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kane · 02-21-2007, 05:39 PM

Here is some interesting info for those that like to form strong opinions about the blog even though they have never read it.

1. The woman that writes the blog lives in Baghdad with her family. She is in her early 20's and has gone to college. She worked as some kind of computer engineer before the invasion and the company that she worked for was destroyed and has yet to return. There is speculation that the company she worked for may have done work for the former government. So those that want to say it is a fake run by a liberal group are wrong. People from the BBC and her book publisher have met her.

2. She herself says that her family is made up of both Sunni and Shina, however it is widely assumed that much of her Baghdad based family are Sunni and hence had a pretty decent life under Saddam. If you were a Sunni during Saddam's reign your life wasn't all that bad. If you were Shina or Kurd it may well have been a different story.

3. The blog starts off as chronicle of what life is like living in a city that was invaded, the government overthrown and then occupied by foreign troops while they tried to build a new government. As the blog goes on, and time passes and the war drags on her mood changes. Gone is the person who was once optimistic that this war can eventually end on a positive note. She starts to feel like someone who is living under Marshall law - which is exactly what is happening.

4. years after the invasion much of the country still has no electricity or running water. She herself speaks of having the power go off all the time. Sometimes it is back on after a few hours, sometimes it is day. The weather is unbearably hot in the summer and very cold in the winter and no electricity means no heat or A/C. How long would stay upbeat and positive if everyday during the winter your heater went out - sometimes for days - or during the summer you were left to suffer in 100+ degree weather? All the while each day there is gunfighting and chaos in your city so you can't even go outside and relax without the fear of something bad happening to you or your family?

5. Reading the blog gives you a great insight into that part of the world. Many of the people who we have worked to put into power are people the Iraqis don't like. We, of course, seem to think we know what is best for them and try to force our choices on them.

6. She talks about how, under Saddam, there were no warlords or street gangs. A woman could walk the streets in relative safety. now any woman must be accompanied by a man or she risks being attacked. Gangs run the streets of Baghdad and it will take years and years for the Iraqis to get a strong enough military and police force to deal with them. She doesn't say Saddam was a saint, just that things are different and not for the better.

In the end the blog is good. It is one person's view on what they see, what their opinion is and what feel about the situation that is happening right outside their front door. You can choose to agree or disagree with her all you want but it doesn't change the fact that many of the people in that country want us out. There was a recent department of defense poll that showed 65% of the people in Iraq want us to leave and now see us as occupiers not liberators. Every US-friendly middle eastern leader warned us not to go into Iraq because we didn't understand what we were getting into. now years, billions of dollars and many lives later it looks they were right.

Every time I read or see something about Iraq I am reminded of something I once heard someone say, "You can't spread democracy through the barrel of a gun."

We lost this war before we ever started it.

02-21-2007, 05:39 PM
kane Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: portland, OR Posts: 20,684	Here is some interesting info for those that like to form strong opinions about the blog even though they have never read it. 1. The woman that writes the blog lives in Baghdad with her family. She is in her early 20's and has gone to college. She worked as some kind of computer engineer before the invasion and the company that she worked for was destroyed and has yet to return. There is speculation that the company she worked for may have done work for the former government. So those that want to say it is a fake run by a liberal group are wrong. People from the BBC and her book publisher have met her. 2. She herself says that her family is made up of both Sunni and Shina, however it is widely assumed that much of her Baghdad based family are Sunni and hence had a pretty decent life under Saddam. If you were a Sunni during Saddam's reign your life wasn't all that bad. If you were Shina or Kurd it may well have been a different story. 3. The blog starts off as chronicle of what life is like living in a city that was invaded, the government overthrown and then occupied by foreign troops while they tried to build a new government. As the blog goes on, and time passes and the war drags on her mood changes. Gone is the person who was once optimistic that this war can eventually end on a positive note. She starts to feel like someone who is living under Marshall law - which is exactly what is happening. 4. years after the invasion much of the country still has no electricity or running water. She herself speaks of having the power go off all the time. Sometimes it is back on after a few hours, sometimes it is day. The weather is unbearably hot in the summer and very cold in the winter and no electricity means no heat or A/C. How long would stay upbeat and positive if everyday during the winter your heater went out - sometimes for days - or during the summer you were left to suffer in 100+ degree weather? All the while each day there is gunfighting and chaos in your city so you can't even go outside and relax without the fear of something bad happening to you or your family? 5. Reading the blog gives you a great insight into that part of the world. Many of the people who we have worked to put into power are people the Iraqis don't like. We, of course, seem to think we know what is best for them and try to force our choices on them. 6. She talks about how, under Saddam, there were no warlords or street gangs. A woman could walk the streets in relative safety. now any woman must be accompanied by a man or she risks being attacked. Gangs run the streets of Baghdad and it will take years and years for the Iraqis to get a strong enough military and police force to deal with them. She doesn't say Saddam was a saint, just that things are different and not for the better. In the end the blog is good. It is one person's view on what they see, what their opinion is and what feel about the situation that is happening right outside their front door. You can choose to agree or disagree with her all you want but it doesn't change the fact that many of the people in that country want us out. There was a recent department of defense poll that showed 65% of the people in Iraq want us to leave and now see us as occupiers not liberators. Every US-friendly middle eastern leader warned us not to go into Iraq because we didn't understand what we were getting into. now years, billions of dollars and many lives later it looks they were right. Every time I read or see something about Iraq I am reminded of something I once heard someone say, "You can't spread democracy through the barrel of a gun." We lost this war before we ever started it.