iraqi screen

British Are Coming, British Are Fleeing

2007-02-27T23:53:00.000-08:00

As usual media created big fuss regarding Britain's decision to withdraw 1500 soldier from Iraq or you can say the same fuss created with the British decision to put their hand in the US hand and go together to the hell of the land of Two Rivers.

I know and most of the Arab world knows, how the Americans and British people are fond of adventures? For example, an Arab individual whom his main concern is to have a rest whenever he is free, can't understand foreign people desire to climb mountains and even lose their lives for this goal, or to go o the middle east for tourism though they know that it is full of moslem extremists and get killed there?

It is the same with the British soldiers mission in Iraq, the Iraqis till now, do not understand why did the British come to Iraq and why they decided to flee now?

Why would a British soldier leave his England where he can have a bottle of wine or glass of beer in one hand and a girlfriend in the other and go to a primitive place like Iraq to be surrounded by Sadder loyalties shouting all the time, " Bush is telling Blair, Be careful of Sayed Sadder," a shout a British soldier would need 100 year to understand its vague meaning.

When you ask a British person about Britain adventure in Iraq, he will tell you that he did his best to stop the war by marching in a one million demonstration against the war and put the blame on Blair.

Moreover, if you have the chance to sit with British and American journalists together, you will listen to a very silly conversation between the two of them, the British journalist who writes every day in his newspaper about the invasion and its crimes, feels proud over his American colleague out of his belief that the British soldiers in the south behave better with the Iraqis than the Americans and that people in the south are in love with them!!!!!!!! Something absolutely absurd.

But the big question most of the Iraqis is asking is, why Britain with all its history in colonilization, in a way it used to be called literary, " The empire in which the sun never disappear," would accept to be a follower to the US in such a humiliating way and go to the quagmire of Iraq?

I asked this question to an Iraqi nationalist and his answer was like that, Britain is the leader of colonization in the world over the history and in fact the US learned colonization from the British, so British are the masters and the Americans are their followers.

When the US consulted the British about the invasion of Iraq, the British found it a good chance to remind the world that they are the masters of colonization and that the Americans are only stupid imitators, and with their old experience in Iraq, they knew that Iraq would be the best trap for the Americans that they would regret it all over their history.

So, they say ”Yes” to America but with a condition to be in the south of Iraq cause they knew that this part of Iraq is inhabited by Shiite who were ready to make an alliance with the devil to get rid of Saddam Hussein, and to be close to the wells of oil in Basra and Umara.

If the US are little bit smart they would ask the British to go for few months to the western part of Iraq, God only knows what would happen to the British soldiers and how their behaviour would be with the Sunni people there?

In Summer of 2004, some of the British forces came to the Death triangle inhabited by Sunnis, the first day they arrived six British soldiers killed all together in one attack, after few weeks the British went back to the south.

After four years, the entire world became aware of the big disaster created by the invasion and the scale of the damage cause to the Iraqis on all levels and after the US loss of all its credit in the Arab world if not all over the world, the British think that their mission is accomplished and they can flee now and leave the Americans to find a solution for their dilemma in Iraq.

The most interesting thing, the nationalist added that the British claim that they have spent 52 million pound for reconstruction in the south within a campaign is called “Sindibad” which from its name you can understand that it is imaginary cause Sindibad himself is one of the imaginary characters of 1001 night stories.

If you go the south of Iraq and this is by the admission of the British newspapers, you can not find any trace of this construction apart of planting some palm trees here and refurbishing some schools there and in fact you would accept that claim though you know that the oil in the south is more than the drinking water there and it is under the control of the British and they can play with it as they like.

But, let us forget about reconstruction and think about the legacy left by the British in the south, do not ask a Moslem woman about the situation there but ask Christian and see what she would tell you while she is wearing her scarf and planning to leave in fear of all Shiite militia gathered there and terrifying anybody stand against them.

Basra now is an Iranian city where you can find pictures of Khomeini and Khamini’i and thousands of Iranian books, in fact the original people there are complaining that the city is losing its Arab identity and even woman hijab is an Iranian not as the well known Iraqi hijab style.

The simplest dream for the people in Basra, they thought the British would accomplish for them is to have a hospital for the children there but over four years now,though million of dollars have been looted for a huge project to build such a hospital, people can not see one brick of this project on the ground.

The people are asking there, “ Did the British come to Basra to pave the way for the Iranians to occupied the South of Iraq supported by its Iraqi allies and after doing this mission in the most perfect way, now they are fleeing? Thanks alot for that, dear Brits, we are so grateful to you."

Iraqi Kids After The Invasion

2007-02-26T12:04:00.000-08:00

I was talking with an Iraqi psychiatrist about cases of kids traumatized by the war and terror wave that is ravaging Iraq, the doctor told me that the number of the Iraqi kids who suffered of different types of sycho problems since the US invasion till now is increasing rapidly.

He said, " If I receied five patients in my clinic every day, be sure one of them is a kid, which means I receive no less than 60 kids per a month."

The doctor was talking about Iraqi girl whose only 9 yr old but she is in panic all the time and all of a sudden she might start screaming without any reason if she is at home or at school.

The reason of her case is that while she was heading home from her school she has seen some gunmen kidnapping a kid after beating him severely and she was stuck between but survived by a miracle.

The only way now to clam this kid is to give her valium tabelt and make her sleep, otherwise sh won't stop screaming and shouting, " They are coming, they are coming, they will kill me."

But the doctor voiced to me his surprise for a new case he received recently which he had never come close before since he became a doctor.

The case is of a sister and her two brothers, she is only 12 yr while her brothers are 8 yr and 6 yr, they live in Sader city. The father has divorced the mother and the mother runaway some where and left the three kids alone.

The three kids were left to the drug gangesters in Sader city who did not spare any effort to provide the three kids with different kinds of medications, in a way these medications became their real nutrition.

All of that is fine and ok and we can find such thing everywhere but the doctor said that he was shocked when he found the 12yr sister does not feel ok and happy unless she takes Viagra because she is addict to Viagra!!!!!!!!!!!!

" When the three kids brought to the hospital by a man who volunteered to help the kids, I found that the boys are addict to different types of medications but for my shock, I found this young girl is addict to Viagra, how can she take it and why she is taken this medication, something I could not understand."

I needed to talk with an Iraqi girl whose her school is attacked by mortars and she herself was wounded, she said, "Thanks God, the break was finished an we we just heading back to our classes when the mortars fell inside the school, it would be a real massacre if we were in the school yard, but I was wounded in my hand and so as many girls with me."

The school now is deserted, only 12 girl would come to the class because some of them, their families stopped sending them to school because they do not want them to be killed.

" every week, I might go once or twice to the school though I like my school and classes very much but it is very risky, the tripe to the school is risky too and my mother is worried all the time, that i might be kidnapped." Hadier said.

At night, I put the satellite on Iraqi local channle is called, there was a program about kids education and what are the suitable means to educated the Iraqi kid and raise him in the right way, I sat to listen to the woman who was hosting a man was talking about this subject and answering the viewers questions.

The mobile rang, and it was a kid from Hilla who wanted to ask the man a question and see what does he think?

The question of the kid was, is it Halal or Haram for a kid to wound his head with a sword or anything sharp in the anniversary of Imam Hussein in an imitation of the way Imam Ali assassinated in Kufa mosque by a persian guy who was carrying a poisioned sword?

The man answer to the kid was like that, he said, " Dear kid, before I use to disagree with this habit but recently I discovered it is very useful and even appreciated by world psychiatrists for its merits, and in addition to that, according to the Sharret law it is Halal!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really could not understand how Islamic Sharret would accept a kid hurt himself like that while all its laws are meant to maintian the safety of the moslems and every body knows how sensative the head is, being a major part of the body and a kid might lose his conciousness or sight by hitting his head with sharp tool and thought the man answer would be to execuse this kid of such thing and wait till he becomes a man, at least.

Poor Iraqi kids, I do not know where he will get from? and when he will live like any common kid in the world away of blood, violence and terror.

Bush Revenge

2007-02-25T15:28:00.000-08:00

I was talking with some foreign journalists about the situation in Iraq and the reasons behind the US invasion to Iraq, one of the British journalist told me that the real reason of the war was Bush, the son, desire to revenge for his father.

I looked at the man and really could not believe what he had said, I was completely shocked of his speech.

Is it believable that that journalist believe in such thing and if it is true, is it believable that the president of the supreme state in the world belives in revenge?

I have heard and read alot about western world resentment of the Arab society being primitive and tribal as one of its main principles is revenge but never think that Bush believes in revenge like any Arab tribe and he launched this bloody war which claimed lives of thousands Iraqis and American soldiers just to revenge for his father whose ok and enjoy his life in peace and tranquility.

But even if we consider the war as a revenge attempt by Bush for his father, again everybody knows that if Bush had a revenge with the Iraqis, it must be with Saddam Hussein because the US accused Saddam in 1993 of planning an assassination attempt against Bush the father in Kuwait and the answer was the second day.

I stil remember it was June 29th at mid night, I was sleeping on the roof and all of a sudden a sharp light shined in the sky and disappeared and when I woke up in the morning I knew that US under Bill Clinton leadership had attacked the Iraqi Mukhabart headquarter in Mansour and damaged many houses there and killed and injured alot of Iraqis.

So in accordance to the tribale norms and traditions, the US revenge to the failing attempt and though they lost nobody, they killed few Iraqis, so wht they want more? in fact even if an Arab tribe wants to revenge for the killing of one of its member, the revenge would be against the person who committed the crime not against the entire family or tribe.

Bust look at Bush revenge from the Iraqis, it has exceeded the most well known revenge in the world and even our tribal system proved to be more civilized than Bush system cause you can pay compensation to the victim's family and finish the subject.

With Bush revenge, though all Iraq's wealths have been drained by the US and its allies for more than four years now, more han 650,000 Iraqi killed in this war, regardless of the missing and handicaps or those who are left with psycho problems or homeless, all of that was not enough.

To revenge for one man, an entire country with more than 26 million has to be destroyed completely and its leader has to be slaughter for the eyes of Bush, the father, like a sheep and still Bush the son is not happy.

can Mr.Bush tell us what does he want from the Iraqis and what they should do so that he would be totally convinced that he had revenged for his father and that his mission was accomplished and he is the best avenger in the history?

Is it not enough for Bush all this Iraqi blood had been shed for the sake of his father? and to submit Iraq on golden dish to Iran though he claims all the time that he is not happy with Iran and war with Iran is imment, though every body knows that these are mere lies and both states enjoy the best relation in the world.

Is it not enough for Bush that he brought all the criminal parties and movements in the world and gathered them in Iraq to rule this country and its people to the downhell?

I have to say that that war made the US loose its fake shining picture in the world particularly in the eyes of the Iraqis, because pre the war, Iraqis idea abou the US was great and that US is the most advanced state in the world with the help of the western media and because the Iraqis neither had the chance to travel to the US to discover the reality of that fact nor the Americans could come to Iraq so that the Iraqis can discovery their reality.

But bush made it easier for both sides, he brought the US forces to Iraq to commit the most horrible crimes in the history of humanity against Iraqis and left the NIQAB from the face of the US, to expose its ugly face to the whole world not to the Iraqis only.

Ammar Al-Hakeem

2007-02-24T13:17:00.000-08:00

I was watching a program run by Iraqi satellite "Al-Diyar" about basic services in Najef, problems of housing, fuel and getting basic needs to live like any normal person in the world.

The program showed familes who had become homeless since the showdown in 2004 between Sader loyalists and US forces, all of them were complaining of the bad conditions there and that they did not get any compensations for their damaged houses or lost sons, or wounded.

Some of them work for the government and their salaries are not enough to buy fuels, food and medications, a woman who was carrying a baby said that hse lost her 4-month son because of poverity and luck of basic treatment and that even she can not buy a dress for her.

The situation was miserable by all means and the people there were shouting where is the government that we have elected, can they come and have a look and find a solution for us, are not we Iraqis?

I looked at these people and I know there are thousands of examples like them all over Iraq and wondered why the Iraqi people lost any energy to go in protest against the crazy prize of fuels in addition to its absence from the streert, why the Iraqis are ready to stand in line for gas for a week and do not go in protest over that?

why they do not protest for the luck of security, power, water and services? why? what happened to our people?

Then after few minutes I turned the channel to watch Iraqi local satellite "Al-Furat" and saw people in Najef and some other provines in the south were marching in protest for the arrest of Ammar Al-Hkeem for four hours by the Americans and that they were upset and even Adel Abdul Mahdi is upset, the vice president for that and really surprised.

I just want to know these people who are protesting for Mr.Ammar whose is fine and ok, did they ever think to protest for the 50 or 60 body found in Iraq every day thrown in teh trash, these peopel are not human being, not Iraqis, only Mr.ammar who lives like a king, while most of these innocent people are common people who can't find enough food for them and their families.

I remembered listening to an Iraqi guy who lives in London and contacted Al-Mustakala satellite to defend Malki that he is a great man and even you can see heavenly light shining on his face!!!!!!

And with endless complains by people about the bad performance of the Malki governmnet, the guy clinged to pretext used by the governments and its loyalists that it is an elected government and no one has the right to criticize it.

I turned the channel to Al-Jazeera and watched the news that Italian prime minster has resigned though everybody know that Romano Prodi last year won remarkably in the elections there.

when I saw that I said to myself when the Iraqi will learn real democracy and the governement in Baghdad have the courage to declare its failure to the world and resign.

Sure this is impossible because democracy in Iraq is imported to the Iraqis by the Americans, they know nothing about it and it seems that they want to stay moving in the satellite of the elected government which is blessed by God and Marjiyia and it is beyond and criticizm or democracy.

Mahdi Army

2007-01-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

When the fight broke out with Sader's fallowers and US forces, most of the journalists heaed to Najef to cover the fight there,

while we were there, we had the chance to speak with one of Sader assistant about Sader, the father views about Imam Al-mahdi, the man said, " Al-Sader, the father belives that injustice, corruption and flourish of all sorts of bad things would help in bring Imam Mahdi back to save the world but when Imam Al-Mahdi comes to life and look at those who claim that they are his fallowers and they are waiting for him, he will turn his face and gets very upset because of their behaviour and incommitments to Islam in a way he will head to teh west because he thinks they are better.

We could not believe the man when he said that Imam Al-Mahdi will leave muslems and go to the west nut he insisted on that fact, but today when we look at the crimes committed by those who call themsleves, " Mahdi Ary", I found that man speech was right and sure Imam Al-Mahdi if he comes back to life he would get rid of this army who is using his name for doing very bad things which do not have any relation with the Imam.

Dhiya Ibrahiem, Sunni man in his mid thirtiess with four kids, he just got back from Syria a week ago after renting an apratment there to take his family and leave his neighbourhood which is dominated by this bloody army.

Dhiya who works in selling cars, had few cars that he needed to sell them to leave Iraq to Mahdi army to turn it a jungle that is suitable only for them to stay in.

Dhiya was in his shop which is few meters of his family house, sitting inside his shop when more than 15 armed sectarian cirminal broke in his shop ordering him to come with them, he tried to resist but their guns was on his head in a way he could not do anything.

They were in two cars and they put him in his car and ranaway to Al-Hurriyia district, the den of the criminals.

Dhiya was thrown in the trank of his car and while he was isnide teh trank, his mobile was with him, he rang his family saying, " Mahdi militia took me."

These were the last words Dhyia family heard from him and then he disappeared, the family did not leave a place to ask about their son only the forenisc department because no Sunni dares to go there to collect teh body of his relative, otherwise he himslef he would be killed because this bloody filthy militia is waiting their like hungry vampires to kill the relatives of their Suni victims.

The family decided to send their Shiite neighbour to go to the forenisc department and look for Dhiya because sure he would be one of the 100 unknown body every day found in Baghdad while the Iraqi officials are sitting in the Green Zone counting their millions and stating that the situation is imporving and that their government is the government of the national unity.

The Shiite neighbour found Dhiya sinking in his blood at the forensic department after receiving five bullets in his head and his face and that his hand was on face just to avoid the bullets in a way his fingers were cut too.

Along the trip from Dhiya house till Abu Ghraib graveyard, Dhiya mother was trying to have one look to say goodbye to her son and when the coffin was open, it was full of blood in a way, Dhiya mother became full of blood while she was trying to give him her last kiss.

I was talking with a singer from Sader city who is chased by the co called Mahdi army, he said, " I swear to you, these bloody guys who are chasing me and they want to kill me because Iam a singer, I know them all because Iam Shiite from Sader city, all of them are drug adicts and they drink wines and do all sorts of bad things, now, they tallk about religion and this is Halal and this Haram, may God curse be upon them."

Shame On You

2007-01-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

I can't understand this American mentality which obliged all world people to love what they love and hate what they hate as if they are the only perfect model on this earth and all the other people come after them

I think the entire world would live in great peace if the US administration takes care of the US only and leaves the world people to handle their business without US belssings and support because this policy has proved its failure all ove the history.

For four years now, I have not heard the US administration declaring any strategy to deal with its internal affairs, in the contrary, it has devoted all its time for Iraq, as if Iraq is one of the US states and we do not know, or it is an inheritance for the Americans that they have to kill the Iraqis every day just to save it form the hands of its enemies.

It is absolutely unbelievable, this unbearable interference in Iraq's affairs that reached the level of invasion, destruction and killing of everything dear to us in our country.

I had seen the planes hitting the NY towers but all the investigations proved that all the suiciders who carried out these attacks non of them proved to be Iraqi and the organization behind the attack was Al-Qaida and again all the investigations proved that Iraq did not have any relation with this organization but why all of a sudden when the US administration began its cowboy compeign to revenge from those who blown up the towers, the first people to begin its revenge with was the Iraqis.

I have asked this question to a US General in Iraq, he could not give me an answer because he himself did not know why when the US wanted to fight the terror the choice was the Iraqi people and the battlefield was Iraq, the Iraqis had to die though they had nothing with September events simply because they are not human beings in the view of the US administration and they have to die so that the Americans can enjoy themselves not bother by anybody.

If the matter stopped to this level, we would accepted, but if any wise man takes a look about the bunch of men US picked up from the exile and brought down to rule Iraq, could feel the scale of the damage this administration caused to the Iraqis, they have chosen the worse people in the world and the best example to that was Saddam's execution which spared all the common Iraqis and journalists in Iraq the effort to give a real picture about the sort of government US installed for new Iraq, that we have been trying to tell the world about it but no one belive us.

A set of sectarian politicians who could not set up such a big event in a proper way and were dancing on Saddam body like monkeys and moreover when they wanted to justify that they said it was a habit by the Iraqis which was to dance on the body of their enemies, they wanted to amend their ugly picture by putting this on the shoulder of the Iraqi tradition which has nothing like that.

For any government in the world, whenever they have such big event like that, if they are real politicians not a bunch of criminals would study that carefully because they know that they do not communicate with a special community but they are part of a large world which they have to respect its laws and rules not to behave in such a childish way by claiming that it was an Iraqi special business.

In this event, the Iraqi government backed by US administration not only caused harm to itself but to Iraq, Islam and America itself, and I can assure you the Iraqi people will never forgive America for submitting Saddam to the Iraqi government after a deal with Al-Hakiem made in Washington late.

I want to say if US administartion put 1000 strategy to tale Iraq out of its current hard situation, they want be successful as long as the rulers are those who were at the execution chamber.

Again, everybody was saying who gave America the right to do what it wants to do in our country while Iraq is Iraq not a state at the United States.

Saddam Is The Last Hope For The US

2006-12-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

Since the US invasion to Iraq in 2003 which is a great mistake admitted even by the American officials themselves, the US is trying its best to amend its picture among the Iraqis and the Arab and Moslem world in general but all its efforts are useless because it is always guided by the wrong people who do not have any crediability among the Iraqis or the Arab world.

For almost four years now in Iraq, the US record is getting darker and darker because of some of its soldiers practices and also because all the Iraqis blame the US for the catasrophic situation reached by Iraq as all of them believe that the key decision is in the hand of the Americans not the Iraqi offical puppits who had misled the US to the quagamire of Iraq and the misary of the entire Iraqis.

But, I think now, there is a golden chance in the hand of the US administration and forces In Iraq to improve its position among the Iraqis and the Arab world and prevent a disaster to take place which is to allow the execution of Saddam Hussein after this farce trail.

If the Americans can behave in a wise way this time, they will gain alot among the Iraqi and Arab street but if they listen again to the same people who begged America to come and save them from Saddam regime and how they drag the US army to inbalanced battle, every month no less than 100 US soldier killed while these Iraqi officials either hiding in the green zone or in London or New York, the US will never recover from this fatal mistake.

All the Iraqis now are expecting something very bad with the execution of Saddam Hussein even shiite because they know that this issue would kill the last hope they have in reconciliation and living together peacefully again.

I have talked with so many Sunni during the trial and asked them what do they think of it especailly those whom their relatives have executed by Saddam Hussein regime for plotting against him or for other reasons, they said that they do not watch the trail because they feel it is an insult for them and that all the Sunni in Iraq are in the cage where Saddam put by the shiite and Kurds and if Saddam will be executed they will feel that it is an execution to all the Sunnis in Iraq and nothing would be left for them only to fight for their wounded dignity.

The US must know if that Saddam was a tyrant in its view, he is a great national hero in view of so many Iraqis and Arab people and if you think it is difficult to prove that just read or ask any Arab man about Saddam or about his execution and see what he will tell you.

The only thing the US will gain by submitting Saddam to the Iraqi sectarian government to execute him is the eternal hatred in the Middle Esat and the American people will pay the price though they do not have hand in that but I think it would be very hard for them to visit the Arab world because they would be considered as killers and even moderate Iraqis and Arabs will not forgive them fo this mistake.

In an interview with an Iraqi officer in the Republican Guards who fought during the battle of the airport in Baghdad in 2003, he told me this story, he said, " For us that was the most decisive battle and we massed up alot of forces there because if the US take the airport that means they will take Baghdad and though with the big treason of some of the Iraqi commanders we forgot everything and we put our Baghdad in front of our eyes and indulged in the fight with all our faith and belief.

It was so hard to see my colleagues killed one after another but at the same time it was a great scene to see all these Iraqis fighting for their dear city Baghdad with all that courage.

While I was busy shooting with my colleagues, all of a sudden, we found Saddam Hussein with a number of his assistants inside the airport, we were really surprised because we did not expect such thing, but Saddam went forward and took an RPG and put it on his shoulder and began to shoot by himself, we gathered around him and begged him to stay aside and leave us fighting because if we would be killed we are common officers but if he is killed, we would lose our leader, Saddam turned to us and said, " Look Iam not better than any one of you and this is the high time to defend our great Iraq and it would be great to be killed as a martyer for the sake of Iraq."

It is true that the shiite in Iraq whom their sons executed by Saddam regime would be happy if Saddam executed but this speech you would hear it immediatly after the invasion not now after all these cars bombs, IEDs, suicied bombers, assassinations, deportation, economic and social crises and disappointment in everything, the only thing the Iraqi indvidual thinks of now is how to finish his day safely and not kicked out of his house by militias.

The situation reached a level that a woman is scared to go for shopping, a kid is scared to go to his school, a man to go to his work, a family is scared to collect a body from the morgue, scared to set up a funeral for the victim and scared of hundred other things.

If Saddam Hussein is a hateful man for the shiite, Saddam is a great hero for most of the Arab people because he was the only Arab ruler who broke the routine rules of the Arab rulers and attacked Israel with more than 42 rocket, though this thing is something absured for the western world but it is highly appreciated by the Arab people who had enough disappointment of their rulers' policy and US policy towards the Arab world together.

I hope for the last time in this ugly days we are living in now, that the US would do something that it won't regert all over its history because if the US thinks that it will gain the appreciation of shiite in Iraq by allowing the execution of Saddam, it will lose the majority of the Arab world because if shiite is majority in Iraq, they are minority to the Arab and Islamic world.

All Tears Are Not Enough

2006-12-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

All tears in the world are not enough to cry our dear Iraq, our dear brothers, relatives, friends and innocent Iraqis who have been killed for no reason just because they loved their country and wanted to stay loyal to its soil till the last breathe they have in this life.

Can any body explain to me what kind of a world we are living in now, a world that is watching and hearing every day that no less than 100 body found in Baghdad thrown in the trash and does not take a single step to stop that, in the contrary it has become a common piece of news and merely number written in the newspapers and thrown away, no one can feel the impact of that, only the Iraqi families who lose every day,a father, brother, son and relative.

Instead of finding a solution to this daily mass killing, Bush declared his support to the Iraqi sectarian government who is in charge of all these victims and insisted on keeping Malki, Ruba'i and other ulcers to accomplish their mission and genocide all the Iraqis except their loyalists and supporters.

In a funeral set up for one of the Iraqi retired officers who had been kidnapped in front of one of the banks in Baghdad while he went there to collect some money for his family, and after few days his body found at the forensic depratment in Baghdad and by miracle brought home, a group of women in the same neighbourhood came to console his Sunni wife and family but in fact each one of them sat to cry endlessly her own killed people.

The first woman who arrived when she heard the news, is a shiite woman whom her eldest son died on Al-A'ima bridge last year while he was heading to Kadimiyia shrine, he fell on one of the barriers and people stepped on his body, in the evening his body found in one of the hospitals in Baghdad left on the ground as there was no space to keep him in the fridge.

Her eldest borther killed last May after being kicked out of his neighbourhood, she sat in front of the wife to cry her neighbour and her dear son and brother.

After few minutes, another Shiite neighbour came, her brother was killed in a bombing of a Husseini in Khanaqien in Nov,last year, while he was preparying for his wedding, a suicide bomber blew up himself inside the Husseini where the brotehr was praying with other people there.

Soon, a Sunni woman came to join her neighbours and to cry her young son whom within three months dignoised with lempho cancer though he was a sport guy, but with the luck of good doctors and medications, the guy died at home within three months to leave only his pictures at home which the mother speak with them most of the time.

A christain woman came to the funeral to cry her two nephews who were killed in the bombing of one of the most popular resturant in Abu Nua's street last year while they were having breakfast there and some other policemen.

Another Sunni woman showed up whom her son was killed by daeth squads after being kidnapped just because his name is "Omer".

A shiite neighbour turned up whom her son in Law killed by an IED last year while Mahdi army was clashing with the Americans in Sader city with his friend to leave her daughter with two kids homeless, later on, she brought her daughter to live with the family.

Another Sunni woman came, her son who is a teacher in a High school was assassinated at the main gate of the school for reasons til now they could not figure out.

Another and Another and Another, I can assure you that all the people who came to the funeral have lost a dear person and they are in fear in losing more and do not know what to do and what is their crime?

All of them were exchanging terrible stories about killing, kidnapping, deportation, fear of sending their kids to schools and universities, luck of work and money to earn their living, luck of fuels and how the prices are very high and and.......

Leave The House

2006-12-16T11:33:00.000-08:00

Ammar, a shiite engineer lives in Hay Al-Adel, after the deterioration of the security situation in Iraq, he left to Jordan and waited there for four months after buying a visa to Canada with $11,000 to flee the hell of Iraq and the government of the national unity.

The flight to Canada was not direct but Ammar has to stop in Moscow for few hours and then continue, but in Moscow, Ammar told that he is not allowed to continue his trip and he has to go back to Jordan.

Ammar was dying to reach Amman and ask the guy who got him the visa why it was refused though he paid such a huge amount of money, he could not wait the security officers to check him to run to the guy but again the security men looked in his documents and told him that he is not allowed to get in Jordan, he has to find another place.

So,he decided to go to Syria and would contact the guy from there and question about the visa, when he got at the Syrian airport and the officers there found that Ammar was not allowed to access Amman, they told him that they can't allow him too.

The only joice left to Ammar was to go back to Baghdad, so, he booked his flight to Baghdad and headed home to Hay Al-Adel.

Ammar found his mother only at home waiting for him, the entire family left after receiving a threat to evacuate the house being Shiite and give it to Sunni family kicked out of Hurriyia district by Mahdi army few days ago, and survived the killing and burning of their houses there.

The mother was reluctant to leave her house but she was left with two options, either she allowed two families to stay with her or she leaves the hosue within three days, otherwise she will be killed and the house will be confiscated at the end.

Ammar convinced his mother to leave to spare their lives and that nothing is more important than their safety, the mother left the house crying all her memories in her dear house and all effort she exerted with her husband to build the family house.

Ammar decided to leave to his grandfather house, but for his surprise he found his aunt with her family at his grandfather house too, because she herself was kicked out of her house from Sha'ab district as her husband is Sunni and he was threatened too to leave the neighbourhood within 24 hour, or he will be killed and the house was given to Shiite family kicked out of Sunni dominated district.

I have to stay, since the Iraqi-Iranian war till now, I mean within the last thirty years, Iraq has not witnessed such black fearful days like these days, and if you talk with any person now, he will tell you that he expects the worse and that today is better than tomorrow.

Even the three weeks of 2003 war with all their bruital bombardment and the killing of so many innocent Iraqis but still we were able to move in and around Baghdad, yes, with fear of dying of shooting but not to be killed by the Iraqis, our people.

I bet any Iraqi now to contact a friend, a relative, any Iraqi or sit to talk with any person lives in Baghdad now, and he would tell you a single happy piece of news, all what he will be talking about is how to get out of this hell and leave it to the brave politicians who live at the Green Zone to fill their bellies with more million dollars on the barter of the lives of the Iraqi people.

I bet any Iraqi to go to any district in Baghdad and he won't see a funeral or a black banner for an Iraqi man or woman killed by militia, car bomb, IEDs or a sniper, and after all of that you will have Talbani telling you that the situation now is better than three years ago.

Baghdad Sniper

2006-12-13T15:32:00.000-08:00

Ali, is a Shiite guy from Omera lives in Baghdad near Sader city with his other seven brother, after the US invasion to Iraq, he became member of Mahdi army and within days, a big picture with a slogan was put by him at the corner of the mews where he lives,saying" Long Live Leader, Long Live ledaer." when I read it, I said is it for Saddam? because these slogans used to be written for Saddam but when I came closer to the picture, it was for Muqtada Al-Sader in piligrimage white uniform in Mecca.

Two weeks ago, after many raids on hay Al-Neil in Baghdad, the ministry of Interior captured a Sunni guy from Joubri tribe and accused him of being Baghdad sniper, all the people in the neighbourhood were in shock because they know that this guy is innocent he raised up in this neighbourhood and his neighbours are coming and going to his house, the shiite neighbours even went to the cleric of the closest Husseini to them and told him to speak with Mahdi army who wear the uniform of the ministry of Interior and tell them that this guy is innocent, he is not a sniper and they can vouge for him, but the guy disappeared and everybody knows that soon his body will be found in the trash.

After few days, the same neighbourhood raided by the police and militias and when people wanted to know what is going on, they knew that two body guards of the minister of Interior were shot dead by a sniper and five of the police cadits who were training at the yard of the police academey were killed by a sniper who was picking up them one by one.

The trainers did not understand what was going on, only all of a sudden, one of their colleagues would collapse till they discovered that they were shot by a sniper with a silencer.

yesterday, Ali, the Mahdi army guy went to the Husseini in his neighourhood near hay Al-Neil and was standing with some men there, all of a sudden he fell on on his face, the men gathered to see what is wrong with him, when they laid him down, they saw that he was shot in his abdomen by a sniper.

Ali was taken immediatly to the hospital where they could not find a doctor to do a surgery for him, as most of the doctors either have been killed or left the country,and when a doctor was found, they got another problem which is to get him blood bags, again there is a great shortage in blood bags at the blood bank, all Ali neighbours, Sunni and Shiite jumped to donate blood for their neighbour Ali but the doctor said he can't use this blood he needs blood bags.

After a short surgery, Ali died soon due to an internal bleeding which the doctor could not stop.

As the news broke in the neighbourhood about Ali's death, tens of Mahdi army raided Ali's neighbourhood, firing in the air and vowing to revenge of Sunnis for his killing and that they will kill a hundred instead.

police came and began to check all the houses in front of the Husseini thinking that the sniper was shooting from these houses but they found nothing, all the neighbours were telling the police, " Do you think we would kill our son Ali even if we are Sunni?"

Ali's funeral is set up for the second day today but at noon time, men sitting in the funeral began to run out and shouting, the news was a sniper is shooting against a secondary school close to the funeral and he has killed a policeman, so parents were in panic to go and collect their daughters but no man dare to go there because they will be killed, so they sent women to bring the girls.

All of that and they say they capture Baghdad sniper.

Iran's Schemes In Iraq

2006-12-03T14:05:00.000-08:00

Few months after the assassination Of top Shiite cleric Baqer Al-Hakiem in Nejef in August 2003, I had the chance to meet the chief judge at the Iraqi centeral Criminal Court in Harithiyia at that time who is Shiite and asked him about sort of cases they have and when they would issue the final verdicts about them.

The judge said that he had three ready cases and their result will be a shock to the entire Iraqis, I aksed him about these cases, he said first we have the case of cleric Baqer Al-Hakiem assassination, we had done deep investigation regarding this case, we checked the cars used in his convoy and the explosive material used in this explosion and some of the surviors who were his body guards.

The judge said we found that the cars belong to the Iranian Intelligence " Itila'at" and if you see the place where the bomb was planted you will find no one can put it in this place only a person who manufactured this car.

I asked him why do you think the Iranian regime would kill Al-Hakiem while he spent most of his life there and he promised to be loyal to them because they had hosted him?

The judge said" If you take a good look at the last statements and speeches aired by the late cleric you will find that the man was trying to get out of the Iranian grip and deal with Iraq case as Iraqi not Iranian, a matter which provoked the Iranians and made them angery about him in a way they decided to get rid of him."

This is what the shiite judge said and that soon the result of the investigation would be declared to the Iraqis but unfortuentally like so many important cases, no one tell the truth to the Iraqis because this is against the Shiite parties who are loyal to Iran.

Yesterday, The Ministry of Defence accomplished investigation about the cars bombs riddles Sader City last week and the minsitry found the Shasset of the cars bombs were Iranian and in fact these cars were at the custmos department with Iran for few days as there was a problem to get them inside Iraq but all of a sudden they found their way in Sader city.

But as usual the investigation will be kept because the result is not good for the Shiite parties who are loyal to Iran while every body knows Iran dirty game in Iraq which is to fund and support both Mahdi army and Bader Brigade by which it can have its own men at the Iraqi government and also can equiped Mahdi army to attack the British troops in Basra, the conflict is very feversih now between the both sides, it is much better for Iran to spend money but spare the blood of its men but the hell with the Iraqis, let them die for the sake of the Persians.

It is really amazing the way the Shiite parties haste to deny any Iranian intereference in Iraq though the entire world is confirming that and when you ask them about their nationality they will tell they are Iraqis, May God helps Iraq with such traitors.

Two young brothers from Al-Fadhil district in Baghdad, 14 year and 12 year went out of their district to buy few things, thinking taht it is natural,but for their bad luck ,they were stopped by Mahdi army who began to ask them who they are and where are they from? the young guys told Mahdi army who were in police uniforms that they are from Fadhil district.

Mahdi army did not wait long to give each one of them few bullets in his head and throw them on the trash, only yesterday their family found them at the Forensic department which is controlled by Mahdi army, but again they could not go to collect their bodies because the followers of Imam Al-Mahdi are waiting for them to kill them.

Just for your information, according to a Shiite cleric who is a Sader follower, he told me that when Imam Mahdi will show up again, he will look at those who claim that they are his followers and the entire moslems and will be very upset of what they are doing and what they have done, in a way, he will turn his face and go to the west because they are better.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You Are Very Stupid

2006-12-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

I swear to God, the honest nationalist Iraqi peopl will never forgive and forget the US-British troops crimes in Iraq all over the history simply because the Iraqi army did not cross seven oceans and invaded the US or Britain but within day and night the Iraqi people found themselves victims of sick dreams of these tyrant states who exposed to the entire world their real vicious nature and hatred towards Arab and Moslems by their invasion to Iraq.

It was much better for US and Britain when they came on their tanks and planes to Iraq to tell the Iraqi people the truth behind their invasion which is to protect their interest in the region and get rid of Saddam Hussein who was the only obstecl in their way.

It was much better for them to tell the Iraqis that truth because the Iraqis would understand that but to come and invade Iraq with slogans of democracy and their concerns about oppresed Shiite and Kurds, this had aggraveted the situation more and more.

The problem of these occuyping states or in fact the entire western world that they think that they are the only smart people in the world and Arabs and Moslems are the most stupid just because they can drink as much as they can and they can be naked as much as they can, but in fact, within the last hundred years, the western world proved to be the most stupid, just try to ask any English person in London about a street in his neighbourhood, immediatly he will tell you "I do not know", and will run to his map!!!!

This luck of knowledge of other people culture and being filled with the idea of being the best is reflected in US-British troops fatal mistake in Iraq, and in fact you can see that they behave like a drunk US or English man, when they try to amend the mess they caused in this country, they do not want to learn from their previous mistakes and actually they can't undestand the big shouts that are coming from everywhere even from US and Britain telling them, " You are very stupid."

They thought when they came to Iraq accompained by the Iraqi traitors abroad, that all the Iraqis are duplicate to these figures, they did not know that there are Iraqis Sunni, Shiite and Kurds who are ready to pay their lives for the sake of Iraq, their beloved country.They are not mercineries like most of the coaltion forces, they can't stand the idea of Iraq being occupied while they call themselves men.

In one of the US patrols in Baghdad, I saw a US soldiers driving his vehicle with a big picture for a naked woman near the mirror in front of him and he was touring the streets of Baghdad, what does this stupid soldier think the reaction would be? respect from the Iraqis or a persistance to kill him as he was provoking them.

After the exposure of the most shameful crime committed by the US soldiers against an Iraqi family in Yousifiyia, killing the parants and two daughters after raping the innocent girl " Abeer", a committe by the US army wanted to investigate the crime, but see what they suggested to prove, it is real or fake while every body know it is absoultly real and even the soldier hismelf confessed the crime of raping, the committee suggested the exhumbing of Abeer body!!!!

What do you think the reaction of Abeer's tribe? do you think they will accept that for the sake of few bloody US dollars, they told the committee the hell with your dollars and investigation, even when she is in the grave, you do not want to leave her alone.

But what do you understand from that? The level of stupidity and ignorance of these Americans, whom they think that all the people will kneel to their knees for their dollars, they can't understand the brutality of their crime, the shame behind it and they want to correct it by another mistake, no one of their Iraqi friends tell them, the real culture of the Iraqis tribes and society, that the are men who will take revenage for Abeer and her family soon or later and no dollars or anything can repair the damage caused by their filthy soldiers.

Bush And Malki

2006-11-30T12:43:00.000-08:00

Bush is meeting with Malki while Wahida's body who is an Iraqi woman lives in Ameriyia district in Baghdad is behind the main door of her house bleeding and no one dares to take a step to collect it because of the heavy shooting there.

Wahida is an Iraqi woman who refused to flee the hell of Iraq as she was worried about her house, the house which she had spent all her life to build thinking it would be a safe heaven for her but she did not know that she would pay her life as a price for that house.

Wahida was left alone after the entire family left to Jordan, one of her brother killed in a car bomb explosion in Sadiyia while he was getting fuel for his car, her second brotehr was kidnapped by a gang and when the family paid a huge amount of money to the kidnappers, they submitted them his body, her third brother, the neighbour of Wahida in Ameriyia kept ringing him to come and collect his sister body, he apologized that he can't leave his house because he would be killed before he came to get her body.

For the second day Wahida body is waiting for Bush and Malki to come and collect it but they stepped on it like the 86 body found today in Baghdad slaughtered like sheep for Bush democracy.

Tens of family are fleeing Baghdad because malki is the suitable man for leading Iraq as Bush described him but it would be better if he said that he is the suitable man to lead Iraq to the downhill, will not say civil war because we are in civil war since Ja'aferi government installed power in Iraq but it is reinforced by his colleague Malki.

Families in Sheikh Omer in Baghdad are paying all their saving just to get an approval to go to other provinces where their orginal tribes live to flee the hell of Baghdad and to leave it to the militias so that they can have enough space to kill and torture the Iraqis and throw them in the trash.

I wish that any Iraqi figure met with Bush would give him a telephone number of a family in Baghdad to chat with them and see what he had done to these innocent people, now, each family is jailed in its house just exchanging news, "the militia is in this neighbourhood and has taken ten guys, be careful", the family would pray thousand time just to escape the harm of these militiamen who are wearing the uniform of the Ministry of Interior and using its cars and picking up men as they like.

A Sunni shop owner well known in a shiite neighbourhood of his peaceful behaviour was kidnapped by the militia, his Shiite neighbour ran to the closest Huseeini and told them to release the man because he is in his neighbourhood and he is very certain that he is a good guy, after one day, the shop owner thrown near his shop after being beaten severely and kept in a ditch with tens of Sunni men just because they are Sunni.

The entire neighbourhood did not believe the news that the shop owner got back because any person kidnapped by militia won't ever get back but that man was an exception.

Another family lives close to gas station,on these days lines of gas are longer than the borders with Jordan, a woman told me that she had such a horrible moments in the morning when Bush and Malki were meeting, a bus came loaded with young guys and they were shouting hurry up, let us break in them, she said because she is obssesed and heard alot of militia kidnapping men, she woke up her husband telling him that they come, the husband took his gun and promised to fight before they kill him, but then the woman said she found that the young men stopped their bus near her house but they went to stand in line for gas.

other families want to leave the country and go to live in Syria but the problem is that they do not have passports and no one dares now to go out and apply for a passport and even if they do that, the passport directorate will tell them that they halted the issuence of the new passport but if you are smart enough you will find a guy who works at that directortae who would tell you if you want a passport we have, just bring me $700 and you do not even need to come here you will get it at home?!!!

This is what is left of a country used to be called The land between two Rivers.

Sader City

2006-11-26T14:47:00.000-08:00

After a great effort, we were able to get one of the men who survived from the mass kidnapping of the Fellowship Directoriate two weeks ago, the only reason of his survival is that his name is Ali, a matter made Mahdi army thinking that he is Shiite.

The man was describing how they were blindfolded and taken in cars to Sader city where they were received with great joy by men and women of Sader city there, the man said that for his surprise that women there were making these special Iraqi vocal singlas we called them " Halahel" because they were so happy that these Sunni men will be tortured and killed as the Madhi army has brought the ccriminals behind Iraq's catasrophe.

The man said that he could not believe what he was listening to and what he was looking at after his eyes were unfolded, the people who live around the place where these abducted men taken were so glad and vowing of more revenage, while session of torture resumed immediatly against the kidnapped victims by most brutal means used by humanity till now, beginning from the drills and ending with eyes removal and then to be thrown in teh trash.

The man who was one of few survivers informed the families of the victims he knew to go and collect the bodies of their relatives because he has seen them while they were tortured till the last breath and their accusation is that they were Sunni infidelas and Baghdad must be exclusive to Shiite only.

After few days, Sader city riddled with three cars bombs and more than 200 Iraqi killed, everybody was syaing that these cars bombs were a reaction to the 150 man kidnapped by Mahdi army, a very good indication that violent acts only breed more violence and the victims always innocent people.

But some of the analysts were asking about the reason behind that deterioration between Sader current and Sunni while they had good relation before, one of the reasons they gave was that Bader brigade was not happy about this relation especially SCIRI wants to have a federalism of the south and middle of Iraq and the only way to drag the Sader current to their side and to take part in the governmnet was to damage this relation by sending cars bombs to Sader city and blaming the Sunni though evreybody know that no Sunni dares to go to Sader city because of Mahdi army control of the city and the so many chek points that make it so difficult for non Shiite person to get inside the city and put cars bombs.

It Is No Good To Be Sunni Or Shiite

2006-11-19T14:26:00.000-08:00

After the war of morters that had engulfed Baghdad for more than two weeks, now a new war started which is teh war of Kias, minibus.

All what you have to do, is just to listen to the news or telephones from relatives and friends to tell you about the number of Kias are getting missing now in Baghdad, in a way people are thinking of their means of travelling in Baghdad or just to stay at home, which is not safe too.

The conversation all teh time whether it is better to say you are Shiite or to say you are Sunni if you are captured by the police or the militia and how can you figure out whtehre they are Shiite or Sunni to say teh right thing in the right time.

Two brothers and their sister were in their car heading to Dora district in Baghdad, to collect what is left of their homse furnture after their family decision of leaving the district because life there becomes real hell.

few meters far of their house, they saw a check point stopping any passing car and speak with its driver, the two brothers had to make a quick decision what to say to the armed men at the check point if they asked them about their identity, after few minutes it was its turn, they had to stop at the check point, they did not know whether it is real or fake but they have to stop.

the armed men cordoned off the car and began their checking, the brother who was driving was the first to be questioned whether he is Sunni or Shiite, he immediatly told them, " Iam Sunni." The armed man did not wait long to give him a shot in his head with three bullets and kill him at once.

Another armed man broke the window on the other brother and asked him whether he is Sunni or Shiite, the brotehr thought it is better to say Shiite because these militiamen seemed to be Shiite otehrwise why they killed his brother when he said he is Sunni, so he looked the armed man while he was shivering, " Iam Shiite." The armed man rained him with bullets till he killed him and ranaway.

the sister who was sitting at the back, watching what was going on and could not believe what happened to her brother while she was covered with their blood, fained in the car and lost her consciouss.

The car left in that place for hours, no one dares to go close, till a man was passing by his car and could not move because of the car was stuck in the road got down of his car to see why the driver does not move? but he was shocked to teh bloody scene and took the sister to one of the hospital in Baghdad and till now she is in coma because of what she has seen.

So, to be Sunni, you will be killed, to be Shiite, you will killed, what shall the Iraqi do to sprae his blood? where shall he go, if he has 150,000 US soldier, 7000 British soldiers, more than 150,000 Iraqi police and the same national guard, all these armies can not protect him, what can the common Iraqi person do who can not hide at the green zone?

Dear Hala

2006-11-10T04:41:00.000-08:00

Dear reader

I got a message from Hala in which she expressed her anger about my latest post, thinking that Iam against Shiite and in support of Sunni and so on.

Iam sorry, I have to say you really missed the point, in this post I wanted to show, how the different Iraqis react to the US presence of Iraq and not to say this sect is right or this sect is wrong because each one of them has his on opinion which I respect.

Also would like to confirm that all the people I mentioned in the post are live examples they are not from my imaginary and if you feel shame of their opinions, they do not feel the same and so do I because I believe that we have to listen to everybody and not to be stupid to think that the only right thing is what I believe in and what other people believe in is always wrong, this is absoultly stupid.

if you have read the post carefully, you will see that every person was explaining his point of view and they love their country but in their own way and they have the right to share the waelth of Iraq like other Iraqi sects not to be restricted with a specific sect because they are all Iraqis, which is fair.

I have never meant to imply that Iraqi Shiite are no patriotic or they do not love their country, in the contrary, I can assure you that there are Shiite people resisting the occupation and more patriotic than the other Iraqis.

Mithal Al-Allousi, himself, he is Sunni, not Shiite but again this man exists and he is in the parliment and there are people, Sunni and Shiite who support him and there is nothing wrong with that, the man has lost two of his young sons for principles he believes in, Iam not bring information from another planet, dear Hala.

I always look in one eyes to all the Iraqi, something only few Iraqis do because it is very difficult not to be driven by your sect, but when you will be a journalist, you will discover that this is the only way to report, is to look to people with one eye and to respect what they tell you because as I said before what I believe in must not be a constitution that everybody must believe in but in fact sometimes when you listen to the others they impress you and might convince you to change some of your ideas towards few things.

If you have read my posts carefully, you can read many stories in which I tell stories about different Iraqis, Sunni, Shiite and Kurds and christains and about me too.

I accept your reactions because you are in Britain and because you are not a journalist to have the chance to be close to people.

Did you read my post about the Shiite lady who is a wife of a national gurad and how she was kidnapped and raped by unknown men because her husband used to torture the Sunni prisoners and she was certain that they were Sunni who raped her, something absolutly unacceptable and shameful, because she has nothing to do with her husband practices and this is not our behaviour.

Do you think, I want to say that Sunni are prophets and other Iraqi people are sinners, this is abosulty wrong, good and bad people exist among all sects and I will tell the truth about everybody even about myself.

All what I said in my latest post if you are in Iraq, you would find it very natural because it is a fact and truth, Shiite believe that it is not the high time to resist the occupier because the Iraqis already suffered alot of three wars and because Shiite believe in peaceful resistance and I think there is nothing wrong in that, all the world know that there are so many kinds of resistance and one of them is a peaceful one and the best example is Ghandi who resist the British occupation and liberated his country without fight and this ideology is respected all over the world and even became a source of inspiration for alot of them.

This is our people and I love them all but still when you write you have to tell the truth and not to write in a way that your people are ideal, they are humanbeings, they think, they react and they have their own way of life which we all have to admit.

Please, do not put words in my mouth or explain my post according to your view or feeling which I highly respect but these are facts, the same way when you have a Sunni man even if he is not Iraqi but still he is Sunni who would go to blow up himself among Shiite peopel thinking he is doing Jihad, do you think I justify that and agree this is Jihad, this is absoulty has nothing to do with Jihad and Islam, I have always avoid explaining my opinion about things but leave people to talk about what they think of because for me I like to listen to everybody.

I have always wanted the Iraqis to be left alone by all their sects to solve their problems because Iam sure they will not kill each other because they love each other.

And won't tell you to which sect I belong to because I am simply Iraqi and love all Iraqis.

Sorry if I have hurt your feeling, really did not mean that but please read all my previous posts, you will see I tell the stories as they exist even if someone is critizing me.

I do not find it shameful or non-patriotic to follow the Marjiyia, in fact it had good aspect which is the unification and if all the Iraqis sects were unified under their marjiyia, Iraq's problem would be solved since a long time, because all the Marjiyia would sit together and settled their differences and finished all Iraq problems, it is much better than having 100 factions, each one of them believe in something and if they disagree about something even if they are from the same sect, they would fight each other.

It Is An Occupation Without Any Doubt

2006-11-09T14:53:00.000-08:00

Flocks of Shiite marching to Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala were endless, few days after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 as it was the first anniversay for Imam Hussein assassination after the war.

Shiite were so happy because now, they can beat themselves as much as they can, they can hit their heads with swords, they can chant as many poems about Imam Hussein as they want without the fear of Saddam security.

Men, women, young, old and kids were carrying light meals with a bottle of water and walking on foot with their different colourful flags.

I and few journalists decided to go to karbala too but of course by car, but we would stop to ask the people heading to the shrine about their feelings.

It was not that difficult trip except that sometimes, the marchers would walk on the road, in a way, we would need to drive on the dusty road to avoid hitting them, they were laughing and shouting and running.

one of the foreign journalists asked me why the Shiite marchers would walk on the road though they know it is for the cars, I told him the situation is like that, " A school with a very strict headmaster whom the students could not open their mouths with a word in front of him for long years, they came the next day to the school to find that the headmaster has left the school, would do you expect them to do? they woud break all the doors and windows, each one of them can do whetever he wants now, there is no more strict headmaster."

when we reached Karbala, it was full of people from all over Iraq, especially the south, who came to celebrate the anniversary with their families. It was really nice and quiet time, no bombs or explosions.

I found a family from Diwaniyia and the foreign journalist asked me to interview them, I asked the father who was sitting on the ground with his family, what does he think of the US invasion of Iraq, is it an occupation or a liberation?

the man answered me " It is a liberation, of course, we are so grateful to the Americans for helping us in getting rid of Saddam and now they can leave home."

I told the man, " Do you think the situation is so easy like that, US troops who had crossed seven seas, would leave like that, without anything?"

the man said, " Yes, they came to liberate the Shiite people from Saddam and now he has gone, so they have to return home, we do not need them any more."

it was noon time, we decided to go to one of the resturants near the shrine to have some lunch, the owner was a young guy, graduate of college of Economy and Management, the journalist asked me to ask him the same question whether it is an occupation or a liberation?

the owner looked at us and said, " Well, it is up to the Marjiyia, if it decided it is an occupation, so it is an occupation and if it decided it is a liberation, so it is a liberation."

The foreign journalist told him, " What about Your opinion, you yourself what do you think?"

he said, " I do not think, I told you it is up to the Marjiyia, if the Marjiyia ordered me now to throw myself in the river, I will immediatly throw myself without questioning it."

The journalist looked at me not believing what the owner was telling him and shoke his head, he could not find a sentence to refer it to the owner, he rasied his head and said to me, " Is this believable, this man has cancelled his thinking and can't decide about anything."

in September of the same year, I had to write about Shiite in Iraq for a foreign magazine, so I travelled to Najef and Karbala, close to the shrine of Imam Hussein, I found a group of clerics who were gathering outside the main gate of the Imam, I went to speak with them, they told me that they were kicked out by the Shiite parties who came later on with their weapons.

one of the clerics said " We are the original people of Karbala, we had protected the shrine from the looters by our lives and we were nearly to be killed, now we are kicked out of the shrine because of some powerful Shiite parties who think the shrine is their shrine and if you go inside you can see how much weapons they gather inside."

the city was full of Iranian visitors, the hotels were full of them, I went to speak with one of the owners of the hotel who was so glad that his hotel is congested with visitors, he said, " This is the first time in my life I benefit from my hotel, before the war when the Iranian visitors come, there will be always an intelligence guy with them who would made a deal with one of the hotel and keep them there and we keep watching."

I asked him what does he think of the US invasion, he said" Iam ready to kiss the shoes of the US soldier who liberated me of Saddam, Iam so grateful to Mr.Bush."

I asked him what does he think of the resistance? he said, " These are the orphans of Saddam, they are dreaming of his days, but they will never get these days, he is gone."

I told him, so you do not accept the resistance against the US soldiers, he said, " Absolutly not, we shouldnot fight them, we should reward them for their deed."

I told him but if the Marjiyia issued a Fatwa ordering you to fight the Americans, would you do that?

he said, " Of course, I will carry the weapon, I and my sons and brothers and fight them."

but you said you are ready to kiss their shoes, he said, " It is up to the Marjiyia."

after few months, I had to interview a Shiite butcher and I asked him about the US invasion, he said, " It is an occupation, I agree with the resistance, it is not a liberation, we are suffering alot of the US presence."

I asked him so why Shiite do not resist the Americans like Sunnis, he said, " We are waiting for the Marjiyia to order us to fight, we can not fight by ourselvers otherwise it won't be a blessed Jihad, and I hope Marjiyia won't be late in this decision."

just before the late elections of 2006, I asked a Shiite young guy who is a computer engineer about his choice?

he said, " If it is my choice, I want to choose Mithal Al-Alousi, I like him because he wants to make relations with Israel, he is very smart because if we do that we would live in peace."

I told him why do not you do that and choose him, he said, " The marjiyia wants us to choose the Unified Alliance and I have to obay the Marjiyia."

I told him you will choose that list even if it had peopel you do not like? he said, " Yes, because I arleady have submitted all my religious affairs to the Marjiyia, which means I trust them and for sure their choice always is the right choice."

in another occasion, I was speaking with Sunni clerics who told me that Sunni men would come and ask him whether it is high time for Jihad or not? he said I would tell them, " Your country is occupied by foreign troops, what further evidence you want for launching Jihad, you do not have to ask me, it is very clear."

he added that some of the Sunni men would not get back to him for checking as they think, It is an occupation without any doubt and does not need any Fatwa, they would go to do Jihad directly.

Iam Not Happy

2006-11-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

Today I had to make some interviews with some Iraqis to see what is their reaction regarding the hang verdict against Saddam Hussein.

I really came close a strange situation but it has a lot of meaning, the man was telling me that he should be happy because his father whose a Sunni man conspired against Saddam in 1992 with some other men from Tikrit but unfortunately the coup was discovered by Saddam at that time and he ordered their execution including his father.

The man said, “ Iam not happy because my father wanted to kill Saddam and when Saddam discovered that, it was natural that he did the same, otherwise he would be killed my father.”

He went on to say but after the topple of Saddam and the instalment of a new government who claims to be in opposition of Saddam, we thought our family would be rewarded as it had sustained a big damage because of my father, in the contrary, my eldest brother house was cordoned by the vehicle of the ministry of Interior and its men whom we thought they came in an official motorcade to take the family to the new government to compensate it, they kidnapped my brother who is 36 yr and after 24 hour we found his body dumped in the trash.

Since that time, I with my family and his family are moving from one place to another in fear of death squads, and you want me to be happy?!!!

I talked with an old man who lost his only son for being member of Dawa party and asked him how does he feel about the verdict?

The man answered “ I was waiting for the day when Saddam will be toppled and Dawa party will install the ruling in Iraq so that they will give me the right of my son who died for the party, but I’ve been waiting since a long time no one came to knock at my door and ask me what do I need with my wife and my three daughters?

After the campaign of looting that ravaged Baghdad after the toppling of Saddam, Shiite clerics issued Fatwa calling upon looters to bring back the things they looted to the Husseinis and the clerics will see how they will deal with it?

I have a friend who is a cleric too and was in charge of one of the Husseinis close to my house, his Husseini was one of the places people began to bring back the looted stuff to it.

I thought I should go and ask the help of my friend, he knows how poor I am and honestly I even did not have food in my house.

I went to my friend’s Husseini and was surprised about the different materials that was inside, in a way it was congested with food and furniture and everything, a matter which encouraged me to ask my friend if he can give me some stuff.

My friend told me that it was a great pleasure for him to help and looked around the place thinking of what to give me, then, he shouted I found it, he went to one of the corners where were ten of wooden sticks and pick up one and came running to me, “ Take this stick, you need it when you walk.”

The old man said that it was a great disappointment for him as he did not need a stick but he needed food and kept wondering where all these materials disappeared.

He said, “ I began to envy the people who were considered as martyrs in time of Saddam, at least, he used to grant them permanent salary, car and piece of land and a salary for their parents, what did Dawa party give me for my son? only car bombs and IEDS.

It Is America Who Toppled Saddam Hussein, Not You

2006-11-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

Palestine hotel was a scene for the formal efforts to raise up from the ashes of 2003 invasion, and to start with the capital of the bloodiest history in the world since its foundation, a mayor was appointed for Dear Baghdad soon after the war.

Iam really trying to recall his name but can’t because he was appointed for a very short term, anyway, I had the chance to attend one of the meeting he held with some of the Iraqis who wanted to work with him and get positions in Baghdad municipality.

As usual, after few minutes, a quarrel erupted among the confrreres while they were trying to share these positions, it was really a small picture for what is happening now in Iraq.

When the dispute got more feverish, nothing left to the confreres only to resort to their Jihadi struggle to topple Saddam and that Saddam was kicked out only because of them.

At this moment, the mayor raised up and took the speech from those who were quarrelling and said,
“ Look, you can claim anything, you can lie as much as you like, but here Iam saying in front of all of you, any one claims that just because of him, including me, Saddam was toppled, he is a big lair, whoever he is, we all could not topple Saddam, he was toppled by America, so shut up all of you, and I do not want to hear any one of you describing himself as a hero and patriotic while the other is not, we all did not do that, it is America, Saddam would be still in power till now.”

I read lately, the first US wise article about Iraq by a Washington Post writer, his name is King, in which he was describing his frustration about Sistani refusal to meet any US official even president Bush himself, though Sistani now was nearly to be hanged in time of Saddam and it is only because of America, he is in his position now, the same like with Sader and Malki.

But why these figures do not respect America though America did them a favour, in fact, even the entire Iraqis only those who came on the US tanks who always praised America favour on them, the reason is that all the Iraqis knew that America invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam not for the sake of the Iraqis themselves but for its interest in the region, but by chance the Shiite benefited out of that.

Till now, the US can not grasp the fact or it knows but did not want the admit, that Arab world and Moslems never trust US intentions in the Middle East whatever US tries to prove to them because of the suspecious relations between both of them all over the modern histroy.

This luck of trust which is planted by America itself among Arabs and Moslem dated back to more than sixty year, because since that time, America was supporting Israel blindly on the barter of the Arab world and never did anything to reform that, yet, its practices against Arabs were getting worse and worse till it woke up on the events of Sept 11 and tore its hear about the massive damage caused by the Moslem extremists.

Again, the US did not learn from the lesson and began to correct the mistakes by another big mistakes till it ended with Iraq quagmire which till now claimed lives of 2,820 soldiers and thousands of wounded but this time not to be killed by the Moslem extremists but by the hand of America itself.

And today, the US is playing another game by expressing its satisfication of Iraqis joy for Saddam's death verdict which it kept described as Iraqi decison though everybody know how much America spent money on this court, on training the Iraqi judges and that there were always US consultants who watching the court and directing the Iraqi judges and prosecuters, of course not the defence lawyers, in another show to deceive the Iraqis that this court is for the sake of the Iraqi people oppressed By Saddam not for the sake of the US elections next Tuesday or other interests we will discover later on.

But the problem again is non of the Iraqis will believe that, even the Shiite and the Kurds and Sistani will keep rejecting meeting US officials even Bush and Sader current will keep denying US favour on them and would divide Mahdi army duty between killing Sunnis and American soldiers.

The Real Iraqis

2006-11-04T13:04:00.000-08:00

Iraq

Two weeks before the US invasion to Iraq in 2003, a US spaceship devastated in the space, what was important for the foreign journalist who were in Baghdad at that time waiting for the outbreak of the war was one of the crew was the Israeli pilot who attacked Iraqi nuclear reactor ”Tamouz” in 1981.

The foreign journalist wanted to go to site of the reactor to talk with the people who live around especially those who have been there for long years and suffered of that attack to see how do you think about the death of the Israeli pilot, were they happy for his death?

It was a big adventure to go there with foreign journalists but we decided to go and see.

Most of the families who were living there were rural, they hardly read and write particularly the old, but as usual they were the best people in welcoming the visitors and served them drink and food.

We sat with one of the families who had sheep and cows and a lot of kids to ask them about how do they feel about the death of the Israeli pilot who was killed in that day, before we start, we saw to kids who had malformation.

I asked the grandfather about the reason, he said the doctors told us that the reason was because the contamination caused by the blowing up of the reactor.

Then, I asked the man, how did he feel about the death of the Israeli pilot who was behind the malformation of his grandsons?

The man looked at me and said” first of all as Moslems we do not feel happy if a person killed or died because all of us would die at the end, if he was guilty God would account him and if he was innocent God would reward him.”

The foreign journalist looked at me and did not believe what was that man was saying because she did not expect him to say such thing about an Israeli assailant.

We decided to see a family who was in that area since the fifties and ask them how do you think about the death of the Israeli pilot?

We went inside the house which was very simple and sat on the ground, I asked the father the same question after he told us about so many health problems suffered by the people there after the attack of the reactor.

The man answer was like that, “ for the Israeli pilot I feel sorry about him.” And before he continued I and the other journalist were really surprised, the man went on to say, “ I feel sorry for him and for the other people who died with him because all of them were scientists and their death is a loss to the entire humanity, these people can not be substitute, they are precious.”

It was a real shock for the foreign journalist and to be honest for me too, but I was so proud of the answer which indicated a big wisdom and real human spirit for people never been in schools or graduated from US and British universities.

Again, we interviewed another family whom the eldest son said “ We hate to feel happy about the death of a human being even if he was Israeli, and I think he was carrying out the orders of his commanders, something I would if I was asked by commanders.”

Two days after the invasion, I went to the collage of Fine Arts to interview one of the professors as they were trying to resume life in Baghdad, the professor was Shiite, he could not control his tears while he was describing the night when dear Baghdad collapse.

He said” Yes, I suffered a lot because of the law payment but this has nothing to do with my love to my country, I have refused many offers to go other Arab states to teach because I would accept to be humiliated by an Iraqi but not by any other person.”

There was a Norwegian journalist who kept telling me that he could not understand why the professor would accept to be humiliated by an Iraqi but not any other human being, I told him you will understand that only if you were Iraqi.

I recalled these interviews dated three years ago with their great meanings while we are living this wave of hatred and sectarian war which maintains everybody, these people were Iraqis who could not be happy for the death of an Israeli pilot, why now, I find Iraqis who are happy with the killing of their Iraqi bothers, who justify the death squads? where did we get these people?

It was a great shame when all the world condemn the scandal of Abu Ghraib and then you would find some Iraqis especially the official to justify that just because the majority of the people who were in Abu Ghraib were Sunni and would compare it to the prisons in time of Saddam.

I found it a great shame when non of the Iraqis at least protested for the killing and raping of innocent Abear an her family, as if they were not Iraqis?

It is really new Iraq by all levels and standards as America and those who call themselves the opposition abroad in time of Saddam, wanted to be.

Threat Game

2006-11-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

The most common thing in Iraq nowadays is receiving threat letters, whether orally, by mobile or written.

And if you ask for reasons, there are tens known and unknown reasons, depending on the person himself who is receiving the threat.

but for the first time, I heard that it has become even a game for some teenagers to get some personal gains.

Salma is a widow with three kids, her husband killed in 2004 for being former Ba’athist at the front door of their house and she herself was injured too but she survived.

She thinks she still lucky because her husband bought her and their three kids a small house few months before his assassination to guarantee that the family will not be homeless.

The eldest son who is only 15 yr, is a real trouble maker, his main concern is to get money to buy cigarette, play games at internet cafes or spending it with his peers for trivial things.

The mother told me that she was so upset of him because of his carelessness that he quitted the school and he wanted her to get him money by any means.

She wanted him to join the police, I told her that it was very risky and he would be killed, she told me, “ This what I want I want him to die so that I can have some rest of his endless problems.”

But again to join the police, her son, Hassan, needed money to give to the police to accept him, so the mother had to get him money but when she got the money she had another problem which was Hassan age, he is not 18 yr, so she has to change his ID.

When she found a person at the ID department who accepted to do that, he asked her for huge amount of money that she could not afford and decided to leave the entire subject.

Few days ago, Salma found a letter at the front door, when she read it, it was a threat to her to leave the house immediately or she would be killed.

“ I could not stay for one moment there, and when I read it was signed by Bader brigade, I ran to my cousin who was a prisoner in Iran for 18 yr and got back as Bader brigade member to question him about that.” Salma said.

When Salma cousin read the letter, he told that if Bader brigade threatens a person, it does not put its name on the letter because they do not need to do that.

“ This letter must be from a person lives next to you and he sent it to frighten you, go and wait for few days.” Salma cousin told her.

Salma could not go to her house for few days in fear of killing but she needed to bring some stuff from the house, when she went there, one of her son’s friend approached her while she was moving some of the house articles.

The guy asked her why she was doing that, she told him that she received threat letter, the guy could not keep the secret and told her that her son, Hassan, himself wrote that letter to her because he wants to sell the house and buy a car.

Fadhil Story

2006-11-01T08:53:00.000-08:00

At the last day of Ramadan, Sa’ad and other three young colleagues who work for Sader office loaded a car with kids dresses and went to Fadhil neighborhood in Baghdad to distribute them there among kids for Eid celebration.

Sa’ad like most of the Baghdadies knew about the ongoing fight between Mahdi army which is loyal to Sayed Muqtada Al-Sader and fadhil neighbourhood, one of the oldest neighbourhood in Baghdad, the majority there is Sunni.

The fight which began few months ago left a lot of causalities from both sides, Sunni who live in Sheikh Omer fled the place because of Mahdi army threats and because they could not continue their works there any more and Shiite who live in Fadhil went to Sader city for the same reason.

But Sa’ad insisted to take a car belongs to Sader office and go there to distribute dresses among kids there for Eid holiday.

Sa’ad family, particularly his mother who has only him and his wife with his five kids asked him not to go because the situation is very risky and no one will believe that he comes for the sake of the kids, but he believed that he was doing something good and he will survive.

On Monday Sa’ad went with his three colleagues to Fadhil neighbourhood and began to tour the place and grant kids with gifts from Sader, but they were stopped by an armed man who asked them what they were doing there?

They told him that they came to give these presents to the kids from Sader office but before sa’ad complete his sentence eight bullets went in his leg and a another in his heart.

His friend who was trying to help him were shot in the head too and so as the other two, within few minutes all of them were dead.

The armed men came to put them all in the car and put fire in their bodies but the people in the neighbourhood protested and condemned his act so he began to shoot in the air and ranaway.

At the first day of the Eid, Sa’ad funeral was set up in Sader city as well as for his other three colleagues.

His uncle told me,” I do not know what happened to us we Iraqis, I swear Sa’ad intention was good, he did not mean something bad, but do you know the three Sunni families who still live in our neighbourhood came to Sa’ad funeral to console me and Sa’d mother. They were receiving the mourners.”

I have talked with some people who live in Fadhil neighbourhood and asked them about Sa’ad and his other three colleagues who were killed there.

I told them that his uncle said that the fourth guys went to Fadhil at the first day of Ied for Sunni there to distribute presents and dressed among the kids but they were shot dead.

The people of Fadhil had another version for the incident which was absolutely different than the Shiite uncle story.

The people there said it was well-known to everybody in Baghdad the sensitive relation between the people of this neighbourhood and Mahdi army who used to come to their neighbourhood to kidnap and kill and that they even killed one of the prominent figure in this neighbourhood who was trying to reach an agreement with Mahdi army.

What the people there said, at the first day of Ied, large number of kids from Fadhil neighbourhood went to a park there were there are some games for them like swings and slipping ladders as most of the kids do in such occasion.

After few hours, a BMW car with four guys inside arrived to the scene and start to shoot against the crowd, they killed four kids and young man and wounded other eight.

One of the men told me what do you expect the people do there, just keep watching more people to be killed, they did what they supposed to do which was to kill the four of them before they kill more innocent people.

The Four Ubaidi Brothers

2006-10-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

Iraq

Muahmmed, Ahmed, Ali and Salah are four brothers from a Sunni family, the eldest is in his mid thirties and the others are younger then him, their tribe is Ubaidi, like most of the fathers in Iraq now, their father left to Syria few weeks ago to rent a house there and take the entire family, the mother and four daughters.

Four days ago, the sisters were sleeping down stairs while the four brothers were upstairs like everyday preparing themselves for another fasting day in Ramadan.

At six am, the house raided by more than fifty militia men, some of them were wearing uniforms of the ministry of Interior, others were civilians carrying RPGS and equipped with different kinds of weapons and ministry of Interior cars.

The house lies in Al-Qahera district, a place dominated by Mahdi army and Bader brigade, they were the only Sunni family in their neighbourhood but they were living there for more than 35 year.

In new Iraq, even the most beautiful neighbouring relations were destroyed by hatred nourished by the new comers who want to have a democratic federal state.

All of a sudden, the four girls and the mother found a crowd of militiamen inside their rooms, pulling them from their hairs and beating them severely asking about their names one by one.

Then, the leader of the militia ordered his men “ Rape them.”

When the girls heard that, they began to shout and fight with the militiamen with all power they got at that moment, shouts were getting louder, the four brothers went down to see what was going on?

As soon as they reached down stairs, they were surrounded by militiamen who turned towards them and began to beat them with their guns and hands and dragged them out of the house to put them in their cars and ran away.

The girls and the mother began to ring their uncles and relatives asking for help, soon three of their cousins arrived to see what was going on? Again the militiamen arrived, at that time, the three cousins knew they would be killed because they could not fight an army.

One of them hid at the water tanker on the roof, the other jumped from the roof and two of his legs were broken, the third fell in their hands, they began to beat him all over his body while he was trying to explain to them, till the aunt arrived who was an old woman and began to shout on the face of the militiamen, “ come and kill me, Iam their aunt, we are a huge tribe, we are Ubaidi, we won’t leave you without revenge.”

One of the militiamen told here, “ Are you Ubaidi, Iam Ubaidi too but Iam Shiite.” He told the other militiamen to leave the third cousin because they had done enough.

The four brothers were taken to a house in Hay Ur in Baghdad where they found a lot of Sunni who have been captured in the same way and tortured sessions were going on.

One of the men came to the four brothers with a basket full of pieces of papers and asked each one of them to pick up one, when they did that, he ordered them to read what was written on the paper.

The first brother his paper was reading “ to be killed with an iron piece and drills.”

The second, “ to be killed by cutting his fingers and then to be shot.”

The third, “ to be killed with six bullets in different places in the body after a course of torture.”

The fourth, “ To be killed by putting a plastic bag on his back and burned coals on his body.”

The torture started with the first brother, the militiaman picked up a heavy metal piece and began to beat him everywhere in his body, the youngest brother shouted on the man, “ I beg you come and kill me, he has heart disease and cant stand that.”

But the eldest brother fell immediately after receiving a big blow on his face and blood flooded from his mouth.

After carrying out all what the papers said, the four brothers were thrown at the Forensic Department of the ministry of health which is control by Mahdi army.

The moment the relatives of the family arrived, they knew that the only place they can find the four brothers is the Forensic Department, so they ran there immediately.

They found three of the four brothers, one has six bullets in his body, the other his finger is cut and a bullet in his back, the third his back is burned with plastic bag and coals, all of them were in coma.

They carried them to the hospital, but one of the uncles came running telling them to take them out because if the militia knew they are still alive they will shoot them in the hospital.

So the uncle took them to his house while they were dying, but after an hour, he found many cars with men wearing uniform of the ministry of Interior accusing him of hiding terrorists.

They went inside the house and found the three brothers in the agony, the uncle said, “ You see this woman who is crying on my dying nephews, she is my daughter in law, she is Shiite from Najef and Iam Sunni.”

Some of the relatives waited at the forensic department to pick up the body of the eldest brother, they went to one of the doctors there and asked him to submit them the body, the doctor looked at them and said, “ Are you Sunni?”

They said, “ Yes.”, he told them, “ Are you crazy to go and collect the body by yourselves, the militia are waiting near the body and once they know he belongs to you, you will be kidnapped and killed too, go and bring a Shiite man.”

The relatives went to some of their Shiite sons in law to come and collect the body but when they arrived at the forensic department, they did not find the body.

A shitte Mula who claim doing work for the sake of God, took the body with so many other bodies and loaded them in a lorry to Kerbala and Najef as he does every day to cover the crime of Mahdi army.

The family returned home to make a funeral for Muhammed without knowing where is he buried and they do not dare to go to Najef or Karbala because they will be killed too.

The Americans Are Coming

2006-09-29T05:55:00.000-07:00

It was the most bloody, awful and sorrowful afternoon in the history of Baghdad since its foundation, when shouts broke the silence in Palestine hotel in April 8, 2003 by foreign journalists who were gathered there till the end of the war, they were shouting, “The Americans are coming.”

I was upstairs and could not understand the meaning of these shouts, in fact, I felt as if I was shot in my heart, “ No.” I do not want to hear that, but the shouts were getting louder and louder and the journalists were in a hurry to go down and see what was going on inside, they could not wait for the elevator, they took the stairs and that was what I did too.

I went down but in fact slowly because I needed time to grasp the idea that the Americans reached Baghdad and the war was finished, but what were all these conferences held by Sahaf every day in which he was confirming the Iraqi army capability in confronting the US assaults and even killing US soldiers, whom he used to call” Iluwij”.

Sahaf came early morning that day, he was so upset and even reproached Al-Jazeera correspondent for his coverage but he went upstairs on the roof of the hotel to make live statement though the shootings were so heavy, he was in a hurry, in a way, when we got close to him to listen to what he was saying, he was almost finished.

I saw one of my colleagues who live at the other side of the river, he was very sad when he was telling me that it was hard for him to come to his work today as the atmosphere outside was very gloomy and some people told him that they had seen US tanks in Baghdad.

But, I did not know that it would be so fast like that, though three foreign journalists killed in the morning by US tank fires, the pretext was the US soldier thought the foreign cameraman who had set up his camera on the terrace of his room was carrying an RPG, though since the first day of the war, the US forces as well as British knew that Palestine hotel was allocated for foreign journalists, but sure, they did not want these photographers to take pictures for them while they were sweeping Baghdad and killing any person they found in the streets.

In the same morning, US warplanes launched a feverish raid against the republican palace which was on the other side of the river, I could see that from the balcony, defences of the palace which were at the bank of the river answered the fire, the engagement lasted for like half an hour then fire sat up in the trenches of the palace’s defences and did not see or hear any bullet fried from their side.

Few foreign photographers tried to go near the opposite bank of the river to take pictures but they were chased by the people who were working at the press centre at that time, and in fact a hand battle broke out between one of them and a photographer who wanted to stay to take pictures and refused to get inside the hotel.

“ The Americans Are Coming.” Shouts continued till I got to the reception of the hotel, I stepped back when I saw, for the first time in my life, a US soldier in front of me, really he was like a monster, with his uniform, equipment, helmet and fearful arm.

I looked around, I saw some of the Iraqi men who were working with foreign journalists, they were crying, I could see tears in their eyes, they were Shiite and Sunni, but they were so sad for that scene,” Yes,” we were so scared during the war as we had to go out to cover the US bombardment to Baghdad and see the causalities in the hospitals while rockets and bullets were above our heads, we were nearly to be killed many times, but that was more bearable to us rather than to see our country invaded by the Americans.

I wanted to go out to go home to cry there but when I raised my eyes, I saw a giant US tank which was parked there to protect the foreign journalists from looters. It was not a tank, it was like a ship, very high and pompous, I look at it and said to myself, “ How many Iraqis have been killed by you since the beginning of the war till now?

At that moment, I envied all the Iraqis who died during the war and before the war, because they died before they see that shameful scene, their dear Baghdad, their dear Iraq was gone, they, who refused to leave Baghdad and their country just because they love it and they died in its love, they were lucky not to see that bloody evening when US soldiers were everywhere in Baghdad streets, except in Adhamiyia, people there were still fighting for their beloved country.

“ The Americans Are Coming.” The most awful and harsh sentence I had ever heard in my life because I had a strange feeling that the true sentence was supposed to be “ The Disaster Is Coming.”

Soon, looting campaign began in Baghdad blessed by the Americans, ministries and governmental buildings were burned and people were talking about Kuwaitis who came by themselves to do that in revenge of 1991 war.

But where was the Iraqi government? I kept asking that question, there was not a single statement to clarify to us that ambiguous situation.

Soon, power went off in Baghdad, all Baghdadis were in astonishment because during the war they had power, but why when the Americans came power cut off?

Summer was creeping weather was getting hot but no power at all, I went with few journalists to see Uday palace in Adhamiyia occupied by the US forces, we were four, so, to spare time, I told the journalists, “ you can go inside I will wait outside for you.”

There was a US soldier standing outside, he thought I was foreign too, so he began to speak with me in English, one of the question I had asked him, “ why do not the US forces repair power for Iraqis, they would be very happy.”

He said, “ Look, we won’t fix power, water and other basic things for the Iraqis, in away they would have luxurious and comfortable life and begin to think of attacking us, we want to keep them busy with these things!!!!!!”

A month later, I had to do a story in Dura district in Baghdad, I came close to a big house with farm there, I asked a man who seemed to be the guard about the owner of the house, he said “ This is the house of a Palestinian leader, his name is Abu Al-Abbass, it was granted to him by Saddam Hussein, but just at the last day of the war when the Americans entered Baghdad, a group of Israeli soldiers raided the house and took Abu Al-Abbass with them. I did not see him since that time, but Iam still guarding the house”

Later on, I heard that Abu Al-Abbass had died in the prison, of course out of torture, but what were the Israeli doing here if the Americans came to liberate the Iraqis?!!!!!

Iraq After Liberation

2006-09-29T03:59:00.000-07:00

Tribal leaders and well-known figures of Sader city were heading to the big mosque for cleric Hussein Al-Sader in Kadhimiyia city in Baghdad in the summer of 2004, tens of them were gathering there waiting for a meeting with Sayed Hussein they had requested to find a solution for the fight that broke out between Sayed Muqtada Al-Sader followers and US forces.

After few hours, Sayed Hussein arrived to the mosque and sat in hall which was furnished with beautiful carpets to listen to his visitors, they were all begging him to meddle in that big problem and convince Sayed Muqatada to stop that fierce fight because Sayed Hussein is considered the head of Al-Sader family in Iraq and he is highly respected by the family.

One of the Sheikhs told Sayed Hussein, “ I have lost two of my young sons, and might lose the third while I do not believe in what they are fighting for, I did my best to convince them to give up that but could not, because they are so young and easily to be brain washed.”

Another man raised to say, “ If the case limited only on the young guys, followers of Sayed Muqtada, it is fine with us, but the problem is that once a bullet fired against the Americans in Sader city, their forces would begin random shooting that kill even the innocent people who do not have any hand in that.”

A third one said, “ I had already lost two of my sons in the wars in time of Saddam and did not believe, that with the toppling of Saddam, that we would have no more wars and can keep our sons, but now again Iam suffering because of Mahdi army, and might lose one of my sons at any moments.”

Sayed Hussein promised all the men who were in the mosque that he would do his best to stop the bloodshed in Sader city and live up to their hopes in convincing Sayed Muqtada to ask his followers to stop attacking the Americans.

In fact, the fight broke out first between the followers of Sayed Muqtada Al-Sader and Sayed Ali Sistani about how much quota each followers should get out of the income of Najef and Karabla shrines, a lot of them died in sever fighting erupted between them till the US forces interfered to kick out Mahdi army from Najef, but during that, daily fight in Sader city was common between Mahdi army and US forces which claimed lives of a lot of the people who live in Sader city.

I was listening to one of the men who was talking to his colleague in that session and seemed to have deep knowledge about the reason behind that dispute in Najaf regarding the shrines income, the man said, “let me explain that to you so that you can have a full understanding to the issue, not having a piece from here and other from there.”

“ In time of Saddam, Saddam wanted the Shiite Marjiyia in Iraq to be led by an Arab Shiite family not Iranian as usual, the choice was on Sader family, because It is the most famous Alawi Shiite in Iraq and its members are Arab not Iranian.

When Sayed Al-Sader, the father, became the top Marjiyia for Shiite in Iraq, part of his duty was to renew the residency licences for the non-Arab Shiite Marjiyia in Iraq, particularly in Najef, they were Iranians, Pakistanis and Afghanis. The process was these residency licences to be renewed every four years.

But Sayed Sader, the father, refused to renew the licences for all the non-Arab Shiite clerics in Najef including Sayed Ali Al-Sistani, which means that he had to go back to Iran because he had Iranian ID and he refused to get an Iraqi nationality offered to him By Saddam Hussein who sent him one of his representatives at the presidency office to grant him that with a cheque of 5 million ID.

But Sayed Ali Al-Sistani refused the Iraqi nationality because he believes that Islam came for all the people not to a particular nation and does not admit nationalities.

Tribal leaders in Najef decided to go to Sayed Sader, the father, and mediate for Sayed Ali Al-Sistani to let him stay in Najef as he could not go to Iran and because they highly respect him.

Sayed Sader, the father, accepted the mediation and kept Sayed Sistani in Najef, but you can see the relation was not good since that time.”

Then, the man asked him about Mahdi army and how it was formed, the man answered like that, “ few days after the end of the war of 2003, when Saddam Hussein government collapsed and the Americans controlled Iraq, a representative from Iranian Intelligence
“ Itila’at” approached a top Shiite cleric from Sader family and presented this offer to him.

“ If you can recruit 6000 man from your followers to work for us, we will allocate $3 million for you every month and will provide them with equipments and training.”

The cleric answer was like that, “ Look, Iam an old man, Iam a cleric not a politician, so, your offer is rejected.”

Few weeks later, Mahdi army was formed instead.”

Why they call it “ Mahdi” army? It was another question.

The man said “ Al-Mahdi is the 12th Imam whom Shiite believe that he would appear when the corruption, killing and all bad things dominate the world, he would come to safe the world and flourish peace, and if you want to speed up his appearance, try to do all these things Mahdi army is doing now because they want him to come as soon as possible..”

The Civil War

2006-09-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

I was one of few Iraqi journalists who had the chance to cover the war of 2003, with tens of foreign journalists who came from all over the world to do the same thing and report about “ The Shock And Awe” as it was used to be called,then turned to be “ The Liberation War.”

part of the conversations, I used to have with some of the foreign journalists about the future of Iraq after the war, they used to tell me that soon the US forces would sweep to Baghdad and occupy it, for me, my mind had always denied the idea of Iraq would be defeated though the showdown was very tough, I love Iraq, it is my country, I have always wanted it to be the best in the world, so, I was always in quarrel with one of the foreign journalists who used to listen to BBC Radio and come to me, “ The US forces are 500 Km far of Baghdad and they are progressing.” I answered him, “ These are your dreams so that you can write more stories, we will keep fighting till the last drop of blood we have for the sake of our dear Baghdad.”

The journalist told me, “ look, I will tell you what will happen and it is up to you to believe or not, the US forces will occupy Iraq soon, than you will have a governmental council, followed by elections, constitution in which Iraq will be divided to federalisms, death squads will be formed by Iraqi opponents militias who were outside of Iraq and trained by special US teams to kill Iraqis who resist the occupation, doctors, professors, senior officers, the elite of the Iraqis, then the country will slip to a civil a war between Sunni and Shiite which will last for years.”

“ This is the scenario that is drawn to Iraq, if you do not know.” I asked him how did he know that, he said “ Some CIA leaked reports .”

With all the horrible scenes of the war, the so many innocent Iraqis who were killed by the daily US bombing to Baghdad, with all the wounded who were dying slowly on the ground of the hospitals, I had always even refused to discuss the conception of civil war in Iraq because of the intimate relation that used to link Sunni and Shiite in this country, in our neighbourhood, with my own friends and even relatives.

I told all the journalists who were talking about civil war in Iraq that they were dreaming, “ This would never happen here, it might happen any where in the world but not in Iraq.”

Even the common Iraqis whom we used to ask when we meet them in the streets or in their houses about the possibility of civil war, they would be upset immediately and refused to talk about the subject.

But day by day, with my continuous coverage, I was surprised that all the stages that journalist told me about were coming true, though I always hear,that the Americans had a plan to invade Iraq but did not have any to handle Iraq post war, but it seemed to be a systematic plan to destroy Iraq under the slogan of “ Reconstruction.”

I still remember that when the foreign journalist wanted me to ask an Iraqi person, we were interviewing, whether he is Sunni or Shiite, I was not able to ask him that directly because I knew it was an odd question, so I used to put it at the end or get an answer by asking the man some indirect questions by which I can figure whether he is Sunni or Shiite, just because I knew that such question was very sensitive and I should be very careful in approaching it.

But, soon, I found myself dare to ask this question when Shiite processions to Imam Ali and Hussein shrines started to be targeted, followed by Kadhimiyia shrine, hundreds of Shiite people killed and wounded in these series of bombardment.

Then, the trial of Saddam began, rift between Sunni and Shiite built up from the way both sects viewing the trial, Shiite believe, it is fair, while Sunni believe, it is a trial for them personally and won’t accept to be humiliated like that.

Scandals of ministry of Interior private prisons for torturing and killing Sunnis showed on surface soon after that, stories of death squads wearing uniforms of the ministry of Interior, snatching, kidnapping and killing Sunnis became common among people and journalists, I visited one of the Human Rights organization in Baghdad, more than 1000 family were recorded who had one or two and even three persons who had been kidnapped and killed by death squads, and more than 750 person were missing.

It was a latent fire, till the 22nd of Feb, when I got a phone call from Samara at 8,30 in th morning, it was Wednesday, the man who contacted me said” Something terrible happened today, the Askariyia Shrine is bombed and Samara is in great shock.”

I thought the man must get mad, why the shrine would be targeted? The telephone rang again, it was the same man, it seemed he understood my surprise in a way that I did not ask him for details as I usually do, he said” What, you do not believe me, I swear the shrine is levelled and I’m standing beside it and only God knows, what will happen today?”

Few hours later, events started to escalate in Baghdad, news of Sunni mosques attacked by Shiite militias, burned and their Imams killed began to flood from all over Baghdad, in a way, I decided to go home early, at least, die with the family.

When I went out, in the centre of Baghdad to have a taxi to drop me home, I looked around, people faces were strange to me, I could feel the expectation of something wrong would happen soon on the faces of the few people who were in the street, they were in a hurry to find a transport to go home, I could hear gunfire, here and there.

After losing hope in finding a taxi, I found one who was heading close to my neighbourhood and that is why he accepted to take me with him, he said “ It is better to stay home today, news are not promising, we might be stopped and killed at any moment.”

Just close to our neighbourhood, the main road was blocked by a demonstration for Shiite people who were denouncing the bombing, a man was carrying a gun on his shoulder came running towards us, shouting “ Go away, Go away, or I will shoot you.” The driver told him, he just wanted to pass, he told him, “ You will be shot because they will think that you are a suicide bomber.”

We turned to another street, trying to reach home by any means as the driver insisted to drop me in front of my house because it was fearfully unsafe.

I turned my face to direct the driver how to take another route to my house, but I was stunned by the scene of so many men who were wearing black suits, some of them even were bare foot , carrying guns and deployed everywhere, signs of anger were on their faces.

They were in a state of war, few of them came running toward the car and ordered the driver to leave immediately, he pointed to me, they shouted even louder, “ Get out of here, or you will be killed,” I told him, “It is ok with me I will go on foot.”

With every street, I passed by, two or three men in black suit with their guns in state of alert, and ready to fight, but fight whom, I did not know, that was one of the most unforgettable scene I have saved in my memory about Baghdad, I have not seen such thing along the three years after the war.

Soon, dense smoke began to mount in our neighbourhood and news broke out, Mahdi army supported by the Iraqi police and army burned all the Sunni mosques and detained their Imams in our neighbourhood, Sunni families gathered to see what they would do if the situation got more worse and began to think of carrying arms with them all the time, “ I must kill one or two of them before they would come to kill me.”one of the men said while he was holding his arm tightly.

Some Iraqis

2006-09-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

When I talk with some Iraqis who want you see the white black and the black white just because they believe in that, other people have to do the same and cancel their thinking and put off all their senses so that they can grasp what these people are saying.

For example when you say, the Iraqi government is not good and it is better for its members to step down because they can't improve the security in the country, they will tell you,” No, the Iraqi government is good but it is these terrorists, Ba’athists and Sunnis who want to foil this government just because they lost their position with the toppling of Saddam.”

I said," I agree with you, but can you tell me, what kind of a government is this if it is, at least, can not make the capital where the governments exists safe." may be it is difficult for the government to control the east and the south and the out skirts of Baghdad but what about the heart of Baghdad?

For a year and a half now, everybody in Baghdad is talking about the death squads and the families of the victims are talking about the abductors who prove to be from Bader brigade and Mahdi army and wear the uniforms of the ministry of Interior and are allowed to move in the time of the curfew, but when you tell these people about these facts, they said,” this is not right, they even do not exist and if they are real, they are doing well to protect us of terrorists, why they do not coem to Shiite families?”

For a year and a half and with hundreds proofs from Iraqis and Americans, still the Iraqi government can’t decide whether these militias exist or not and even if they exist,talk here and there that the government will do nothing about that because these militias are supported by the government members themselves.

So, what can the individual Iraqi do, who does not work for any political party but just want to live? Where shall he go? Go to Syria or Jordan, he needs a lot of money and has to find a work where the Jordanians and Syrians themselves are desperate for, and you can feel how the Jordanian national is upset of the situation in Jordan because the Iraqi are buying houses and flats there and prices are up sharply, in a way, a Jordanian family can not buy a meter now.

But, it is really killing me, why should the Iraqi leave his country while he has this huge country? Why should he be an emigrant just because this useless government can survive?

In all world countries, if you want to buy a house you pay money except in Iraq you have to pay your blood.

Clashes broke out again between Mahdi army in Abu Saifain neighbourhood and Al-Fadhil in Baghdad which is inhabited by Sunni families, bodies are scattered everywhere in the heart of Baghdad and neither the ministry of Interior nor the ministry of Defence dare to stop that, simply because Mahdi army work for the government, while the civilian have no one to protect them just because they are Sunni and they do not deserve to live and simply because all of them are terrorists as other people say.

When you say, where is the money allocated for reconstruction and why we can’t see any reconstruction? They will say, "the government really want to work but these Sunni terrorists, they do not let it do that." I say, ok, I agree with you, but what about the south? It is dominated by Shiite, no Sunni terrorists exist there,so, why the government did not put a brick there? did not find chances of work for these Iraqis who live in the southern provinces? and whenever they have a chance they demonstrate against the terrible living situations they are passing through and for three years of the liberation, they did not see any improvement."

I was talking with a woman whom her son was executed because he was in Da’wa party and her husband can’t be found since 1991, he was a member in the up rising in the south, as he was dreaming of Islamic state, the woman who lives in Hilla and she is Shiite said the Shiite demonstrators were shouting in the up rising, “ We do not want Saddami ruling we want Islamic ruling.” But later on he was captured by the security forces and she could find even his body and her other son was able to ran to the Saudi camp and stay there for five years, then went to the US.

The woman was complaining that she was happy when Da’wa party installed the power in Iraq, thinking that she would be remembered by the party for the scarifies her son and husband do and she, as a mother, and may be a representative of the party would come to ask about her, but she is really disappointed that her son and husband have been forgotten and now she only gets the salary for her martyred son in the Iraqi-Iranian war, though there is an attempt to cut it because parties who are allies to Iran,think that these Iraqi martyrs,their families do not deserve to be paid as they were fighting the Islamic republic of Iran so, tehy were traitors.

The Paradise Of The Grave

2006-09-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Any government in the world with such killing rate like every day in Iraq, would declare its resignation immediately as an admission of its failure in providing its people with the basic requirement any people need to live like human beings.

With all this vivid failure on all levels and the best indication for it, is the escalation of violation and increase of number of Iraqis who are fleeing the hell of Iraq, with all this shortage in fuel, power an water and endless list of red marks the Iraqi government gets for its shameful performance, still all its members, from the president till the MPS whom quarrelling all the time, all of them are clinging to their chairs to the last breath.

Moreover, when they show on TV, they will talk about the achievement of the National Unity government though any statement aired by the president, will be crossed by the premier or in the opposite, and same with ministers and the MPS, as if they do not meet and agree about a unified speech, but again, it does not matter, Iraqis are busy with their victims, their IDS, their names, their displacement, their thinking of getting up early in the morning to stand in the line for gas, though every month if not every week, they will hear in the news about the soaring level of Iraqi oil exportation and revenues.

I really do not know what the minister of Defence, minister of Interior and minister of National Security are doing? do they read the news? do they bother themselves to look at the statistics of the forensic department and think of the Iraqi people for a moment not of their personal interest and admit their failure in putting an end for this brutal killing.

Saddam was accused of his obsession with the presidency chair and there is no power can move him out except the American power who came to save the Iraqi people, but now, all these people who are in power, are supported by the Americans, in the contrary, the only power that can move them out, is the departure of the US forces, they will runaway within a minute, simply because of the non-loyalty of the Iraqi army and police to the government, but to their ethnic minorities and clerics.

A Shiite guy went to the forensic department to get the body of his relative who was killed in Ba’quba market just because he is Shiite, in fact he was slaughtered, he told me that for his surprise that while he was waiting to get the body of his relative, he saw a horrible scene that till now he can’t forget or believe, he said, he saw a body of a Sunni man who was killed by putting a long nail in his head to come down out of his chin, both of his hands were cut and put on his head.

With all these barbarian scenes, I even began to doubt that Iraq is the land of Mesopotamia where the first civilization in the world found, the first land to invent means of writing and put laws to organize the different types of relations among its people.

I really doubt that those killers are the offspring of those great ancient Iraqi people as they do not have any normal aspect shared by common human being to deal with others.

Leaflets flooded Ba’quba, telling people that cucumber and tomato are harqm and any body seen carrying them together or making a salad out of them, he will be killed, in addition to cabbage, and the reason is that they represent sexual features.

Women are obliged to wear abaya and cover their faces not to wear ordinary hijab, otherwise they will be killed too and I think soon we will go back to the habit of killing females as soon as they born to get rid of their problems.

Any person will be seen smoking cigarettes, he will be warned and if he did it again he will be killed, a guy was smoking in Ba’quba when he was caught by some gunmen who put off the cigarette in his mouth and warned him of doing that again because they wouldl make him smoke in the grave.

Colleges are warned there too if they start the new year while still they have the mixed system of studying, boys and girls, either they separate them or professors and students will be legitimate target.

All of that, and the Iraqi government still talks about its unique achievement with such a record time to send the Iraqis who elected them as soon as possible to the paradise of the graves where they can have peace and democracy without exerting any effort or sustain any fear and where they can fulfil all their dreams.

It is really shameful, the world silence towards the daily slaughtering of the Iraqis and it can't gather to find a solution for the Iraqi problem though most of the world armies gathered within few months to come and destroy Iraq in 2003.

In A Town Called Mahmoudiyia

2006-09-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

In a town called Mahmoudiyia, south of Baghdad, people used to live together in peace for ages, no one ever there raised the question of Sunna or Shiite, locals are busy with farming, some of them joined Mahmoudiyia factory for bikes, but the town became busier with the establishment of Al-Q’aq’a Compound there during the eighties.

The compound itself is an image for the intimate relations among the people there, as you can find, Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds and Christians families work and live together.

After the US invasion, troubles engulfed the town, car bombs, IEDS, kidnapping and assassinations, still Sunni and Shiite kept living together because they believe that common Iraqis did not dare to do that to cause harm to their own people.

After the formation of Al-Ja’aferi government and the disastrous ministry of Interior who brought all the Shiite militias, equipped them with weapons and uniforms to kill with official approval, Mahmoudiyia became a hell for its people, particularly the Sunnis.

I was talking with one of the woman who lives in this compound for years and asked her about the situation, she said “ I have been there for long years, but have not face such terrible bloody days since the coming of Al-Mahdi army here.”

Al-Mahdi army is making ethnic cleansing in this compound, any Sunni family there has to leave, the family will be lucky if it receives a warning or its main apartment door blown up by an IED but the great disaster is if one of the family member falls in the hand of this militia, after few hours his body will be find in the trash.

The woman who is Shiite but her son in law is Sunni said “ My son in law left the compound after two of his Sunni colleagues killed just because they are Sunnis, my daughter still with me but neither she can go to him nor he can come to see here because we every day he is hiding somewhere.”

Three men who work at the compound went to the bring the salary for June, two of them were Sunni and the third was Shiite when they caught by Mahdi army, the Shiite man was released but the two Sunni bodies found later on somewhere in the town.

Fake checkpoints everywhere in the town, any man with Sunni name or tribe will be kidnapped and killed immediately after a course of torture, Sunni men are not allowed to work in the main market otherwise they will face the same destiny.

I have contacted the representative of the Islamic party in Mahmoudiyia, Sheikh Sa’eed As-samara’i to inquire about the family of the Iraqi girl who was raped and killed with her family by the US forces and the man promised to help me get in touch with her relatives.

The second day, Sheikh Sa’eed was in his way from Mahoudiyia to Baghdad when he stooped by this militia who opened his suitcase and when they found his turbine, they shot him immediately and began to dance with his turbine.

Omer is only 13 yr boy, his bad luck put him in the hand of this militia, when they found that his name was Omer, they took him to an isolated place and dug a hole, in which they buried him till his neck, then the members of the militia began to shoot on his head till they smashed it, just because he is Sunni and his name is Omer.

Now, this militia is kicking Sunni out of their mosques in Mahmoudiyia after killing their Imams and chasing any one prays in them, threats are flooding on Sunni families to leave their homes, farms and shops or they will be killed soon.

Mahmoudiyia must be exclusive to Mahdi army and followers of Al-Albait, as if the other Iraqi Moslems are followers of the devil and they do not deserve to live with Mahdi army.

Thank You All My Dear Friends

2006-09-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

To the all dear colleagues and readers who have never stopped inquiring about reason behind the halt in publishing and wanted to make sure that I was safe and fine, I like to thank you all and voice to you my great appreciation.

It is really a big impulse to me to keep writing because withen this period of time that I have stopped, I could evaluate my blog and whether it has its own readers or not.

I do not want to bother you with the reasons behind the stoppage in publishing and honestly they were out of my hand but I promise you here that I will start writing again soon and I have alot of stories to tell you about from Iraq and outside of Iraq.

thank you all again

Ishtar

Under the Shoes

2006-06-27T01:01:00.000-07:00

I was heading out of the house at 10 am after I closed the main door, I went down in the street, there was a big crowd of people talking and shouting. It was something strange for our street because most of the neighbors resume their daily activities in the afternoon.

I saw two women chatting aside, went to ask them, one of them answered me “ Three guys kidnapped now while they were standing out of the shop drinking Pepsi Cola.”

How?

I went out to take my daughter to the school, there was a strange car parking beside our house, when the driver saw me he moved but he kept coming and going in the street till another car arrived with two men, they fired many shots in the air and grabbed the three guys to put them in their car and runaway.”

Do you know who are the three guys?

Yes, they are the new neighbor who just arrived recently to the street, the father and his two sons. I want to go now and bring back my daughter from the school but Iam so scared to do that now.

Since the new security plan started, a lot of national guards are in at the main road which is only few minutes of the street, in addition to that, one of our neighbor is an uncle for one of the ministers in the new government, the minister sent a police car with four policemen to protect his uncle house. I asked the woman if any of the police or the national guards came to help?

The national guards came later on after everything is finished and what do you think they will do to the Mahdi army? The woman replied.

We were standing close to a trunk of a palm tree and a big barrel were put to block the street, on the top of the barrel there is a placard saying “ Yes, Yes, for the leader Muqtada Al-Sader.”

The woman asked me to be careful because the street is no more safe like before and concluded that she is waiting for her kids to finish their schools to leave to Egypt.

I did my best not to wait long at the main road and take a taxi as soon as possible, the driver told me that all the roads are blocked because of the so many check points and it is better to take Canal street, I did not object because he knows better than me.

Canal street was not much better than other streets and in fact we had to take the dusty road to avoid the heavy traffic, the driver said “ For God sake, can you tell me what is the use of these check points, I swear they put them just to torture people, look, cars are passing by…who knows what is inside them?

Then a police car came very fast, a policeman was on the top and two bodies for young men were under him, one of them was wearing a gray dishdash, the other was wearing a truck suit, both wear bear foot, laying in the car.

The driver said “ Ah, you see, look, sure they found them here near the Canal.”

I kept looking at the two men and prayed to God not to be in the same position of these poor men under the shoes of the policeman.

Reconciliation

2006-06-26T00:23:00.000-07:00

Malki was declaring his reconciliation project in the Iraqi parliament amid a blown up security plan began ten days ago, Mahdi army supported by the commandos of the ministry of Interior was busy launching attacks against Sunni dominated neighborhoods in Baghdad like Fadhel, Haifa street and Al-Kifaha.

They tried to enter Adhamiyia but the National Guards stopped their progress to avert a big fight as people there are always in state of alert expecting Shiite militias to come at any moment.

A man from Adhamiyia said “ I do not leave Adhamiyia because my ID is issued in Adhamiyia and if Shiite militia discovered that they will kill me.”

He went on to say “you did not hear of the ten guys who went from Adhamiyia to the Medical City to donate blood but they kidnapped by militias there, their bodies found later on at the outskirts of Baghdad.”

Mahdi army was sweeping Sunni neighborhoods who did not wait for long to raise their arms and engaged in a hot battle supported by the National Guards, the fight reached Baghdad university in Bab Al-Mua’dadham, mortars, PKC, and launchers were exchanged, students and professors in the university found them stuck in the fight and do not know what to do.

I contacted a friend who works there to check with her, she said “ It was such a panic, the university was a battle field, gunmen closed the gate of the university while they were answering shooting from different sides, all the professors believed that they would be collected soon and killed.”

I was watching the session of the parliament and listening to the project of reconciliation, actually it was good, the project has the chance to declare itself amid all the disputes surrounded its birth, Shiite cleric in Najef last Friday was upset for the release of the detainees whom all are Sunni and wanted them to be treated like Guantinamou prisoners!!!!

Others were displeased with terming their dogmatic fellows as militias, Sunni were unhappy about mixing terror with resistance and Deba’athification.

But still the reconciliation is declared and immediately heads of blocs indulged in speeches praising and reserving some points in the project.

One of the Shiite speaker who was greeting the project was talking about its good aspects till he reached a point in which he was condemning Takfiris, Saddamis and terrorists but he moved his sights towards the side of the parliament where Sunnis were sitting.

Sunni immediately interrupted him and said “ Sir, Why are looking at us, do you mean us with this speech?”

But the man soon apologized insisting that he did not mean it but by chance his sight fell on their side.

One of my colleague asked me about my opinion of the reconciliation, I told her “ reconciliation is really what we need in this time, but I was expecting something more powerful, I feel I have heard all the items in this project before, there is nothing new, when I read it I felt as if Iam having food without salt.”

At night an Arab satellite brought two Iraqis Sunni and Shiite to talk about the reconciliation, the Sunni was pulling towards the west while the Shiite was pulling towards the east, the interviewer ended while the two men did not reach a point to meet at and reconciliate.

Democracy In Iraq

2006-06-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

“Shall I contact him or not.” I have asked myself this question several times, but when I found another option I dialed another number.

It was a breaking news, “ Saddam defense lawyer, Khamies Al-Ubaidi is killed.” So, we have to make a story, I began to contact all people associated with Khamis but the result was so negative.

I tried his close friend who is a lawyer too, his wife was on the telephone, I asked her about her husband, she said he was abroad, I asked her if she knows anything about Khamis killing, the woman shouted in the telephone out of her shock and sadness,
“ No, he is such a nice man, how did they kill him?”

I told her, you do not watch TV? She said” there is no power at home.” I told her news saying that he was kidnapped and then killed.

I tried the head of the lawyers union, he was in his way to Mousel, I tried other numbers, all of them either switched off or ringing without answer.

I left with one choice only, I will try Khamis phone number though his telephone now might be in the hand of his killers but I will do it, “No, I won’t do it.” “ I will do it.”

I dialed Khamis number, it is ringing, Oh, No, How is that it is still ringing? They must have thrown it somewhere.

I tried again and again till a woman answered me, Oh , My God, I asked her who is she? She said “ Iam Khamis wife.”

But how is that you still have khamis telephone with you while he is kidnapped?

We were at home, Khamis was in his bed, when more than 15 armed man stormed our house at 7 am, wearing civil uniform and grabbed Khamis from his bed. I asked them who are you? They told me “we are the security of the Ministry of Interior.”

Did khamis tell you anything before he leaves?

They did not let him say a word but they turned to me and said “ We warn you and any member of his family to go to the forensic department and take his body, all of you will be killed.” All I want now is to take Khamis body and leave with my three kids.

What about Khamis brothers?

They are all in Haditha, the town is under a siege, mobiles are off there, they do not come to Baghdad because they will be killed on their IDS.

It is true, Iam working on Haditha massacre story, there is no way to contact people there only by Thuraya or if they come to Baghdad, something they rarely do.

Khamis body later on found in Sader city, tortured severely, an eye witness from the city itself said “ Khamis body was on the ground, any one passes by give it a bullet among shouts of condemnation for any person defends Saddam.”

“Democracy wanted to kill all the Americans who brought her to this country before it would kill herself as she is watching all the atrocities committed in Iraq under her name.” A lawyer commented on Khamis killing.

These Days

2006-06-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

These days are the most fearful days I have ever seen in Iraq, stories of kidnapping and killing have made me walk in the street and look around in fear some one might be chasing me or another might jump and drag me in a car or shoot me to death.

I left the house mumbling with prayers begging God to take care of me and protect me of kidnappers and sectarians. I stood at the main street waiting for a taxi to jump in and runaway to work, waiting at the street for long under the heat of the sun is a great risk.

I looked around, the street was full of cars waiting in line for fuel, but the smell was awful, it was a dead dog left at the side of the street, the only shady spot was near the dog so I have to choose between the heat and the bad smell.

While I was trying to make a choice, I looked in front of me I saw a tall guy with black suit crossing the two main streets and heading towards me.

“It is the end.” I told myself, he must be member of Mahdi army and will either kill me immediately or kidnap me for reasons I do not know, but I stunned in my place and did not know what to do, run home, still the distance is not short and he can capture me, shout, I felt my throat is so dry, contact the police, they will do nothing as usual.

He was coming closer and closer, gazing at me, I tried to find one explanation for his focusing on me could not find, who is he? Could not figure.

“ It is the end, no way to runaway but the problem I have not written my will and if he kidnapped me, it would be the end of the family.” I was nearly getting mad with different thoughts and ideas roaring in my head.

Now, he is in front me so I have to face my fate, he looked at me and said “ Salam Aliakm”, I replied “ Salam.”

“You do not know me?”

“ No.”

“ Iam the driver who took you to Amman last year.” He said.

With this sentence, I took a deep breath and nearly to faint and said quickly “ Oh, really, Iam so sorry, Yes, I do remember you, you were great, I always remember that nice tripe and how great you were! What are you doing here?

I came to apply for a work at the fire police here near your house and saw you from a distant and wanted to come and say hello to you.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that, it is good you still remember me, are you still working between Baghdad and Amman?

No, I have stopped because of so many incidents of kidnapping and decapitating. I work between Baghdad and Basra, it is safer.

Where do you live now?

In Sader city.

Iraq Today

2006-06-19T00:10:00.000-07:00

To be a pilot and defend your country has become a sin after the US invasion to Iraq which freed the Iranian hand to assassinate and kill any Iraqi pilot served during the Iraqi-Iranian war.

More than 21 Iraqi pilot have been detained by the US forces immediately at the end of the war, till now their fate is unknown according to a security official in charge of the neighborhoods where these pilots detained.

“ Their families even stopped asking about them as they used to do that for two years.” The security official said.

120 pilot have been assassinated by the Iranian Mukhabarat " Etela'at" and Shiite militias in Iraq funded by Iran.

Other pilots are receiving threats and hiding here and there, some of them took their luggage and left abroad.

Bashar Abdul Hadi, is one of the un lucky Iraqi pilot, 39, found himself jobless after the war of 2003, he bought a car to use it as a taxi but he was not that lucky, after few months, he fell in the hand of some bandits who beaten him and took his car.

His wife who is a teacher at a primary school begged him to stay at home and live by her salary till the security situation would be better, lately Bashar visited by one of his friend who told him that his name is in the list, and it is better for him to flee before he would be killed soon.

Bashar did not stay at home at that night and went to stay with his relative in another neighborhood in Baghdad.

Next morning Bashar took his suitcase and put himself in the first Iraqi bus heading to Syria to escape assassination.

Few days ago, his wife, his only 14- year daughter, his sister and her husband took a car and traveled to Syria to see Bashar and decide what to do for the future.

I was on the telephone with his wife Maha who was telling me in panic about what happened to them during the land tripe to Syria “ I can’t believe myself that I still have my daughter with me.” She said.

Why?

When we were close to the Syrian borders, a complete desert, all of a sudden, we were stopped by a group of gunmen, something like a checkpoint, two of them jumped to the car looking in our faces and asking as questions about our identity, then one of them look at my daughter and shouted in her face, “ Why do not you wear a hair scarf?”

I told him, “ she is a kid.”

He said “ She is a kid, you do not look at her she is a woman, and she must wear a scarf.”

He began to pull her down of the car while she was crying and shouting for help, I myself cried and begged him to leave her and made oath to him that she will wear scarf now but all these attempts were useless. He insisted to take her.

Then my brother interfered and went to the other men who were waiting aside and hardly could convince them to leave the girl and that the family is under threat in a way they forgot about the issue of the hair scarf because their main concern was to leave.

A shepherd in Amiriyia district brought his sheep and goats to sell them there, two men came to buy but they surprised him with this question, “ Why your goats bottom is not covered?”

The man did not know what to say but the men began to beat him for his carelessness and warned him to come here with his naked goats here, before he answered them, he received a shot in his leg.

Singer Or Killer

2006-06-18T01:32:00.000-07:00

Today our neighbor found a piece of paper at the front door of his house ordering him to leave or he will regret it, he is Sunni from Samara town but he’s been living in our neighborhood for forty now.

All the neighbors in the street gathered at the house of the threatened neighbor to figure out how to help him, one of the neighbor said “ I do not know what is the role of the government in such threats, how can a person threaten others, order them to leave while the government does not do anything to stop that.”

I was at a woman society meeting few days ago, the chairman of the society was talking about the hardship of the Iraqi woman under the US occupation, she talked about an Iraqi woman who was detained by the US forces under the accusation of hosting three Arab “foreign” fighters.

The chairman said I’d like to ask the Americans “ Why it is a crime to host three foreign fighters in her house while it is ok to host more than 180,000 foreign soldier in Iraq?!!!!!!”

Pentagon admitted mistreatment in Abu Ghraib prison but refused to describe it as abuses, may God helps the Iraqis, where shall they go? If they are lucky and escape US forces prisons and abuses, they will fall in the ministry of Interior or Defense prisons who even does not accept to discuss the idea of abuses and torture in its prisons just because they are perfect and run by Moslems who have the fear of God.

Most of the people now prefer to be detained by the US forces but not by the Iraqi forces, “ Iam glad my son is taken by the Americans not by the ministry of Interior, at least I know, one day, he will come to me.” A man told me in an interview with him.

After Haditha, Ishaqi and Hashimiyiat massacres, yesterday a family of eight persons in Falluja entered the record of the US massacres in Iraq, a small female kid covered with a blanket was laying on the ground waiting for her turn to be buried with her other seven relatives, all of them killed in their house by US air strike for reasons even the US commander in the Gulf told Al-Jazera satellite that he did not know about why that family was killed?

Civilians in Yousifiyia town, south of Baghdad do not know what will happen to them after the kidnapping of two US soldiers in their town.

“ Yousifiyia is sealed off, US snipers are at the roofs of the houses, they are checking the town house by house, detaining any man they find, two houses near the site of the incident leveled yesterday.” One of the residents in Yousifiyia told me.

I told you before about release and detain style used here and how people are skeptical about the release of some of the detainees from the US prisons, I saw an Iraqi woman on TV shouting and crying “ Allahu Akber, Allahu Akber, the Americans are releasing the detainees while the ministry of Interior does not free any of its detainees.” Her son is detained by the commandos of the ministry of Interior.

One of the detainees was on TV to express his feeling about being released after long imprisonment said “ Im happy to be released but Iam not happy to go home because I know I will be either killed on my ID or by a car bomb or an IED, Iam thinking of my other relatives and friends who are still in the prison and do not know when they will be released.”

A police source in Ba’quba said that 256 detainee were released from the US prisons since the killing of Zerqawi till now, 450 person had been detained in the town, so it is true when one of the politicians told me “ I hope the government would be honest in its initiative, not to release 500 and than detain 1000.”

I have the chance to sit with an Iraqi singer who also plays on Lute and asked him how could he sing and play on these crazy days, the artist said “ I live in Sader city, I can’t walk in the street carrying my Lute with me, Iam hiding it here and there in fear some gunmen would see me and kill me, I have received many threats ordering me to give up singing because it is Haram or I would be killed but I love art it is in my blood, which is better to be a singer or a killer?”

It Is A Hell

2006-06-17T00:31:00.000-07:00

I have written this page five times and erased it, each time I start with a new story but then I feel that I should begin with another, I was writing and erasing all the time.

I found it really difficult to choose a piece of news and start with because they are so many, I do not know if I start with this piece of news I got at 9,30 am from Ba’quba by telephone.

A mother with her four kids killed at 8 am Friday in Al-Tahrier district in Ba’quba when a mortar fell on her house and wounded the father with other three kids.

The simplest interpretation for this piece of news that in Iraq even the common belief, home means safety to the human being does not exist in Iraq, you could be killed even if you are at home.

At 2 am yesterday I received a phone call from a journalist telling me a breaking news of two US soldiers taken as prisoners south west of Yousifiyia, I was really sleepy but I had to contact Yousifiyia to see what has happened.

The town was quiet because the incident took place at the desert road that links Yousifiyia with Ameriyat Al-Falluja, Musaib, Karbala and borders with Saudi Arabia.

I had told you about that road how people in Yousifiyia avoid it for being very risky, they take it only if the US forces blocked the high way.

The story of the three Janabi killed in the minibus I wrote before happened in this road, people there, say, that all of a sudden a group of guys with black suits will form a check points and begin to select and kill people.

I do not know what will happen after the kidnapping of these two US soldiers, it is a new development in the conflict here but only God knows what will happen.

After all of that I went back to sleep again, the breeze was so nice but soon gun fires broke out, the shooting was over the roof between the national guards who were at the main roads and some guys were shooting against them but could not figure from which side, the gunfire lasted for quarter of an hour, it was really hot engagement but I insisted to stay on the roof and go back again to sleep.

I wanted to write about Iraqi police prisons scandal discovered in Ba’quba, “ Ubaid” tribal leader was on TV reading a statement on behalf of his tribe which is one of the biggest Sunni tribe in Iraq, in which he confirmed that seven women have been raped by the police inside the prison after being kidnapped by the police itself as well as a number of men from the same tribe, the leader was warning if the government won’t take any position toward this shameful act, the tribe will adopt its own producers.

The scandal unveiled when MP Muhammed Al-Daini, representative of Diyla province to the National Assembly visited Ba’quba prison with a human rights committee and found all kinds of atrocities committed there even pictures were shown on TV for the torture of the prisoners.

Few hours after the exposure of this shameful scandal committed by the new Iraqi police, a breaking news appeared on TV saying that ten men were killed in Ba’quba by unknown gunmen, I contacted Ba’quba to verify the news, the ten men were relatives to the MP Muhammed, all of them are Sunni and they were killed because their cousin disclosed this scandal.

I wanted to write about Dr.Yousif Al-Hassan, 35, a professor in the Arabic language who was shot dead yesterday while he was heading to the mosque in Basra province, again his accusation is that he is Sunni, I have met this man so many times, he is great and his death is a big loss to be added to the endless losses of Iraq.

More than 300 Iraqi professors in different kinds of specialization killed in Iraq just because of Bush war against terror, the entire Iraqi people should die for the sake of this filthy war, why Iraq is chosen to be the battlefield for the war against terror? And why the Iraqis have to pay the price of New York attacks though none of the defendants was Iraqi?!!!!!!!!

Basra itself is a big story, the ethnic cleansing there against Sunni is beyond any imagination, Shiite militias supported by Iranian Mukhabart are turning the city to a hell, while the Iraqi police and British troops only watching. Why we have British troops in Basra while all kinds of crimes are committed there, I do not know.

I wanted to write about lawyer Khalid Zuba’ who was shot dead in Shua’la the day before yesterday just because he is from this Sunni tribe, one of the sheikhs of Zuba’tribe was standing near Khalid grave vowing him that his blood won’t go in vain and the tribe will not rest only after taken its reprisal of his killers.

It Is Our Body

2006-06-15T01:01:00.000-07:00

After the catastrophe of “ Al-Aima” bridge last August, more than 600 person died on the bridge which links Adhamiyia and Kadhimiyia districts, most of them were Shiite, the government declared that it will compensate families of the victims.

At the forensic department, a big quarrel broke out when a family of one of the victim found that the body of their mother who fell in the river from the bridge was nearly to be taken by another guys who claimed that the body belong to them, they were putting her coffin on the car to runaway with it, but the real family arrived and presented documents proved that the woman belongs to them and the other guys were looters.

I read recently that the government would grant families of the bridge $19,000 for each body and a piece of land after granting them three million ID before, but the piece of the news added that according to Forensic department there are 25 body still missing but for the surprise of the department, it received applications of 400 family who claim that they have missing just for the sake of compensations!!!!!!

It would be a better step if the government compensates all kinds of victims’ families in Iraq not only “ Aima” bridge, victims of death squads, unknown bodies found everyday in Baghdad and victims of car bombs and IEDS, because all of them are Iraqis and have families.

Yesterday, clashes erupted in Adhamiyia neighborhood with the first day Baghdad security plan implemented, Fuad Salim, 44, and his two young nephews with their mother, decided to return to their home in Tarmiyia town, west of Baghdad though they left it for the bad security situation there. They were worried that the situation might escalate and the neighborhood would be besieged and their relatives can not reach them.

In the way to Tarmiyia town, by mistake the uncle passed by a Shiite tribe near Taji called “Timiama”, some tribes men showed up and began to checked the three men IDs and found they are from Tarmiyia which means they are Sunnis, they told the mother she can go and they took the three men.

The mother went shouting and looking everywhere for police to help her sons and their uncle, when the police came there, they were confronted by that tripe and armed clashes broke out between the police and the tribe men, after a short engagement the police was able to control the situation and demanded the submission of three Sunni men.

The tribe yielded to the orders and brought the three men but after granted each one of them a bullet in his head.

Forensic Department

2006-06-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

Sheikh Ali Muhammed, 44, father of six kids, returned from a tripe to Syria two weeks ago, after waiting for long time at the borders he reached Baghdad at 11,30 pm, the driver told him that he would drop him in Ghazaliyia neighborhood, the last point he can reach to go to his house at night.

Sheikh Ali decided to take a taxi and go to his relative house in Haifa street, after ten minutes, the driver who was driving in front of the sheikh car, saw a police patrol stopping the sheikh, the driver went to check, the police told him he can go but the sheikh will stay with them.

For two weeks now and after looking and checking everywhere, sheikh family can’t find him and like most of the Iraqis do nowadays if they have someone missing, they will go to the forensic department in Baghdad.

A relative to the sheikh contacted me to say that he can not go to the forensic department as well as other men in his tripe because they are worried they will be kidnapped and killed because they are Sunnis.

I contacted the forensic department to check about the sheikh, the department said the relative should come and see the pictures they have for the tens of unknown bodies they receive every day because they are without IDS.

The relative said that he would wait to go next Sunday, Sunni Endowment arranged for an armed patrol to go next Sunday to the forensic department with tens of Sunni families who can’t go there to get their sons bodies because of the Shiite militias waiting there to sntach any relatives come to ask about them.

I was in an internet café two days ago, three men wearing white disdash came to the owner of the café who is Shiite, he asked them if they found “ Wasiem” body at the forensic department? They told him, they were there all the day but they could not find Wasiem’s body but they were shocked of the situation there, the number of the unknown bodies and how discusting smell because most of the bodies found after few days and morgue can not contain all of them.

One of the men said “ I have seen all absurdities in this country but I cant believe that we have reached such a level of hatred and meanness among us.”

The owner asked him “ What did you find?”

The man said “ There was a body without head which is a normal situation now at the forensic department but the big shock is that the villains had sewed a head of dog instead.”

Life After Zerqawi

2006-06-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

People in Hibhib village, Ba’quba town are fleeing their homes in fear of retaliation after the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Al-Zerqawi last Thursday.

US forces are searching the village house by house looking for Zerqawi followers, detention is underway in the neighboring villages as well as Latifiyia and Yousifiyia.

Loyalists of Zerqawi might soon resume a campaign of revenge for the killing of their leader, so the people there do not know what to do but only to leave.

Since the killing of Zerqawi till today, a medical source at the forensic department in Ba’quba said “28 person have been killed, 20 of them are Shiite and the other eight are Sunni.”

Among the 28, a Shiite tea man shot dead because he distributed free tea among people in Ba’quba out of his happiness for the killing of Zerqawi, a Sunni barber killed for offering to give people free haircut for the same reason, another Sunni grocer sold his vegetable and fruit freely to his costumers received a bullet in his head, in addition to another Sunni who used to sell yogurt in Ba’quba local market.

Three Shiite brothers, a butcher, grocer and third has a shop for female accessories and perfumes were killed in Hay Al-Mafreq in Baquba again for their happiness of Zerqawi killing.

Before Zerqawi killing, Shiite in some places in Ba’quba were receiving threats to leave the town, now, according to Ahmed Sami Al-Tai, a student at the college of Sport in Ba’quba, these threats are in public and for all Shiite in Diyala, he told me that while he was reading a piece of paper he found at the front door of his house today addressing Shiite as being traitors, stooges to the Americas and helped in the killing of Zerqawi.

Two young men asked a blacksmith in Ba’quba to fix their electrical saw, when the blacksmith opened its parts, he found small pieces of bones inside, the man did not wait long to contact the police and tell them about his suspensions.

The next day when the two men supposed to come and collect their saw, policemen in civil uniform were waiting for them.

After few hours of investigation, the two men confessed that they are part of a gang funded by an ex Shiite governor for Diyala whom his brother killed by gunmen few months ago and a car bomb ripped his funeral the second day to kill more friends and relatives.

Ten heads for Sunni men found in Ba’quba lately, a police source said they believe that this gang is behind their killing in revenge for the Shiite victims.

In Shahraban, another town in Diyala, Commandos of the Ministry of Interior raided the town yesterday at 9 pm, they were in three police cars, all were Shiite and soon indulged in houses checking and provocative language against Sunnis in the town.

Clashes broke out, eight commandos killed and their three cars kidnapped, I heard another policeman conveying this piece of news by telephone to the policeman I was talking with him today.

On The Roof

2006-06-11T01:47:00.000-07:00

To escape heat at night backed by absence of power, I find myself obliged to sleep on the roof in hope the weather would be cooler and have some peaceful sleeping.

It is very foolish to sleep on the roof without bringing a net with you to stand in the face of waves of mosquitoes who storm the place without any mercy and insist to say hello to you and won’t leave without taking a sample of your free Iraqi blood.

Mosquitoes know how to find a passage through the net and keep biting all the time to wake you up every five minutes, in a way I decided to go down again, the bites were unbearable, but as soon as I put my head inside the house the heat pushed me out to the roof again.

I put a second net to stop mosquitoes infiltration and laid in bed, after half an hour, US helicopters turn started, they were so busy coming and going all the night in such a scary altitude and noisy sound, in a way sleeping was impossible.

The round lasted for an hour and a half, black and green helicopters, but all of a sudden the roof enlightened, thanks God the power came, so let me go inside, heading down I raised my head to look at the helicopters, I saw that they themselves were throwing flares cause light, it was not that damned power, so it is better to go back to bed and listen to the music of the US helicopters.

Since the killing of Zerqawi till now, the US forces are indulged in such a feverish campaign of raids against different areas in Iraq, killing, detaining and burning.

And it is really true as one of the men commented on the declaration of the Iraqi premier of releasing 2000 detainee that soon 4000 will be detain.

Al-Ghalibiyia, a village 15 minutes far of Hibhib village where Zerqawi killed, found itself a victim for a US show at 4 am at night, the US forces did not leave the village only after killing Abdul Hadi Hamza, 70, his son Hassan, 45, and his grand son Muhammed 17 after throwing grenades on their house.

Another house in the same village was stormed too and the father and the son killed for reasons they family till now do not know, but they know they lost them.

Dr. Ahmed Rifa’t Al-Mashhadani works at Ba’quba hospital and lives in the village with his family, his house is burned completely after being shot by the US tanks, Dr. Ahmed said “ Iam a doctor, I do not have a bullet in my house, the US forces did not even bother themselves to ask me, they attacked the house and cuffed our hands and laid us in bed, I, my wife and my two kids.”

Ahmed hardly could convince the US soldiers to let him speak as he speaks in English and freed himself.

The US forces were looking for Zerqawi followers, which means more troubles are waiting the Iraqis.

Salim Muhammed, one of the dweller in the village told me “ after an hour, another US force came to apologize for the rude behavior of its previous colleague, they feel sorry for the killing of these persons, offering compensations and repairing of the damage.”

40 person detained from two villages surrounded Hibhib, “ Shakhat Al-Imam and Shakhat Alsayed” under the same campaign of chasing Zerqawi followers.

In Latifiyia, which is a town part of Hilla province, US forces launched an airborne on a village there called “ Al-Thaltha”, from 12 to 4 am, soldiers deployed even on the roofs of the houses there according to Mua’taz Abdul Baqi who lives there, “ The soldiers were dropped from the helicopters by robes and were checking house by house looking for men to detain but they found only women and kids.”

When the US soldiers did not find any man, they went to a house of a person they were looking for and ordered the women and kids to get out to burn it completely and leave them under the sky.

I was thinking all the time of these reports while I was on the roof till the Husseini“ Shitte” mosque called for dawn prayers which means the end of the night, by the way, six Sunni mosques were burned and damaged, their Imams killed by Shiite militias after Samara events in Feb 22, only Shiite Husseinis standing now in the neighborhood in a show of new Iraq plurality system.

Animals Programs

2006-06-10T02:05:00.000-07:00

Before 2003, animals programs were most favorible for Iraqis, they were so amazed of the western cameramen' skill in chasing and shooting different kinds of animals, something Iraqi cameramen never do. The question that was looming all the time was, why can’t we produce such kinds of interesting programs like westerners especially clips of lions or tigers jumping on their prey always deer or zebra and cut it in ten pieces.

I have never thought I would see such kinds of program in reality here in Iraq only when the US war against Iraq started, I felt the team of the animals programs moved to Iraq to produce all kinds of animals fight and hostile activities though we do not have same American or African environment but the team knew that soon Iraq would be the best environment for such kinds of programs and the most vulnerable prey for the lions , tigers and even dogs.

While the Iraqi elected government busy fighting on the security posts to provide Iraqis with peace and safety they luck for three years now, the Iraqi government forgot to buy a good generator for Diyala hospital and helped in killing 15 pre mature babies in their incubators due to the continuous cut in power.

The miserable situation reached by the ministry of Health in Iraq is beyond any imagination in a way people who have bodies at the forensic department they can’t go to collect them as they will be either kidnapped or killed being relatives to one of these tens scattered bodies found in Baghdad every day.

This is not only in Baghdad but in Basra too, ten persons ended in the hospital after being shot before the forensic department and their crime was they went to get bodies for their relatives!!!!!!!!!

Near Canal street in Baghdad, 15 person out of 50 kidnapped by the commandos of the ministry of Interior at 10 am in Salihiyia neighborhood in Baghdad nears the ministry of Justice were found roaming in the street after being tortured and beaten severely for reasons till now they do not know about while the ministry of Interior is fighting with the ministry of Defense who accusing the first of being ruled by Bader and Sader militias and directed by the Iranian intelligence.

US forces opened fire on a family of ten members in “ Al-Sada” district in Ba’quba to kill the father, mother, son whose 18 and two year baby and wound other six after leveling their house at 5 am in the morning.

The family were sleeping on the roof and the reason is very oblivious, no power, at 4 am the US patrols began in the neighborhood, the father raised his head to see what is going on, the US sniper did not give him the chance to do that and shot him in his front head.

When the son came to see what is going on he himself shot too, the family did not need to wait so long to understand what was going on as their house was devastated by the US forces on their heads.

A professor at Basra university received a threat to leave the town within three hours or he would be killed because he is Sunni, he told me “ On these days I vent all my wrath on ants we call them Persian “ Iranian” in Iraq, I smash them with my shoes because I know all the troubles we have in Basra is because of the Iranians and their followers and simply because I can’t kill a human being.”

Zerqawi Is Killed

2006-06-10T01:48:00.000-07:00

It seems that the Iraqis learned from the previous events passed by Iraq after 2003 war, not to react directly after hearing any big news even if it is the killing of Zerqawi.

People are more aware now than before that the killing of one person does not mean the end of their countless problems, does not mean, they can go to their work safely, their kids can go to school without the fear of kidnapping, their young sons won’t be detained and tortured just because they are Sunni, their sons and daughters won’t be shot dead just because they are Sunni or Shiite.

The endless list of problems won’t be nullified with the departure of Zerqawi, he was one partner in a big game, and in fact the US administration did not give the Iraqis the chance to breathe, after few hours, it declared that Abu Al-Masri will succeed Zerqawi and warned of more drastic attacks.

I asked an Iraqi journalist who lives in Ramadi province about the echo of this news among people there, he said “ I won’t comment but will tell you about the situation here.”

How? I asked him

“ People in Al-Qaim which is a border town, most of them are shepherds and have tens of sheep and goats, lately, they received an order that they should make their goats wear pants or they would be punished because of the indecent shape for the bottom of the goat. People there were in dilemma about what to do with their goats because the idea of making them wearing pants is unpractical and to get rid of them is unpractical too as they get milk out of them.”

So what did they do?

“ The shepherds there were left with two options either they slaughter their goats and have them at their meals or not to buy or possess any more in fear of punishment.” He added.

Female students in Al-Anbar university were ordered to cover their faces completely and if they have a driver for their transportation, he should wear dishdash “ an Arab uniform” not shirt and trouser, otherwise they will be punished according to Sharia’t law.

Even common Shiite in Iraq whom Zerqawi launched feverish attacks against them received the news of his killing tepidly stemming from the same belief things won’t change and if Zerqawi gone, tens like him will come.

Release And Detain

2006-06-07T00:29:00.000-07:00

You might feel lucky if you could escape the hammer of the masters of killing but still you should be cautious in your feeling because US forces’ hammer might be waiting for you.

With the shrinking movement of the journalists in Baghdad due to the frantic security situation, media coverage find itself focusing on Baghdad more than any other towns in Iraq but still with the help of mobiles and cameras news of other remote areas could be heard and get their share of reporters interest.

I can say within the last three years of the US invasion to Iraq and the arrival of the Arab and foreign journalists here, now Iraqis began to recognize the importance of media, in a way they themselves started to shoot events take place in their towns and contact to report about it.

Latifiyia is a town part of Hilla province, south of Baghdad, yesterday was a theater for a US show, early in the morning people woke up on sounds of aircrafts and US patrol.

They know that means that there will be a raid but they did not know that US plans would shoot randomly their houses and burned their farms, “ Isra Abdulla Attiyia” a female killed due to the air strike, “ Hiyam Muhammed Attiyia” another female who was wounded and detained and then to be released, in addition to the wound of two babies who were only two months old, an eye witness brought even a video tape for this crime.

The story reoccurred in Yousifiyia town which is close to Latifiyia, but this time by US soldiers not by planes.

Again the town was incurred by tens of the US soldiers who came to check the houses in
“ Sayed Abdullah” village and detain tens of its men, always such kinds of raids rarely passes peacefully without bloodletting.

The US soldiers stormed the houses there by kicking the doors with their shoes and shooting in random to spread panic among women and kids.

In one of the houses, a 27 year woman ran to open the door for the US soldier but she immediately received a bullet in her head and her brother in law who is 44 received another but in his chest.

Most of the men in “ Sayed Abdulla” village were detained in the wake of the Iraqi premier Al-Malki ‘s decision yesterday of releasing 2500 detainee in US and Iraqi prisons.

“It is really amazing this empty circle we are moving in, the government declares that it would release 500 detainee, the second day 1000 person will be detained, so what is the meaning of that?” a man commented on the news of freeing 2500 detainee.

Iraqi National Products

2006-06-06T00:41:00.000-07:00

I told you before that we have reached a new stage in our sectarian war, the stage of decapitation, there is no doubt that soon we will jump to another advanced stage in which heads and body’s organs displayed in Baghdad’s shops as Iraqi national products.

I was talking with my friend yesterday, she told me “ Before I was so scared that I or my kids would be killed by a car bomb or an IED but now, I think these two styles of killing are more merciful than decapitating.”

Ten heads and decapitated body found yesterday in Dura district, southern Baghdad near “ Bilat Al-Shuha’da” primary school, I contacted a security official there to inquire, he said “ I can assure you, Dura is an independent state, there is no government there.” I asked him, “ How?”

” We were informed that ten heads with a decapitated body were found near that school but the medical teams were hesitant to come close in fear that they were trapped and might blew up on them, we asked the help of the US forces to check the situation.”

It was a great shock for the medical teams, he said when they came close to the decapitated body to check the belly which was full of stitches, when they found a head of a nine year kid inside, later on we found it is for the son of the Shiite victim.

A defense lawyer works at one of the criminal courts in Baghdad told me that within only a week they received 95 case of killing all of them were recorded under unknown murder.

Again in Dura, a bus with ten students whom their bad fate took them to a neighborhood there called “ Al-Mahdiyia”, a man suddenly jumped to the bus and after few minutes he descended to leave in a car waiting for him.

People who were around were surprised that the bus did not move and came to see what is the matter? All the students and the driver were shot dead but with a silencer gun that none of the people out could hear anything.

The security official said “ Now they are using silencers which mean, a person can come close to you kill you and runaway and no one recognize anything.”

“Tell me where to direct my attention, here or there, every five minutes I get a phone call for a new crime, and the biggest problem we have now is that our forces are powerless in front of these criminals who fight to die while our forces are fighting to live.” The man added.

In a coffee shop well known in Ba’ya district in Baghdad called “ Janabi”, four guys jumped out of a car and went inside the coffee shop to spray the people inside with fire, they killed one and wounded other three severely, all the victims were Sunni.

The security man was so upset that his forces were watching there but they did nothing to stop that crime as they were scared that they will have their share of killing too.

Hijab Is Not Enough

2006-06-05T01:42:00.000-07:00

Female students in Al-Mustansiriyia university in Baghdad are in state of panic and fear after they heard the new order by Mahdi army which obliges them to wear Abayia ( black sheet covers the entire body) even if they wear hijab.

The order would be acceptable if it ends with that order but it is associated with a sever punishment for any female does not comply to, her face will be burned with acid and she is no more allowed to enter the university.

One of the professor in Economy at the university told me that yesterday voicing his resentment and faded patience to the terrible situation the universities in Iraq are sliding to due to the luck of decisive government.

In Kerbala, a Shiite province south west of Baghdad, an owner of female cloths displays his products on few dolls he puts at the front of his shop, like any shop of cloths all over the world.

But the situation in Iraq is different, the poor owner visited by Mahdi army representatives who ordered him to put hijab on the dolls in front of his shop, the man was so surprised because they are dolls not human beings.

“ even though, you should make them wear hijab, or you will regret it.” The representatives told him.

The next day, the owner got a second visit by the same guys, but at this time, they did not speak with him, they took all the dolls he has out of his shop and put fire in them and shut down his shop.

This is what a human rights activist in Kerbala told me, adding that walking on the streets there with a camera mobile is so risky there on these days because you might be stopped all of a sudden by some armed guys who will grab your mobile and begin to check if you have any picture for a female inside.

If by chance you have one, you will be referred to the Shri’at court and only God knows what will happen you.

I asked my friend who is a legal inspector if there are still leaflets warning women who do not wear hijab or drive cars and men wear short pants, he said “ No, we can not find any of them now and we did not record any fresh victim.”

Iasked him “ Why?”

He said “ because everybody committed to the order.”

Dear Friends

2006-06-05T01:01:00.000-07:00

You will be very mistaken if you think that the writer of Iraqi Screen is inspired by a model or regime or reflects the point of view of any party or group.

It is absolutely an independent Blog telling you the events as they are happening and had happened before. Iam conveying the reality to you as it is without imposing my opinion on them to give the chance for those who do not live here to have an idea about what is going on in Iraq if they are interested.

I feel sorry for the US soldier who is killed in Iraq the same way I feel for the Iraqis simply because we are all human beings and the US soldier has a family too and if we feel sad about our dead they do too in the same way.

I highly encourage any opportunity that helps in abridging the gap between the Arab and western world because we need each other and we complete each other.

I can assure you there are so many good US soldiers in the US army who do not accept any bad practices conducted by some of the US soldiers and they even quitted their work.

I want to say that only stupid and narrow minded people take the decision of war whether they are Arabs or Americans and Iam very certain the most complicated issues can be solved by diplomatic ways not by wars.

To be honest with you, my best friend is American and I have very nice friendship with so many Americans built on mutual respect.

So for any reader who felt that he is offended by my latest writings should reconsider his position because I did not mean that but this is the reality in Iraq that you can ask other Iraqis about it and see if they will tell you something different, but my writing is shocking to you because I had and have seen things only few people have the chance to be close to.

The simple reality you miss in my writing is that I love my country, IRAQ, which can’t be summarized in a president or a party. It is bigger than all these things and deserves to have some peace after three terrible wars.

Saddam I Lost My Three Sons

2006-06-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

In April 7, 2003, I went with two foreign journalists to Al-Kindi hospital in Baghdad to cover one of the faces of the US led war against Iraq for reasons till now the US administration could not prove their reliability.

The weather was cloudy and gloomy, the whole atmosphere in the hospital was grim, covered with fear and sorrow, bombs and mortars were falling here and there convulsing the hospital momentarily.

We went inside the emergency room, it was like a butcher shop overwhelmed with the smell of blood, bleeding bodies were everywhere, on beds, stretches and the ground.

Relatives of the causalities were busy between the wounded and the dead, crying, moaning and beating themselves.

We found ourselves out as there was no space for us among that bloody hell, we stood at the main gate of the hospital though it was risky as shooting was over our heads but I lost any sense of fear at that moment as I was watching crazy things were going on inside the hospital.

Ambulances and private cars were loaded with different kinds of people, men, women, young and old, the bodies were oozing blood and laid on each other as there was neither time nor space to think about their right positions.

A young lady was sitting beside the wall of the emergency room crying her young brother “ Hayder” whom her mother sent to bring her from her house with her kids to come and stay with them as the war was getting tougher and they need to be together but he was shot dead while he was heading to her house by the US army who was creeping on the capital and spraying fires on people.

“ Hayder, my dear brother, I wish it was me who killed not you.” She was moaning with that sentence all the time.

Then, an ambulance came very fast, the driver jumped quickly out of it shouting for help. He opened the door for a woman who was beating herself inside and calling upon her three kids who were inside.

I went close to the ambulance to see what is inside, I saw three boys in white dishdash sleeping in the ambulance like doves but all of them were bleeding from their mouths and their cloths were full of blood, they were 8, 6, 4 year, all were brothers.

The mother jumped out of the car shouting “ Saddam, I lost my three sons.” While she was tearing her hair.

We could hardly speak with her but she said “ They were playing at the front door of the house when the US tanks were sweeping in Dura neighborhood in Baghdad and shot the three of them.”

I recalled this crime which I can not forget among tens of crimes I had seen during my coverage to the war of 2003 till now committed by the US army, I recalled it as the US congress is investigating Haditha massacre, a good step to shed light on the atrocities perpetuated by the US soldiers in Iraq.

But it would be better, if the congress begins an investigation for the US army crimes committed against the Iraqis since 1991 till now.

And, if the congress really wants to be fair with the Iraqi people, it should open an investigation for the sectarian war ignited by US in Iraq due to its deadly committed mistakes in Iraq because sectarian war crimes are exceeding all kinds of massacres now, they reached yesterday the level of decapitating not only killing with drills.

Heads for eight persons were in their way to donate blood for their Sunni cousin wounded in a car bomb few days ago found in trash with pieces of papers their names written on. Can the US congress help in stopping these massacres which will maintain all the Iraqis while the entire world is watching silently?

Liberation Or Occupation

2006-06-03T01:52:00.000-07:00

The first morning after the fall of Baghdad, US soldiers began to strangle Baghdad hotels, buildings and streets with barbed wires, these wires I have never seen before but the moment my eyes fell on them I knew that Iraq is gong to be a second Palestine and Baghdad another Al-Quds.

I have seen Palestinians standing behind barbed wires on TV, but Palestine is occupied by the Israelis and we are liberated by the US invasion as the US administration claims, soon the answer came but it was behind a long concrete wall whispering, you have to guess whether it is a liberation or an occupation.

I went down to the streets and saw people busy looting whatever their hands can reach, I stopped near a crowd who was trying to break an iron gate for a bank in Sa’doun street in Baghdad, but it was so solid, in a way all their efforts were unsuccessful, few US soldiers were watching and soon one of the US soldier who was driving a lorry, offered to help.

He turned his lorry and began to beat the iron gate of the bank with the back of his lorry till he broke it, people greeted him with shouts and applauses, and went running inside the bank, men and women.

After few minutes screams and gun fires heard and people came running out, what is the matter? The first person who reached the safe raised his gun and promised to kill any person come close because it is his safe, he was the first to touch it and the only to get it.

A medical team works with the US army arrived to Palestine hotel, the doctor who was an officer in the US army asked me to work with them as a translator with huge salary, I looked at him and said “ Thanks a lot for your confidence in me but Iam sorry, I can’t work with you.”

Why? He inquired, I told him,” you want the truth, whenever I look at you I remember all the Iraqis the US army killed along its way to Baghdad and feel so sorry for them.”

I had the chance to go to the palace in Karada with three foreign journalist, it was empty and scary, few US soldiers were there, one of them brought the so called “ Humvee” to take us inside.

Then when we reached the gate, a US officer introduced himself to us that he would be our guide to the palace, I really felt so sad, “this US officer will show me the palace, I am the Iraqi, it is my palace not his.” But I had to complete the tour.

We went inside where we saw a huge hall full of beautiful chairs and tables, Saddam used to receive his visitors in. The US officer turned to me and said “ You see how was he( Saddam) living and how you were suffering? I did not answer him.

We went to the bed rooms, the furniture were white and ornamented with red flowers , even some dresses were still inside the cupboard, very beautiful bed rooms, the US officer turned to me and said “ see how beautiful they are, see where he used to sleep while you were suffering because of the embargo? I did not answer him.

There was a reception with red sofas and golden wood, very luxurious, the three journalists sat on them and asked me to do the same I refused, I preferred to stand, the reception overlooked a big garden full of different types of trees, the US officer again turned to me and said “ you see were he sits while you do not have money to eat?” I did not answer him.

He opened the door to a big balcony to show us the garden, he turned to me and said” you see what he eats and how he lives while you can not find an infant formula for your babies?” I did not answer.

The US officer began to feel upset and fed up of my mute reaction and said to me in anger “ For God sake can you speak a word, can you tell me anything, can you say to me that Iam(he) an idiot, Iam son of bitch.” I did not answer him.

At that moment, he felt shy of himself and looked at me” Iam sorry, I know I have offended you but I do not mean it.” I did not answer him.

One of the US journalist who was with me, she told the US officer“ This is an occupation, this is not a liberation.”

Bloody Flowers

2006-06-01T00:24:00.000-07:00

Today, we have the first flower in our small garden, God, I have not seen flowers for long time, I really miss them even the flowers shop where I used to buy natural flowers to exchange with my friends or go to have a look is closed.

I went many times to buy few flowers but it was always closed, at the last visit, I saw the owner of the shop who told me that he has received threats for selling flowers and being located in the center of the city, windows of the shop need to be replaced occasionally after every explosion and luck of power kills the flowers before he can sell them.

The man told me that Iraqis no more exchange flowers but they exchange letters with bullet inside as a sign of love of killing.

“ People who used to buy flowers left Iraq as they can’t live with such crazy bloody situation.” the owner told me.

Hana Abdul Qader, headmaster of Secondary school for girls in Baghdad woke up in the morning to go to her school, she found a letter in her car with bullet inside, threatening her because some of the students did not pass the exams in the school and that soon she will be killed because she is sectarian, though some of the failed students share the same sect of the headmaster.

In a beautiful house in Karada, businessman Ali Al-Ruba’ai lives with his family, one of the most amazing parts of the house is its garden which Ali is so keen to put the best quality of trees and flowers in, simply, it is a small paradise.

Just before yesterday, Ali woke up in the morning at a sound of big explosion that have damaged the windows, air conditioners and his car due to an IED planted beside the wall of his garden targeting a group of policemen used to stand there.

Two policemen killed because of the explosion and Ali’s garden turned upside down and out of fear Ali advised to cut all the trees in his dear garden because there might be more IEDS in the future.

The latest threats Sunni and Shiite are exchanging now in Iraq is that Shiite in the south is threatening of cutting oil supplements and Sunni in the west is threatening of cutting the Euphrates while masters of killing are cutting lives of the Iraqis.

Iam happy that birds and sparrows are still honest in their commitment towards our garden and roof, despite all the fear, anxiety and talks of death and killing, they still come in the morning to chant few songs for us though sometimes in haste but still their singing repair our broken ears who have been listening only to the sound of explosions and gun fires since the coming of the Americans in 2003.

Last December an explosion took place in Baghdad Al-Jadida in birds market, I went there for coverage, tens of white, gray and brown birds were killed inside their broken cages and their feathers were full of blood, it was real birds massacre.

Even Iraqi original songs can hardly be found on these days and in fact there is no time to listen to them though I feel Iam yearning to them and their peaceful time but among all this upheaval where and when you can have this chance.

Morning starts with either an IED or an explosion or both and work day finishes with press conferences, Saddam trial, bodies found in trash, missing people still their fate unknown though always they found killed, mortars, assassinations, clashes between resistance and the Americans or the police.

So when can I have the chance to listen to an Iraqi original song like “ Fouk Al-nakhal Fouk” literary means “ up the palm trees” or “ Yum Al-Youn Alsoud, Majusan ana” which means “ You, with black eyes, I will not give up.”

Most of the green belt that supposed to surround Baghdad to protect it of sandstorms and desert creeping was uprooted to be fuel for cooking Maskouf “ Iraqi special style cooking of fish” or chickens or to make bread, in addition to the trees uprooted by the US forces for security reasons.

I was so happy when Karada municipality decided to plant the long way that sprawling from the Germany embassy to “ Al-Hurriya” square with trees as it is bare of any green color.

After few months I passed by the same way could not find any tree only dust and when I asked about them the driver told me that police took them off because most of the IEDS are planted under them at night and they blew up in the morning.

Iraqi Police

2006-05-30T05:28:00.000-07:00

Police all over the world is found to provide people with peace, security and safety except in Iraq, this perspective is different and in the contrary police became a source of fear and intimidation to the Iraqis.

None of the Iraqis including I ever think to ask the help of the police if they have a problem because if you do that you will be trap in other problems.

I was in a problem lately and did not have any other choice except to try the police, I contacted the chief police and told him my problem, the man answered me “ I will help you but you have to keep the matter secret among the three of us, I will refer you to a General who is in charge of your neighborhood, he will contact you soon.”

After 15 minute the General contacted me and said “ I will help you but we have to find a way to talk alone because I do not trust the police with me, so either I come to visit you home wearing a civil uniform or you come and pretend that you have lost your ID, or you wait somewhere and I come to talk with you.”

With such fear the family preferred that I leave my problem to God, he will solve it because they do not want to open another door of problems for them.

Every body walks or drives in Baghdad streets try to avoid police motorcades as much as he can, first, because of the extent of fear and panic they spread among people when they cross the street through their shouting with their loud speakers, their crazy speed which is always wrong side and fires they shoot while they are driving and then their guns which are are directed against the people all the time.

The other issue that makes you avoid coming close to them is that their being very sensitive target which means if you walk or drive beside them you will be either killed or injured or suspected by them.

At one of the check points set up in Zayouna district, a guy descended from his car to be checked by the police there but they were interrupted by a suicide bomber who killed both of them.

Actually Iraqi police lost all its reputation after the scandals of death squads who are touring Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces with Police commandos uniform, kidnapping and killing people during the time of the curfew set up by the ministry of Interior itself and when journalists ask the minister of Interior, he answers that he did not have any idea about that and that his commandos absoultly did not do such things while massacres are going on till now.

Moreover, after kidnapping, police begin to bargain with the families that they should pay ransoms and should be in dollars, no less than $10,000 in the best cases.

I was in a taxi when a convoy for the police passed by, some of them wore black scarves like Americans and others most of their bodies are out of the cars with their guns directed to the people, the driver looked at me and said “ I swear to you all of them are looters, look how they imitate the Americans even in their scarves and they want us to trust them.”

Police is supposed to be neutral not represent any sect of the society while in Iraq police touring the cities with Hussein flags and pictures of Al-Sader and Al-Hakiem, a matter which make them lose any credibility of their non-alignement to the common peopl who are from other sects.

Four Syrian truck drivers were transferring cement from Syria to Iraq, when they reached Baghdad outskirts they stopped by the Iraqi police who asked them to show their passports.

The drivers told the police that they were hijacked on Ramadi road and their passports were taken by the hijackers.

The police told them that they must record their losing of their passports in the police who would do the routine procedure adopted in such cases, and then they could go wherever they want.

After half an hour, US inspectors came running to the police department inquiring about the four Syrian guys, the Iraqi police told them they had done the required procedures and released the four guys.

The US inspectors got mad about the release of those four Syrian guys because they were top senior Al-Qa’dia members and they had been looking for them for long time, but they just disappeared in The Land Of Two Rivers.

He Is Janabi, Kill Him

2006-05-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Black-clad Shiite gunmen are spreading all over Iraq to revenge of Sunnis wherever they find them, making use of the continuous deterioration of the security situation and dispute over the ministers for Interior and Defense.

Janabi tribe is one of the biggest Sunni tribe in Iraq and since the US invasion to Iraq till now, Americans, Ministry of Interior and Black-clad Shiite gunmen are chasing its members either to detain them or kill them with drills under the accusation of being resistance or in support of the resistance in away most of the tribe members began to change their IDS because of the name of their tribe.

At 8,30 am today, a minibus full of passengers from Yousifiyia, a town south of Baghdad was heading to Al-Musaib district, as usual the bus should take the high way to go directly to Al-Musaib but the US forces blocked the high way and prevented any car to pass.

The driver decided to take the desert way which was the only alternative to go to the wanted destination but in the middle of the way, the minibus blocked by two cars with four black-clad Shiite gunmen who jumped to the minibus and began to check the IDS of the passengers, three of them were Janabi which is a crime now in new Iraq.

They pulled the three men who were between 25-30 year and lined them in front of the passengers and shot them with their Kalashikouf and runaway in the desert while the Americans are guarding the high way.

The same story happened yesterday with Jassim Al-Janabi who was a farmer in Yousifiyia and took a bus to go to Hilla when stopped by the same group and again killed for his Janabi ID.

I talked with a fake ID professional who told me that his work is flourishing in an amazing way since the formation of Ja’feri government till now. I asked him, how and why?

He said “ Sunnis are asking me to make IDS for them either to change their names or their tribes because they are targeted by these two things and some Shiite are asking me to do the same thing for them if they need to travel to the west of Iraq.”

15 Sunni officials at the ministry of Interior changed the names of their tribes in fear of killing and chose neutral tribes which contain both sects like Shimmari and Jubouri.

She Is A Male

2006-05-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

“ She is a male.” Dr.Muna Abu Raghief, Gynecologist told Muhammed Taqi Al-Khafaji after checking his 18 year daughter Nagham in “ Al-Nua’maniyia" hospital, Nua'maniyia a district part of Wassit province.

Muhammed had weird feeling, mixture of sadness and happiness, he felt sad because Nagham is well-known in her town as a girl with her other two sisters and she in the high school now, he had never suspected her feminine behavior.

He felt happy because it is nice to have a boy especially he has two daughters older than Nagham and he and his wife had dismissed the idea of getting more kids after Nagham.

The Gynecologist said that Nagham had all the masculine organs and she only needed a surgical operation.

For more confirmation, Muhammed took Nagham to Baghdad to see Dr.Qais Kubba who is a Gynecologist too who also told him that his daughter is a male not female and she needs an operation to reverse her sex.

When Nagham went back to her town, she dropped her feminine dishdash and wore a trousers, cut her long hair and went to a barber to do a male hair style for her and she bought shaving machine for her growing beard.

She is no more allowed to be mixed with the girls in her neighborhood as he used to do before because now she is a man, she even left the girls school and applied for boys school but the headmaster told her that she must change her ID and put her new male name and sex as a confirmation.

Nagham who chose to be called Ali now went with her father to the IDS department in Kut to do what is required by the school but the director of the department told them that he could not issue a new ID for Ali unless he brought a medical report certifies his new ID.

Muhammed and Ali problem is the high cost of the operation which the father can not afford, he is a staffer at Kut Fabric company and his salary hardly meets the needs of his family.

Muhammed asked me to publish the story of his daughter in case any medical organization would like to help his daughter or his son Ali.

For further information, you can e-mail me.

Smart Student

2006-05-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

Our neighbor’s son is at the primary school, he came asking my help in History lesson because his brain can not comprehend all these wars, revolutions, disputes, assassinations and invasions sustained by the Arab Homeland.

The lesson he had was about Mr.Bush invasion to Iraq in 2003, I told him to go and read well and then I would test him.

He came to me after few hours, very certain of his well study, to be tested, I asked him the common question,

Who is Mr.Bush?

He answered me without any hesitation, “ Bush is an Iraqi farmer who invaded the US in 2003.”

I asked him who is Abu Musa’ab Al-Zerqawi?

He answered, “ A US leader invaded Iraq in 2003.”

The second day he came to ask my help this time in Science and promised to be better in his performance than History.

At the end of the day, he came to me ready to be tested but power was off so we sat under the candle light.

I asked him, “ What is the use of the air?”

He answered, “ It dries the dresses on the robe in the garden.”

I asked him another question, “ What is the use of the date palm?”

He answered, “It provides us with power.”

I asked him to be specific, “What kind of power?”

He said, “ Electrical power.”

I turned to him and said, “ Habibi, if the date palm supplies us with electricity, Why are we sitting in the darkness most of the time?!!!!!!!

The next day, he came begging me to have a look at a composition, the teacher asked him to write on “ Mother Day”. I took the composition and began to read

“Mother takes care of us, she cooks our food, cleans our house, washes our dresses, helps us in our homework, she fights the Zionists and serves the Arab Nation.

I asked him is there anything left that she needs to do, he said “ She cries on us and beats herself if we are killed in one of the explosions in Baghdad.”

Safe Heavens

2006-05-27T23:34:00.001-07:00

I was listening to the presser for Bush and Blair last Friday in which they voiced their happiness that the world now is safer without Saddam Hussein and admitted the commitment of few mistakes in Iraq on top of which Abu Ghraib scandal.

The statement could be more accurate if they have put it in this way, “world now is safer for the entire globe except for the Iraqis.” I do not know if Mr.Bush knows or he does not want to know that Iraq now is the most fearful spot in the world for its people, and what Iraqis are looking for now is safe heavens where they can have some peace like other world's people and to indicate that, I will tell you the latest stories I got after the presser.

Captain Salam Al-Zuba’i has received many killing threats for working at the Ministry of Interior, the latest warning revealed impatience of the side who is threatening him in Yousifiyia town, south of Baghdad where he lives and left him with a deadline to reconsider his job.

Salam decided to challenge the warning and continue his work though his family has advised him to quit and leave the town.

Last Friday while Captain Salam was heading home, he caught by few gunmen at the main bridge in Yousifiyia, he got several shots in his head but it seemed that was not an enough punishment, he was hung on “ Al-A’naz” bridge to be an example for any one works with the government or has the inclination to do that as leaflets left down his body said.

When the news broke out in the town, no one dared to pull Salam‘s body down except his brother who ran to the bridge and disbanded the robes around the Captain's body, no funeral set up for him and he was buried quietly in fear of gunmen retaliation.

Today at 11,30 am, “ Al-An’z” bridge blown up by unknown gunmen who have mined it with IEDS though it is the only bridge that links Yousifiyia with Ameriyat Al-Falluja. But till now people in Yousifiya do not know who blew up the bridge whether Salam’s tribe, in show of anger for the killing of one of its member or the gunmen who killed Salam again in anger for pulling his body down of the bridge.

On this bridge, Sheikh Iyad Al-Izzi, spokesman of the Islamic party killed last November while he was heading back from Falluja after an election campaign there and again till now, his killer is unknown.

In Ba’quba, Sa’ad Al-Timimi was busy last Friday arranging for his wedding ceremony with his two brothers and other members of the family and part of the ceremony was to bring the bride who lives in Al-Muqdadiyia town, only 30 minutes far of Ba’quba.

In the way to the bride’s house, the three brothers kidnapped by eight gunmen who blocked the way in front of the groom’s car and took him to unknown place.

The next day, Sa’ad body found decapitated and left on the trash with his two brothers bodies who received many shots in their heads.

Till now the family can not understand why these three brothers killed and why Sa’ad head is cut?

I contacted a driver I know to pick up a friend’s family from their home to Baghdad airport, leaving the country for good as most of the Iraqi families are doing on these days and because no driver accepts to go to the airport only if he works with a company belongs to the Iraqi airways for the great risk surrounded the road to the airport, I contacted Muhammed and told him

I need you to pick up a family tomorrow to the airport.

Sure,Where do they live?

In Ameriyia neighbourhood.

Are you serious? who dares to go there, we have a warning that we will be cut in pieces as well as families with us if we step on Ameriyia.

Ok, can you pick them up from Adhamiyia?

This is worse, do you want me to die. Did you hear of the three men who were killed just because they were Tennis players and wear short pants, What about a person works at the airport, sorry I can’t!!!!!!

Tribes War

2006-05-27T02:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, sectarian war took another shape and entered a new stage, I hope its fire won’t reach other areas in Iraq.

Clashes erupted between “ Al-Gharha” Shiite tribe, 500 person, and “ Al-Ubaid” Sunni tribe, 3000 person, both live in Jurf Al-Sakhar, an area part of Al-Yousifiyia town, south of Baghdad for long years.

Fight lasted for five hours, 19 person killed, 14 wounded of both sides, it stopped only after the interference of US forces and Iraqi National Guards.

The problem began when the Shiite tribe sought the help of “ Mahdi” army, now work under the governmental umbrella to ignite civil way by killing and kidnapping Sunnis in different areas in Iraq, and lunched an attack against the Sunni tribe who found themselves alone only with their private weapons to protect themselves.

Shiite tribe claimed that it mounted the attack in revenge for the Shiite passengers used to be attacked at the main road links between Yousifiyia to Babil province by Sunni gunmen.

Sunni tribe answered that they did not have any relation with that and in fact some of its members killed on the same road.

The situation till now is tense between the two tribes though the US forces are surrounding the place and people who live there expect the fight to resume soon because both tribes won’t feel happy unless they take revenge.

People in Yousifiyia blame the US forces in sparking this conflict by using Sunni man, Tahseen Al-Janabi who is neglected by his tribe for long time and put him as a director of police station in Jurf Al-Sakher.

The man did his best in detaining and arresting a lot of Sunnis there till he began a new role by which wearing Kuffiyia like Mujahdien and cutting the roads on people who were heading to Babil province to distort the image of Mujahdien there.

People there sat up an ambush for Tahseen and unveiled his identity to submit him to the Americans.

Instead of punishing him as people expected, the US forces released him and granted him retirement.

On the other side, people in Dhuliyia are crossing Tigris either by boats or by swimming to flee the US- Pesh Merga offensive launched against Hawija village, 5 minute far off Dhuliyia town part of Salah Al-Deen province, after 7-day siege, by which water, power and food are cut of the people there.

People are allowed to move on foot only, cars are prohibited and US warplanes are shooting any moveable object in the city.

I asked an Iraqi General at the National Guards force in Dhuliyia about the essence of the offensive, he said that forces of Pesh Merga came to the town suddenly a month ago and began to sit up check points everywhere, soon attacks resumed against them by the resistance there who killed two of them and wounded other three two weeks ago.

In the way to the hospital in Balad, Pesh Merga refused to obey an order by a check point for the National Guards there whom all are Shiite and not in favor of Kurds.

Pesh Merga opened fire against the National Guards, killed an officer and headed to the hospital.

The General said that he did not know what the Kurds do in Dhuliyia, they can not even communicate with the people there who do not speak Kurdish and hate militias on top of which Pesh Merga.

Haditha Massacre

2006-05-24T23:04:00.000-07:00

The hospital was almost dark, one of the nurses guided us to the emergency room where many wounded were under treatment as their injuries were so bad.

I saw a tall, well-build old sheikh waiting outside with few other women in a terrible state as one of the family member was in the emergency room.

The doctor showed up and told the father that his 22 year son had lost his two legs in the explosion and he was under anesthesia, the moment the sheikh heard that terrible news, he fell on the ground and pulled down his kuffiya and burst into tears, mourning the fate of his son who was a student at the college of nursing, other women joined the sheikh and began a session of weeping.

The scene of the sheikh was so emotional particularly when he pulled his kuffiyia, something Iraqi sheikhs do not do unless they are hurt deeply.

I sat beside the sheikh and started to cry with him not only for his son but for his humiliation in the hospital.

That was in a bloody rainy day when US warplanes missed a convoy for an Iraqi army in Al-Sha’ab district in Baghdad during the war of 2003 and threw all its bombs on a residential area there.

I ran with four journalists to the site of the attack while it was raining heavily, in a way we all got wet, crowd of people were gathering round the causalities helping the ambulance men to evacuate them.

Lakes mixed with blood and water were here and there, shops were still burning, we ran to Al-Zaherwi hospital in Sader city after the ambulance man told us that he was heading there.

It was not easy to reach the hospital with sounds of bombs falling everywhere in Baghdad, roads were full of water, in a way cars were nearly sinking and hardly able to move.

All the days of the war I was praying to God to see the day when the sound of the US bombs would die and would have some peace like other people in the world.

I did not know that these three weeks were only a prelude for another decade- long war and that hundred of the Iraqi sheikhs would sit and cry the same way that sheikh did during the war.

Last November, an IED went off against a US convoy was patrolling in Haditha, a city part of Ramadi province west of Iraq at the main road and led to the killing and injury of some of the US soldiers.

As usual people climbed the roofs of their houses to look at the damaged convoy but they were under complete shock when more than 20 US soldiers ran towards houses which were far of the site of the attack and surrounded them in a cowboy show to commit a new massacre against the families live there under the accusation that the attackers went inside these houses.

The soldiers broke in the first house, an old mother wanted to question them but they did not give her the chance to do that, they ran inside to kill four of her sons one after the other.

The US vampires did not feel enough, they went to another house where they killed 14 member of one family including women and kids and left them sinking in their blood and no one was allowed to go inside to help.

The US massacre did not end with these 18 person but continued near an intersection where a taxi with four male students were heading to Al-Anbar university, the US soldiers took them out of the taxi and gave each one of them a bullet in his head and then went to their base in Haditha.

The entire city was shocked by that massacre and soon gathered a protest in front of the US base, the commander there told them he would open an urgent investigation but in fact he kept the massacre secret as if nothing has happened, thinking that every thing can be settled by a compensation and saying “We are sorry, we did not mean it.”

Tens of Iraqi sheikhs who gathered in the funeral pulled their kuffiyas and cried for the massacre of their sons and vowed to revenge for their blood even after ages.

The First Square

2006-05-24T00:06:00.000-07:00

Few days after the end of the war in 2003, with the spread of looting and kidnapping under the auspice of the US forces who were watching with a smile the feverish campaign of destruction and burning which maintained all the Iraqi official institutions except the ministry of Oil, and with the absence of police and army, people found themselves obliged to protect themselves by themselves.

In every street in any neighborhood in Baghdad, trunks of trees, big barrels filled with dust and other kinds of metal barriers were put to block the streets, civil committees formed with the help of the Imams and tribal leaders to guard neighborhoods during the day and night with private guns to spare their families the danger of the killing and kidnapping gangs.

Large number of Iraqi women started to put scarves in fear of Islamic movements and many cases of killing and kidnapping took place against women who were not wearing hijab, in a way even Christian women began to wear hijab either because of threats they received or because some of them killed for this reason.

Now, after three years, and with all this pompous talk we hear by the Iraqi government and US administration about the increasing number of the Iraqi security forces and army and their mounting ability in controlling the Iraqi provinces, I found myself doing the same stories I did in 2003, in a way I know all the details but the amount of fear is much more than before among people and the extent of crimes have exceeded all limits.

Is this a coincident or it is something planned that we have been moving in the same square all that time, and moreover we are running back to the first step.

I say that because now, if you tour Baghdad’s neighborhoods, you will find 90% of them are blocked by trees trunks, barrels and big stones and men are guarding them with their private guns and they are always in a state of alert to confront death squads in case they storm their neighborhoods, snatch some people and then their bodies would be found in the trash.

I say that now because I found myself doing the same story about women who are threatened and killed just because they do not wear hijab or they drive cars. Only yesterday, a legal inspector told me that four women found dead in Hay Al-Jihad with shaved hair because they were driving cars and not putting hijab.

Eight kids between 12-15 year shot on their heads in Ameriyia and Hay Al-jihad in Baghdad because they were wearing short pants, by two ”Opel” cars carrying few men hiding their faces with Kufiyia.

By chance a patrol for keeping order forces were passing by and saw the massacre and chased the cars, one of the “Opel” car was captured and for the surprise of the forces, when they took off their kufyias, they found that they were all between 14-16 year.

All the pharmacies in these two districts in addition to Al-Yermouk, Jamia’ and Mansour are warned of selling any Iranian products, or they will be killed and their pharmacies will be blown up.

All the people in these neighborhood are informed that any person uses Iranian cooling device called “ Sacht” or sell it, will be killed immediately, these devices are used by the Iraqis because they operate on local generators used in most of the Iraqi neighborhoods now as a result of luck of national power and because of the unbearable heat in Baghdad nowadays.

My friend added that these neighborhoods are declared as Emirate for the resistance there and to be exclusive for Sunnis, ethnic cleansing is very active there to kick out Shiite of these places.

If the kid who wears the short pant is lucky, he will be punished with cables and warned of doing such thing again, one of these kids said that the gunmen told him when they captured him “ Hey you, you are A’ni “ From A’na city in Ramadi” how do you claim you are a real man while you are wearing such shameful pants?!!”

The inspector told me that he thinks that all these crimes are committed under the auspice of the US forces who were patrolling these districts but these gunmen did not attack them, yet, they attacked the innocent kids and women.

The Revenge

2006-05-22T03:09:00.000-07:00

Suha Abdul Sahib, daughter for a Sunni mother and Shiite father,20, very cute and beautiful girl recently married to a Shiite police officer who killed himself to get her though there was a kind of family objection to this marriage because she was supposed to get married to her cousin.

But Hassan Ali, the police officer kept pressing and did not spare any tribal means to convince the family to accept him as a husband for Suha.

Hassan succeeded in his efforts and he got married to the woman of his dreams and took her to live with his family in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad.

After the formation of Ja’feri government, scandals of the ministry of Interior’s secret prisons for torturing Iraqis particularly from Sunni sect began to show up on the surface after two months of the government resumption of its work, pictures of people tortured with drills and electricity were everywhere in Baghdad.

Few people were able to survive out of the massacres of the prisons and only after a huge campaign made by the Human Rights organizations and US forces who voiced their anger for such barbarian acts.

Those people who were set free after long months of torture in these prison were able to recognized Hassan as one of the police officer who used to torture them in these prisons and decided to revenge of him.

The house was under intensive watch and the plan was set up to make Hassan taste some of the torture he used to spell on these prisoners and to be in shame all his life.

Suha who knows nothing about her husband work only that he is a police officer, was in her way to go to her family house when she was surround by two cars full of gunmen who blocked the way in front of her, put her in their car and runaway.

After few days, Suha was thrown back at the front door of her husband’s house but in a terrible condition and torn cloths.

Since that day, Suha told her husband that she can not live with him any more because she can not stand him any more and because she is broken completely.

Suha lives now with her family, does not accept to see any man even her brother, absent minded all the time and when her mother tries to speak with her she keeps crying and does not accept to talk about what has happened to her.

National Reconciliation

2006-05-22T00:28:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the presser conducted by the new Iraqi premier, Nouri Al-Malki, in which he emphasized his willingness to promote a national conciliation, in a bid to ease the sectarian congestion storming Iraq now.

It is a great initiative and Iam sure every common Iraqi is waiting for but Mr.Malki killed it in its bed when he insisted on keeping former minister of Interior” Jabbur Solagh” in the new government though he is absolutely unwanted by the Sunnis and in fact one of the reasons that pushed Sunnis to join the political process was to kick Solagh out of the government for the horrible atrocities perpetuated by his ministry against Sunnis.

One of Mr.malki fatal mistake as Sunnis say now, was granting “ Solagh” the ministry of Finance, in a gesture they considered as a reward for the mass killing carried out against Sunnis by him when he headed the ministry of Interior under Ja’feri government.

After destroying one of the main pillars of a state was called Iraq by his bad performance at the previous ministry and hepled in igniting a civil war , now Solagh will devote the ministry of Finance for funding all Shiite militias by his new post.

This is what the Sunni are talking about now and how upset they are of such act which reveals a childish style of teasing others.

Younis Al-Rauba’i, the Shiite man I talked about in my story “ killing Masters”, the owner of the shop in a district in Baghdad called “ Al-Kam” who asked the son of his Sunni assassinated friend “ Khaliel” to come and work with him in his shop after losing his father six months ago, killed yesterday.

Khaliel was assassinated in Younis shop twenty days ago and Younis forced to leave his house in Al-Kam after receiving a flier ordering him to leave his house which he has been leaving in for 40 year now.

Younis decided to rent a house in another neighborhood in Baghdad and one of his Sunni friends offered to rent his house in “ Al-Kam” to help him afford the high rent he has to pay in the new neighborhood.

The Sunni friend was also threatened to leave the house of his Shiite friend or he would be killed soon, so he did.

Younis and his wife had to go to their old house, at least ,to water the trees in their garden because there was no one in the house to do that as the wife told me recently.

Three days ago, a relative to the family carried a message to Younis warning him of coming again to his shop otherwise he will be killed like Khaliel, Younis did not yield to the threat and said “ It is my shop, I’ve been there for 40 year, no one has the right to kick me out of my shop, how can I earn the living of my family?”

Yesterday night, Younis took his wife and his granddaughter and went to his shop to work while his wife went to their old house, in the way back home at the high way of
“ Muhammed Al-Qassim” at 9,30 pm, Younis car was chased by a car with four gunmen who sprayed Younis car with fire, he tried to shoot against them but he fell dead when a bullet stayed in his throat.

Younis wife injured severely in her shoulder and breast while the granddaughter who was sitting at the back seat survived miraculously but she took her mobile and started to contact the family about the assassination of her grandfather and that they are still in the car on the high way.

The latest rumor circulates now among the Iraqis that soon Baghdad will witness streets fighting especially after news published on the Iraqi newspapers saying that the ministry of Finance has moved all its treasure to the green zone, as a precautionary procedure to the crazy deterioration in the security in Baghdad.

The Suicide Doctor

2006-05-21T05:39:00.000-07:00

Muhammed’s family was so glad when he admitted in the college of Medicine, Baghdad university few years ago. He was the only family member who was able to fulfill his mother dream to have a doctor in the family.

Few months ago, Muhammed had to be trained at the forensic department at the Medical city hospital in Baghdad part of his study, but he started to have some psychological problems because of his exposure to the tens of mutilated bodies submitted to the forensic department due to the deterioration of the security in Baghdad, in addition to the victims of car bombs and IEDS, whom most of them charred or injured in an eerily way.

Muhammed Ismael, this is his full name, stopped his training and sat at home because he could not continue any more, the family decided to take him to a psychotherapist to see what is wrong with him and how to find a solution for that problem which was posing a great threat to his future as a doctor.

The doctor advised the family to let Muhammed have a vacation and to be taken away of his training site.

Muhammed who used to go out everyday before, got fed up of sitting all the time at home doing nothing, he started to quarrel with the family to let him go out as he feels suffocated of being imprisoned at home all the time.

The family understood Muhammed’s demand and began to take him out but only to be with his father or one of his brother, in fear that he might runaway or get lost as he little confused about locations after falling sick.

In one of the evenings while Muhammed was sitting at the front door of his house, his brother went inside to bring something but when he got back he did not find, he asked all their neighbors, friends and relatives, no one knows where did Muhammed go?

The family did not give up hope in finding Muhammed but all their efforts did not help in finding him, till the family received a phone call from the forensic department to come and speak with the doctor there.

When the father sat to talk with the doctor and see what was the reason behind the phone call, the doctor showed the father a CD and a picture of Muhammed.

The CD was for Muhammed putting on an explosive vest round his west and carrying out a suicide bombing operation in one of the neighborhood in Baghdad and a picture for him after the operation as a dead body.

The doctor told the father that he found the CD at the forensic department but he does not know who brought it here.

Funeral for the suicide doctor set up in Hay Tunis in Baghdad without Muahmmed body but with a black sheet mourning the end of Dr.Muhammed Ismael.

The New Iraqi Government

2006-05-21T00:34:00.000-07:00

Close to the statue of Saddam, while some Iraqis and US forces were busy to pull down the statue, immediately after the US soldiers stormed “Palestine” hotel in Baghdad in April 8, 2003, a big crowd of Iraqi men assembled in a unique speed and started a beating session with a chant “ In the name of God, we will never forget you, Hussein.”

I was watching with other journalists and Iraqis what was going on in “ Al-Firdous” square, I could understand all pictures of reactions at that moment, some people were shouting out of joys, others helping in bringing the statue down but could not find any interpretation for that beating session because such kind of sessions held in sorrowful occasions, Shiite must be happy for the toppling of Saddam so why they were beating themselves?!!!!!

The other amazing feature of that Iraqi crowd was the absence of Iraqi women, I looked around I did not find any Iraqi woman, if Iam not wrong, I was the only Iraqi woman at that day, only because I was working with foreign journalists.

Most of the common Iraqis did not know that with the end of Saddam Hussein ruling, Shiite and Sunni religious parties will climb their shoulders and tighten the robe on their necks under tens of Islamic slogans, even before they take a breathe of the last three wars and the real victim will be for sure the Iraqi woman.

Only yesterday I got the explanation for that beating session I was looking for all that time, I found the explanation in the five posts granted to the Iraqiyia list in the new Iraqi government, the only list that contains Iraqis who believe in their Iraqi sect not Shiite or Sunni or Kurdish sect they belong to, and how sects lists swallowed all the other posts with great victory.

It was the best and most sad indication for the retreat of Iraqi sect and the incursion of the minorities sects governed the life of the Iraqis after the US invasion of Iraq, Iam really worried that soon we will have to change our Iraqi ID’s with Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish ID’s, because on these days no one feels proud of his being Iraqi but he is ready to fight and die for the sake of his sect.

The two posts granted to two Iraqi women was an explanation for the absence of the Iraqi woman in that crowd. Iam sure these two posts were meant to answer any question about the position of the Iraqi woman in new Iraq.

Stemming from the belief that all evils come from a creature called woman, posters flooded Iraqi universities, hospitals and ministries after the US invasion, calling upon woman to be like Virgin Mary and Fatima Al-Zahera, daughter of prophet Muhammad and pictures of women who do not wear hijab tortured in the hell with a curse, and none of these posters bothered to call upon the Iraqi man not to glance at woman or chase her wherever she goes or kill with cold blood his Iraqi brother.

I recalled the scene of beating session I saw in the square again and found another interpretation for it yesterday. It was a beating session for the resumption of the old habit before Islam by Arab tribes which is the burial of female the moment she born.

I was one of the Iraqis who were waiting to see a democratic parliament in Iraq represents all the components of the Iraqi people where every Iraqi will have an MP who can convoy his voice to the government, but not to have a parliament dominated by turbans, Abaya and scarves with a condition that they must cover the chin.

Most of my friends voiced their fear of the future in Iraq because if they were able to stand the previous government with all its sectarian stamp, in hope soon the six months would be finished, it is so difficult now to stand such kind of government for four years.

Nobody thought that the US invasion to Iraq will breed a government that is pulled by Shiite from one side and Sunni and Kurds from another side, and within the first session quarrel erupted as some Sunnis were upset of the entire process of forming the government, in a way they withdrew with anger.

I was in Beirut last month and really shocked by the way young Lebanese were introducing themselves to me when they know that Iam Iraqi, the young guy would tell me with a big smile, “ Iam Shiite, you are Iraqi?.” I was waiting for them to tell me that they are Lebanese, but no one did that, what a disaster!!!!!

Romantic Stories

2006-05-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

Like a cup of cold water in a hot Iraqi summer was the idea of re running the episodes of Syrian love poet “ Nizar Qabani” on Dubai satellite, I enjoy every minute with the hero and his delicate romantic poems. It helps me a little to forget the horrible reality I face everyday.

I thought Iam the only Iraqi watching this episodes but I discovered that most of my friends, relatives and neighbors do, it is an encouraging sign indicates that Iraqis are still interested in love stories despite all that governance of hatred and killing of their lives.

Then, Iraqi special romantic episodes began to flood on me, my friend in Ba’quba contacted asking for help, I asked him

What is the matter?

I need a human rights organization to contact Sulaimaniyia security directorate?

Why? What is the story?

My aunt is a teacher, she is from Ramadi married to a Kurdish doctor from Sulaimaniyia for ten years now. She was arrested by security forces there under the accusation of supporting the resistance, just because she is from Ramadi.

Then ?

She was kept in the prison in Sulaimaniyia for twenty one day and then released. She and her husband decided to leave and come to Ba’quba.

Then?

She went to the school in her new neighborhood to work in as a teacher, the headmaster did not let her resume her work unless she brings a document proves her release from the prison.

Then?

Her husband went to bring the document in fear that she will be arrested again but for five days now, we can not find him, even his brothers in Sulaimaniyia lost his trace since he has gone to the security directorate and my aunt is getting mad.

Ok, I will contact the chairman of the human rights organization in Kirkuk, Khalid Al-Izzi, I know he is good in such cases.

Mr. Khlaid, How are you?

Iam very bad.

Why?

Yesterday night, operations and emergency forces controlled by Kirkuk governor Abdul Rahman Abdul Fatah, Kurdish lawyer, raided the headquarter of our organization, destroyed its contents and humiliated the guards.

Why?

The organization took the responsibility of distributing cooking gas tubes among people, I gave every one his share and finish all the 280 tube, but this has upset the governor because what is happening every time, after distributing 20 tube among people, governor forces would keep shooting in the air to scare people and 260 gas tube will be confiscated by the governor to use them as he likes. I will hold a press conference after two hours on this issue.

I told Khalid my friend’s problem and if he can help, he said “ I know the reason, tell him not to worry, five prisoners ran away of Sulaimaniyia prison last week and Kurdish security forces are arresting any one comes to inquire to the directorate as a precautious procedure.”

Shouts and gun fires broke the silence of the neighborhood, everybody went out to see what is going on?

A quarrel erupted between two families, Shiite and Sunni, the reason was dispute between their kids, each one told the other, “ I will show you who we are and who you are?”

Within half an hour, the neighborhood turned to a battle field, Shiite family brought three mini buses loaded with people from Sader city equipped with hand grenades and light weapons if not drills, they climbed the roof and began shooting against the Sunni house.

After few minutes two mini buses loaded with men equipped with US guns jumped out of the buses and stood in front of the Shiite family house shouting, “ Hey, you coward, we are Sunni terrorists from Hawija, show up if you are men.”

When the Shiite family fired the first barrage of shooting in the air from the roof, Sunni men answered with fires that shaken the entire neighborhood and destroyed the front wall of the roof for the Shiite family.

What Shall We Do?

2006-05-17T23:20:00.000-07:00

Today, my telephone kept ringing most of the time, receiving phone calls from my friends who do not wear hijab and drive cars, asking same question “What shall we do?”

I know the reason behind this fear and anxiety, I heard early in the morning that two women were driving their cars in Al-Yermouk district in Baghdad shot dead and other three were wearing trousers in Ameritiya district which is supposed to be part of Zerqawi monarchy” Imara” in Iraq including other districts like Dura, Ghazaliyia and Hay Al-Jihad.

A friend told me that she can not wear hijab because she does not believe in, I replied to her ”You believe or not, we are all infidels according to Taliban and Iran Mulas ( clerics), you have two choices either you wear hijab or you leave.”

The incident which aggravated the situation more was the abduction of the Emirates' consul who was surrounded by heavy security and high concrete walls, “ If the abductors are able to get the Emirates' consul, do you think they can not get us?” my friend asked.

It is really unbelievable, how the reconstruction campaign falls apart whenever it starts in Iraq while violence reconstruction campaign builds up in such a rapid speed and systematic way to maintain every body everywhere.

I looked in the newspaper and stopped with these pieces of news,
an Iraqi man his name is “ Omer” is asking the Directorate of IDS to change his name to
“ Mustafa”, because such name can cause the killing of its carrier.

A woman is applying to the Directorate of Education to move her son from Baghdad to Najef after receiving threat to leave her house because she is Shiite in a dominated Sunni neighborhood.

Two Shiite families in Dura district from Nasiyria province visited at night by 10 gunmen who ordered the families to leave within three hours or they will be killed.

Six members of a Sunni family live in Jamila district near Sader city, were kidnapped by death squads, one of them was able to flee by miracle while the other five killed immediately.

A new order issued to the families whom one of its members is killed, when they hang the black placard which declares the funeral, they should not say he or she is killed due to coward and treacherous incident as all placards say on the walls of Baghdad, if they are written in this way, other members of the family will be killed too.

I needed to go to the union of Iraqi Journalists to renew my ID in Waziriyia district, each journalist inside the dark union, as usual no power, was asking his colleague , “ Are you still alive?”

After that I stood in the street looking for a taxi, I found one and jumped in immediately, it is really difficult to stay long in the street on these days.

After ten minutes, the driver who was in his fifties with dyed black hair and shaved beard took two pieces of papers from the empty front seat beside him and gave them to me.

” What is that?” I asked him.

“ This is something very useful for you, I give it to women who hire my car for the sake of God, I always receive big compliment of them, I do not want anything just give me the cost of printing, only 500 ID.” The driver said.

I looked in the papers, they were full of religious prayers written by a man is called
“ Kashkul Al-Ihsai”, I turned to the driver and said, “ I have these prayers at home, you can have them, I do not need them.”

He looked at me nervously, “ I did these prayers for you and women who do not wear hijab because you might be kidnapped by any moment but with these prayers, the kidnappers will get blind whenever they look at you.”

I told him I know but I have so many prayers like that at home, he replied “ I just wanted 500 ID that is all.”

“The man you see in front of you is not a driver, Iam a Shiite cleric studied at Al-Huwaza in Iran and married to an Iranian woman, she forced me to put off my turban and shave my beard because she is worried that I will be killed and she is a stranger in this country.” He told me that while he was pretending that he is doing his best not to look at me.

“ You do not know how God is angry of you because you do not wear hijab and he will be angry of me too if I look at you.” He said in a reproaching tone.

Another friend told me that she is so worried because she lives in Zayouna district in Baghdad , I asked her “Why?”

She said “ I heard Zerqawi criticizing people of Zayouna and Palestine street.”

What did he say?

Men of these two districts are coward because they do not resist the Americans and their women are dressed indecently, I will give them a lesson soon.

Saddam Trial Marks The Sectarian War In Iraq

2006-05-17T00:53:00.000-07:00

For any person who did not have the chance to visit Iraq or he was in Iraq before the war of 2003 and wants to have an image of current Iraq, I advised him to watch Saddam trial.

When Sunnis In Iraq watch this trial, they forgot it is set up to hold Saddam Hussein accountable for the execution of 148 person from Dujail town in Iraq, but, in fact, it is set up to account all Sunnis represented in Saddam who shares the same sect with them.

The trial shows Sunnis dilemma after 2003 war, they found themselves within day and night defendants for being Sunnis just because Saddam is Sunni and because they were not in “Dawa” party like Shiites or in Peshmerga like Kurds, though many of them executed and imprisoned for opposing Saddam policy and their being Sunni did not excuse them of Saddam punishment.

In this trial, Shiites want Sunnis to prove their refrain of the accusation of their support to Saddam, as he represents all kinds of evil for them, something Shiites won’t believe whatever evidences Sunnis present to the court, at the same time, in this trial, Sunnis demand over Shiites to prove their non-loyalty to Iran, again whatever Shiites do to refute this fact, Sunnis won’t believe them.

Shiites in the trial are represented in the prosecutor whom his main concern is to prove Saddam guilty in killing hundreds of Shiite just because they were Shiite and you can feel from the prosecutor’s impatience that Shiites are waiting on fire for the day Saddam will be hanged and they take their revenge for their victims.

Kurds are represented in this trial by the judge who is doing his best to appease his hatred towards Saddam and pretend to show himself neutral, as Kurds do when they do not count themselves as Sunni or Shiite but as Kurds of separate nation not Arabs, by working sometimes like a referee who solves engagements rise between time to time during the sessions between the defendants and the prosecutors or actually between Sunnis and Shiites while they are exchanging accusations.

Saddam defiant style in the court can be read in Sunnis resistance style towards the US occupation and Shiites domination of Iraq post Saddam and their endeavor politically to prove to the Shiites and Kurds that they are free of the crimes committed in time of Saddam, yet, they were part of the victims.

When all the three parties fell to keep the farce of convincing the other side of his good intention, they ran towards their guns and declare it a sectarian war, to vent their hatred, wrath, historical disputes, rancor and take their revenge by their hands because neither Shiites nor Kurds can wait any more the long sessions of Saddam trial which they issued its verdict since the toppling of Saddam.

And because Sunnis know the end of this trial and can not stand the day in which Shiites and Kurds will hang Saddam, which means the hang of Sunnis they decided to revenge for themselves in advance and declare a sectarian war.

Kurds have thrown the ball in the court of Shiite to take their revenge of Saddam or Sunnis in Baghdad and South of Iraq while they work to achieve their main goal in controlling Kirkuk, to make it part of Federal Kurdistan, a goal, they are fulfilling by kicking out Arabs who came to live in Kirkuk in the seventies and alluring Arab and Turk man families who are original inhabitants by money to leave, if not by mutilating their bodies as death squads do in Baghdad and Basra, all these fact can be found documented with any human rights organization in Kirkuk.

I can say the first day of the sectarian war in Iraq began with the first day the trial of Saddam was set up as the entire Iraqi people with its three main components were thrown in this trial and the fight we watch during the sessions of the trail is a compressed image of the fight that is happening on the ground in Iraq now, except that guns are not allowed inside the court, otherwise we would see a real sectarian war inside the court itself.

Lately I asked a Sunni guy about his opinion of Saddam trial, he said “ I do not watch the trial sessions as well as my family and relatives, even do not care of the verdict if Shiites and Kurds decided to execute Saddam, we took our decision to resist since the first day the US soldiers put their foot in Iraq.”

I asked a Shiite woman from Najef whom her son is executed under Saddam reign about her opinion of the trial, she said “ I want Saddam to be executed like my son who was executed just because he was in “ Dawa” party in time of Saddam.”

I asked also a Kurdish guy about his opinion of the trail as an Iraqi citizen, he said “ Iam not Iraqi, Iam Kurds, we are a nation, I do not care if Saddam executed or not, Iam glad to see an independent Kurdistan.”

" Long Live Falluja, Long Live Mujahdien"

2006-05-16T01:03:00.000-07:00

By chance, I met a legal inspector who works at a sensitive institution in Baghdad and had a chat with him about Sunni-Shiite killing dominating Iraq recently.

The man told me horrible things about what he goes through every day, in a way, he prays every night dead prayers to himself and vows not go to the work again but in the morning all his family responsibilities stand in front of him and oblige him to go to work.

“ You have to know, if a Sunni person killed, three Shiite would be killed in revenge for him, this is what I see in my daily work.” he said.

In one incident, he told me, 15 Sunni man killed in one day in Ghazaliyia neighborhood, in Baghdad just because they carry the same name ” Omer”, ( name of second khalif after prophet Muhammed, not favored by Shiite but adored and revered by Sunnis), but within three days after that incident, 36 Shiite man killed in Dura district in Baghdad , 12 of them killed within one day just because they carry the names “ Aqiel” and “Hussein”.

Finding happy story in Iraq is as difficult as looking for natural death case nowadays, both are big challenge to any journalist works here.

But still I should give it a try and go to search for couples who still believe in something called “love”, I know a very good place where most of men and women are in love meet and sit together to have a nice time.

I took the car and went to sit there in a bid to open an indirect dialogue with some of the couples I might find there and see what do they dream of among this crazy situation.

The place is on the bank of Tigris, a romantic view favored by the Iraqis, I toured the place twice but could not find a shadow of a lover, what is the matter, where did they go? I looked round in hope to find any person to ask, my eyes fell on a writing on a wall of one of the houses there and read this warning “ We will cut the heads of any villainous lovers dare to sit here, he who warns is excused.” It was written in a bold way so that no one can miss.

I did not give up and decided to chase a story about a couple who lost their minds and decided to get married and establish a family in Iraq where most of the people are waiting for the end of the school year to take their kids and run away.

So I found a couple who would get married soon but again wedding ceremonies are facing problems in Baghdad, few months ago such ceremonies used to be held in one of the celebration halls in Baghdad especially if it is for a rich family, but this procedure cancelled these days because of the security situation, even time of the wedding ceremony is changed now, mostly at 3 pm to enable people reach their homes early.

The only common feature for an Iraqi wedding ceremony shared by rich and poor families is to have a team of popular Iraqi music accompanied the motorcade of the wedding.

The groom told me that he spent a week looking for a team of popular music to come and play in the ceremony, could not find any, “ I looked for these teams who used to be everywhere in Baghdad, hardly could find any and when I found a team, they told me they can not come because there is a warning by Mahdi army not to play any more.”

The bride was very disappointed, she even could not have a musical team as other brides, again it is not a reason to cancel the wedding.

The two families decided to make a small party at the bride’s house and run some recorder’s cassettes for different Iraqi songs. Soon Families and friends were involved in dancing while they were listening to the songs, most of them described the beauty of the beloved and the suffering of the lover.

All of a sudden the recorder began to play national Iraqi songs on Saddam and Iraq “ Allah Ikhali Al-Rais, Allah Itawal Umera” which means in English “ May Allah keep the president (Saddam), May Allah bless his life.”

The crowd looked at each other in surprise, what is happening? But they decided to continue, this time they got crazy and were shouting with the song out of joy, till another song began which is well known for the Iraqis at the advent of 2003 war, “ Fout Biha Wa Al Zilm Khaliha.” Which says in English “ Go ahead ( Saddam) and leave it to men” at this point most of the men who were dancing took their guns out of their pockets and started to shoot in the air and shouting “ Long live Falluja, long live Mujahdien.”

Touching The Sky

2006-05-15T01:57:00.000-07:00

The most fascinating view for me when I was five year was the blue color of the sky with the glittering stars and puffy clouds. My dearest dream was to touch the sky and have a handful of that blue substance, but how? I did not know.

In the way home after a long school day, I looked at our house from a distance, the sky was touching the roof of our house. I was nearly to dance out of happiness, my feet were flying to reach the house. Now, I can touch the sky.

I threw my books on the ground and ran upstairs to climb the roof, I raised my two arms up to embrace the sky and touch it with my finger, but, it was faraway. I began to jump as high as I can but the same result, I brought few blocks of brick, piled them vertically and stood on top of them, still the result was very disappointing, ended with a dusty school uniform.

I looked at the houses near ours and farther. I saw a high bridge, the sky was on the bridge. So, I thought if I stand on the top of the bridge, I will be able to touch the sky and make my dream real. I left the house and ran as fast as I can towards the bridge.

On top of the bridge, the sky looked even farther and farther, after few childish attempts to touch it I returned with a fist full of wind, I looked around and tried to reach the farthest point. Again, I saw that the sky is on the trees and houses at the end of the horizon. “One day I will have the chance to go there and touch it.” I comforted myself.

This dream kept living with me till now, but it took a new shape since the US occupation to Iraq in 2003. I began to jump again but on burning roofs, damaged buildings and broken bridges in a bid to touch the sky of the US democracy in Iraq, I got back with a fist full of smoke.

After three years, I have realized that searching for the US democracy in Iraq is like the crazy idea of trying to touch the sky, whenever you feel you are close to, you discover that you are farther and farther. Both are impossible and they slip out of your hand very swiftly.

Up till now, the US officials still insist that the most remarkable achievement for the US in Iraq is Democracy represented at least in freedom of speech, Iraqis now have the right to criticize anything and anybody, they do not agree with openly, a right, they were deprived of for ages.

To be fair, I have to say this is true, the Iraqis now are free to criticize and speak openly but, unfortunately, about one thing only which is the US itself, for granting them this bloody democracy, in a way they are shouting now louder than any time before, “ Down, Down USA,” “Down, Down US Democracy,” “ Down, Down US occupation of Iraq.”

The predicament of the US democracy in Iraq is that it is gone lost with its first step in the jungle of Mesopotamia, despite all the rescue campaigns carried out by the 150,000 US soldier who carried it on their arms and protected it with their guns all that long way from the US to Iraq, despite all the maps and binoculars, despite all pompous fame of CIA that it even can enter your bed room at any moment and tell you how it looks like, all the attempts to recover the US democracy failed and concluded with a big bounty for any one who can inform or help in finding this shrewd creature.

The US officials till now do not dare to admit the fact that the US democracy is gone missing under the layers of clerics’ turbans and the labyrinth of Halal and Harm because it is something hard for the Americans to understand.

The Iraqis were yearning to taste the US democracy dish and see how it looks like but with the first spoon, they spitted it away and immediately leaflets distributed all over Iraq warn of tasting US democracy dish and threaten to slaughter any one come close.

Meha Abdul Kariem is a Sunni woman married to Muhammed Yousif who is Shiite for ten years now and has two kids.

“ I can not stand Ja’aferi government, he is very bad and his ministers are worse than him particularly this minister of Interior.” Meha was talking to her husband Mohammed angrily.

“ No, do not say that, This government is composed of men who are grandsons of Imam Ali, all of them are “ Alawi”, it is a big Harm to criticize them, God will be upset of you.” Muhammed answered his wife.

I was doing a story about horses race in Iraq, when the editor in Washington read that the race track in Mansour district was destroyed and a gigantic mosque was built instead according to an order by Saddam, she said “ Now, Saddam has gone, Why do not you "Iraqis" destroy the mosque and restore the race truck?!!!!!!!!

The best example of the US democracy I can see now in Iraq is the image of Sunnis and Shiite standing against each other on the bodies of the Iraqis like two cowboys playing the famous American game of who will kill the other first.

The Big Cause

2006-05-14T01:46:00.000-07:00

“ Al-Mas’ala Al-Kubra” literally means “The Big Cause,” an Iraqi movie talks about the revolution of the Iraqi people in 1920 against the British occupation.

In one of the scenes, a British commander in his military uniform, his name is Wilson appears in the movie addressing a number of Iraqi sheikhs and discussing some issues with them, then an Iraqi sheikh wearing white kufia with black spots and Abaya, apparently from the south of Iraq, you can tell that from his accent, interrupts the British commander and says” Mr. Willson, can you tell me what do you have here (Iraq)?” and all of a sudden a bullet permeated head of Mr. Wilson.

This question which was asked by that Iraqi sheikh in 1920 is on the tongue of all Iraqis on these days after 86 year. What do the multi national forces have here, in Iraq, on top of which US-British forces? Especially after US Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s statement that US forces would not interfere if sectarian war broke out among Sunnis, Shiites and other components of the Iraqi people.

A week after Samara events, when black-clad Shiite militia spilled all their anger on Sunni mosques in Baghdad and killed alot of their Imams, I contacted Munaf Ali, Sunni man, 37, works at the Ministry of Trade, lives in Sha’ab, a predominately Shiite district in Baghdad to check with him about the situation there.

Munaf revealed to me his bitterness and dismay at that day, “ Our neighbor, a Sunni old man, 70, with amputated leg and his son Omer, 22, were killed in their bakery by black-clad guys yesterday just because they used to pray in the mosque.”

When Munaf saw that massacre, he decided to take his old mother, wife and three kids and flee to Kirkuk where his relatives are, “ I am so scared to face the same fate like these two men by Shiite monsters.”

Munaf ran to the main road with his family to get a car, “ The atmosphere was horrendous, the road was full of police and private cars filled with black-clad guys brandishing their arms and vowing revenge of Sunnis for imams in Samara, I looked at every corner desperately searching for a US soldier, I prayed to God to have a US tank or a Hummvee as a self comfort but I could not find either.”

Why the US tanks and soldiers, Munaf told me, were everywhere when events sparked in Sader city few months ago while now I could not find any of them.

“Shiite people are protected by police and national guards whom mostly share same sect but we Sunnis are left naked, only of the US cover though it is full of holes.” Munaf added.

Standing on the road overwhelmed with fear and terror, a Shiite friend showed up and came running towards Munaf, “ What are you doing here?”

“ I want to leave to Kirkuk. The situation is very bad here. I might be killed at any moment ”

“ Go back home now, black-clad guys are touring the place and if they check your ID, they will cut you in pieces.” The Shiite friend advised Munaf.

Few days ago, I was on phone with a guy from Ba’quba, a city part of Diyala province, he told me at haste “ We have to leave our village now, black-clad guys are coming soon to kidnap and kill us with drills.”

I asked him how did he know that they are coming? “ We got a phone call telling us that black-clad guys are at the US base in the military airport “ Al-Faris” in Ba’quba with US soldiers.” His sentence was mixed with shouts asking him to be in a hurry.

If You Were Not A Wolf, Lions Will Eat You

2006-05-13T04:01:00.000-07:00

I have a deadline today to finish a story about deaf and mute in Iraq, all the required material is at my hand except to back up the story with a graphic about them pre and post war, a routine procedure we do with any story we write.

I asked the driver to come early in the morning in hope to catch the Director General of the Social Affairs department at the Ministry of Labor, she is the only one who can help in this field.

I did not need to set up the alarm o’clock to get up early, explosions did their best to wake me up in time. The driver arrived with his red van and made a miss call for me, code we agreed on means that he is waiting outside the house.

I jumped in the car and headed to Beirut square in Palestine street towards the ministry which is only 15 minutes far of my house.

Just close to Mustansiyriyia square, men with black suits were putting barbed wires and trees trunks, they pointed to us to go back. I remember now, today is the anniversary of Immam Hussein funeral, sure it won't be an easy trip, only God knows what will happen today.

I jumped out of the car and told one of the black suit men, “ Iam a journalist and supposed to cover Husseini funeral, can I have my car in.” the man replied that he wish he could let me in but he had an order not to let any car pass through the crowd of pilgrims.

“Ok, let us try alleys.” I suggested to the driver who proposed to go back to the office and skip the idea of going to the Ministry. I do not blame him he does not know what is a deadline.

We found a street with few pilgrims carrying red, white and black flags and pictures of Imam Hussein, we drove to the end till we found ourselves at Canal street. Cars were heading wrong sides but I insisted to continue. I raised my head to look through the window, God, black waves of people were coming from Sader city, hundreds of old and young men and women were marching towards Kadhimiyia shrine on foot, even babies carried on their mothers’ arms were participating in the celebration.

Now, it is the end of the Canal street, I was trying to reach one of the streets that lies in front of the ministry to park the car and go on foot to see the D.G but for my surprise, I fond myself in a strange neighborhood, I opened the window of the car and asked one of the passerby, “ Is this “ Al-Qahera” district?” “ No, this is Saliekh, where do you wana go today? It is better for you to go home, all roads are blocked.” The man answered me.

I told him I need to go to the Ministry of Labor in “Al-Qahera” district. ”you have to go left and then straightforward you will be in front of the ministry but do not take this street, he pointed to a small empty street in front of us, an hour go a man was snatched by three gunmen.”

Finally we were in front of the ministry, I jumped out of the car and ran through the crowds who were chanting and beating themselves “ We swear with the name of God, we will never forget you Hussein.” I crossed two streets and now Iam at the ministry, Thank God 1000 time, I looked at my watch, it was 10:30 am. Two hours from my house to the ministry which is 15 minutes far of where I live!!!!!!!

Let us forget about that and go inside to get the graphic, otherwise the editor in Washington will be upset and change his idea about me, how can I explain to him Shiites’ rituals while he has never been in Iraq.

I have to go to the reception first, the door is closed. Where did they go? A man came to me and asked me what do I need? I told him I need to see the D.G. a lady wearing black hijab came to me with a glass of yellow juice “ Drink and read “ Fatiha” for Immam Hussein.” Fatiha is a verse of holy Quran used to be read on dead.

It was really a difficult choice especially when my eyes fell on the huge black barrel of juice made of recycled plastic, she was filling the same glass from to everyone passes inside. But I did not dare to refuse her glass, I closed my eyes and took sips with set of verses of holy Quran in protection of any possible diseases.

I am at the D.G office now, so happy and full of confidence that nothing can stop me of getting what I want. The male secretary was sitting in front of an old wooden disk covered with a broken mirror chatting with an old lady.

“ It is better for me to go back to my old job and stand again beside the traffic light begging people for some pennies.” The lady told the secretary out of her anger for not getting her ID from the ministry though she has applied for it a year an a half ago.

“ You will get it just be patient, it is not you only, there are hundreds like you.” He told her. “ I had even sold the only carpet I had at my single room for the sake of this ID, in hope I will get your subsidy, now I left with the ground only.”

Then an old man from Nasiriyia province arrived for the same thing, I felt I should tell the secretary that I have an appointment with the D.G to let me get in because I do not have time though it was so interesting to listen to the people there.

"The D.G could not make her trip to the ministry because roads are blocked today." The secretary told me while he was talking with the old man.

I need to get the statistic the D.G promised yesterday, I told the secretary, where is the Statistics department?

I can not take you there unless you have a written permission from the D.G?

She gave it to me orally yesterday and told me if I could not find her today, I can go directly to the statistic department.

The man looked unconvinced and hesitant to let me go there and asked me to contact the D.G.

I can't find her, there is no network.

You can go but Iam not responsible of the result, recommendations I have not to allow journalists to get inside the ministry's departments only if they have written permission.

I ran to the statistics department through dark passage , I found the room which was full of six disks and piles of files. There were four men with a lady wearing black hijab. I explained to them the reason of my visit.

One of the men pointed to the woman telling me that she is the one who can help me.

I sat beside her and told her that I need a statistic about deaf and mute in Iraq pre and post war.

Again, she asked me for a permission, I told her that the D.G gave me a permission to do that but she is late today because of Immam’s funeral.

The woman was cooperative, she brought me all what I need, I wrote most of the information I was looking for but suddenly, she looked at me and said " No, I think I should ask the director of the media department because Iam not allowed to provide you with all these information without a permission."

God, why did she remember that now, I do not have time, I answered her while I was doing my best to restrain my anger" Habibti, Iam looking for a statistic about deaf and mutes not about Mukhabarat or national security."

Even though, she replied, stop writing, I will go to the media director.

At this point, I felt I must do something, after all this strife, Iam not going to go with empty basket to the office and fail to meet the deadline for the story.

I remembered this Iraqi saying “ If you were not a wolf, lions will eat you.”, I snatched the paper I wrote the information on and put it in my pocket and picked up a piece of paper from my notebook and started to write with crazy speed some of the information I dictated , in case the woman will come and take the paper from me.

I finished writing and put the paper on the desk, then the lady was on my head " you are not allowed to take statistics today, come tomorrow with a permission and we will help you."

I thanked her and said " This is really unfair." She told me that media director wants to see me because I should have seen him before I came to her." "No problem." I answered her, she led me to the director of the media department.

The man said" Iam very sorry, the D.G is not in her office today. We can not give you the statistics, come another day. "

I ran to the red van which was waiting for me outside chanting " if you were not a wolf, lions will eat you.”

" I Got The CD"

2006-05-11T01:52:00.000-07:00

The clinic was full of people waiting for their turn to see the dentist. I went out to the terrace of the clinic bearing in mind that I had to wait for long till I would see the doctor. There was a lady in her fifties, wearing black suit, waiting there too, and there was no better idea of how to spend the time rather than to chat with her and see if she had any good story that we can write about in our newspaper.

Like all the Iraqis, the main subject was about the horrible deterioration in the security situation and how killing is maintaining everybody.

The lady looked at me and said “ Iam not scared of killing, in fact Iam waiting for.”

For short while, I thought with myself whether that lady was sane or mad or may be she said that because of the toothache she had, but why she wanted to die? I kept asking myself.

“ People are thinking of leaving the country to escape killing and you want to die?.” I asked her just to push her to speak.

The lady said “ I want to leave too to see my brother.” I asked her” Where does he live?”

“ My brother is Dr.Nua’man Yousif. He had to serve in Omara province for three years and then to be brought back to Baghdad.” The lady replied.

But again she did not tell me where does he live now? There must be something wrong with this lady, I thought with myself. I looked inside the clinic again hoping to see if my turn is close or I have to wait. The long line of the patients looked the same as I left it.

So it is better to keep listening to this strange woman. “Ok, what happened later?” I asked her anxiously .

She said that her brother fell in love with a daughter of a tribal leader in Omara and wanted to marry her. Her father “ The sheikh” agreed to marry his daughter to her brother for his good fame there but he put a condition that her brother must convert to Islam.

“ I went there with my parents and uncles to ask the hand of the Sheikh’s daughter. After few years the marriage resulted two kids, boy and a girl but my brother decided to leave the country to go to England to finish his studies.” She said.

“When was that?” I asked her. She answered me that it was in 1993 and he had to make a fake passport because at that time doctors were not allowed to leave the country.

After paying two million Iraqi Dinners, the doctor was captured on the borders with Jordan and brought back to Baghdad but to stay in prison.

“ We did not leave any chance that might lead us to where he was kept, but all our efforts went in vein, we decided to go to Tareq Aziz, who was the Deputy Premier at that time and Christian to ask his help.” she said

The family discovered that the doctor was kept in Mukhabart Directorate in Mansour district in Baghdad and he got life sentence.

With the help of Tareq Aziz, the family told that the doctor would be released at the 27th of June, 1993.

“ We could not sleep that night as we were celebrating the release of the doctor.” The lady said with glittering eyes as if her brother was going to be released now.

Early in the morning, the entire family went to Mansour to receive the doctor but it seemed they did not listen to news early in the morning at that day.

Iraqi Radio station and T.V declared that Mukhabart directorate was bombed at 1:30 am, June 27th by US warplanes and lot of people killed and wounded, in addition to the damage of many houses.

“ We did not hear these news because we left early, but the shock when we reached the place to find ruins only.” The lady concluded with a big sigh.

There was intelligence information that Mukhabart Directorate would be attacked after rumors of Iraqi Mukhabarat’s scheme to assassinate president Bush, the father, during a visit he paid to Kuwait at that time.

Orders issued to all the staffers of the directorate to leave the place as a precaution but the prisoners were left there, one of them was Dr.Nua’man Yousif.

This story helped me to forget somehow the pain caused by the dentist while he was dealing with my tooth and kept thinking how luck can play such a big role in fates of people.

It is true that there are lucky and unlucky people.

I was asked by a journalist I was working with to get a CD about Falluja Mujahdien ran on BBC. I did not say “ Yes” or “ No” but promised to do my best to find it.

But how? I did not know, at the same day, I went in the afternoon to set up an appointment with a lawyer. When I got down of the lawyer office, a man came and said
“ Hello” to me.

He told me that he knows Iam a journalist because he had seen me talking with people on many occasions.

He looked at me and said, “ can you wait for few minutes, I will bring something useful for you.” I nodded to him and stood aside to wait and see what he would show me.

After few minutes, the man arrived with a bag, he put it in my hand and disappeared.

I was so curious to see what he got for me. It was a CD. I ran to a CD machine to see what inside that CD.

For my surprise and great joy, It was the same CD ran by BBC about Falluja Mujahdien.

"You Have To Wear Abayia"

2006-05-10T02:30:00.000-07:00

Kariem Tariq, a headmaster of a secondary school for girls in Haditha, a city part of Ramadi province, west of Iraq. Kariem headed to his school early in the morning on foot.

After making sure that everything was ok. He went to his office to look in some of the papers on his desk, after few minutes, he heard “ Salam Aliakum.”

Kariem raised his head to answer the salute, they were two men covering their faces with kufia and their guns on their arms. Kariem answered their Salam with fear.

He had never met these two men before whom one of them asked him with a serious tone “ Do you have an Shiite student in the school.” Kariem answered “ I do not know. I have never checked that”

The two men repeated their question with the condition, “ You have to kick any Shiite student out of the school.”

Kariem did not answer but the two men further added “ You have to order all the Sunni girls in the school to cover their faces or they will be dismissed of the school.”

The headmaster could tell from the two men accent that they were not Iraqi and might be from Syria, before he made up his mind about their identity they shouted in his face to give them a confirmation.

Kariem felt that his death was inevitable that day, he looked at the two men and said in a daring language“ I was in Syria few months ago, I saw Syrian women wear very western dresses, short and even without sleeves. Why do not you go there and tell them to wear at least decent trousers not Hijab.”

The two men became so angry of Kariem’s answer and warned him of dire consequences if he did not obey them and before he opens his mouth to speak two bullets went in his leg.

After few weeks Kariem went back to his school but he neither kicked out Shiite students nor ordered face scarf in the school.

I was in a Sunni dominated district in Baghdad with a US journalist, as usual kids surrounded us to see what was going on. Then they started to be very annoying. All my attempts to keep them away failed completely. I decided to seek the help of one of the policemen who was in a police car close to us.

I went to him and said “ Sir, can you help me with these kids, we can not work.” With one shout, he dispersed all of them. After few minutes kids started to creep again towards us. I went again to the policeman asking his help, the policeman answered me “ What can I do for them, they are Sunnis, they are Jews.”

I and a female US journalist went to Kadhimiyia shrine to talk with some Shiite clerics there. We put our Hijab and ran towards one of the shrine’s gates, all of a sudden we stopped by a group of guys sitting beside the gate with their Dishdash, unshaved beards and unwashed faces.

I asked one of them “What is the matter? We always come here and go inside without any problem like all the people who head inside.”

The guy told me ” you have to put Hijab.” I told him “We wear Hijab.” He said” This is not enough, you have to wear Abayia.”

I told him, “ This is nonsense. I have visited the shrine many times with this Hijab and no one objects.”

He said “ These are new rules, you should put Abayia on your Hijab.” I felt my patience
was running out but I had a journalist with me and should behave wisely.

I looked at the crowd coming out of the shrine and saw one of the shrine’s clerics whom I know. He smiled to me and came to take me in but again the guy interrupted him telling him that I should wear Abayia.

The cleric told him, “ They are ok, they are with me, leave them alone.”

I told my friend how rude was that guy by insisting on Abayia, the cleric said” Do not care about him, he is one of a bunch of guys who spend all the night drinking alcohol and do all bad things you can imagine and when they wake up in the afternoon, they come to sit here and behave as if they are clerics and very devoted Moslems, telling people this is Halal and this is Haram.”

Crazy Ideas

2006-05-09T00:58:00.000-07:00

When I walk in Baghdad, I think all the time of the cars around me and ask myself which one will go off now? Am I going to be killed or wounded? If I wounded which part of my body I would lose?Then I start to think of the people who walk in the street and look in their faces and ask myself who knows if this man who walks beside me is a suicide bomber or the one who is in front of me or the other who stands beside his car, any one of those men might blow up himself at any moment and kill me.

I was listening to a group of women chatting about the security situation now in Baghdad. A lady told her listeners that her friend was in a mini bus, she bent to get a piece of paper slid of her bag. For her surprise, the woman saw two wires hanged down of the trousers of a man sits beside her.The woman looked at the man with frantic face inquiring about these wires, she wanted to shout but the man put his finger on his mouth, ordering her to keep silent and leave. The woman did not have any other choice only to jump out of the bus and leave it under the mercy of that suicide bomber.

My main concern now, since I heard this story is to look at the shoes of the people in the street and check if there are any wires hanged down of their trousers.When I put these crazy ideas aside, I start to think about kidnapping, at any moment, a group of gunmen might jump out of one of the cars and pull me inside their car and run away.How much ransom they will ask my family? Will they keep me alive or they will kill me and throw my body in the dump as they do with people they kidnap everyday? or I might be lucky and killed by some merciful kidnappers who will throw my body beside a hospital in Baghdad to make it easy for the family to find me as they did yesterday with six bodies they left near “ Al-Kindi” hospital in Baghdad. I have never lost hope that still there are some kind people among these gentlemen even if killing is their main source of entertainment.

This idea looms in my head all the time even at home, Iam not safe, it is highly possible that ten or twenty gunmen break in the house and kidnap me or any other member of the family and it is absolutely useless and stupid to think about contacting police or American forces because they will do nothing to me, same like with other people who had the same problem.

The only weapon I have and so as the other members of the family is the mobile and we keep contact each other all the time whenever we hear an explosion and if any family member is late, mobiles will never stop unless we know the reason of his or her being late and make sure he or she is ok.

Within two months I was shocked four times with my mobile, I dial a number and when I ask about my friend, the answer is “He is killed today.” I did not have the courage to erase their numbers and till now they are in my mobile.I was supposed to meet a person who is a chairman of a city council in one of the most restive districts in Baghdad to work on a story with him. The plan was to meet him at his work place at 11 am.I headed to the meeting an hour before putting in consideration the incredible traffic, blocked roads and sudden explosions but again I reached the place at 11:30 am. I did not find the man and it was extremely risky to ask about such person in that neighborhood and great madness to introduce myself to people “Iam a journalist.”

I read names of four members who work at the city council of that neighborhood and were assassinated for doing this job.The only thing I could do was to contact him but another person answered me. It was his son. I asked him "where is your father I can not find him?" He said “ You do not know?” I asked “ What ?” He said “ My father is taken to “ Al-Yermouk” hospital an hour ago because two cars with eight gunmen sprayed him with fire while he was heading to his office and ran away.”

When I heard that I wanted a plane to take me out of that place where the man was attacked and thanked God hundred times that I was late otherwise I would be shot with him.

Mobile too can be a weapon used against you and so easily you might get threats of unknown persons warning you if you do not pay a ransom you will be kidnapped and cut in pieces, beside informing you to quit your job. Who are they? Where did they get the telephone number and the information? Who is the real government? Those persons or those men we see on T.V ? Something so hard to get an answer for.

I asked a high rank official in Baghdad police about legal procedures regarding such threats, he told me that police directorate had a huge pile of them but always impossible to verify and waste of time to follow up.

" I Have An IED With Me"

2006-05-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

I had to go with a US journalist to “ Ibn Rushud” hospital for psycho diseases in Baghdad to meet some psychiatrists there. The story we were doing was about cars bomb trauma suffered now by Iraqis.

When we jumped of the car, I and the journalist had to run as quickly as we can as if we were criminals in the street, we had a bodyguard with us but still the whole trip is a real adventure.

So we ran toward the hospital but we stopped by a group of security men who were standing outside the hospital at the main street.

I said “ Salam.” To the security man who answered me the same and asked me what I want to do inside. I told him, “ We want to see few doctors inside the hospital. We are journalists.”, he looked at me and said “ Ok, show me your permission from the Ministry of Health.” I told him, “ I have talked with the director of the hospital and he approved my visit.”. He said, “ Sorry, I can not let you in.”

So, now we have a problem and I have to solve because Iam not going to lose the appointment I have with doctors nor get back without getting what I came for.

I have to use another style, I told the security man, “ Look I have an IED with me and it is going to blown up at any time.” He said, “ What?” I told him, “ I have this foreign journalist with me and it is very risky to keep him out like that because at any moment we might be attacked by any unknown gunmen who will kidnap him and shoot against us, so he is an IED.”

The security man laughed and said” You are right, go ahead.”

Thanks God we solved this problem, the US journalist thanked me for doing that though he did not understand what were talking about but he knew that there was a problem and we passed so he said” Well done.”

A statue for an Arab Scientist named “ Ibn Rushed” is standing in the center of the hospital , he is considered father of psychology in the Arab history. It is good that it is still ok because now statues are Haram, they are against religion, and most of Baghdad statues destroyed by unknown sides even the statue of the founder of Baghdad “ Abu Ja’afer Al-Mansour”.

Most famous statue along Tigris bank in Abu Nu’as street” Shahrazad and Shahrayar” most popular characters of 1001 night story, Shahrayar who is well known of his obsession of killing a woman every night till it was Shahrazad turn but she kept telling him stories to distract his attention and make him forget about killing her.

Shahrayar’s arm found cut today, but who did that? Nobody knows, whether anti statues activists or radical feminist movement wanted to revenge for all women killed by Shahrayar.
Talking with one of the psychiatrists in the hospital in his out patients clinic where so many patients were waiting, he begged us to be short in our questions because he can not keep his patients waiting for long for each one of them his own complicated case.

Dr. Al-A’ni said “ After the end of 2003 war, we started to receive prisoners, political opponents and drug addicts, but since last year till now, with the daily cars bomb flooding streets of Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces, patients of cars bomb trauma began to show up for the first time in the hospital.”

US journalist asked Dr.Al-A’ni to brief him with such cases, Dr. Al-A’ni said “ just few days ago, I received a 23-year female who can not sleep or eat and on the verge to be divorced though she is newly married.”

The US journalist asked, “ Why, what is her case?” Dr.Al-A’ni said “ This lady was with her mother at Kadhimiyia shrine during Hussein’s funeral anniversary but all of a sudden a car bomb went off among the crowd who were there performing their rituals including the lady and her mother, the lady survived but the mother killed.”

The doctor went on to say that whenever the lady sits with herself she recalls her mother’s head scrolling on the ground in front of her same when she was with her during the explosion.

The US journalist asked the doctor if he can see her, the doctor told him that most of the patients come to him top secretly because the idea of visiting a psychotherapist is still unfavorable by the Iraqi society.

“Most of the patients come here for out patients clinic, take medications and go home to avoid meeting with any people know the family.” the doctor added.

The Us journalist asked about hospital preparations for such new cases, the doctor said that the hospital did not have good experience in such cases, no enough medications and equipment, the treatment almost depended on family care.

The most common question to be asked by any foreign journalist, “ do you have a statistic to such cases? The doctor answered, “ Sorry, we do not have and I need to see my patients.”

" She Is My Mammy"

2006-05-07T04:02:00.000-07:00

Saleh was advised to go to the forensic department after he lost hope in finding his daughter Hanan who did not come home at the end of the day.

“My relatives and neighbors told me to go to the forensic department as all people do when their relatives go missing.” said Saleh Abdul Hussein, 65, father of eight in addition to Hanan.

But neither Saleh nor Hanan’s husband, Muhammed Salim was able to identify Hanan’s body or find her pictures among a set of pictures showed to them because all women bodies at the forensic department were charred.

But there was a body of a lady with a piece of cloth on her shoulder, the doctor told the family to bring more people close to Hanan aware of what she used to wear.

Rana, 10 year, the eldest daughter of Hanan, who is a student at a primary school was brought to the forensic department to see that piece of cloth because she saw her mother when she was leaving out to go to her college.

“ She is my mammy, this is part of the shirt she put on before she left in the morning.” Rana cried while she was looking at her mother body and she bent to hug but her grandfather and father took her out.”

Hanan Saleh, 34 year, a teacher at a primary school married with three kids, Rana, 10, Sarah, 7 and Ahmed, 5.

Hanan main dream was to complete her study and become a teacher at a secondary school.

“ If I can do that, my salary will boom and won’t care if my husband work or not. I won’t be worried any more about my kids future ” Hanan told me that while we were talking together few years ago, we used to see each other a lot because she was living in our neighborhood.

A week before her death, Hanan all of a sudden came to say "hello" as if she was saying
“ farewell”, she was so happy and full of life.

“ This is the last year for me in the college and within few months I will fulfill my dream and become a teacher at a high school.” she said.

Hanan told me that she would move to another house where she could have a separate room for her three kids with small garden where they can play as the house they live in now is very small, but all of that after she graduates.

A week later, Hanan woke up early in the morning to make breakfast for her kids so that they can go to school and then she can go to her college.

She kissed and hugged them warmly and put a new shirt which her daughter identified in the forensic department.

But Hanan did not get back at that day and when her family went to get her from the forensic department, they were informed that the department received bodies of some people who were inside a minibus in Baghdad Al-Jadidia, a district eastern Baghdad exploded at noon time.

Two persons who were inside the bus but they survived told the family that when the minibus was full of people, the driver moved towards Al- Mashtel where Hanan lives, fifteen minutes later a guy jumped out of the minibus leaving a sack inside the bus behind him.

Some of the people who were inside the bus shouted “ Hey, Habibi your sack.” But before they complete their sentence, the minibus exploded and fire engulfed all the people who were inside including Hanan.

Killing Masters

2006-05-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

It would be so nice of the killing masters in Iraq to provide us with a list of Halal and Haram
“ things approved and disapproved by Islam” regarding names, tribes, jobs, foods, hairstyle, dresses, sects and ideologies to help us find our way among all this mess, at least for the second half of this year.

Khaliel is 25, son of a Sunni man his name is Adel. Adel killed six months ago in front of his house in “ Al-Kam” district in Baghdad. Unknown gunmen shot him and ran away.

Khaliel left alone but his Shiite neighbor, Younis Al-Ruba’ai who was a close friend to his father asked him to come and work with him in his shop in “ Al-Kam”.

Younis left Khaliel in his shop after 2 pm on Saturday and went to have lunch in his house in Palestine street. Younis was forced to leave his house in “Al-Kam” though he lived there for 40 year but he received threats after the bombing of Samara shrine informing him to leave immediately or he will be killed with his family because he is Shiite.

At 3 pm Younis received a phone call telling him that Khaliel, his man was killed in his shop 15 minute ago after being attacked by eight men and he has to come as soon as possible because the body still inside the shop.

“ It was a big shock for me, Khaliel was like my son. I wanted to help him after he lost his father who was my dearest friend. Why did they kill him? ” Younis said in grief.

Abbss Ali, 60 year, a Shiite cleric used to wear a turban like other clerics but few days ago, he showed up in a funeral for one of his friends but when he arrived he surprised all the people who know him before and were sitting in the funeral.

The surprise was Abbass came without his turban which he used to wear for 30 year and covered his head with Kufia. Turban was part of Abbass and hardly any one can recognize him without it.

All men who were in the funeral opened their mouths and one of the men raised to ask him
“ Mr.Abbass, Where is your turban?”

Abbass answered “ A turban might claim my life, I do not want it, many clerics were killed just because of their turbans.”