Today I read several more Iraqi blogs. The Internet is such a marvelous tool. It is incredible to me that these people have just a few hours of electricity a day, and they spend that time in front of their computers blogging their thoughts and fears and daily occurrences. Amazing. Yesterday the majority of what I read was hateful toward America - particularly the US government. Michael found some less hateful and biased sources for me today.

Here are the links:

http://afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com/

http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/

http://www.iraq-iraqis.blogspot.com/

http://chrenkoff.blogspot.com/2004/07/good-news-from-iraq-part-5.html

Mostly I read from the first 2 blogs. It is sad to hear the tales of regular Iraqi people. I feel embarrassed, on one hand, to have been in support of this horrible war. I sympathize with the outrage of the innocent people who were bombed, tortured, had their lives turned upside down,lost family and possessions, etc., etc. To them, things were better under Saddam Hussein - they knew what to expect. I guess either our government overstated the tourture tactics of this regime, or the people who are blogging were not affected by these events.

But, then I think of how it all started. Why didn't Sadaam Hussein disarm? Why did he lie and cheat and murder his people? What would have happened if we had left him and his country alone? Why didn't the Iraqi people stop him from harboring terrorists? Probably for the same reasons the American people would not/could not stop this Iraq war.

Some of the bloggers' rage against the injustice of the 12 year embargo on Iraq and they wonder why we didn't finish off the government during the first Iraq war. But, that would have been too cruel a punishment at the time. Who could have known that the events of the next 12 years would lead us to where we are now?

The stories of Iraqis being tortured by the coalition forces is sickening. Can this be blamed on the desensitization of war? Or is it the corruption of power?

Do you think that John Kerry will solve this problem? I don't. I don't think he has what it takes to lead our country. I don't see any evidence of his diplomatic abilities either. Clinton seemed to be a diplomat, but it was during his years in the White House that Iraq suffered the embargo which crippled the country. Kerry said he would send more of our troops to Iraq. Will that help to get the occupying armies out any quicker? And what will happen when they leave?

Civilization on earth has a long way to go. Perhaps it will never change. I sometimes think of this existence as a schoolroom. We must all learn our lessons - repeating each chapter over and over until we master the text. But with so many people in the world, how can we think that global peace will EVER be achieved?

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy? Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948), "Non-Violence in Peace and War"

Posted by Wendy at August 4, 2004 04:19 PM