Reality Check
Contrary to what war supporters in the U.S. believe, Iraqis are not hanging on every word from the lips of right-wing politicians, or sitting glued to their television sets watching the latest report to Congress from Petraeus and Crocker in order to reassure themselves that the Americans are not going to abandon them to a fate worse than being shocked and awed, having their homes ransacked by U.S. troops in the middle of the night, and living with violence and terror on a daily basis despite the uninvited presence of a foreign military occupying force for the past five years:
The congressional testimony of Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker has barely registered in Iraq.
Several parliament members were unaware of what was said at the hearings. Many Baghdad residents had no idea they had taken place. Even on Alhurra, a U.S.-funded Arabic satellite channel, the testimony was the 10th and final report on Wednesday’s evening newscast, following dispatches on Egyptian politics and the state of emergency preparedness in Syria.
“The Americans have hundreds of meetings and testimonies like this, and what has it done for the Iraqi people? Nothing,” said Allah Sadiq, 49, a carpenter in the capital’s Karrada district. “So why do we care? We just want all the foreigners to leave and stop causing disasters for our country.”
[...]
“Presenting reports in front of the media and Congress has no use for us, for this is just a justification for the American forces to remain in Iraq,” said Liwa Smesim, the head of the political committee of Sadr’s movement. “We demand a complete pullout of the occupation forces as soon as possible. What we are seeing today on the TV screens is a failing charade, and it will fail by God’s will.”On the streets of the upscale neighborhood of Karrada, people tended to favor an immediate pullout of American troops, with many blaming the United States for the calamities plaguing the city.
“For five years, the Americans have not done anything for the Iraqis. What do they think they can do for us in one more year?” said Hussein Jabar, 36, an employee at the Ministry of Industry. “All the Americans do is protect themselves, and we Iraqis are the victims.”
He listed grievances: blocked sewage drains, militias attacking residents in the street, a dysfunctional government and frequent electricity outages. As he spoke, the power in the electronics shop he was standing in went out, leaving the room pitch black.
“I am so sick and tired of all this,” he said. “We just want the Americans to go, and we will try to fix things ourselves.”
The article also quotes an Iraqi businessman who says that things would get worse if the U.S. pulled out its troops — but then adds that it really doesn’t matter what he feels about the Americans being in his country:
Hajji Abdul Kareem, 62, a businessman, said he was impressed with the testimony given by Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq. “He was telling the truth and sending a clear message: that a sudden withdrawal from Iraq will make a big problem inside Iraq,” he said.
But Abdul Kareem refused to say whether he wanted U.S. troops to remain. “If I support them or not, the Americans will stay,” he said as he shook his head. “They will stay here for a long, long time.”
Tags: Kathy
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