A most caustic concurrence

"My article in Al-Ahram Weekly

Three years on, Iraq, argues Abbas Kadhim*, has become the model of what not to do

Three years ago, a coalition of mainly American and British forces made its way into Iraq along the same path of previous invasions, the south. Once again, the Shia were subjected to the hard test of a three-fold dilemma. While they did not want to die defending Saddam Hussein's oppressive regime, they were not very excited about the prospects of the imminent Anglo-American invasion of their land. The third dimension of their quandary was inspired by their 1991 experience with broken American promises, for which they paid the heaviest price among other Iraqis. Unlike the Kurds who were given a safe enclave in the north, the Shia were thrown to the wolves with complete indifference. This time around, American affirmations, pronounced by yet another George Bush, were shrugged off. The march through Iraq was not a "cake-walk" as self-appointed Iraqi opposition leaders with nominal affiliation with the country and a cursory knowledge of the real Shia sentiments prophesied."
Abbas Kadhim

If I did not know better I would swear Abbas has been reading my blog. :) needless to say I agree with much of what he said, not all mind you, I don't know that Iraq was the safest place in the ME. We all know that the perceived safety of a police state is only an elusion, or I guess a mirage in the dessert.

If we could ask all those people in the mass graves if they were safe, what would they say? Abbas himself reported once to having seen a regime tank come to his town with the words "today there is no more Shi'a" written on the sides. There is no need to ask Abbas if he felt safe that day, he left Iraq after that and made his way here to the US. So you have to remember to read that line as relative safety. Sort of the safety of being in solitary confinement in a prison.

And the line about the Interior Ministry not being able to work effectively, we all know that left to their own device they would be engaged in a campaign of payback, not that they are not doing that now, but they would surly have made saddams campaign against the Kurds look like a kindergarten school play. Which brings us back to the safest place in the ME line. If Iraq was so safe, them why do the Shi'a hold such a grudge against their countrymen. Seems to me that someone, at sometime must have done something to them to make them so lustful for revenge.

These comments were e-mailed to Abbas as his comment are still closed. Maybe he will grace us with a response.