The Lie That Is Iraq

My brother has a good friend, an expatriot from Iraq, who has since gone back to his home country to help rebuild it after the toppling of Saddam. He has written back a lot, and what he says is quite different than what you see on TV. Don't die of a heart attack when you realize that what you see on TV isn't real. Didn't your momma teach you don't believe everything you see?

He's getting his US citizenship. He loves this country; all he has to do now is take the oath. Here is what he says about Iraq.

The people there love what we did for them. They do not protest. They do not complain. They are at peace. Sure there are hot spots where soldiers die. But they are only hot spots. The comparison was made that it closely resembles Los Angeles. White people don't go into Compton at night. They just don't. It's the same way in places in Iraq. But for the most part, the people are at peace.

Also when they say on the news "Yes, we want the U.S. to get out of our country" it isn't because they think they've been victimized or invaded. It's because they are ready to govern themselves again, or at least try to, and they're expressing their belief that the work of the U.S. is done.

After two successful elections, their government is quickly on the way to recovery. And hopefully this Iraqi friend can take both my brother and me to see the ruins of Babylon. We would like that. But for now, he says, white people don't walk the streets of Compton at night.

So Babylon is going to have to wait, for now.

And to Saddam's complaints that he doesn't have a park to walk in and exercise while he's in jail, tell that to the families of the people he gassed and threw into mass graves. He should be glad he's still alive.