CPTnet
6 December 2007
IRAQ LETTER: "What we see and hear on the ground"
by Michelle Naar-Obed
[Note: Naar-Obed's letter to her supporters has been edited for length and
clarity.]
Dear friends,
Word has it that the news you get in your part of the world about Iraq might
be different from what we get from this part of the world. I thought it
might be good to share what we see and hear on the ground.
Many Iraqis ARE returning to central and south Iraq. They are returning
because they have to. For most, their savings have run out.
In Kurdistan, Arabs from central Iraq are not welcome here. Even Arabs that
come to visit have to have a sponsor who will vouch for them. Officially,
this is still Iraq so the Kurds are still subject to laws from the central
government, but they operate around the law, similar to how people in the
U.S. work around anti-discrimination laws.
Kirkuk is a mess. Arabs are being forced out or bribed out so Kurdish
population can increase and they can claim it as theirs when the referendum
for autonomy goes before the Iraqi Parliament. The problem is that this once
was Kurdish land and they had been forced out in order to make it Arab land.
When we talk with Kurds about Arabs, it becomes clear that they are still
traumatized by what happened to them during Saddam's genocidal Al-Anfal
campaign. Kurds now have the power to grant or deny basic human rights to
their Arab compatriots and collectively, when Kurds see Arabs, they see
Saddam. I will say this. From the few stories I have heard from the victims
of the Anfal campaign, I am surprised that they have any goodwill left.
There is a bit of a calm in Baghdad. While much of the western news
attributes this to the "surge," most people believe there are other reasons.
For the most part, the military action of the surge resulted in
neighborhoods being split up. The various religious and ethnic groups have
been walled off from each other. Also, many believe that the surge only
managed to relocate the "terrorists" and they now seem to be up north where
incidents of violence have increased. Many believe it is a matter of time
before they will return to central Iraq.
An under-reported story in your part of the world is that women in Basra, at
a rate of about ten per month, are being executed because they work outside
of their homes or because they refuse to abide by a very strict dress code.
Many of the women are trained professionals and work in law or medicine.
The perpetrators leave their mutilated bodies on their doorsteps so they can
be viewed as an example.
Maliki's government is infiltrated with militias and heavily supported by
Iran. In your part of the world, you do not hear about the influence that
U.S. military policy played in creating, supporting and training those very
militias. The big difference now is that Pentagon policy is training,
supporting and influencing Sunni factions in hopes of balancing out their
previous mistakes.
Peace,
Michele Naar-Obed
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