Your Father Is Not a Victim, Mr. Aziz!

As I was checking the latest tweets on Iraq on my iPhone this morning, I came across a BBC World tweet that read “Tariq Aziz is a victim, says his son http://bbc.in/9uCfME.” I shook my head in disbelief as I read what the son said. I retweeted and commented, “No, he isn't, said the Iraqi people!”

A few hours ago I listened to a recorded interview with him again, repeating his same statement on BBC’s Radio Live5, as I was waiting for the presenter to introduce me to the audience to comment on this topic.

He added that his father was not involved in criminal acts against Iraqis. He admitted that his father was in the government and that he was “serving his country,” and here where this statement set me off.


‘Up All Night’ program presenter Rhod Sharp knew what to ask me, and I expected it. As an Iraqi, do I agree?!

No, I don’t! I think Aziz was part of the tyrannical machine that held a strong grip on Iraq for three decades. He was one of the closest people to Iraq’s infamous tyrant for a long time, and was a loyal Baathist until the very end of the former regime in 2003.

Serving his country? He must be kidding me! A lot of Iraqis were tortured, killed, abused and exiled under his watch. He was not serving his country; he was serving Saddam and the Baath party that terrorized and destroyed Iraqis. He knew very well that he was a member of an abusive regime.

To my surprise, the Vatican urged Iraqi authorities not to carry out the death sentence against Aziz. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, told the AP that the Vatican usually would pursue any possible humanitarian intervention to halt an execution via diplomatic channels.

Hmm... I wonder why the Vatican didn’t intervene when the Saddam regime, to which Aziz belonged, executed Iraqis in every possible inhumane way. At least he was tried with dignity and put on trial unlike many under Saddam who were hanged, shot to death, put in burning acids and thrown in the human grinder that fed the fish in the Tigris River with fresh ground human meat.

But now the question is will his execution make a difference in the new Iraq? No it won’t. It’s a still a mess and a big mess. Will it bring Iraqis together? No it won’t. Will it divide them? They’re already divided. The only outcome I see is maybe the closure that those who were victimized by him will finally have.

Some say he’s an old, dying man! Yes, but justice is justice. It should not be based on emotions; it should be based on facts. Others say he was educated and well-spoken. I say, Saddam was educated and well-spoken too. Does that mean he should have not brought him to justice? And many say those in power in the new Iraq are worse. I totally agree, but does it mean we should not bring the former criminals to justice?

So yes, Mr. Ziad Aziz, your father was not a victim and you grew up watching your own people suffering by a tyrannical government with which your father worked! But I can’t blame you for defending him. He was your father after all.

WikiLeaks Iraq War Logs Are Out. Nothing New! Now What?

We all knew it. We all experienced it. We all weren’t surprised by it. And by ‘We’ I mean Iraqis who went through the successive years of mayhem since the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. 

The information in the 391,832 U.S. military documents that were released yesterday by the Whistle-blower website WikiLeaks did not come as a surprise to me. You shouldn’t be surprised either. Iraqis have been talking about this over and over for years on blogs, newspapers, TV and radio stations and through human rights organizations.

The Iraqi people have been frequently complaining since ever about torture conducted by the Iraqi police. They have said it nonstop that the foreign security contractors have been killing civilians haphazardly, and sometimes for no reason. Shiite militias controlled the streets of many cities in Iraq and appeared to be well trained by Iran to kill and torture.

Many thought we were exaggerating or saying things that are not supported by facts, but now our words are finally backed up by evidence! I’m happy these WikiLeaks documents finally came out. However the questions remains: Now What?!


The U.S. government apparently knew all about the killings of innocent Iraqis, Iran’s training of Shiite militias and Iraqi security forces’ abuse and rape of teenagers in prisons. Nevertheless, they decided not to take actions, not to intervene!

So what will the United States do in response to the that? Apologize to Iraqis? I don’t think so. Even if they do, will this bring back the lives of the thousands of civilians killed in the war? It won’t. Will it make Iraq safer? It won’t either. Will it change the current miserable political situation there? Not at all.

As an Iraqi, I don’t need an apology. I need justice. I need to see those who committed crimes against my fellow Iraqis get what they deserve. As for the Iraqi torturers, I don’t see them being brought to justice anytime soon, simply because they are under the same sectarian government that let this happen under their watch. We need a new government. We need new people to run the country and make this happen. Iraqis made their choice in last March elections, but the sectarian powers are refusing to give it to the moderates who were elected. Until this happens, I don’t think justice will ever be achieved in Iraq.

Demodictatoriyah: New Online Cartoon Criticizes Maliki's Clinging to Power

A new online satirical cartoon,  depicting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and his competitor Ayad Allawi arguing about who rules Iraq as a Prime Minister has emerged on the Web recently.

The cartoon, entitled “Demodictatoriyah,” is made by a recently-launched Facebook group, called “Only for Iraqis.” It is posted on the group’s YouTube channel which has more than 100 subscribers already since its launch on October 11.

The cartoon is the latest criticism on how Iraqi politicians failed to establish the new Iraqi government since the parliamentary elections held more than seven months ago.


The slate led by Maliki trailed one led by a former interim leader, Allawi, by 89 seats to 91. In the seven months that followed, neither side was able to pull together a coalition that would allow them to create a new government. But on Oct. 1, Maliki struck a deal with a Shiite faction that had previously opposed him, putting him within striking distance of a majority in the new 325-member Parliament. (Read the full New York Times coverage here for more on this election)

This development helped shape the online cartoon which obviously is anti-Maliki. It starts with the Pink Panther famous music, followed by Maliki walking to a stage to recite a poem. In it he, threatens and mocks Allawi while the event is broadcast on TV. In the background, people are heard clapping, while Maliki recites the poem. However, when he finishes a man’s hand pauses a cassette player which apparently was the main source of the cheering and clapping audience.

The cartoon is hilarious. The sarcasm in it is to the point and expresses my views and the views of many Iraqis who did not vote for Maliki’s slate.

Here is the translation of part of Maliki’s poem as heard in the cartoon. It’s the closest I could do but you’ll get the point:

The [Prime Minister] seat is mine
Everybody should go away
If the people object
I swear with my mother’s soul I will exterminate them
The party that does not want us
We don’t want it either
We are about to finish the oil
And I’ll make you [Iraqis] broke
But whoever voted for me
I will give him more than he stole
And those voted for the other man [Allawi]
Let’s see how useful he’ll be to them

Enjoy the cartoon!

Let’s Put Our Emotions Aside and Think Logically

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2010

One of the things I often love to do on my iPad is checking out a photo app, called “TheGuardian Eyewitness.” Today, I came across one of the photos that kind of struck me and encouraged me to share it on my Facebook profile.

The photo was of a group of shirtless, masked Palestinian teenagers being run over by an Israeli car driver in the mostly Arab east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. The kids, as the photo caption states, were throwing stones at Israeli cars.

Sharing the photo on Facebook created some kind of intense debate between me and a good high school friend of mine, who expressed his anger against the Israeli driver who was being attacked by the teenagers.  The comment was very aggressive, demonizing and out of context that forced me to debate it.

Like many Iraqis and Arabs who care about their Palestinian “brothers,” my friend wrote something in which he indirectly implied that the car driver was the terrorist. He mentioned in a sarcastic way that, “Netanyahu also released a statement for killing the militants and promising that Israel would continue pursuing terrorists anytime and anywhere,” ending it with four exclamation marks.

That was not surprising, as unfortunately most Arabs let their emotions control their actions. I used to be that one too. I used to refuse everything against the Palestinians, and I used to let my emotions speak before my brain thinks. But not anymore!

I couldn’t take sitting back and not respond. I knew what his answer would be. I even knew that responding was not going to do any good, but I decided to better try than not.

I looked at the photo over and over and it was very clear who was being attacked. So I said, “The kids were the ones attacking the car drivers. Besides, if I were the driver and got attacked by anyone, I would do whatever I can to get away from them. Since the kids were hit in front of the car, it's possible they threw themselves there to harm the man. This is not even a tank!!!!”

That intensified the heated debate. At the end, my friend accused me of being biased and that I shouldn’t be weak and if I don’t believe in my “Middle Eastern principles” I should suck it up (which I think he meant to ‘shut up’ basically).

But I did not shut up and I did not suck it up. I think it’s about time to say what needs to be said, which I wrote in my replies to him.

I believe in a two-state solution. This would end the suffering and the struggle and let the peoples of Palestine and Israel live in peace. For saying that, I know some people will call me a traitor, ameel (agent), anti-Arab, anti-Palestine… etc.

Not that I need to defend myself, but no, I’m not all of the above! I very much sympathize with the Palestinians. I call for ending their struggle, and I look forward to seeing them having a great nation some day. Saying what is not wanted to be heard should not turn into accusations of loyalty.

Enough is enough. Fighting is not a solution for both sides. They have been doing this for decades. What have they achieved? The Palestinians have been resisting Israel and calling for wiping it off the map. It’s not gonna happen and neither will the disappearance of Palestinians from their lands, which the Israelis are trying to achieve by expanding their settlements.

It’s time to stop and look back. It’s time to look at their situation, at themselves, and think! And it’s time my fellow Arabs sit back and think logically before letting their emotions block the voice of reason that could be the very solution for that crisis.

Hijacking Mesopotamian Heritage

The last time I attended Babylon International Festival was in 2000. Then, it was a celebration of the world’s arts and culture and a revival of a civilization’s history. There performed various Arab, Asian, European, American and African artists, dancing and playing traditional and contemporary music, leaving Iraqis enjoy precious times as they endured the hardships of the Iran-Iraq war and the 12-year international sanctions.

But today, seven years after it was canceled due to the US-led invasion, the festival opened with failure and disastrous atmosphere. No dancing, no singing! Nothing but two badly-performed plays on globalization and hating the United States. The reasons, according to The New York Times, were religion and politics!

The Times reported that the deputy governor of the Babil province, Sadiq al-Muhanna, “declared the ban on music and dance… which he called offensive to Muslims during religious ceremonies for Imam Sadiq.”

This news came in like a lightning strike to me. It is really sad that religion hijacked the entire Iraqi society, whose culture and art battled and survived dictators, wars, barbarians and invasions throughout history.

Iraq was a country where culture and arts met and flourished. It was a country that gave birth to great artists whose imprints were recorded for thousands of years across the globe. But today it’s a country marked by religion and only religion. Instead of reviving our glorious history, the leaders of the new Iraq are forcing that form of submission. They coat Imams’ graves with pure gold; they block streets for weeks in celebration of death or birth anniversaries of those Imams and now they cancel the entire basis of the Mesopotamian civilization: appreciation of art and culture.

We have become worse than the most conservative countries in the Middle East. Even in Saudi Arabia, where men and women are flogged if found mingling with each other, people celebrate their culture by dancing and performing in national festivals, and they don’t even have Mesopotamian heritage to revive.

My heart breaks for Iraq. It makes me gravely sad to see how religion has become the winner in the former secular country that I remember.

I dream of going back. Every day. But the Mullahs hijacked my country and turned it into a bigger mosque, where people cannot do anything but pray to deaf ears. I’m afraid the dream is shattering. I’m collecting the pieces but not sure how long this will last.