This was forwarded to me from a West Point grad whose classmate met with a distinguished Iraqi IN Iraq a couple of weeks ago, and the grad originated this forward! Read on for a reminder & some insight:
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Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE
From a classmate stationed in Iraq…
Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 5:40 AMTo: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: The Sweetest of All Gifts
Much has been made of the episode wherein an Iraqi news reporter threw a shoe at GW when he was over here late last year. Many saw it as the pivotal expression of his supposed folly. Two days ago, I was in Najaf, the most sacred of Shia holy places. I carried on a conversation with two men until late into the night. One of them is a professor at James Madison U in Virginia (he intends to invite me to speak there); the other is an Iraqi man whose entire family was massacred; who led large Iraqi forces in alliance with US forces against Saddam. He is incredibly articulate in English (and I don't mean "for a non-native speaker"); he is both a US and an Iraqi citizen, with amazing insights into this country. The professor asked him for his most illustrative example of changes in Iraq. Below is a paraphrased rendition of his comments:
"Last week, the man who threw his shoes at George W. Bush was set free from prison. Think of how mind-boggling that is. If he had done the same to Saddam, the dictator would have personally shot him on the spot. Instead, he was detained, went to trial, was sentenced to three years, and released after 1 year for good behavior because that is what the law requires! We are now a nation of laws.
"That is a tribute to George W. Bush. And, he gave us the sweetest of all gifts: freedom. That is why we love him over here. There was a time when we feared to say anything to anyone. No more. Now, we all speak out. That in a country that suffered for 50 years. We have come that distance in only six. Mind-boggling."
[RichardShhh adds: Now, if we can only cause the same kind of change in Afghanistan! Americans, you gotta learn patience--only New Yorkers operate on a New York minute!!! And, FYI, I have been a US military combatant under enemy fire in Vietnam, Laos, El Salvador, Honduras, and Grenada--Don't misunderstand my loyalties!]
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