Yesterday was Freedom Day in Iraq – the day commemorating that country’s conquest by foreign infidels and marking the beginning of an even lower standard of living and safety for Iraqi citizens than they had previously endured. It must warm the heart of Iraqi families to know that even though they have no electricity and not much water and put their lives into the hands of Allah every time they leave their homes, or the remains of their homes, to work, shop or worship, they now have some freedom of speech. Is anyone listening to them?
Looking at the empty pedestal that once supported the statue of Saddam Hussein we all watched being toppled with great difficulty three years ago, Abu Mohammed told AP reporter Bushra Juhi in Baghdad ''I am too preoccupied with my work, and numerous problems and worries to notice it, For me, all statues represent tyranny.''
I’m sure the day was marked by celebration – but not in Iraq. Our efforts to rebuild the country now include little more than building large American military bases and concocting fake “upbeat” news items for local consumption while the infrastructure falls into ruins to rival Babylon in her desolation. I cannot imagine that Iraq or any other country in the Middle East, democratic or otherwise, would tolerate the presence of American troops and their machinery of war on their soil but under duress. Indeed, the presence of our Military in what they see as their world may have been a major force behind alQaeda: but as for now, freedom and Freedom Day notwithstanding, they are not free to choose.
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