What Iraqis Want Americans to Know

The Iraqi people are not in a coma, and when they stand no one will be able to stop them. They have elected their own government, will not accept another government and will carry on with their pledge to support it.

The Iraqi people will never again accept humiliation. They will resist any attempt to bring the Baathists back to power and have no problem confronting the Americans with their bodies alone.

The Iraqi people strongly reject any attempt or plots coming from behind the scenes, and even if America cowers to Arab pressure, the Iraqi people want to live without any foreign interference.

The Iraqi people will endure and adapt to the absence of public services, but will never accept a return to dictatorship.

In order to ensure his political survival, President Bush is having second thoughts about his diagnosis of terrorism and terrorists, but we refuse to accept any policy that the U.S. administration tries to apply at the expense of the Iraqi people.

The common perception among political analysts is that most of the terrorist operations in Iraq are caused by the Americans, but are hard pressed to say whether they these operations are sponsored by the Pentagon, the CIA or the state Department. This hardly matters, because the Iraqi cause must go on and remain in the hands of Iraqis. The Iraqi people elected a government and it alone bares responsibility for the nation, and it will not accept foreign interference.

As we have warned before, all the money spent on derailing the political process in Iraq will be in vain, and terrorism will backfire on its enablers. Even if they were backed by the most powerful country in the world, the terrorists will find no place in Iraq.

From time to time there are reports that certain countries that strongly support replacing Iraq’s democratic and elected government, but such a hope will never materialize because Iraqis stand together in support of their government, despite all of the negative aspects, the miseries, the hunger and the lack of services. The Iraqi people don’t live to eat and don’t want a life of luxury at the expense of values and tradition. The Iraqi people reject any commands from anyone and will maintain their resolve in the face of all enemies of democracy. It is true that the Iraqi people are multi-ethnic and hold different views, but they remain united in the face of the true enemy.

The U.S. administration must learn to better understand the Iraqi people, because it remains on Iraqi ground today and cannot rely on its previous justifications for its presence. If before the regime change, these decisions depended on inaccurate reports, today the American administration is well aware of what is happening on the ground. All of this is known and understood by the Iraqi people.

If America wants democracy for the Iraqi people, it should leave the issue to the Iraqi people alone. If America wishes to be fondly remembered by the Iraqi people for saving them from Saddam, then she shouldn’t create dozens more like him or even worse. The Iraqi people harbor no hostility toward any other of the world’s people. Iraqis are a peace-loving people but refuse to be oppressed or be victimized by the hegemonic wars of others. America should be aware of this, since it has had its own historic experiences along these lines.

America should be very well aware that she will reap what she sows, even if some time passes first.