Democracy Dying in Iraq

The facts are so obvious when you actually live in a place. In Iraq, it is becoming more and more obvious to the inhabitants that the war perpetrated by FrankenBush was and is a lie. Of course, for Bush, it is simply a matter of calculating profit and loss, collateral damage, and the spread of freedom. These are all empty phrases that mean nothing except to a man who has no grasp of reality. For those on the ground in Iraq, the lies are what they have to live every day. When they can't get enough gas, water, food, medical care--that is what "freedom" is coming to mean for many Iraqis. At least the American version of "freedom. Is it any wonder that the extremists can exploit this nightmare for their own version of "freedom"? All they have to do is point at what the US hath wrought and say, "Our freedom is real."

For a letter from someone who is living the nightmare of American "freedom," see the following letter from Rajaa Khuzai:

Dreams of democracy in Iraq are dying
By Rajaa Khuzai / Guest Columnist

I am disappointed. Women are going to lose their rights. Resolution 137 (which eliminates Iraqi family laws relative to women's rights and replaces it with Islamic legal doctrine) is coming back. Our civil family law will be canceled. We will go on Sharia law. We will be part of Iran.

I think it is over now. I want the American people to know that our dreams are gone, our work was in vain. There will be no future for our children and our grandchildren in the new Iraq. The future is for the clerics. They will lead the country ... This is not the democracy we dreamed of. This is the dictatorship of the majority!

We thought that we will benefit from the Americans, the new technology, human rights, women's rights. We haven't seen any of these ... It is more than two years.

I thought that once the regime fell, we will live a better life. I dreamed that I will never see children and women dying of poverty and malnutrition (like I have seen under the sanctions). Unfortunately, there now is more than before.

Continue reading this letter