Sobering views of the future of Iraq, from an Iraqi…
MJT: If you could give advice to the American government, if you could talk to 500 foreign policy professionals, what would you say to them?
Sayid: They should finish what they started. George W. Bush did a good job. I hope President Obama will be honest with the Iraqi people and continue the work. I know the economy is tired from the heavy cost of this war. I know it. I know the American people have suffered, that many American people have lost their jobs. I see it on the TV. I know. I’m watching. But nothing is free. I hope President Obama will continue.
MJT: How long do you think it will take?
Sayid: In my opinion, you’re about a quarter of the way finished. Maybe a third. They say the hardest step in the race is the first. Continuing the race is okay. That’s my advice to President Obama. If he quits, many bad things will happen.
Read the whole thing. It’s fantastic, and sobering.
That’s kind of a selective quote, I think. Since “Sayid” spends most of his interview saying that most Iraqis are shallow opportunists who hate Americans; that most Iraqis think only of themselves and their own stomachs; that many Iraqis had no problem with Saddam Hussein’s regime, etc.
The picture I get from this interview is of a society that is hopelessly divided, where there is no general sense of civic/national responsibility, and where everyone is basically out for themselves, and they will support whoever happens to be giving them money.
How could this possibly be a problem that the US military is supposed to solve? This speaks to the folly of ever invading Iraq in the first place.
The truly sobering comment in the interview is that 60% of Iraqis supported Al Qaeda, until the Coalition started giving them money instead. This tells me there is no loyalty to win in the first place.
Time to leave and let them sort their own problems out. It’s simply not worth the death of another single American.