[2385] in peace2
letter from an Iraqi
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (zwahhaj@MIT.EDU)
Mon Mar 24 12:04:06 2003
From: zwahhaj@MIT.EDU
Message-ID: <1048525180.3e7f397ca747a@webmail.mit.edu>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 11:59:40 -0500
To: peace-announce@mit.edu
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
-----Original Message-----
From: Alkatib,F (ug)
Sent: 23 March 2003 21:50
To: LSEStopTheWar@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [STWC] ???
Where is the evidence to suggest that the majority of Iraqi people
want America to invade their country? The fifty or so people who were
massacred in Basra yesterday? Have you seen the Aljazeera pictures of
those children with their heads blown up to pieces? Are these the
people America and Britain went to liberate with their smart bombs
and selected targeting?
I really don't know were you get the information that the
overwhelming majority of Iraqi people want this attack on their
country? I am an Iraqi from Karbalah, my father's almost entire
immediate family have been humiliated into exile by Saddam because
when Saddam came to power my father, then in his teens, was involved
in an opposition movement. He was wanted for execution but was able
to escape- and because they couldn't get him they imprisoned his
younger brother instead- that was 23 years ago and we still don't
know if he is dead or alive. I am not telling you all this because I
want your pity- but to let you know that I know of the Iraqi pains
you talk about. I know how one three year old family member of mine
had her hands burnt in front of her father to make him talk before he
was eventually executed- executed in front of his pregnant wife who
gave birth to her other child in prison- and who remains in prison
today.
I also know what kind of monster Saddam is - but I still oppose this
attack on my country with all my heart. Because I don't believe that
the Americans and the British are going in there because their hearts
bleed over the misery Saddam Hussain has put us though. How can they
care about our freedom and liberation when they so blatantly support
the oppression of the Palestinians! How can they care about our
welfare when they have killed half a million of our children with
those brutal sanctions? Why didn't they care about us when Saddam was
their friend no so long ago? There are tyrannical regimes all over
the world- why have they suddenly chosen to liberate only us?
Weapons of mass destruction? I don't think anyone seriously believes
that! They are going to invade our country because they want its oil-
and because they want a firmer control of the Middle East.
Saddam is our problem- we have to overthrow him ourselves- the
reasons why we haven't succeeded yet are many and I don't want to get
into that now. But American intervention is only going to make things
a thousand times worse. If it goes Americas way, we will probably end
up with a puppet who is willing to kneel at Americas every demand-
like our so called leaders in the rest of the Arab world; leaders who
will continue oppressing us, and who will open fire on us if we
demonstrated because our brothers and sisters are being slaughtered
in another land.
It is precisely because they care about our welfare and our freedom -
that the Stop The War Coalition is trying to stop this brutal attack
on our country. They are most certainly speaking in my name and in
the name of the rest of my family in Iraq. I have spoken to them and
they are totally against this illegal invasion- even if they happen
to be Shiaa- the very people they are telling us will be welcoming
the Americans with open arms! We are against this attack because we
know what the Americans want, and not because of our love for Saddam
and his brutal regime.
