'Iraqi bloggers at home and abroad'

Hey all,

I was just looking at the news when I came across this BBC article featuring Iraqi bloggers and what they've been writing recently. It's really amazing to read what they are writing. Just writing about daily things that anybody in the world can relate to like fishing, school, vacations, playing games, etc. but in the middle of this is the fear of violence, the bombs in the neighborhood, inability to travel... It was amazing because reading what they wrote, for the first time I could really see the human side of things there - people I could relate to and who, in a different world, could be my friends, neigbors, or relatives.
Just the other day I was talking to someone and telling them about what I learned in India - that the key to getting past the steriotypes about people who are different - Muslims, Indians, poor people, rich people, or whoever, you need to actually talk to them and when you do, to try to understand things from their point of view. For so long I've felt that this is what we need more of in the media about the war in Iraq. We need a human face to the war. But I never even thought of looking for Iraqi blogs. But here they are. It's sad, the stuff that goes on, and yet these people live there and make the best of it that they can. I won't go on though. They can say things much better than I can.
I'm posting links to two of the blogs I read. Check them out.

http://livesstrong.blogspot.com/
Sunshine is a 15-year-old girl in Mosul, northern Iraq.

http://last-of-iraqis.blogspot.com/
Mohammed is a 25-year-old dentist in Baghdad.

Foreign Affairs

Further evidence for the necessity for the US to pull out of Iraq comes in an article in the latest eddition of Foreign Affairs, the most prestigious periodical in the USA on international relations. The author Bruce Riedel clearly states that "Al Qaeda is a more dangerous enemy today than it has ever been before ... thanks largely to Washington's eagerness to go into Iraq" and further recomends that "Rather than reinforce its failures, the United States should disengage from the civil war in Iraq, with a complete, orderly, and phased troop withdrawal".

An Ethical Way to End the War in Iraq?

Thousands have died and their families torn apart on all sides in the course of this war in Iraq. The devastation and suffering are powerful reasons to take the debate about the future of US and coalition troops with a deadly seriousness. Should we 'stay the course,' as we are responsible for the situation in Iraq, or should we set a timeline for a pullout? As a democracy, it is we who decide. Should we stay or should we go?!

Below, we've given some of the reasons why we (personally) have concluded that we (the US and coalition forces) should go. But even more importantly, how to go.

Out of a belief in the sacredness of life which calls us to respect the lives of all people, regardless of who they are (even those people we may know as enemies);
Out of a belief that violence very naturally instigates a cycle of escalating counter violence;
Out of a belief that the path of violence should only ever be taken as an absolute last resort when there is a great and immediate threat, and then restrained as much (and as quickly) as possible;
Out of the belief that when a wrong has been done, the best option is to admit it and change accordingly;

Out of these beliefs we want to publicly support this proposal for an ethical way to end the war in Iraq.

In short, the proposal calls for:
-The withdrawal of US & UK Troops from Iraq.
-For the US government to admit wrongdoing in invading Iraq.
-For an international peace keeping force from both Muslim and non-Muslim nations to replace the US and UK troops in Iraq to prevent further violence.
-And for the US to commit to provide billions of dollars to rebuild Iraq in the style of the Marshall Plan (the plan for rebuilding Europe after WWII) - money otherwise used to fund the war.

The Proposal has been signed by leaders of several faiths, is written from a Judeo-Christian standpoint and highlights the fact that Jesus called his followers to LOVE their ENEMIES - an incredibly absurd idea which if actually followed would save us so much pain and save so many others from hell on earth.

But even for those who reject the ideal of love for enemies, the idea of ending the war is not so absurd. A better way to maintain security in this world is to stop attacking those we see as our enemies (and all those hundreds of thousands of other people who just happen to live in the same neighborhoods) which only escalates the violence. Instead, let's choose a higher way. One which will avoid the unnecessary death and destruction of war.

Please read the proposal - it's only one page and is covered in large print.

"...this entire society has mistakenly adhered to the view that safety and security can be achieved through domination or control of others...

...a better path to safety and security is to treat others with generosity, kindness and genuine concern for their well being."

...and for those of us (Americans especially) who read this and think this sounds impossible - remember that we have the power. As a democracy, we have the right and the responsibility to ask our leaders to change course.
Now, to the signing...


If you agree, please sign the proposal:
http://www.reachandteach.com/rtsurvey/public/survey.php?name=iraq_sign
(if you disagree please read below)


For More Information:
Read: The Cost of War - How the war affects Iraqis (two easy to read pages)
Watch: EYES WIDE OPEN - a 3 minute video


Below are links which give reason and evidence to our belief that, regardless of whether the war was wrong from the beginning, our soldiers' presence in Iraq is doing more harm than good for the people of Iraq by fuelling the cycle of hatred and violence which calls more and more into the insurgency and terror groups.


Check the Facts:
-A US Army Brief from 18 Apr. 07 shows that more than 1/3 of all US soldiers believe torture is OK. Further, only 1/3 said that all non-combatants should be treated with respect and almost 1 out of every 5 said all civilians should be treated as insurgents. In the anonymous survey 1 out of every 14 marines and almost 1 out of every 25 soldiers admitted to having physically abused civilians unnecessarily.
-The Washington Post article from Jan. 14 2005 about the CIA report (below) which named Iraq as a 'training ground' for 'Professionalized' Terrorists.
-The CIA report by the National Intelligence Council (CIA think tank) from Dec. 2004 (PDF file - see pages 93 & 94)

-Brookings' Iraq assessment - An independent, non-partisan assessment (and poll) "based primarily on U.S. government information" from Apr. 30 2007 shows that the overwhelming majority of Iraqis (78%) "oppose the presence of coalition forces" and support a time line for US troop withdrawal. (PDF file - see pages 47 & 57)
-A World Public Opinion poll from Jan. 31 2006 of Iraqis shows that at that time 70% of Iraqis favored a timeline for withdrawal of US troops. Two reasons cited most were "the feeling... that it is offensive for their country to be occupied." and secondly that "US forces attract more attacks and make the violence worse." (Pg. 5 of the report)

-Iraq Body Count - a website which reports total numbers of reported deaths in Iraq, based on Media reports.
"It is likely that many if not most civilian casualties will go unreported by the media. That is the sad nature of war."-IBC
-CNN - 'War blamed for 655,000 Iraqi deaths'
-A Johns Hopkins University website article outlining the findings of the study (link below) which found that an excess of 600,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the war in Iraq beyond the number that would have died under prewar conditions.
-655,000 Dead - Johns Hopkins - The Human Cost of the War in Iraq - Mortality Study 2002-2006 (PDF file)
-The 2004 Johns Hopkins Mortality study published Nov.04 which set the number of deaths related to the war at 100,000 mostly due to violence. "...air strikes from coalition forces accounted for most violent deaths."
-New York Times article on the John Hopkins 2004 mortality study

-Wikipedia - Johns Hopkins Mortality Study
-Wikipedia - Just War - when is war just?

BBC - Iraq Summit Mid-East journalists believe efforts to achieve stability will fail "without a frank admission by the US of its failures"

Wage Peace!

Jesus Said:

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also..."

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..."


Why is it that we don't take these words seriously?

It is impossible to overcome evil with more evil, violence with violence, Hatred with Hatred.

What is happening now in the 'War on Terror', the War in Iraq, and most recently in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon, these are examples of the social law of Reciprocity on a massive scale. That is: What you did to me, I am obligated to repay. If you bless me, I bless you. If you curse me, I curse you.

Terror must be confronted. Evil must be resisted. What was done on September 11th (among thousands of other terror attacks) was evil and cannot be justified.
But the problem is that by striking back, by attacking with military might, we are only drawing ourselves into a cycle of Hatred, violence, and bloodshed. More and more people, by the social law of Reciprocity, are obligated to hate, to strike back, and to even give their own lives to kill others.

Jesus calls us to a higher way. He asks us not to step into that cycle of violence and death. He calls us to act in the opposite spirit, to expose injustice and evil for what it is and let the Truth prevail.

We must send this message to our political leaders. The United States will NEVER prevail in the ‘War on Terror’ as long as we continue to use violence to fight it. It is not cowardly to step away from a fight which benefits no one. But this does not mean abandoning the people which we aim to help.

There is another way: Quit the War. It is far to costly with little benefit to anyone. Take the money which is now spent for military purposes (destruction and death), and give those billions towards rebuilding Iraq, Afghanistan and other war torn countries, as well as towards debt relief and to build infrastructure across the Third World where daily people die of hunger and diseases - all easily treatable given access to food, hospitals, and medicine.

Not only will this have the direct effect of rebuilding and saving lives, but it will also cut away the platform of hatred on which Terror organizations thrive, robbing them of their support and their reasons for vengance.

Send this message: ‘We seek to rebuild and to save, not to kill and destroy. We seek your good just as if it’s our own, because it is.’


Watch this short but powerful film: Wage Peace


"An Eye for an eye makes the whole world blind"
-Gandhi

"Almost three thousand people died needlessly and tragically at the World Trade Center on September 11; Ten Thousand Africans die needlessly and tragically every single day - and have died every single day since Sept. 11 - of AIDS, TB, and malaria. We need to keep Sept. 11 in perspective, especially because the ten thousand deaths daily are preventable"

-Jeffrey Sachs, excerpted from his excelent book: 'The End Of Poverty'