Bush and Ahmadinejad Use Iraqi 'Soil and Blood' for Score-Settling
Once again, the administrations of U.S. President George W. Bush and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have turned the land of Iraq into a venue for their own bi-lateral meetings.
These meetings show that while the two countries are engaged in a ferocious proxy war in the neutral state of Iraq, they use Baghdad as a venue to resolve their own wider-ranging conflict.
As for us Iraqis, we watch the talks hoping for the better, putting out of our minds that these two leaders are the very ones that violate our land and honor, steal our money and shed our blood.
The mere fact that these meetings in Iraq take place is by itself a flagrant violation into our nation's affairs. The two sides should have met some place else to solve the intractable issues between them - issues which have nothing to do with the daily miseries and tragedies our country and its people.
Those claiming to work for Iraq's independence should have raised their voices and denounced these meetings. But voices like these are rare in today's Iraq, since most of those in the seat of power owe their positions to either Bush or Ahmadinejad.
The only faint voice of criticism came from the Sunni bloc in Parliament, but even that was too muted for anyone to take note.
We are no longer masters of our own destiny. Our fate is now in the hands of these two men. They are the ones who decide what to include and exclude, even when it comes to the formation of our own government.
We are the victims of these two men, who not only use our soil to settle their scores, but our blood as well.
These meetings show that while the two countries are engaged in a ferocious proxy war in the neutral state of Iraq, they use Baghdad as a venue to resolve their own wider-ranging conflict.
As for us Iraqis, we watch the talks hoping for the better, putting out of our minds that these two leaders are the very ones that violate our land and honor, steal our money and shed our blood.
The mere fact that these meetings in Iraq take place is by itself a flagrant violation into our nation's affairs. The two sides should have met some place else to solve the intractable issues between them - issues which have nothing to do with the daily miseries and tragedies our country and its people.
Those claiming to work for Iraq's independence should have raised their voices and denounced these meetings. But voices like these are rare in today's Iraq, since most of those in the seat of power owe their positions to either Bush or Ahmadinejad.
The only faint voice of criticism came from the Sunni bloc in Parliament, but even that was too muted for anyone to take note.
We are no longer masters of our own destiny. Our fate is now in the hands of these two men. They are the ones who decide what to include and exclude, even when it comes to the formation of our own government.
We are the victims of these two men, who not only use our soil to settle their scores, but our blood as well.