> I did not expect the Shia population to be so submissive.
Hardly, they are once burnt, twice shy. This is from a different post of mine. It does not answer your questions, but it may help your understanding of the Iraqi people. Their psychology is closer to that of a rape victim or a someone with battered wife syndrom.
It will take just as long to get them to change their mind about America as it would take Saddam to convince them he is a born again angel...just as long as it would take a husband to convince his battered wife that they should be friends...sorry, she just wants to be left alone. Flowers and a box of chocolates won't do...it is best to maintain distance.
To demonstrate how policy makers misread the people, not only Iraqis have not greeted US troops with kiss and roses, CNN just reported that thousands of Iraqi X-pats who left Jordan for Iraq were previously believed to be going there to fight Saddam but now there are reports that they are fighting the "liberation" troops.
Sun (human problems need human solutions not tanks) Tzu
> sorry correct if I'm wrong, I've read in the western press that the shiites hate Iraqi soldiers and they view them as their oppressors. Are you saying that is not true?
It is true. But they hate Americans just as much, and for good reasons. From their way of thinking, it was CIA who helped Ba'th to power (true) so they hold US responsible for whatever Saddam has done to them (not fair). They've seen Saddam as an agent of US (partially true). More importantly, Bush 41 asked them to revolt against Saddam but allowed Saddam to move in tanks in violation of cease fire agreement so as to kill the civilians. They will never forget this betrayal (I heard them on the record then and I've heard them again recently). Then there is a matter sanctions. While it is true that Saddam used the sanctions actually to starve his people and to make as much political gains from it as he can, it is also true that sanctions did not hurt him and his cronies one bit. By not changing our approach and keeping the sanctions the same, we showed utter disregard for the lives of the Iraqi people. So Iraqis again blame US for everything done to them for the past 12 years (again, not quite fair but not baseless either).
The thinking here is that whatever regime comes to power in Iraq will be better than Saddam and so the Iraqis should welcome us with open arms. This shows complete lack of understanding of the deapth of the betrayal they feel and the suffering they've had to endure. In their minds, Bush is not any better (or different) than Saddam. So they see no reason not to kill both and for now it is best to do nothing and not to oppose Saddam. As far as they are concerned, if you want Saddam, you go and get him, but don't step on my tail while you're doing it or I will hit you back as hard as I can.
If you have access to CBC News World, you should watch it. While CNN is reporting this as if it was a football game with how many yards are gained here and what the strategy is there, CBC has been showing the human side of the events and is constantly interviewing people who have relatives in Iraq and asks what they have heard from their families. |
