_'Bush Good, Saddam Bad!'_
D. Spencer Hines
---------------------------------
'Bush Good, Saddam Bad!'
A Marine reports from Iraq, where things are far better than the media let on.
BY JOHN R. GUARDIANO
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
The Wall Street Journal
"AL HILLAH, Iraq -- There's more to America than New York, Washington and Los
Angeles. The same is true for Iraq; there's a vast country outside Baghdad
and the "Sunni triangle" that's now the center of a guerrilla campaign. It's
understandable that Western press reports are fixated on attacks that kill
American soldiers. But that focus is obscuring what's actually happening in
the rest of the country -- and it misleads the public into thinking that
Iraqis are growing angry and impatient with their liberators.
In fact, there is another Iraq that the media virtually ignore. It is guarded
by the First Marine Division, and, unlike Baghdad, it has been a model of
success. The streets are safe, petty and violent crime are low, water and
electrical services are almost universally available (albeit rationed), and
ordinary Iraqis are beginning to clean up and rebuild their neighborhoods and
communities. Equally important, a deep level of mutual trust and respect has
developed between the Marines and the populace here in central and southern
Iraq.
I know because I'm one of those Marines. My reserve unit was activated before
the war, and in April my team arrived in this small city roughly 60 miles
south of Baghdad. The negative media portrait of the situation in Iraq
doesn't correspond with what I've seen. Indeed, we were treated as liberating
heroes when we arrived four months ago, and we continue to enjoy amicable
relations with the local populace.
The "Arab Street" I've meet in Iraq loves -- that's not too strong of a
word -- America and is deeply grateful for our presence. Far from resenting
the American military, most Iraqis seem to fear that we will leave too soon
and that in our absence the Baath Party tyranny will resume. This sentiment
is readily apparent whenever we venture into the city. We don't make it far
outside of our camp before throngs of happy, smiling children greet us.
"Good, good!" they yell, as they run into the street, often oblivious to
oncoming traffic. They give us a hearty thumbs-up and vigorously wave and
pump their hands. They are eager to see us and to talk with us. To them, it
is clear, we are heroes who liberated them from Saddam Hussein.
"Bush good, Saddam bad!" many Iraqis tell us emphatically -- and repeatedly.
I'm not sure how George W. Bush is faring with the American public, but he's
got a lock on Al Hillah.
Iraqis routinely ask me to "thank Mr. Bush for freeing us of Saddam" and tell
me, "We are very grateful, because you have freed us of our worst nightmare,
Saddam Hussein." (A lot of Iraqis speak surprisingly good English because
most studied it in primary and secondary school.)
It all reminds me of my experience a decade ago in Eastern Europe and the
former Soviet Union. Most ordinary Russians, Poles and Czechs hailed Ronald
Reagan as a hero for bringing down the "evil empire" when few people had the
courage even to call it that."
Yes, another example of *very* biased reporting by the American "Liberal"
Media. ---- DSH
"In much the same way, ordinary Iraqis have a tremendous reservoir of goodwill
for the president who coined the term "axis of evil" -- and who then acted to
eradicate a primary source of that evil."
But not the American "Liberals" and their comrades to the Left. ---- DSH
"The Iraqis know who their foes are too. Two Iraqi children once
spontaneously shouted to me, "France, Chirac!" while giving the thumbs-down
sign and shaking their heads disapprovingly. The children quickly smiled and
shouted "Bush!" while punching the sky."
Smart Kids. ---- DSH
""We are very glad that you are here and we hope you never leave," Zaid, a
31-year-old mechanical engineer, told me. "If you leave, then there will be
more trouble. The Baath Party thugs will take over."
Zaid makes a decent living selling pirated American movies. He enjoys
sophisticated dramas like "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Saving Private
Ryan." But most Iraqis, he notes, prefer action-packed adventures starring
Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Mr. Van
Damme especially is quite popular with Al Hillah children.)
This is not to say that everyone here likes America, nor that Al Hillah is
problem-free. Iraq, after all, is still quite poor and suffering from the
aftershocks of Baathist rule and economic isolation. One of the biggest
problems is looters who steal oil from pipelines and parts from electrical
generators to sell on the black market. The country needs more electrical
power plants and a better police force.
There are more than 15,000 unemployed ex-Iraqi soldiers in Al Hillah and the
surrounding Babil Province. When these soldiers discovered that the U.S. was
making interim payments to local municipal employees, they demanded similar
financial compensation. A small number of these soldiers even staged a
protest at city hall.
The soldiers' complaint was not that the United States is too heavily involved
in Iraqi affairs. They were instead complaining that we are doing too little
to help them. They want more help, not less; they seek greater engagement,
not a withdrawal of American military forces. The difficulties here aren't
the result of the U.S. being heavy-handed. Rather, they result from our
inability to bring greater resources to bear.
The news from Baghdad, Tikrit, Fallujah and Ramadi -- the Sunni triangle --
suggests a bleaker image because these areas are very different politically,
religiously and culturally from the rest of the country.
Politically, greater Baghdad is populated with people who owe their privileged
status in life to Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party. Most Iraqis, by
contrast, were brutally oppressed by Saddam. Religiously, greater Baghdad is
heavily Sunni. Iraq, by contrast, is two-thirds Shiite, and Al Hillah is 99%
Shiite. Culturally, greater Baghdad is relatively secular, political and
cosmopolitan. The nation as a whole is more religious, apolitical and
insular.
It helps, too, that we Marines have maintained a friendly and visible presence
in Iraqi neighborhoods and bazaars. The bottom line: In the
Marine-administered towns and provinces in the south, the Iraqi "Arab Street"
is mostly docile, compliant and eager to engage rather than shun the West.
As my experience in Al Hillah shows, most ordinary Iraqis are in no way
disillusioned with the U.S. What they want -- and need -- is greater help.
This will necessitate a sustained military presence here until the seeds for
economic growth and development have taken root.
For that I know the men, women and children of my Arab street are grateful.
As Zaid has told me, "It will take 10 to 15 years for Iraq to become a normal
country. It is important during that time that the United States be here to
help us." Semper fidelis, Zaid."
"Lance Cpl. Guardiano is a field radio operator with the U.S. Marine Corps'
Fourth Civil Affairs Group and, as a civilian, defense editor of Rotor and
Wing magazine.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Semper Fidelis....
Deus Vult.
Uva Uvam Vivendo Varia Fit.
"I don't care a twopenny damn what becomes of the ashes of Napoleon
Buonaparte." ---- Attributed to Arthur Wellesley, [1769-1852] Duke of
Wellington
Prosecutio stultitiae est gravis vexatio, executio stultitiae coronat opus.
All replies to the newsgroup please. Thank you kindly. All original material
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unless permission is otherwise expressly given, in writing.
D. Spencer Hines
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor
Robert Harley
"D. Spencer Hines" <D._Spenc...@usa.yale.edu> writes:
> A More Balanced Perspective:
>[...]
> "AL HILLAH, Iraq -- [...]
Ah yes, Al Hilla, where the U.S.A. killed dozens of civilians and
injured hundreds on April 1st in attacks with cluster bombs and
helicopter gunships described as "horrific" by the Red Cross.
Regards,
Rob.
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