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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Interesting Interview with Nir Rosen On Iraq

I post this, knowing quite well, that any attempt to dislodge you from your imiginary world of flag waving, eagle soaring, patriots marching is a recipe for personal attack. But what the heck, that’s my job.

Interviewed by Mike Whitney

Nir Rosen, author of In the Belly of the Green Bird: The Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq, has spent more than two years in Iraq reporting on the American occupation, the relationship between Americans and Iraqis, the development of postwar Iraqi religious and political movements, interethnic and sectarian relations, and the Iraqi civil war. His reporting and research also focused on the origins and development of Islamist resistance, insurgency, and terrorist organizations. He has also reported from Somalia, where he investigated Islamist movements; Jordan, where he investigated the origins and future of the Zarqawi movement; and Pakistan, where he investigated the madrassas and pro-Taliban movements.

An interesting read to showing other sides of the story

Interview

Comments

Avatar for FlyOnTheWall

Rosen speaking on the US ‘Ooze’ (Surge implies it went fast so I think he’s correct.)

US doubled their enemies

the violence is down in Baghdad, but that’s mainly due to the failure of the US to establish security. That’s not success.

There are just less people to kill.

We doubled our enemies, there are fewer people to kill, violence is down and that is due to “failure of the US to establish security.” Forgive us (Rethuglican robots) for settling for failure in the face of such logic. 

He blames the obliteration of cultural icons across the country on Bush:

that the society could be rebuilt according to a neoliberal, “free market” model?

But everything I’ve read including Iraqi Sunni Arab bloggers have blamed it on foreign Sunni Arab fighters. 

The smartest Iraqis-the best educated, the professionals, the middle and upper classes-have all left or been killed. So the society is destroyed. So there is no hope for a non-sectarian Iraq now.

This can go very badly but we’ve passed a couple hurdles.  The largely Shiite govt suggested they could ‘handle’ security on their own about a year back.  Pulling out then would have meant genocide.  Since then refugees, mostly Sunni, have started coming back.  The Sunni with better education and govt experience could become a politically strong presence again but old hatreds are still strong.

it’s clear that Israel is not a viable state in the Middle East as long as it is Zionist.

Whenever I see ‘Zionist’ I replace it with ‘Jewish.’ They have always been synonymous.  Feel free to disagree but this writer certainly didn’t change my mind. 

When he explained Hamas was fully committed to the peace process because they hadn’t used suicide bombers for a few months, I was dumbfounded and sickened.  Isreal has significantly increased security, built the walls and Hamas has had its hands full trying to pick up garbage, pay employees all the stuff an actual govt is supposed to do.  If Hamas has less inclination toawards their ‘Ball bearings for Children’ program that’s good but he didn’t convince me they saintly.

Thank you for the look into the Arab mindset but I was more comfortable with my naiveté.

FlyOnTheWall on December 13, 2007 at 09:13 am

nalhamid - your job is to spread dysfunction?

Well,...now we know. You are a Muslim, so this comes as no shock.

FlyOnTheWall showed us quite aptly who the imaginary one is. It is Rosen and it is you.

likwidshoe on December 14, 2007 at 02:22 pm
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