My dad’s Israeli. He was born in Baghdad to Iraqi Jews. Then, at age two, his parents wanted to move to their homeland and he grew up in Israel. I’ve been there twice, once as a baby and once when I was 15.
I can imagine that the Iraqis undertake the destruction out of fear. If they had denied it, if they had said no, that certainly would have played into the hands of those that would like to take armed action immediately. I have no illusions in that regard.
Nevertheless, I do know that we are part of a danger zone, we have military operations in Afghanistan and we’re training the Iraqi police force. The terrorists also have us in their sights.
All Iraqis should live under one roof and for one goal.
We’ve killed a million Iraqis since the start of the Gulf war – mostly by blocking humanitarian aid.
The worst days of my life were in Iraq, and the best days were there, too. My fondest memories of the Iraq War are of the people – both Americans and Iraqis – and the opportunity we saw in one another, for our countries, and for which we fought.
I am confident that in the end freedom and democracy will prevail over terror and tyranny. We will win this war on terror – and when we do Americans, the British, Iraqis, and people around the world will be more secure.
We are at war to liberate Iraq, to protect the people of the United States and other countries from the devastating impact of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction being used by terrorists or the Iraqi government to kill thousands of innocent civilians.
If we hold true to our ideals and our commitment to freedom, this generation of servicemen and women will have extended liberty to the Iraqi people, just as previous generations of Americans have all across the globe.
This was a report from a single source. It was an established and reliable line of reporting. It was quoted from a senior Iraqi military officer in a position to know this information.
Nonetheless, Article 5 makes clear that if an Iraqi civilian who is not a member of the armed forces, has engaged in attacks on Coalition forces, the Geneva Convention permits the use of more coercive interrogation approaches to prevent future attacks.
We are ready to sacrifice our souls, our children and our families so as not to give up Iraq. We say this so no one will think that America is capable of breaking the will of the Iraqis with its weapons.
Today, the Iraqi citizen sees that America is coming and wants to occupy his country and kill him, and he is willing to experience for himself what happened in Palestine.
The United States encouraged Iraqis to rise up after Saddam Hussein’s army was driven out of Kuwait. Washington assumed Saddam was weak after losing the 1991 Gulf War. Iraqis rose up, but Saddam’s troops killed thousands – Iraqis say tens of thousands – in a counter-offensive.
Similarly, establishing a firm timeline for bringing our troops home could accelerate the development of Iraqi security forces and deepen their commitment to defending their own country and their own government.
We must provide all kinds of freedom, personal and economic, to all Iraqis. I will fight for that.
