Letters from the Farm

There's finally been a new entry at Iraqi Letter to America, after a week long hiatus while the author went to work on their farm outside the city. It's worth noting that this has traditionally been one of the more "pro-American" blogs, in terms of an author who seems to sincerely want to see a transition to a peaceful, representative democracy in his country. He is often quoted on Dean's World, Captain's Quarters and Mudville Gazette as an example of the Iraqis who want the terrorists, etc. out of his country. After Fallujah, however, it seems his opinions have changed.

The other thing is that I was really almost thrown off-balance by the Fallujah campaign. Although I was expecting such an outcome? yet, the grotesque scale of destruction, the total lack of any respect for human life, the short-sightedness of short-term policy gains at the expense of enormous long-term disasters, somehow leave me discouraged and depressed.

Less than an hour ago, I was listening to someone from the US army saying that he believed that the foreign fighters they were after had left Fallujah before the onslaught!!! Really!!

Well then, what was all that bombardment, killing and the leveling of a whole town about? Now we are told that Fallujah is no longer a safe haven for terrorists. Thank you very much. What about those 300,000 people many of whom are now homeless, and only God knows how many dead? Wasn't there another way to deal with that situation? I'm sure there are at least ten different ways to handle Fallujah's problem with much less "collateral damage". But the US administration and the Iraqi Interim government in their infinite wisdom had obviously decided that this was the best way. We are even told that there have been no civilian casualties in Fallujah!

Things aren't going very well out on the farm either. Some of his comments, while simple in nature, provide a snapshot of how things are in "regular Iraq" away from the TV cameras.

I went to the farm with the hope of clearing my head. The long walks, the good weather and the peace and quiet in the countryside this time of the year usually do wonders to my mood? but it was no use.

[Incidentally, there was not much to do at the farm. For the past 17 days, there was not a single minute of electricity. For the past six months, there was literally not a drop of water in the irrigation channel. No planting. The barley season is lost (as was the corn season before). The wheat season is unlikely!]

The entire entry is a long, thoughtful post on the future. The author seems to think that maybe it's time to let Iraq stand on its own feet.

I am becoming more convinced everyday that the US should leave Iraq as soon as possible. All those potential dangers of internal civil war and those threats from neighboring countries look almost tolerable in comparison to the criminal errors of judgment and incompetence displayed by this administration. I am almost certain that, left to our own devices, our losses would be less. Even the threat of terrorism to us and to the rest of the world would be less.

Look at the Moqtada episode for example. Recall all the bloodshed and the bombing of populated areas in Najaf and Sadr City and all the violence in Kut, Amarah, Nasireyyah and Basrah. Were there any foreign terrorists in Najaf? Was all that bombing and destruction and loss of life necessary? A sick old man, armed only with the respect of other people, worked out a compromise that, within a few days, took everybody back to square one! What did all that violence achieve? Bringing Moqtada to justice? Disarming and disbanding his army? If you think so, you are in mistaken.

How can I convince "super-patriot" Americans that the "cowboy methods" used by their administration have created worse problems than the ones they were supposed to solve. These methods themselves are a major problem.