لا أودعه

عاش العراق ..عاش العراق ..عاش العراق

By Mohammed.

Small party and great hopes.

I was on duty-call in the hospital all yesterday and I was in the ward when I heard the news that Mr. Bremer had already transferred the power to the new government two days ahead of the expected date. I was so happy about this news and I couldn’t wait until I finish my tour to celebrate the occasion.

My friends all seemed thrilled and optimistic, yet they seemed to have no interset in celebrating the event. I decided to do something so I asked one of my colleagues to cover for me for an hour; I told him that I have to get something from outside.I directly headed to the nearest bakery and ordered a nice cake and returned to the hospital as fast as I could. On the way, I didn’t see any large calibrations but I noticed that the streets were busier than usual and people looked lively and relaxed.

I invited some of my friends, one of us volunteered to get some beverages and we gathered around the cake to celebrate the happy event. I took some pictures but sadly not all the doctors (female mainly) agreed on me posting their pictures and I’ll respect their will.

Some of us were celebrating regaining sovereignty, some were celebrating the end of occupation, others were happy because they think the new government will bring safety and order. I was celebrating a new and a great step towards democracy, but we were all joined by true hope for a better future and by the love we have for Iraq.

After wards we sat for a while discussing different matters. The hall was busy and everyone was chatting and laughing loud. They had Al-Jazeera on (something I never managed to convince them to stop doing). Then suddenly Mr. Bremer appeared on TV reading his last speech before he left Iraq. I approached the TV to listen carefully to the speech, as I expected it to be difficult in the midst of all that noise. To my surprise everyone stopped what they were doing and started watching as attentively as I was.

The speech was impressive and you could hear the sound of a needle if one had dropped it at that time. The most sensational moment was the end of the speech when Mr. Bremer used a famous Arab emotional poem. The poem was for a famous Arab poet who said it while leaving Baghdad. Al-Jazeera had put an interpreter who tried to translate even the Arabic poem which Mr. Bremer was telling in a fair Arabic! “Let this damned interpreter shut up. We want to hear what the man is saying” One of my colloquies shouted. The scene was very touching that the guy sitting next to me (who used to sympathize with Muqtada) said “He’s going to make me cry!”

Then he finished his speech by saying in Arabic,”A’ash Al-Iraq, A’ash Al-Iraq, A’ash Al-Iraq”! (Long live Iraq, Long live Iraq, long live Iraq).

I was deeply moved by this great man’s words but I couldn’t prevent myself from watching the effect of his words on my friends who some of them were anti-Americans and some were skeptic, although some of them have always shared my optimism. I found that they were touched even more deeply than I was. I turned to one friend who was a committed She’at and who distrusted America all the way. He looked as if he was bewitched, and I asked him, “So, what do you think of this man? Do you still consider him an invader?” My friend smiled, still touched and said, “Absolutely not! He brought tears to my eyes. God bless him.”

Another friend approached me. This one was not religious but he was one of the conspiracy theory believers. He put his hands on my shoulders and said smiling, “I must admit that I’m beginning to believe in what you’ve been telling us for months and I’m beginning to have faith in America. I never thought that they will hand us sovereignty in time. These people have shown that they keep their promises.”

-By Ali.