Student Opinions on the Iraq War From the Middle East

[JCMach1]

From Hussam...

As we all know Iraq is considered one of the most unstable regions in the Middle East because of the oppressive regime that had ruled Iraq for the past thirty five years. The people who suffered most from this are the Iraqi citizens. However, they had always hoped that one day something will change their deplorable state and improve their life. Therefore, America declared the second Gulf War without any fear from its result. They thought that throwing out Saddam Hussein would be very easy as a piece of cake because Iraqi people would be on their side.

This war had been started under the name of freedom, human rights and democracy. But, it is obvious that the American's interests are the main issue behind this occupation since Iraq has the second largest petroleum reserves in the world. Iraq's life has become worse since America entered Iraq. They failed to provide security and freedom. They also killed thousands of people, put a lot of Iraqis out of jobs and destroyed the country. All this has driven Sunni and Shi'is people to unite against the American invaders. And the Iraqi resistance against the occupation forces has increased all over Iraq. For example, there is a strong resistance in Falluja nowadays against Americans who are angered because of the butchery of the four Americans. Thus, the occupation forces have used F16 fighter planes. There were civilian casualties, 700 innocent people were killed, and 1200 were injured. Because of the mistake of a small group, they punished the whole town. Is this the democracy of America? I can not see any difference between what America is doing now and what Saddam already did. Before two days, an Iraqi had beaten to death because he refused to remove a picture of an Iraqi religious leader " Alsader" from his car. This is the freedom that America promised us to have.

The biggest mistake that the United States did is the occupation of Iraq because now there is one person on each family in the world against America. In other word, this increases the hatred towards the US which already exists because of the US continuous support to Israel. And now, the United States can not withdraw until it fixes part of what it destroyed and put a government and military in place.

From Huda...

The Iraq war has, among many previously untold truths, has revealed that the very ground on which the Bush government went to war was shaky. The fact that no WMD programme had been carried out by the Saddam regime in recent times is not only clear but shocking. It defies any other justification for this move. The damage, however, is done --- for nothing, and if statistics are any indication (in the past week, out of more than 600 victims of violence in Fallujah alone, 70 were US soldiers) ‘a life for a life’ is all that remains in the game. Do all this justify US’ prolonging the stay in the country?

Moreover, President Bush’s pre-war promise to augment the lives of the so-called victims of Saddam’s atrocities seems to have put on the backburner. Now it seems to be worried about its survival there as pressure mounts everyday. Eleven Russians had been abducted on Monday, while two Americans have been reported missing. The abduction of Japanese workers last week has already dealt a blow to the Bush government, with Japanese citizens putting pressure on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to withdraw from Iraq. The cry for withdrawal is being heard from other corners as well, such as Italy and Australia. The recent uncanny images of Iraqis dancing around the bodies of Americans have added to the ire of US citizens.

It’s interesting to note that even after Saddam’s capture, victory was never declared in Iraq. The war, therefore, continues.

At the receiving end are not only Iraqis, whose misery has increased manifold ever since Saddam’s fall, but the common American as well. The focus on defence has taken its toll on the US economy.

Naturally so, as “for the couple of years, the single obsession of the Bush government has been the war. As a result, national welfare has taken the back seat,” says presidential hopeful John Kerry. Are all this worth the while? The answer, perhaps, lies in the outcome of the US elections...



http://www.thesyndrome.com/
http://www.thesyndrome.com/archives/00000733.htm

[JCMach1]

1. This series of OP/ED pieces was written by my student in the UAE

who come from all parts of the Middle East (including Iraq).


They make for interesting reading to say the least.

I PNACers don't realize quite the sophistication of the people they are dealing with... Bush is WAY out of his depth.

[KoKo]

2. All Troops Out and let the Iraqi's decide if they want UN In! I've come

to that conclusion. Get them all out of there. The whole world is watching Bush and these students see what some of us here on DU and in America see, but our media won't expose this, and most of our politicians don't care. Might is Right is the mantra.

The world is watching Bush f**k up, and American Policy sits in denial.