Out of Iraq
I have finally left Iraq but have been delayed once again from writing as my lovely laptop computer has died. I’ve spent the past week trying to revive it -- and I can hear friends from the 10th MNT laughing as I write this -- but there is no help for Macintosh in the Middle East. So I have fled Istanbul where I landed after Iraq and am now in Sri Lanka where at least I am comforted by sun and warmth and even an internet café. I have a lot to download and will put my tales on the site as the days go on. There is a lot to say and a lot to digest. Iraq was a different experience for me this time around. It was more brutal and difficult in a profound way. It's hard to explain but the level of sadness and violence, the amount of death, paranoia and anger, hit me so hard it's taking me quite a while to get over it. So I will post as I go, probably out of order but all will come in due time. It’s good to be out and I will say again that I met so many wonderful people; I just wish it had been under different circumstances.
*
People ask me if there are stories that are not being told from Iraq, a great coverup of the atrocities done. And I have to say no, the stories have been and continue to be reported. There are no mysteries that I have uncovered, perhaps just the details of larger tales, which to some might certainly come as a surprise, but only if one hasn’t been paying attention. The real story is that no one cares.
Who hasn’t heard of total US isolationism in Iraq or widespread abuse by Halliburton? Inflation of prices and millions simply disappearing into the pockets of war profiteers. Who hasn’t read about the extraordinary military waste, about piles of American food, non-stop electricity, running water – anything and everything to keep soldiers as far away from the realities of a war. That in the face of Iraqis who still have intermittent electricity (6 non consecutive hours a day by last reports), poor sanitation in many areas, and streets too dangerous to walk. Or women who now have to cover their heads for fear of a fundamentalist wave, after 30 years of secular living. Who isn’t concerned about the extraordinary number of Iraqis killed that the US still refuses to count (“It would let the enemy know how successful he’s been” one Col. Told me), or the number of soldiers committing suicide, plagued by PTSD or becoming homeless once they return. These stories are out. I’ve read them – even written some – and I didn’t have to look very hard. But no one seems to care.
Everyone is concerned there are no “good” stories coming out of Iraq and that also is untrue. I’ve read (and also written some of these) plenty of warm and fuzzy accounts. But the overarching impression I was left with is that Iraq is more dangerous than before. More Iraqis are being killed and detained with little evidence. They are still without work, unless they are “lucky enough” to get a US job, which is often a death sentence in itself. Terrorists are being pulled to the region as a bee to honey, eager to kill Americans for their rites of passage. To those who argue they are in Iraq so “their kids don’t have to be,” I say that terrorists wouldn’t be here in these numbers were not for you – and they would not multiply were it not for the opportunities you are giving them. And if you left, I believe they would also leave for lack of a target rich environment. The thought that this war will “get rid of terrorism” is absurd. It is endless. Meanwhile, young soldiers are tired and angry and taking out their frustrations on people for whom they have little compassion, nor any desire for understanding. They just want to go home – alive, or more critical: sane. Of course there are exceptions. I met dozens of extraordinary soldiers at every level who truly believe in their mission (a fundamental problem as I see it) and are working tirelessly on micro level projects hoping to improve the lives of Iraqis in some small way. But if the fundamental premise is not working – if Iraqis still cannot live in peace then I don’t believe that all the clean sewers or hours of electricity in the world will solve things. It will help, to be sure, but it will not solve the problem of Iraq. What will? Training Iraqi police and army is a good start. It should be done quickly and the US should get out to be replaced by a multinational peacekeeping force. This is the way I see it and some Iraqis I spoke to were aghast. “The US cannot leave, not now. Only when there is peace and we are nowhere near that,” said one. All Iraqis want is a strong leader who will reinstall security and get rid of crime. They want someone who will kill a robber or murderer, put his head on a stick and let it rot in the middle of town to serve as an example for all to see. I was given this same scenario by several different people, all eager for a return to, well, “better times”. What they wanted was a return to dictatorship. To Saddam, but not Saddam. Just like Saddam. “Anyone who says we should have Democracy now is wrong,” said one Army General. “We must have order first, and then we can have freedom.” Imagine the irony of our legacy: We invaded a country that posed no threat to us, destroyed a secular and prosperous society, albeit run by a brutal dictator, created a state of such chaos and danger that people actually wished for the dictator’s return. In the meantime, we wait to see if the great democratic experiment will not result in a fundamentalist Shiite government where women are veiled, multiple marriages allowed and honor killings considered part of the culture. It would be funny if it weren’t so true.
*
People ask me if there are stories that are not being told from Iraq, a great coverup of the atrocities done. And I have to say no, the stories have been and continue to be reported. There are no mysteries that I have uncovered, perhaps just the details of larger tales, which to some might certainly come as a surprise, but only if one hasn’t been paying attention. The real story is that no one cares.
Who hasn’t heard of total US isolationism in Iraq or widespread abuse by Halliburton? Inflation of prices and millions simply disappearing into the pockets of war profiteers. Who hasn’t read about the extraordinary military waste, about piles of American food, non-stop electricity, running water – anything and everything to keep soldiers as far away from the realities of a war. That in the face of Iraqis who still have intermittent electricity (6 non consecutive hours a day by last reports), poor sanitation in many areas, and streets too dangerous to walk. Or women who now have to cover their heads for fear of a fundamentalist wave, after 30 years of secular living. Who isn’t concerned about the extraordinary number of Iraqis killed that the US still refuses to count (“It would let the enemy know how successful he’s been” one Col. Told me), or the number of soldiers committing suicide, plagued by PTSD or becoming homeless once they return. These stories are out. I’ve read them – even written some – and I didn’t have to look very hard. But no one seems to care.
Everyone is concerned there are no “good” stories coming out of Iraq and that also is untrue. I’ve read (and also written some of these) plenty of warm and fuzzy accounts. But the overarching impression I was left with is that Iraq is more dangerous than before. More Iraqis are being killed and detained with little evidence. They are still without work, unless they are “lucky enough” to get a US job, which is often a death sentence in itself. Terrorists are being pulled to the region as a bee to honey, eager to kill Americans for their rites of passage. To those who argue they are in Iraq so “their kids don’t have to be,” I say that terrorists wouldn’t be here in these numbers were not for you – and they would not multiply were it not for the opportunities you are giving them. And if you left, I believe they would also leave for lack of a target rich environment. The thought that this war will “get rid of terrorism” is absurd. It is endless. Meanwhile, young soldiers are tired and angry and taking out their frustrations on people for whom they have little compassion, nor any desire for understanding. They just want to go home – alive, or more critical: sane. Of course there are exceptions. I met dozens of extraordinary soldiers at every level who truly believe in their mission (a fundamental problem as I see it) and are working tirelessly on micro level projects hoping to improve the lives of Iraqis in some small way. But if the fundamental premise is not working – if Iraqis still cannot live in peace then I don’t believe that all the clean sewers or hours of electricity in the world will solve things. It will help, to be sure, but it will not solve the problem of Iraq. What will? Training Iraqi police and army is a good start. It should be done quickly and the US should get out to be replaced by a multinational peacekeeping force. This is the way I see it and some Iraqis I spoke to were aghast. “The US cannot leave, not now. Only when there is peace and we are nowhere near that,” said one. All Iraqis want is a strong leader who will reinstall security and get rid of crime. They want someone who will kill a robber or murderer, put his head on a stick and let it rot in the middle of town to serve as an example for all to see. I was given this same scenario by several different people, all eager for a return to, well, “better times”. What they wanted was a return to dictatorship. To Saddam, but not Saddam. Just like Saddam. “Anyone who says we should have Democracy now is wrong,” said one Army General. “We must have order first, and then we can have freedom.” Imagine the irony of our legacy: We invaded a country that posed no threat to us, destroyed a secular and prosperous society, albeit run by a brutal dictator, created a state of such chaos and danger that people actually wished for the dictator’s return. In the meantime, we wait to see if the great democratic experiment will not result in a fundamentalist Shiite government where women are veiled, multiple marriages allowed and honor killings considered part of the culture. It would be funny if it weren’t so true.
posted by zpollon at 3:55 AM
1 Comments:
I am a mother of a soldier from fort drum, who is in yusafia i think. at least that is the last place he was when he told me anything. But I am really worried by what you write. My son does not keep in touch very well and when he does it's " I'm o.k. gotta run" he has never been one to write often, but he has lost some very close friends and has been wounded at least twice that I was called by the Capt. He has been awarded the purple heart after just months over there. It worries me so much about what he is seeing and his state of mind more than anything.
Are all of you coming back so cynical? if so what can we or should we do or say to help him return whole in mind and spirit. We all love him so and just want all of you home!
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