Taken To The Next Level?

Al-Sadr wants to establish an Iranian-style theocracy, himself as leader of course. Then it will be payback time for the minority Sunni Muslims who supported Saddam's government. Considering how little effort average Iraqis want to put towards establishing a civil society, perhaps they deserve these thugs for their leaders. Let them martyr each other but nuke'em if they try to export it.

A country must always determine democracy and freedom for ITSELF. Saddam was not that, nor will any new prospective leaders, thanks to the chaos caused by the US. (both with putting Saddam in power in the first place, and now the war.) Iraq had western style democratically elected governments back in the 50`s and 60`s, but the US needed a puppet, so they intervened like they always do and put in a brutal dictator!

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Dave Ruston

I agree. What right does any country have to forcibly destabilize another?<p> I saw an interview with an Iraqi the other day. He put it in very plain terms, to paraphrase: Families live close to each other, and look out for one another. If you do him a favour, he and his family owe you a thousand favours. If you hurt his distant cousin, you reap the wrath of the entire family.<p> Yikes!<p><p>---<br>"History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme" Mark Twain <br />
"The greatest price of not participating in politics is being governed by your inferiors." Plato

I have 11 siblings and I think that's why I appreciate the Iraqi clanishness. My family was like that. We fought with each other all the time, but boy if someone outside the family said or did anything to any one of us you had the whole family to deal with.

Anon,

You obviously are not the type of person that can put yourself in someone else's shoes are you? There are some good self-help books out there with lessons on empathy, I suggest you get yourself some of them. It may come in handy for when you're an old person that no one wants to look after or gives a shit about. You'll have something to reference your situation to.

It is interesing isn't it no one tried to impose democracy on the U.S. as it was evolving or Canada for that matter, democracy is the will of the people! So the people must want it and fight for it themselves,and it must be a continuing fight or you'll loose it;

just like we did in the past and are doing today.

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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?

Anon,
Al-Sadr naturally would like to head a state much like the Iranian one, just as most people would want to run a state of their religion (and take retribution against those who killed your family). It is not whether he is right or wrong, judgement from an ethnocentric view point such as your own (or mine too for that matter)is worthless. The simple facts must be assessed, al-Sadr has an army, he has 'legitimacy', and he has all the necessary circumstances to rally his country against the Americans.

If al-Sadr is assassinated someone will take his place. The conditions the Americans have created in Iraq are ideal for a militant backlash and/or terrorist creation. The Americans cannot hope to hold on to Iraq and the more they try, the more it will fall away from them. That is one lesson that at least the American public learned if the members of the Bush admin did not. The American public will not support another Vietnam.

It looks like the administration is going to try to send more troops to Iraq and lie to the world about what is going on. It will not work. Foreign governments that back the Americans will be toppled or voted from office. Americans will do the same to any administration that tries to conscipt them for Iraq.

America must get out of Iraq ASAP. The United Nations cannot enter Iraq with any military force as they would be seen the same as Americans now. Al-Sadr has a history of social justice and caring for the Iraqi people. The UN SHOULD send civilians to Iraq to assist Al-Sadr in creating a stable situation in Iraq and convey legitimacy and aid on him if he accepts not going after Sunni's in retaliation. It may or may not work, but there is no other way that will succeed. Nuke them all maybe, but that would have consequences of a different and worse type that anybody with 2 functioning cells in their brain can see.

I do not claim to KNOW what will work in Iraq, but I do know what will fail. If the goal really is democracy and security the Americans have FAILED. I do not believe that was the goal in the first place, and so the US will have war and terrorism to deal with. You reap what you sow.

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If we are standing still we are moving backwards.

<p>I don't know from what reliable source of info we are getting all this insight into the minds of the Iraqi people. Our major newspaper, tv and radio networks are obviously spewing nothing but disinformation at us. I like the <a href="http//riverbendblog.blogspot.com">Baghdad Burning</a> <p> site too. This is part of what the Iraqi woman who does the site had to say today. <p>"The American and European news stations don't show the dying Iraqis… they don't show the women and children bandaged and bleeding- the mother looking for some sign of her son in the middle of a puddle of blood and dismembered arms and legs… they don't show you the hospitals overflowing with the dead and dying because they don't want to hurt American feelings… but people *should* see it. You should see the price of your war and occupation- it's unfair that the Americans are fighting a war thousands of kilometers from home. They get their dead in neat, tidy caskets draped with a flag and we have to gather and scrape our dead off of the floors and hope the American shrapnel and bullets left enough to make a definite identification…" <p>A pretty sad way to have to live in this day and age if you ask me. She also mentions more than 300 Iraqis killed in Faloojah, she says the Americans bombed the hospital. I am too disheartened to write more at this time.

Two things wrong with my last post

1. Falloojeh is the correct spelling.

2. The Baghdad Burning site did not report that the hospital was bombed and I can't remember which site I got this info off of so I have to retract it. Sorry.

It was this site that reported the hospital being hit by the Americans. It was on April 7th though.