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Why don’t
Iraqis come to welcome Coalition Forces!
By M.Behnoud
Recently the German architect Karl Offer who had made a business
trip to Baghdad twenty years ago revealed that underneath of one
of Saddam's castles, they have built a safe shelter for him and
his family that is even impervious to atomic bombs as powerful as
the one that demolished Hiroshima. Yet before the secrets of Saddam's
worth- two hundred million dollars- shelter were disclosed by this
German architect, everyone knew about the existence of such shelters,
what nobody know was how safe and impervious could be such shelters.
Now the question is why didn't the people who participated in building
such a shelter or knew about it ever asked themselves that if an
atomic bomb is to be dropped on Iraq, what would Saddam and his
family and close relatives do once they come out of this shelter?
Has Saddam himself an answer for this question? Does he know what
the Japanese Emperor who survived the atomic bomb dropped on his
country 56 years ago did? Except that he went to the radio station
and read his note of surrender to Allies?
Four hundred years ago, when Esmail Safavid, the king of Iran attacked
Ottoman Empire with his well-equipped army and encountered the enemy
in a place close to the scenes of war now being waged in the north
of Iraq, he knew nothing about the invention of cannons. And naturally
with the first shot of those new military inventions, his army was
defeated and dispersed and the powerful and popular king of Iran
died of grief soon after. These nights Saddam is most probably sitting
in front of TV watching CNN and knows all about new American and
Western military artilleries. He had his first encounter with them
eleven years ago when he was forced to accept defeat.
In modern democracies, the most that can happen to a ruling government
is that it is either defeated in the next election or resigns, a
fate that is awaiting George Bush and Tony Blair in case of their
defeat. However, in countries such as Iraq, the situation is different.
Saddam Hussein must either go to caves like Mola Omar, Taliban leader,
or experience what Milesovich is going through now or follow the
fate of Hitler, Mussolini and Chaoshesko.
But war is not really the war of leaders hidden in their safe offices
and shelters. The reality of war is only disclosed to those who
shoot, kill and are killed, whose houses are demolished and their
beloved die or are paralyzed for the rest of their life.
George Bush has repeatedly said that the people of Iraq will be
liberated soon while Saddam Hussein appears on Baghdad's TV and
tells the people of Iraq that victory is close and they should consider
this war as Jahad (holy war) and be proud of getting killed. Both
messages are apparently broadcasted for the people of Iraq and for
the same audience, but the people who are supposed to be liberated
as promised by Bush and Blair, have said in thousands different
ways that they do not want this freedom and they feel better under
that dictatorship, for they are at least familiar with the latter,
but they are afraid of the freedom and democracy that Bush and Blair
promise them because they know nothing about it.
When did the people of Iraq whose likes we have seen in different
wars waged in the East have the opportunity to familiarize themselves
with the sweetness and enchantments of this freedom and democracy
offered by Bush and Blair? What they have seen since the beginning
of their history has just been dynasties of dictators sitting in
their castles by the shores of Tigris - who accidentally were usually
treated well by Westerners. The latter sold the former military
artilleries and bought oil from them and until recently came to
visit them who in turn spread red carpet under their feet. Thus
it is not strange if these people have become fatalist and have
come to believe that so this must be their share of life and there
should always be a dictator to defend them and to make foreigners
to either kneel before them or respect them.
In the land where the war of Iraq is waged today and military tanks
and cannons readily shoot their bombs, the same state of affairs
has been going on since seven thousands years ago, from Hammurabi
to Saddam Hussein. In every corner of Mesopotamia – the land
in-between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates – called Republic
of Iraq since fifty years ago - archeologists have discovered ancient
civilizations that have only one thing in common: tyranny of their
dictators. Even the modern world has not altered that fate.
The present siege of Baghdad is the eleventh one that this city
is experiencing in her history. All the super powers of the world
have visited this region at least once and America is the last one
of them. Sixty years ago it was the Royal Army of Britain pouring
chemical bombs on the Iraqi people.
In 1285, when besieging Baghadad, Mongols killed hundred thousand
of its population that did not exceed tow hundred thousands at that
time - it is like if 1.5 million people die in the present war.
And as though all this massacre and demolition were not enough,
on entering the city, they killed another thirty thousands together
with the Caliph as a punishment.
With such a history behind them, it is not surprising that contrary
to the earlier anticipation of Americans, not only the people of
Iraq did not welcome the coalition forces, but they used the arms
distributed among them to resist these forces. And if on the day
that they learn about Saddam Hussein's death or flight, they pour
into the streets to welcome English and American Forces, it would
be mostly out of horror, a code of conduct that they showed many
times before toward the victorious invaders.
As Jamal, a Iraqi medical doctor living in London says, the people
of Iraq can not even believe that Russia, France and Germany are
opposing the war just for their sake. Instead they rather believe
that foreigners all come to rob their god given wealth and when
they seem to disagree with each other it is not really over the
war, but the division of the booty and none of them are really concerned
with human lives.
Let us not forget that in Iraq, Iran, Syria and many other countries
of the region, contact with foreigners –whether embassy stuff
or journalists who painstakingly obtain their visa of entry - is
still a great sin and those who take such a risk should be prepared
to be taken to an unknown dark place with their eyes shut, to be
interrogated that 'why they have talked to a foreigner?' In these
countries, only a few known selected people have the right to talk
to foreigners and even the stuff of their embassies abroad can not
socialize with their hosts without permission.
The root of such terror, whether among dictators or ordinary people
goes back to thousands years ago when foreigners always appeared
as invaders, robbing and killing them. This has been the dominant
state of affairs until half a century ago. Now if Bush and Blair
wish the people of Iraq to believe them, they should first introduce
themselves to them by showing them how they have helped the other
parts of the world that they invaded to prosper and flourish. The
people of Afghanistan have still received nothing from the last
war of the so-called New World Order.
Until then, the people who unlike Saddam Hussein have no shelter,
will take refugee to undergrounds and mountains and barren lands
and like that Japanese soldier who fearing Allies, lived in an island
for twenty five years, it will take them a long time to believe
that the world has changed. If it ever does change.
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