My long trips of coming to the office and going back home which sometimes take more than three hours give me a great chance to see different scenes. one of the repeated scenes is the armored convoys and the misuse of power.
About 5:40 on Saturday afternoon; the Iraqi security forces blocked the main street of Jadiriyah neighborhood because one of the Iraqi officials was passing through. The drivers were waiting for the convoy to pass. While they were waiting, a US military convoy came from behind. The driver of the first humvee saw the real long of the stooped cars and I'm sure he knows for sure they stooped because the street was blocked. Yet; he didn't stop. He used the horn and he kept hitting a sedan Mercedes in front of his humvee. The driver of the Mercedes took his hand out of the car and waved to the humvee driver as if he was telling him to stop hitting the car because the man doesn't have any choices but the American soldier kept hitting the car. He kept doing that for more than three minutes. I was on the other side of the street trying to get a taxi to go home. I left the street while the American soldier was enjoying hitting and bothering the poor Iraqi man who could do nothing because he knows for sure that he might be killed if he thought about going out of his car and tried to ask the soldier to stop. No one would even blame the US soldier if he killed him and simply the poor man would be considered a TERRORIST who tried to kill the innocent poor American liberator. The principle of the US soldier is (Im the one who has the gun. SO; I'm above law.)
The guards of the convoys of the Iraqi officials are not better than the US soldiers because they follow the same principle in addition to their main principle which is (I'm the guard of the official. So; I'm above law). About one month ago, the guards of one of the Iraqi ministers killed a woman and injured many civilians in downtown Baghdad.
The way those people who have guns behave makes me like many Iraqi civilians feel that Iraq became a wild jungle where survival is only for the strongest. This kind of feeling kills the soul of patriotism in the hearts of people.
I never though that freedom means mess and I never thought that liberators care only about themselves. Its too hard to believe that but this is the real situation of Iraq.
Laura you are correct. We are bullies, mean, greedy, and somewhat corrupt. This is not what our founding fathers set out to create. I personally feel that we have screwed up our only opportunity on this earth.
I know that sounds negative, but sometimes you have to be realistic.
Posted by: Bulletproof Vests | July 23, 2009 at 07:25 PM
I think too many americans take advantage of our freedom. They do not understand what it really took for us to gain our freedom. Now everyone just wants handouts and expects the government to take care of them. We are in a point in our countries history that we need to wake up and change our ways or its gonna kill us all. The worst part is that change is not easy and the USA is not the biggest and most powerful country in the world. Now we are also the poorest.
Posted by: Bulleproof Jackets | May 18, 2009 at 10:23 PM
I wish this world was not so corrupt. We would all be alot happier.
Posted by: Bulletproof Jackets | April 22, 2009 at 10:21 PM
I'm really sorry for all the crap going on in your country. Especially when it affects the lives of innocent people.
Posted by: Kevlar | March 08, 2009 at 08:25 PM
The US is not a country full of arrogant bullies. It is ALSO not a country full of altruistic do-gooders who are "risking their lives" to bring freedom to another country. The world would be a much less divided place if ppl stopped seeing other people as somehow different from them.
I can definitely see an American GI doing what was described above. Not because he is American and is therefore a douchebag, but because he is a young human in a position of power and is fortunately abusing it. There is nothing uniquely American about that.
Alternately, when I hear over-patriotic Americans ranting about the "cowardly" terrorists taking shots at US soldiers, it amuses me that the people fighting the trillion dollar US military machine with several AKs & RPGs are being called cowardly. Almost reminiscent of the British calling the US intercontinental army cowardly. What most people don't realize is that most neutral observers don't see a difference between an insurgent IED attack on a military convoy which kills several military personnel and civilians, and a US missile strike on a village on the Pakistani border which kills several Taliban as well as several Afghani civilians!!
Posted by: Obi One | November 11, 2008 at 12:08 AM
I don't know what the make of the story, but I can say that the ignorant remarks and generalizations made by some of those that commented are ridiculous. When we see a check point backed up we do not approach and ram vehicles because they may be vehicle born IEDs. I won't say what we do at crowded check points on this blog, but I can tell you that we do not get within kill range. Furthmore, anyone found to drive recklessly and endanger civilians with a military vehicle are pretty much ripped a new one once they get back to base. I know, because we had a knuckle head who loss rank and won't be doing anything near a steering wheel for quite some time. So yes...I'm sure there are idiots out there who do dumb things, but I don't generalize all of Iraqi citizens with the extremists that behead Iraqi and American troops. So please, do not generalize Americans because of one idiot.
Posted by: soldier | October 27, 2008 at 05:23 AM
"The way those people who have guns behave makes me like many Iraqi civilians feel that Iraq became a wild jungle where survival is only for the strongest." So what you're trying to say is Saddam was an angel. I bet you never witnessed his henchmen throwing innocent "Iraqi Citizens" into wood chippers, feet first. Or making you watch your family get raped and murdered. Or locking you up in a dungeon for 10+ years of torture and agony for doing absolutely nothing. No, I bet you didn't. All you think is the U.S. did this, the U.S. did that, just blame the U.S., that's how you make progress, right?. Grow up.
Posted by: America | October 23, 2008 at 08:33 PM
American citizens do NOT classify Muslims as terrorists just for being Muslim. Comments by Dante, Laura, and Shelly T. are inaccurate and correlate only to their uneducated, misunderstanding of the situation. These three people are the product of an American empire that has allowed them to live beyond their means without knowing how they were blessed that way (very naive people these Dante, Laura, and Shelly T.). To these three people, stop spreading false beliefs (that US is the root of all evil) to the rest of the world that -- you think -- signify your "sincere heart felt feelings." All you're doing is making it worse, grow up.
Posted by: America | October 23, 2008 at 08:27 PM
You have given a very accurate account of what's happening currently in Iraq.The western world has almost condemed every muslim as a terrorist.Incidents like this go unnoticed by th media which is too absorbed in gulping whatever the goveerment spin doctors dish out.The only slution I see to curb terrorism is working together with the islamic world.Iraq needs to get back its dignity and pride.No country can take that away from them whether they have guns or not.
Posted by: Dante | October 22, 2008 at 05:01 AM
And just which faction of the Supreme Court has opened the door to the private possession of firearms being a Constitutional right? And didn't their opinion invoke "tyranny" numerous times as one reason they claimed the framers inserted this amendment into the Constitution, this "tyranny" meaning the dominance of the government over the people, even though the people elect the government? Did those justices really have so little regard for the democratic process that they had to insert an amendment into the Constitution that allowed armed revolt against the government they had themselves elected, or is it that these justices preferred the rule of the gun over the rule of the people?
Posted by: borisjimski | October 17, 2008 at 11:16 PM
It's not a war, Rick. It's an occupation. An occupation following an illegal invasion. In this case, we were and are in the wrong, and yes, that's damning.
Add to that a presidential order authorizing torture-- a memo signed by Bush authorizing the CIA to break terms of the Geneva Convention, which we signed a long time ago. Yes, that's damning. Damning in the sense of: We. Are. In. The. Wrong.
An unpleasant set of truths. A set of truths many of us would prefer not to believe. Unfortunately, our discomfort doesn't make the ugly truth any different. And we won't change ourselves, our country or our situation until folks start facing unpleasant, damning facts.
Posted by: Laura | October 17, 2008 at 08:00 PM
I find it hard to believe that the driver was hitting the mercedes . . . possible but most likely not. And yes many in the world think of us as bullies, our military is not touchy feely, they are there to do a job, a military job. Those people who think we're bullies are usually the ones getting pushed around by us. I'm sure the Germans and Japanies thought the same thing after WWII, and look at them now. Same with Panama and Grenada and look at those two countries. So once the bully Americans make the playground safe for the other kids to play look what happens. War is ugly, and the last thing anyone in uniform wants to do is be deployed far from home and be shot at or attacked by cowards. Use of force is always the last option . . but when used the gloves come off. No other country goes to the extreams to prevent lose of live to civilians like the Americans. And if one is to judge a country then judge it by the number of people trying to get into a country. You know no matter the americans do, they are wrong in someones eyes. Fore the most part Americans are damnd if they do and damnd if they don't.
Posted by: Rick C | October 17, 2008 at 01:19 PM
Why not let the Humvee with the pushy Yank through?
Let him scrap with the Iraqi security forces.
There's gonna be a new law that lets Iraq try American soldiers in local courts.
Send 'em Wutterich and see some justice happen.
Posted by: Patrick | October 17, 2008 at 02:57 AM
I'm so sorry what your country is going through. We around the world want your country to find peace but it's upon your leaders to get together in harmony. This young americans don't want to be there and are scared for their lives. In the states they wouldn't be living with their lives on the line like they are experiencing in Irak. They just want to forget and get away, like you do, of all the horrors and evilness of war and return home. God be with you and yours always.
Posted by: Sheila | October 16, 2008 at 02:30 AM
The dipsh*t kids in the hummer are going to be policemen after they get home. Yeah, we are going to get some too. War trained terrorists, coming out of our own police stations. With military gear and weapons.
Posted by: Indiana John | October 15, 2008 at 09:00 PM
This is so wrong. I am going to read this story in my podcast. If you would like to add to it, feel free to email me.
People need to know what is going on there and our media does not cover stories like this. To them, the violence is down and soldiers are only doing good things.
Posted by: Shelly T. | October 13, 2008 at 06:58 AM
It's ugly and wrong. And sadly, too many Americans do not understand or realize how so many other people in the world see us: as bullies; brutal and entitled. I still hope for change, slow though things seem to alter.
Best to you and yours, Laith. (And everyone at the bureau, too.)
Posted by: Laura | October 12, 2008 at 11:16 PM