Green Energy
Is this Iraq's destiny?
PERHAPS no fact is more revealing about Iraq’s history than this: The Iraqis have a word that means to utterly defeat and humiliate someone by dragging his corpse through the streets.
The word is “sahel,” and it helps explain much of what I have seen in three and a half years of covering the war.
Caught in the middle of the civil war are the Americans. To Iraq’s factions, they are the weakest of all the armed groups in one crucial respect: their will is ebbing and their time here is limited. That leaves Iraqis more motivated than ever to cling to their weapons, preparing for what many see as an inevitable plunge into the abyss.
The belief of the Shiites that they must consolidate power through force of arms is tethered to ever-present suspicions of an impending betrayal by the Americans. Though the Americans have helped institute the representative system of government that the Shiites now dominate, they have failed to eliminate memories of how the first President Bush allowed Saddam Hussein to slaughter rebelling Shiites in 1991. Shiite leaders are all too aware, as well, of America’s hostility toward Iran, the seat of Shiite power, and of its close alliances with Sunni Arab nations, especially Saudi Arabia.
“Everyone — the Sunni, the Shia — is playing the waiting game,” an Iraqi leader told me over dinner at his home in the Green Zone. “They’re waiting out the Americans. Everyone is using time against you.”
Much seemed different in April 2003, when the Americans pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square and allowed Iraqis to drag it through the streets. It looked like an act of sahel at the time, but the Americans failed to establish total control, as Iraqi history says a conqueror must.
Looking back on all I have seen of this war, it now seems that the Iraqis have been driving all along for the decisive victory, the act of sahel, the day the bodies will be dragged through the streets.”
- Anti-war Is Not The Same Thing As Pro-peace
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- Why The Death Penalty Is Necessary For Murderous Dictators
The Los Angeles Times calls for Saddam Hussein to be restored to power. ... allow me to propose the unthinkable: Maybe, just maybe, our best option is to restore Saddam Hussein to power. Yes, I know. Hussein is a psychotic mass murderer. Under his rule,...
- Don't Give Up On Iraq Yet!
Read this excellent article in Real Clear Politics on the MSM's failures in reporting and an "on the street" assessment by Ralph Peters, a retired U.S. Army officer, after his recent visit to Iraq after the Golden Mosque bombing. Claims of civil...
- Us Officials Begin Talks With Iraqi Insurgents
Attemtpting to take advantage of a rift between homegrown insurgents and foreign Al Qaeda members, the United States has entered into negotiations with Iraqi insurgents: Citing a Western diplomat, an Iraqi political leader and an Iraqi insurgent leader,...
Green Energy
The Day We Drag The Bodies Through The Streets
Is this Iraq's destiny?
PERHAPS no fact is more revealing about Iraq’s history than this: The Iraqis have a word that means to utterly defeat and humiliate someone by dragging his corpse through the streets.
The word is “sahel,” and it helps explain much of what I have seen in three and a half years of covering the war.
Caught in the middle of the civil war are the Americans. To Iraq’s factions, they are the weakest of all the armed groups in one crucial respect: their will is ebbing and their time here is limited. That leaves Iraqis more motivated than ever to cling to their weapons, preparing for what many see as an inevitable plunge into the abyss.
The belief of the Shiites that they must consolidate power through force of arms is tethered to ever-present suspicions of an impending betrayal by the Americans. Though the Americans have helped institute the representative system of government that the Shiites now dominate, they have failed to eliminate memories of how the first President Bush allowed Saddam Hussein to slaughter rebelling Shiites in 1991. Shiite leaders are all too aware, as well, of America’s hostility toward Iran, the seat of Shiite power, and of its close alliances with Sunni Arab nations, especially Saudi Arabia.
“Everyone — the Sunni, the Shia — is playing the waiting game,” an Iraqi leader told me over dinner at his home in the Green Zone. “They’re waiting out the Americans. Everyone is using time against you.”
Much seemed different in April 2003, when the Americans pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square and allowed Iraqis to drag it through the streets. It looked like an act of sahel at the time, but the Americans failed to establish total control, as Iraqi history says a conqueror must.
Looking back on all I have seen of this war, it now seems that the Iraqis have been driving all along for the decisive victory, the act of sahel, the day the bodies will be dragged through the streets.”
- Anti-war Is Not The Same Thing As Pro-peace
Arabs in Iraq want US troops to leave the country. When do they wish this? When the Iraqi Army and Police Forces are ready to assume responsibility for the security of the country. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid also want US troops out of Iraq--but they...
- Perchance, Is This The Way We Will Win?
Saudi Arabia and Iran Will Come Head To Head In Iraq (from the Telegraph): The gulf's two military powers, Sunni-Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, are lining up behind their warring religious brethren in Iraq in a potentially explosive showdown,...
- Why The Death Penalty Is Necessary For Murderous Dictators
The Los Angeles Times calls for Saddam Hussein to be restored to power. ... allow me to propose the unthinkable: Maybe, just maybe, our best option is to restore Saddam Hussein to power. Yes, I know. Hussein is a psychotic mass murderer. Under his rule,...
- Don't Give Up On Iraq Yet!
Read this excellent article in Real Clear Politics on the MSM's failures in reporting and an "on the street" assessment by Ralph Peters, a retired U.S. Army officer, after his recent visit to Iraq after the Golden Mosque bombing. Claims of civil...
- Us Officials Begin Talks With Iraqi Insurgents
Attemtpting to take advantage of a rift between homegrown insurgents and foreign Al Qaeda members, the United States has entered into negotiations with Iraqi insurgents: Citing a Western diplomat, an Iraqi political leader and an Iraqi insurgent leader,...