In One Night, Iraqi Turns From Friend to Foe

[ckramer]

Man Who Supported U.S. Occupation Calls Americans 'the Devil'
After Alleged Raid on His House

[quiet.american]

1. Nothing like having something hit home -- literally. n/t

[Pirate Smile]

2. Here is some of the article

"BAGHDAD -- The day after the soldiers came, Imaad ordered his mother to go through her refrigerator and pantry and throw out all the cheese that had been made outside Iraq. He went around and collected any images of Westerners in the house, threw them in a pile and burned them until they were floating bits of ash. He struck his mother repeatedly and forbade her to watch foreign news or movie channels on their new television.

The Americans were "the devil," Imaad ranted.

By all accounts, Imaad, 32, was a typical, mild-mannered college graduate who spoke English well and had quietly supported the U.S. presence in Iraq -- until Jan. 5, the night the soldiers came.

His story about that night, told days later in his small living room, is the story of how the U.S. military made an enemy of one man during a 20-minute encounter."

Losing the War, one person at a time.

[Robbien]

7. Thanks for the excerpt.

Without knowing a little of what the article is about I don't click through and skip the thread altogether.

So, one more Iraqi joins the hundreds of Fallujah citizens who also became, in one encounter, fervent foes of the US.

[Moderator]

3. ckramer, please edit your title

When posting articles, please use the published title of the article as the title of the discussion thread. In this case, it should read:
"In One Night, Iraqi Turns From Friend to Foe".

[ckramer]

4. We wouldn't understand why he's upset

"It was a nightmare," he said. "I will never forget those bad soldiers when they put the Koran among the magazines."

----

Porn and Koran don't mix, man!

[Igel]

5. Yep. I know that if I had porn hidden from my mother

and somebody searched my home and placed the Bible and porn on my bed next to each other, I'd certainly be mad at them. After all, having porn (soft or otherwise) isn't wrong, and hiding it from my ma isn't wrong, and having pretended that I was doing nothing wasn't wrong ... the wrong was committed by the people that outed me.

Esp. if I were a 30-something acting like a 12-year old. I'd be the laughing stock of the block.

And had my honor insulted by being told I "looked poor." A very good lesson in cultural differences. And makes predicting behavior difficult, unless you're on the inside of the culture.

All virtue is public. Makes it really tricky to try to enforce any kind of law in that environment: if you accuse the right person, the clan hates you for outing behavior that lessens their honor; if you accuse the wrong person, that person and his clan hates you, for outing behavior that lessens their honor.

And in typical honor/tribal fashion, the response: let xenophobia reign.

[BUSHOUT]

6. Just another "foreign terrorist" or "Saddam loyalist".

I just wish all the foreign terrorists would pack up their mothers and get out of Iraq so the Iraqi people can have the American democracy they crave. /sarcasm

[qanda]

8. Why did he have to slap his mother?

Good gracious, it sounds like he went off the deep end.

[UL_Approved]

That's what I was thinking

It must have really shaken him up.

:) --> :( --> :grr: --> :nuke:

[ckramer]

9. Could it be an Iraqi custom? Maybe he snapped under pressure

[Poll_Blind]

19. Yeah, that really bugged the shit out of me reading the story.

As the son of a single mother who raised five children single-handedly, I'd like to crack Imaad on the head and slap his ass around a bit- but only for laying a finger on his mom. I'm not suprised that U.S. troops do this sort of thing- how can I begin to tell myself that I should be when most of us know how arrogantly ignorant an American can be- and how more than their share of them wind up in the world's largest trade school- the military.

Winning hearts and minds. Whose, I have yet to find out.

PB

[Wright Patman]

10. Porn is not necessarily evil,

as the U.S. military WELL knows. Look at what is available for sale at any PX. I am sure even the radical fundies have not been able to confiscate the Playboy magazines yet from any military base in America. If I am mistaken, I stand corrected.

I DO think the Arab/Islamic culture has some issues regarding sexual repression that need to be dealt with. I am not saying that our "anything goes" culture is what they need to adopt. The Latin language had a phrase "est modus in rebus." In all things, moderation--or something like that.

The upside of the way our military behaves in other countries is that it'll create enough enemies to keep the MIC going for at least the next several hundred years. Wish I owned stock in the Carlyle Group. Eventually it will be the only profitable corporation left in America.

[genieroze]

11. He beat his mother for what the soldiers did?

"I will never forget those bad soldiers when they put the Koran among the magazines."

:wtf:

[MHalblaub]

12. What about law?

Not to be interpreted sarcastic but I thought the war in Iraq is over according to a legal point of view. Yes, the fighting is still going on.

The question is was it a military action or a police action?

Was a warrant needed?


Except for that the US troops need badly some advice by their British comrades in decent behaviour.

[RockStar]

13. "You look poor," Imaad recalled one of the soldiers saying

"You look poor," Imaad recalled one of the soldiers saying. "Why?"

Imaad answered in English: "I have not been able to find a job, although I'm a graduate of the College of Arts." His heart was pounding, Imaad said. His mother, a chatty widow who adores her son, sat next to him, shaking.


Support our troops...HELL NO they are out of CONTROL.

[Gman]

14. Cha Ching...!

Another terrorist created by arrogant American pigs.

[vixengrl]

15. It sounds like this experience was actually traumatic for him.

Striking his mother, and his comments about the pills being from Israel and Americans--it seems peculiar to me, like his last nerve snapped. But pulling out the skin mags and putting the Koran among them--it's like the soldiers have learned just enough about the culture to push every sensitive button, to cause the most humiliation and hurt. It's one thing to do a job--to question someone (if there's a *good reason* to suspect involvement with some terrorist activity). It's quite another to insult a man in his own home about his own private business and about his religion.

[NYC]

16. More of the event:

...Imaad said they were startled by a loud banging at the door. He went quickly to open it. When he did, Imaad said, there were about a dozen U.S. soldiers standing with their guns pointed at his head.

...Neighbors corroborated parts of Imaad's account. They said the soldiers raided their houses on Jan. 5, telling them that they were responding to an explosion in the area. One man said a soldier angrily punched him and broke his nose. The injury was apparent a week later.

[ECH1969]

17. I feel sorry for him

[Rose Siding]

18. I feel sorry for his mother

Her home was invaded and then her son goes rambo on her.

[Andrushka]

20. The violent son

I think it was more because of her watching foreign TV shows than the other stuff. Totally not necessary from most of our cultural standpoints, I realize. But he must have just snapped and took it out on his mother.

Placing the Quran among porn... I'd be pretty pissed off as well (tho', wouldn't go and then start slapping my old dear about, all the same!)

[teakee]

21. Empathy and dignity........

You see on the news how soldiers try to win Iraqis' hearts while conducting these raids, and how they usually walk away with nothing. How the soldiers hate going to the houses and doing this, (telling the reporter and photographer.) They had gifts for the kids.

What happens when the camera is not around? Why does only the U.S. get to have PTSD? Doesn't everyone have a breaking point? How would you feel if this happened to you, do you have a breaking point?
Oprah had on women that were all 30 years old from around the world including one from Iraq, this woman said she lived in more fear then when Saddam was in power. The electricity doesn't work, the bombs and shooting doesn't stop. For awhile, she tried Valium, real cheap and no doctor's script needed in Iraq. Then, she realized she couldn't live like this either.

Yes, this guy was wrong to hit his mother---he hit his breaking point, good thing he didn't freak on the soldiers or lash out---he would be dead. And for what? Having his home invaded and embarrassed? Living day after day in stress filled conditions, not being able to find work or provide for his family, have basic needs? How awful of this man that the stress finally got to him, wonder how those U.S. soldiers will be treated back home if they break because of PTSD that goes untreated? Will they be given dignity and empathy?