Ghost of Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=58456&d=3&m=2&y=2005 Bravo Iraq! For history, Jan. 30, 2005, is one magnificent day for Iraq and the Arab nation. Regardless of who won and who lost, the day should be a permanent fixture on the Arab calendar forever. I don’t want to talk politics; I simply want to celebrate history. In spite of everything, the Iraqis voted. They did so with a passion and a seriousness that gives the lie to the cliché that Arabs are not ready for democracy. One myth down, a thousand to go. Everyone says that this is the first free elections in Iraq for fifty years. That is another lie. There has never been one single free election in the long history of the Arabs ever. This is the first one. It took the Americans to conduct it and force it down the throats of dictators, terrorists, exploding deranged humans, and odds as big as the distance between the USA and the Middle East. British guns and soldiers were in the area for so long yet did not care to look at the people. They waltzed with people Gerty and Lawrence (their colonial spies) baptized and were happy to see the nations slip into slavery. Likewise, the French could not bring themselves to see that the Arabs were good enough to cast a vote. And even when it happened in Algeria, the French orchestrated a putsch to annul it. On Sunday America vindicated itself to all doubters, including me. They delivered on the promise of an election, so I am sure they will deliver on the promise of withdrawal. Occupation boots are heavy and brutal no matter what their insignia or colors. Yet homegrown dictatorship is even harsher and more deranged. In the name of nationalism and “freedom” from imperialism, Iraqi boots crushed Iraqi skulls for so long. When “going home,” such dictators either jetted to Geneva or went to Tikrit. At least an American soldier has no such home in either place. He or she would simply want to go back to his fried chicken and home baked cookies. In that there is hope and a withdrawal schedule. If the endgame is propaganda, I don’t expect trashing America will end in our media. If, on the other hand, we write about what we feel is right and wrong, many should think again — at least on this issue. A priori, taking the pen against America is not a good thing; similarly, taking the pen in praise of America is not treasonous. We have brains and we should use them. Perhaps in the coming weeks we will take issue with America again. But for today, I am celebrating by having a McDonald’s. I hate fast food, but for this day I will make an exception. --------------------------- Contrast this piece with these words by the same man: "President Bush has a vision, albeit a naive and shallow one. It seems to say: “I am right and I am going to right the wrong that happened on my watch to my own satisfaction.” That is easy to do when you command the mightiest army on earth and the most spineless of allies, like Blair. But those around Bush are simply out of it. Take Condy Rice as an example. She is a history professor who probably has never read a book on medieval or Islamic history in her life." [from Al-Jazeerah, 8/25/03] Reminds me of Rocky IV: "If I can change, and you can change then everybody can change!";) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenaa Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 That is quite an amazing article. Our work is far from over, and the times ahead will continue to be trying, but atleast some see the value in what we are doing. If we follow through on helping set Iraq on a successful journey to democracy, and pull out our forces, the opinion of us in that region will start to change. Thank God we have a president that has made the tough choice and stood by his decision through adversity, with a conviction that should impress even the staunchist opposition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnyderShrugged Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Very interesting, especially the contrast in the same guy's statements. I sense a change in the wind on the world stage. A small change, but notable none-the-less. I think some are seeing that it is now almost futile to fight the admin's policies carte blanche, the large scale assumed public support here in the US was much lower than they probably believed pre-election. It's suddenly not cool to be seen as an obstructionist to a free iraq. I also think they are seeing through the Al Jazeera reports and understand that if terrorists resort to kidnapping GI Joes, they may not be "on the side of right" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartskins Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 When I started reading the first article, it almost read like satire...I was waiting fo the guy to say something along the lines of "just kidding, I think America sucks." If he means what he says, it bodes very well for improved relations between the ME and the US which is great. I'm glad that what took place in Iraq can change's the Arab world's perception of the US (and our role as a world power)--especially when the change is coming from reporters for the Arab News. Ghost, or anyone else, do you have a sense of what bent this paper has? Is it typically anti or pro America, etc? I'd just be curious to read this article in the context of the source that published it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autograph Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY War cost drives record deficit ; $427B this year, White House says; The Bush administration said Tuesday it will need at least $80 billion more to pay for the wars in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) and other foreign policy priorities, pushing the total military and reconstruction tab beyond $300 billion. The new spending would make this year's federal budget deficit the largest in history. • The White House Office of Management and Budget said the $80 billion will be needed for troops, equipment, training Iraqi forces and other operations. The funds come on top of $228 billion provided by Congress for the wars and rebuilding costs. It just seems to expensive to me. Art to the Hall No Super Bowl trophy for the eagles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBChick Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 From reading a few articles from the site.. I'd have to say it leans a bit more pro-american, BUT and this is a big BUT... it's not really a chest thumping, americans are good and we should love the Americans type of pro-american paper. It's more of a "are we so sure all this anti-american rethoric is actually accurate? Maybe we should view the facts and give the Americans a little more credit" type of pro-american. But I do see your point. This would be much more impressive and much more powerful if it had been publish in say the Al-Jazeerah, which is pretty reknown to be anti-american. Though this lead me to a very good and eye opening read on an editorial about 9/11. The article itself is very good, but the feedback was a bit.. um astonishing. one quote "But what you say about americans woh believe 9/11 was the work of their own government and more than 50% Newyorkers believe american government involved in that... remember US government is in total control of the news media(hope Arab news is not one of them) and 90% of the world believe whatever news they get from these sources. " I find it telling that they have the belief that at least half of New York believes is was a conspiracy, and that the US Government controls our media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnyderShrugged Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Originally posted by autograph By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY War cost drives record deficit ; $427B this year, White House says; The Bush administration said Tuesday it will need at least $80 billion more to pay for the wars in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) and other foreign policy priorities, pushing the total military and reconstruction tab beyond $300 billion. The new spending would make this year's federal budget deficit the largest in history. • The White House Office of Management and Budget said the $80 billion will be needed for troops, equipment, training Iraqi forces and other operations. The funds come on top of $228 billion provided by Congress for the wars and rebuilding costs. It just seems to expensive to me. Can I ask if your personal income has been impacted by the deficite in the past 4 yrs? How about your tax burdon? I can understand the take that it is expensive, but really, what's the overall impact on us personally? If you could get a gaurantee that the deficit will go back to 2000 levels, would you still be concerned over the war bill? Just curious overall. No intention of starting a fight with anyone. I just don't understand the point of view smetimes. Art to the Hall No Super Bowl trophy for the eagles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 its more than i would expect .. its nice though. The Price of Freedom has been incredibly high since the moment we had it. It doesnt come cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartskins Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Originally posted by FBChick From reading a few articles from the site.. I'd have to say it leans a bit more pro-american, BUT and this is a big BUT... it's not really a chest thumping, americans are good and we should love the Americans type of pro-american paper. It's more of a "are we so sure all this anti-american rethoric is actually accurate? Maybe we should view the facts and give the Americans a little more credit" type of pro-american. But I do see your point. This would be much more impressive and much more powerful if it had been publish in say the Al-Jazeerah, which is pretty reknown to be anti-american. Though this lead me to a very good and eye opening read on an editorial about 9/11. The article itself is very good, but the feedback was a bit.. um astonishing. Thanks for looking into that FBChick. I think the this type of paper has the best chance of influencing people in that it's not overtly pro-American and thus not seen as a slave to the West. I find it telling that they have the belief that at least half of New York believes is was a conspiracy, and that the US Government controls our media. I don't know where they got this statistic. Certainly not from a reputable source. Outside of the five boroughs and Westchester County, New York is a pretty conservative state. So maybe they made it up; very possible considering 85% of all statistics are made up on the spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnyderShrugged Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Originally posted by iheartskins So maybe they made it up; very possible considering 85% of all statistics are made up on the spot. One of my favorite quotes!!! I use it 72% of the time that I teach Six Sigma classes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 That is a great article. I hope we can follow through on the sentiment expressed in it. I have been reading that the early election returns are showing a huge landslide for the Shiite party affiliated with Iran. If they get into power, they may want to set up an Islamic state akin to that in Iran. I wonder how we will handle that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Mike Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Originally posted by Predicto That is a great article. I hope we can follow through on the sentiment expressed in it. I have been reading that the early election returns are showing a huge landslide for the Shiite party affiliated with Iran. If they get into power, they may want to set up an Islamic state akin to that in Iran. I wonder how we will handle that? Couldn't resist the doom and gloom could you? You might take notice that Iran is having it's own problems with it's own people wanting to get rid of their religious leadership. It's just as likely that the people in Iran will see that being a Shiite does not mean you can't have a peacefull democracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Originally posted by Mad Mike Couldn't resist the doom and gloom could you? You might take notice that Iran is having it's own problems with it's own people wanting to get rid of their religious leadership. It's just as likely that the people in Iran will see that being a Shiite does not mean you can't have a peacefull democracy. Call it doom and gloom if you want. I don't think that voting for the al-Sistani party is going to be interpreted as a vote for a less Islamic government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Posted February 5, 2005 Author Share Posted February 5, 2005 iheart I did post quotes from the same guy. To me, that's bigger than the overall tone of the paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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