I only have one instance of involvement with Iraq The Model and it was due to an issued challenge by a commenter on my own blog to visit that blog to see a more hopeful view of Iraq.
Below is the post I wrote. Given what I saw, I think it might make some sense perhaps for Bush to cite some other Iraq blogs if he wants to start using Iraqi bloggers as sources for an indication of how Iraq is progressing.
I wrote a post yesterday titled Escalation. It was a short post that displayed one possible fallacy (out of many, surely) in the idea that George Bush's 'surge' which when properly referred to, really, as an escalation is that it's a game that two can play.
Yesterday, we all read reports of the use of a chlorine tanker truck outfitted with explosives as a weapon against Iraqis.
A hidden bomb ripped through a tanker carrying chlorine gas Tuesday, killing nine people and filling hospital beds with more than 150 wheezing and frightened villagers after noxious plumes covered homes and schools north of Baghdad.
The attack was part of a string of blasts including a suicide bomber who killed seven mourners at a funeral that further rattled officials marking the first week of a major security crackdown seeking to calm the blood-soaked city. U.S. forces, meanwhile, called in airstrikes during intense clashes against insurgents in strongholds northwest of Baghdad
...
Hospitals were soon flooded with terrified people including many children complaining of breathing problems, vomiting and stinging eyes. Most of the people treated were released after several hours and there was no apparent life-threatening cases, hospital officials said.
Chlorine gas in low exposure irritates the respiratory system, eyes and skin. Higher levels can lead to accumulation of fluid in the lungs and other symptoms, and death is possible with heavy exposure, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Authorities were left questioning whether the bombing could signal a new tactic by militants to try to spread greater panic with chemical fallout.
Pretty nasty stuff, chlorine is and if you have an additional minute, you can learn what risks chlorine poses in general, how it can produce major tissue damage, as well as blistering on the skin, tachycardia, cardiovascular collapse, corneal burns, etcetera. And although side effects generally occur only with prolonged exposure, I wouldn't suggest hanging out breathing chlorine to get high anytime soon. It truly is nasty stuff and even worse when combined with other products.
Enough with chlorine gas. In my previous post, I also wrote how Riverbend had issued a new post, one that needs to be read, but overall one that paints a dark picture of Iraq. And I quote:
And yet, as the situation continues to deteriorate both for Iraqis inside and outside of Iraq, and for Americans inside Iraq, Americans in America are still debating on the state of the war and occupation- are they winning or losing? Is it better or worse.
Let me clear it up for any moron with lingering doubts: It’s worse. It’s over. You lost. You lost the day your tanks rolled into Baghdad to the cheers of your imported, American-trained monkeys. You lost every single family whose home your soldiers violated. You lost every sane, red-blooded Iraqi when the Abu Ghraib pictures came out and verified your atrocities behind prison walls as well as the ones we see in our streets. You lost when you brought murderers, looters, gangsters and militia heads to power and hailed them as Iraq’s first democratic government. You lost when a gruesome execution was dubbed your biggest accomplishment. You lost the respect and reputation you once had. You lost more than 3000 troops. That is what you lost America. I hope the oil, at least, made it worthwhile.
The voice of an angry Iraqi, I would guess as seeing the devastation that has befallen this country since the days of our troops being greeted as liberators and showered with candies and flower petals.
When I woke up this morning, I got my child out of bed and started getting his breakfast together while his mother was getting ready for work. We enjoyed some coffee together, watched as our son played with Cheerios as he lined them up on the arm of his favorite chair that he likes to climb on, making little noises that although unintelligible to us, surely refer to what he was doing with his food, to him. It was quite amusing and any day now, we're expecting him to really start talking since every few days, he'll say a word like 'ap-ple' and then just as unexpectedly as he said it, he'll expectantly go back to his usual 'da-da' and 'gucks' (trucks) that were accustomed to.
After his mother left for work, I set out feeding my son his breakfast which is always a fun experience watching him eat, seeing him play with his food, all while trying to teach him that the thing he's putting in his mouth is called a 'ban-na-na.' "Ba-na-na," I say to Elliott, "ba-na-na. Can you say ba-na-na Elliott?"
He hasn't yet, but sometimes he might make a three syllable grunt or sound, indicating that he's getting there, slowly but surely.
You may be asking why I suddenly went off topic and started talking about my son. It happens, although sometimes there's more behind it. We'll come back to this.
Anyways, after the morning ritual, I fired up the PC and checked the blog to find this comment on my Escalation post:
You might want to include some additional reading before presuming Riverbend speaks for all Iraqis and their feelings.... most notably, Iraq the Model.
I can assume you don't have objections to expanding your horizons to other Iraqi voices, yes? Perhaps some more educated?
MataHarley | Homepage | 02.21.07 - 12:47 am | #
I have no objections whatsoever expanding my horizons, as you call it MataHarley, and I have indeed checked out Iraq the Model, which surely offers a more positive outlook on Iraq than probably I've read in a while. This person is certainly a courageous blogger and provides a window into a side of Iraq we don't hear too often.
Take the most recent post, for example, Bombs Strike Again, But Hope Remains. The post is a descriptive assessment of the security situation in Iraq, with multiple levels of air-based security which includes helicopters, jets, and drones to monitor and likely respond to threats or incidents.
There's some coward calling on the backs of those who would attack civilians instead of face actual armed forces and to that, I don't disagree. And then there's this part about people moving back into Baghdad:
Although attacks happen here and there, the general feeling is still closer to hope and appreciation of the plan than pessimism. More families are returning to the homes they were once forced to leave, and we’re talking about some of the most dangerous districts such as Ghazaliya and Haifa Street.
Al-Sabah reports that yesterday alone 327 families returned home and that the scene of vans loaded with furniture of refugees leaving Baghdad is no more. There were times when the average was around 20 a day. The 327 figure brought the total to more than 500 families across Baghdad.
Al-Hurra TV aired a report on the story and interviewed some of the returning Baghdadis, one man said "those who returned earlier and saw the change in the situation called us and encouraged us to return, and I too will encourage the rest to come back". The report showed those families asking the army to stay and not abandon their neighborhood, and showed the officer in charge giving his number to the locals so that they can contact him directly in case of emergency.
Since I can't read Arabic, I had to visit the linked site in the English version and perhaps there's more to the story that didn't show up, or maybe it was just a direct link to the site itself and not a specific story, but going over the posts on the front page, the only real mention of people moving back in was this:
Baghdad, Feb 21, P3
Coinciding with the realized results of the law imposition plan, the Human Rights Ministry has continued the offering of various assistants to the oppressively displaced families in Baghdad's districts and its outskirts
In a press statement, the Eng. Wajdan Salam, the Human Rights Minister had attracted the attention that the ministry has escalated manners of exerting efforts in parallel with the security plan implementation via implementing a campaign to offer humanitarian aids, included food stuffs, blankets, and various clothes for children, women and equipments distributed among the oppressively driven away families.
That doesn't sound like the shining return to Iraq amidst joy and happiness that the above blogger wrote about. Again, perhaps I couldn't find that article and hopefully, someone can. Again I wish I could read Arabic and find that article because more than likely the context of the post is subject to misinterpretation from translated from Arabic to English.
Regardless, Iraq the Model closes that post a sense of hope:
Looking at the relative increase in the number of attacks and their geographic extent one can expect the coming days to bring more escalation, but with the amount of power available for US and Iraqi troops I think the bad guys will not be able to achieve much.
Hopefully not, although daily news reports seem to say otherwise. One thing I do want to point out is the recent allegations of a rape in Iraq that are quickly being called lies by Maliki and assumed to be an effort to undermine the security crack down. Now the woman in question apparently has had:
"...three outstanding warrants had been issued against her for unspecified charges."
As Riverbend notes,
As expected, Al Maliki is claiming the rape allegations are all lies. Apparently, his people simply asked the officers if they raped Sabrine Al Janabi and they said no. I'm so glad that's been cleared up.
I'm not surprised, to say the least.
But let's not get sidetracked again. I was asked to 'expand my horizons.' I visited Iraq the Model, as I was asked to do but I went a step farther. When I visited that site, I saw a blogroll of what I can only assume are either other Iraq blogs or blogs written by Iraqis, destinations perhaps both inside and outside of Iraq.
Here's what I found.
Last writing on January 25th, Mohammed T. Abbas of Iraqi Rocker wrote, in part:
What I want from this world?? I just want to start having my life, you know I don't think I'm asking for too much, have a normal life, like everyone else, sometimes when I walk in Damascus streets and I see the people are having alot of fun and having a normal life, and having normal problems, I just ask myself is God doing this to us on purpose, is there really something cold God, people are dying back in my country everyday, and God is not saving them or look after them, where is God?? why don't he save all these people? are we doomed? what was the bad thin we did so we deserve this life, we are doomed since the dawn of time, all civilizations were in Iraq it most vanish in the end, that's Iraq history, no one will save us, I hope I'll catch up with you soon people, take care and wish me luck, and y dreams will come true someday soon, keep rockin people.
On December 20th of last year:
"...I'll leave Baghdad in 2 days, I'm going to Syria as first step to the world, I'm not going to see death anymore, I'm not going to hear car explosions again, I will back to life again, I'm not living dead anymore..."
He does offer a glimmer of hope on December 28th, as he writes from Syria:
but most of the people who leave me comments think that I hate Americans, I don't hate them at all, not even a bit, I was so glad when they came to Iraq and kicked Saddam's ass, and I don't want them to get out of Iraq now, they can't, because they didn't bring peace yet, or anything, and after the mission will be accomplished they can leave if they want or leave some base, just like what they got in the rest of the world, so what I want to say is I don't have any problem with the American but I just want them to bring peace to my country.
Writing undated from Pearls of Iraq is nothing. All posts have been removed and in it's place is this statement:
As you can see there is has been a change with the blog. Pearls of Iraq blog will be down for a bit of time. I will be returning to Iraq and will be there, home, for hopefully 1-2 years or so. The situation is difficult, as everyone must imagine, so after with much thought, taking into many factors, for right now Pearls will be guarding her precious gems.
You take that however you want, but I think it's fairly obvious.
The next site on Iraq the Models's Iraq blogroll that I visited was No Pain No Gain
Here's part of the most recent post, dated just last Monday, February 12th, 2007:
The following was written in regard to the relevant discussion of Iraq and America:
All nations have their flaws. My concern is how much more flaw Americans have in comparison to Iraqis and vise versa. Its about quality and thus quantity as well.
Baathists who raped and killed Iraqis are worse than Americans and foreigners ever would. We forgot those days where we end up finding ourself to be very deaf to the experiences prior to Iraq becoming the MAIN theme of the world Media (aka Iraq before 2003 war). It is just American this, nonMuslims that. To this day, Iraqis apply all the torture styles that had been imposed on the Iraqi population and this is not limited to the Baaathists. The electric drill-holes, the cutting tongues, pulling nails and cigarette burns are some of the work that continue to take place without neccessity of the primary Baath leadership. How could a new life and beginning proceed in Iraq if even the slightest remnant of the Baath torture styles have continued to drag on into the chapter of life without Saddam? I must wonder how...
I am very aware how USA is taking advantage of Iraq's vulnerability through possible promoting of sectarian violence and by using Iraq's resources as more Iraqis are murdered. While all that happens, many of us fail to mention how USA is STILL beneficial and loyal to the average citizen living in USA now regardless of how criminal they look to the world. And this is the sole reason what strikes me about USA. It is absurd to hear anti Iraq war protestors call out Bush to be like Saddam. Saddam and "Americans" are different, a simple reason why? Because Saddam NEVER cared for Iraqis but Bush cared and still care for their own people even during the presence of the wars he has created.
Interesting to read how an Iraqi is aware of the US promoting sectarian violence in Iraq, and using the Iraqis resources on the one hand, and then not understanding why Americans are against Bush for the reason he lays out.
Another point is how this Iraqi perhaps perceives what has happened in his country by the ending statement on my citation:
Because Saddam NEVER cared for Iraqis but Bush cared and still care for their own people even during the presence of the wars he has created.
Again, telling.
Here's January 29th from the same blogger:
Here's a little tale about someone I know:
A middle aged Iraqi man had lived in Amriya Baghdad most of his life. Most of his children have left the country but he and his wife who are parents never saw life outside their only home in Amriyah. The years they spent working for it, the amount of money they put in it...how can one expect them to leave when they know they may never see their home in one piece. This man is Sunni, his parents are Sunni and Shia and his wife is Sunni. One night, a bunch of kidnappers who were presumingly Sunni kidnapped this innocent man and was tortured by the kidnappers for being a Shia. As soon this man's family found out about his kidnapping and the reason for the kidnap, the man's family immediately took his identification and family birth certificates showing that he is a Sunni in hope to stop the kidnappers from killing him.
What continues to amaze me is how Muslims used to complain about how US troops use bags over Iraqi heads when they arrest certain suspects. This Iraqi man was blind folded and had a bag over his head the whole time this kidnapping took place and these kidnappers were not Americans, they were in fact Iraqi. The kidnappers initially asked only for a ransom from his family but when the man accidently caught sight or appearance of the kidnappers, the criminals who kidnapped him became very aggressive and wanted to kill him for what he saw. With faith and help from his family negotiating with these criminals, this man was reluctantly freed by the kidnappers. This experience enlightened him to 2 certain things; 1)He realized that life in Amriyah is too risky and that it is not worth staying. 2) The reason he found his presence to be of no benefit in Iraq is because when he caught a glimpse of these kidnappers, they turned to be just kids.
Next on my stop was Iraq Rising, a blog who's latest post is dated March 12th, 2006:
This business of forming a new Iraqi Government is just taking too long.. 3 months have passed already and still the politicians squabble and bicker. It’s all about power and greed.
...
That post primarily seems to deal with frustration in the formation of the government and not being able to see eye-to-eye on the best way to form an effective government and quickly. And yet, that was March of last year and still the government in Iraq is slow to respond and not always effective. I would like to see an update from this blogger to see how their perspective has changed since that post last year. The only posts I have to refer to are previous posts such as Separation Is Inevitable:
I write this post with great foreboding and sadness. But realities on the ground must be acknowledged and with each passing day it is becoming clearer to me that there is no alternative left but to separate the Shia south from the rest of the country. And I do mean in the fullest sense, and not as a separate federal state which is also part of the rest of Iraq. The situation has developed too far for any other solution to be possible. The Shia politicians want this, the people of the south seam to have been convinced of this, and the rest of Iraq cannot accept the rule of the Mullahs so they will also see no alternative but to accept this.. Of course, this will come as music to the ears of the Iranians, but to be honest they have played a good strategic game and have outflanked everyone,. Let no one say Iranians are stupid.
...
this post, A Year Of Blunders:
Sometimes it is difficult for people to look at events and their causes objectively. People tend to live in the moment and events which maybe news today are usually completely forgotten a week or two later.
A semi undeclared Iraqi civil war is more or less here, it might not be a full blown out faction v faction war in the classical sense, but it is a civil war none the less. Civilians are dying on all sides simply to serve the whims and greedy corruption of the few people at the top.
Many Iraqi bloggers have written very good articles and posts on these latest events. And many have hit the nail on the head with regards to the historic Sunni v Shia’ conflicts in Iraq.
Many bloogers, myself included, have been very critical of the militia’s involvements in these latest events and we have squabbled over and regurgitated many theories behind the intensions and motivations of these militia groups and their friendly neighbourhood paymasters across the way. Whilst some others Iraqis bloggers, have laid the blame squarely at the door of the terrorist Wahhabis and their Sunni supporter who have waged a constant and bloody campaign targeted mainly against the Shi’a population whom they see as infidels and a soft spot for them to hit.
...
This blogger then lays out a point by point explanation of perhaps how the situation got to where it was at that point but let's just take a read at just a couple.
1- I think the root of the current problems started way back when the American administration refused/ or were unable to capture Sadr and his gang back in 2004. That failure gave a very loaded message that there is a weakness in the coalition’s ranks and that has allowed a rag tag gang of 1000 or so criminals to escape, only to become now a very well armed militia of 10,000-20,000 men whom are well armed and emboldened by political and logistical support from Iran and it’s people in the current government.
...
4- The 2005 December 15th elections: could really have been the successful turning point in Iraq for making it a success. So much was riding on having the fairest and freest elections possible. An election which would serve as a standard for the region for years to come. Unfortunately that was not the case. And trust the Arabs/ Iraqis to bungle it up, and trust the Americans for being so naïve as to allow Iraqis the responsibility of running such important and historic elections at such a critical point in time.
Of course, that was March 1st of last year. I wonder what happened to this blogger and why this site hasn't been updated recently...
When MataHarley told me to read Iraq The Model, the very first post I read was about how wonderful the returning Iraqis are upon coming home to their country. Why xxx amount returned just last week, it seems to say. Which brings me next to Healing Iraq, specifically the most recent post, War Away From War, dated February 19th, 2007:
Two Iraqis currently living in New York write about their experience away from home.
The first, my friend and colleague Ayub Nuri, writes an op-ed in the New York Times about haunting memories and nightmares from Iraq. And another by Sarmad Ali, an Iraqi journalist working for the Wall Street Journal, about missing family members thousands of miles away in Baghdad.
I am often asked here how it feels to be an Iraqi in New York, and I was even considering writing a piece about it, but I think the above two articles perfectly sum up my feelings and, I'm sure, the feelings of hundreds of thousands of other Iraqi exiles.
All I can say is go read the two very telling, sad and in places, disturbing articles his two friends wrote. Then go back and see his second most recent post, dated February 17th, Scense From Baghdad. On second thought, if you've recently eaten, perhaps you should wait 30 minutes or so before you visit that post. However, if you simply cannot wait and want a preview, just look at this picture. Then watch this movie, The Iraq That Was and then read this post by the same blogger, but appearing on Iraq Slogger.
We're now at the end of the blogs I visited. When I got to Iraq At A Glance, the most recent post is from Sunday, Dec. 31st 2006:
That’s it, he has been executed, I hope it will help minimizing the violence in this burning country.
But the disgusting part is after watching the cell phone video recording of his execution; it really made me sad for what is waiting for Iraq.
It’s clear that those executioners are fanatic Shiites, including the members of the current Iraqi government who witnessed the execution. I can tell that one of them, despite he is masked, (the one behind Saddam) keeps that thick Shiite beard and he was trying hardly to cover it! Then the witnesses chanted ‘Long live Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr’ and ‘grant victory to his son, Muqtada, Muqtada, Muqtada’.. !!
Lovely!
We get rid of a tyrant to glorify a retarded fat boy!
Can you imagine how strong Al-Sadr and Al- Hakim are getting? They are everywhere in the government and controlled almost everything.
Will the Shiites start seriously in building a destroyed country or follow their ugly new clerics and wait for their hidden twelfth Imam to emerge in the end times?!
Are we changing Saddam’s pictures with bearded men?
Is Iraq going to be an Islamic Republic?
The Iraqi doctors, engineers and professionals are getting killed, the rest are leaving the country and thousands others left under Saddam.. who will run Iraq? The SCIRI? Sadrists? Saddam's Loyals?
Shall I forget this country forever?
That's the last post. Then again, Riverbend posts infrequently so hopefully, this blogger is still around and perhaps in the country to provide a more direct perspective on the situation as it changes. I'll have to check back here.
So to MataHarley who send me on this brief, and by no means encompassing journey, I'm left with a mixed impression. From the handful of blogs that I'm just seeing for the first time, I found a number of them to not be updated (like Riverbend), and many displaying mixed emotions on the Iraqi government, an atmosphere that Baghdad is just as dangerous as it has been, confirmation of thousands and thousands of exiles lving abroad in such places as Syria as well as NYC (noted above), and a seeming reluctance to simple endorse with 100% confidence all that has happened in Iraq since we showed up.
"It's great to see Saddam gone but..."
"If only the Iraqi government would..."
"I can't wait to leave...I have no home anymore..."
This is what I'm walking away from this with. To be fair, of course, these are blogs I haven't been following more closely like I do some sites I read daily, I haven't witnessed more writings by these people, and so my overall assesment may be skewed although I think skewed is the wrong word. Underinformed may be better, but only in the dimension that I haven't read too many Iraq blogs.
The point I'm making is that you pointed me to a blog in an effort to show me a positive side of Iraq, which I saw. I sensed hope in the voice of Iraq the Model. However, it was when I started perusing Iraq the Model's Iraq blogroll that that sense of hope for the future again began to dwindle amidst sadness, anger, and story after story of devastation, missing family members and friends, escape to other countries and continents, and a mixed bag on the role of Americans in Iraq, civil war, torture, relief efforts, humanitarian efforts, etc.
And lastly, this was done over the course of a couple hours on a Wednesday morning. Surely it cannot cover the last 4 years. But it's what I'm walking away from.
In closing, if you've made it this far, you might recall my talking about my son way up above and how I'd be coming back to it. Of the blogs I read today, I didn't see any semblance of normal life, discussion of random, normal day-to-day activities without the air of war or danger hanging over the heads of these writers. Given the situation, of course, no one should be surprised by that, not when everyday there carries a far greater risk than it does here. But for all the clamoring on the right that things are going swimmingly and that things are on the up and up, I simply do not believe it.
The place is a mess, it's been a mess, and it will continue to be a mess for the forseeable future. My gripe and what I think a major gripe with a majority of the anti-war crowd in America is is that the war itself has been poorly executed.
Sure, war is war and there is no static movement of events, no 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and you're done. But when we hear reports that there was little to no planning to secure the borders, no expectation of sectarian violence, that perhaps there weren't enough troops to begin with, that our troops were sent there often without the neccesary body armor or vehicle armor, that money that was intended to finance reconstruction was often "lost," Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, Najaf, missing WMD's, military tribunals, Gitmo, CIA rendition flights...
...just to name a few...
...if you're going to then comment on another post of mine that dealt with the Military Commission Act by stating how it has been repeatedly passed by a majority of politicans, how it deals with people captured fighting us on the field (which is not a 100% accurate portrayal of those who have been rounded up, I'll add), and all the other little facets of your coment that you included, bear in mind that I didn't vote for the Military Commissions Act.
I didn't fail to properly supply our troops with armor.
I didn't lose $12 billion dollars.
I wasn't torturing inmates at Abu Ghraib.
etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
Welcome to the camp of people who oppose this war because of the decisions that got here and has led to the aftermath we all write and argue about today. Do not confuse my feelings or writings with "not supporting the troops," "undermining America," or not "being patriotic enough in a time of war to support the President no matter what."
It's been a disaster since day one and I will not support the person who took us there to begin with. If in 15, 20, 30 years, Iraq does flourish as a democracy and a beacon of hope that transforms the entire area, that'll be great. Hopefully it'll be the result of the Iraqis taking a more proactive role in their own freedom and security.
The counter-argument to that of course is that had it not been for Bush taking us there in the first place, it might not have been possible. That's where I point you back to the points that I didn't vote on.
It could've been done differently and it could've been done better, in my opinion.
And so I will not credit Bush for that transformation, if and when it occurs. When repeated problems have come up that needed to be addressed, when discussion was needed to clarify the role of the mission and the role we play, when questions were asked and criticisms were laid down, they were all pushed to the side and the skeptics have been repeatedly marginalized and ignored.
(Update - need to clarify this point below)
Don't get me wrong - the battle for freedom is always worth it, but not at the sacrifice of our own overall standing in the world as a result of misinformation, propaganda, lies, half-truths, irresponsibility, lack of discussion, lack of understanding, preparation, and probably human rights violations that most likely continue today, unknown to the rest of us.
The battle for freedom...how do I say this without losing sight of my overall point? Freedom is good and you'll get no argument from me there. Yet there are too many people who now want to argue that no matter what has happened since day 1, so long as we get to that freedom, it's all worth it.
Not in my book. Not if it means dragging my name and my country's name through the mud just to get there.
If we bring freedom to Iraq, then Abu Ghraib was worth it?
Death squads and torture was worth it?
Shady and secretive laws regarding the treatment of prisoners, the denial of rights and proper due process, secret evidence, torture and coerced confessions? All worth it?
Our own nation now deeply divided on partisan lines with one side calling the other traitors, unAmerican, unpatriotic, and worthy of death?
Muslim-phobia here?
All in our name? No, not mine, thank you. Too often people see A and then they see Z and say, "Look where we are today!" and yet forget the entire journey that has taken us there.
Life, too, is a journey and one that begins when you're born and one that ends when you die. Yet life isn't about ultimately where you get to, it's about what you do in that time that you're here. It's about what happens between the beginning and the end that matters and like the war, like the struggle for freedom in Iraq, so matters what happens in between what got us there and the end result.
It's what we due during that time before the end point that matters, that will carry on our legacies, and that people will ultimately remember, and that which history will judge us on.
I don't disagree that Iraq should be free. I disagree with the method that may bring about it's freedom. And in this country, the freedom to have a difference of opinion and voice it as well is that which separates us from those whom we are supposedly fighting.
To call me unpatriotic truly goes against all that the word patriot means. Not that you've personally questioned my patriotism, MataHarley, but it has been time and time again and usually by people, not unlike yourself, who want to point me in this direction and that direction to "see the hope" that is Iraq.
Sadly, I still don't see it. Perhaps some day I will. But the voices of those I read earlier don't display much hope either and they live and blog about that region and the effects of the last 4 years.
I will take that at face value.
In the meantime, I will make sure I hold onto two pictures.