Friendship

It is strange to use friendly expressions, like (the American-Iraqi friendship), to describe the bilateral relations between the Iraqis & other peoples. For more than four decades, the Iraqis have been exposed continuously to education of hatred which resulted in a very suspicious personality. All the adjacent countries represent, according to this way of thinking, an inimical environment & the Iraqi relations with these countries are based on aggression.

It is really amazing to see the Iraqi Prime Minister & the American President, standing side by side, in the White House. Mr. Bush referred to the hard task that the PM is facing when he said

"… you are helping to lift your country from decades of fear and oppression."

Till few years ago no one would ever believe, here in Iraq, that one day an Iraqi person could be described as

"… a strong partner for peace and freedom."

by the President. I believe it is true saying

"… By securing Iraqi democracy, we will make America and our friends and allies around the world safer."

I referred to something similar in a previous post (Security & Freedom). I am relieved to hear the President's words

"… The enemy's goal is to drive us out of Iraq before the Iraqis have established a secure, democratic government. They will not succeed. Our goal is clear: a democratic and peaceful Iraq that represents all Iraqis. Our troops will continue to train Iraqi security forces so these forces can defend their country and to protect their people from terror. And as Iraqis become more capable in defending their nation, our troops will eventually return home with the honor they have earned."

Rosebuds commented on my previous post

"… America has a lot of State Representatives in in our Congress and there are quite a few "wacky illiterate nitwits" in it. Similare to your wacky
fundamentalist clerics like Sadr. They make a lot of noise(bloviate) and get alot of meda attention but nobody ever takes them seriously."

There are lot of nitwits in the Arab world who make, these days, noise about the MNF existence in Iraq. Their motives are understood since many of them receive good payments from the former regime henchmen, especially Raghad Saddam's eldest daughter who lives in Jordan. But the attitude of 83 members of the Iraqi national assembly, which calls for the MNF pull out, is inconceivable. The noisiest one among them is the Sadrist who made several problems with the American troops.

Now, patience is not endless. Iraqis are trying to be optimistic, but without tangible achievements on the ground a backlash from the ordinary Iraqi people may start to appear. Mr. Bush said

"…Earlier this week, more than 80 countries and international organizations came together in Brussels to discuss how to help Iraq provide for its security and rebuild its country. And next month, donor countries will meet in Jordan to discuss Iraqi reconstruction."

which is true but the commitments should be fulfilled. The American administration has to put pressure on the donors to meet their promises. It is not enough to keep on chasing insurgents. It is essential to activate the economic sector. The delayed reconstruction process causes much frustration to the Iraqis. Moreover, work will divert the youth attention away from the violent operations to something more inspiring. About 75%-80% of the Iraqi cities & towns are calm, & lot of work can be started there.

Let me borrow Mr.Jaafari's words to thank the American people, when he said in the press conference

"…I would also like to thank the American people for standing beside the Iraqi people, going through these difficult times. No doubt our people will never forget those who stand beside Iraq, particularly at these terrible times."

And

"…You have given us something more than money -- you have given us a lot of your sons, your children that were killed beside our own children in Iraq. Of course this is more precious than any other kind of support we receive."

These words represent the rational Iraqi attitude.