The other day my platoon took our interpreter with us on a mission.
We had some free time before we went out on the actual mission, so he and I spent a delightful time getting to know each other and about our differing religions and countries.
In the course of our conversation, we agreed that most Iraqis want the multinational forces to stay in
Iraq in order to help them stabilize their fledgling republic. To this he added a comment, the gist of which was, “Besides, I think you would want to fight the insurgents here and get rid of them so that they don’t come to
America and cause the same problems in your country that they are causing in mine.” <>
Inta athke min u liberal Amrikaan, I laughed with him in my halting Arabic.
He was very pleased to discover that I thought him smarter than American liberals.
Unlike American liberals, my interpreter makes a living of actually living here, and he cannot afford to be an appeaser of the insurgents. Such Americans, let alone having never been here to see what it’s like to live in terror, make no empathic effort to comprehend what it must be like to exist in a country where indiscriminate violence can come with lightning speed, unpredictability, and cold finality.
Appeasement is not compromise; a compromise involves reasonable assurance that both sides will give something toward a constructive end. Appeasement is a broken tool in the tool bag of the weak.
<>
An appeaser extends courtesy to someone who--a reasonable person can with 100% confidence predict--will not return the courtesy.
Appeasers have no lasting values, and are they are willing to gamble everyone else’s values that just maybe this time the appeasement will yield reciprocation, even though it never has before. <>
My interpreter is old enough to remember what life was like under Saddam Hussein, and he does not want to suffer ever again under a similar regime, which will be the result if the American liberals have their way.
Like my interpreter, many Iraqis have caught hold of the dream of liberty.
The dream will be achieved only through sacrifice.
For those who work toward achieving the Iraqi dream, compromise is healthy, but appeasement is not an option.
So, dear reader, which are you? Like the American liberal who sits on his sofa and says that we should appease (read: give in to) the insurgency? Or do you support my interpreter and millions of other Iraqis who have seen the dream that is America, and who are willing to sacrifice in order to live a similar dream?
4 comments:
Thank you for sharing actual on-the-ground experience and interaction with real Iraqis.
Thank you for your courage in being there based on personal decision and conscience.
Yours is the most valuable report from Iraq I have seen because of your personal motivation and interactions with people there.
Frank:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings and actual experiences with us. Given the comment about American Liberals, I thought I would share the following humorous email commentary about the origin of liberals (even though neither of us drinks beer)
The History of Beer, Politics, & Other Important Things
The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundations of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for splitting humanity into two distinct subgroups:
Liberals and Conservatives.
Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so our early human ancestors just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.
Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to BBQ at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as "The Conservative Movement". Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the Conservatives by showing up for the nightly BBQ's and doing the sewing, weaving, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of "The Liberal Movement." Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as 'girleymen'.
Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the trade union, class action lawsuits, the invention of group therapy & group hugs and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that Conservatives provided.
Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.
Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, hair dressers, Hollywood dreamers and group therapists are liberals.
Liberals invented baseball's designated hitter rule because it wasn't "fair" to make the pitcher bat.
Conservatives drink domestic beer and eat red meat & potatoes. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, soldiers, self employed, athletes & generally anyone who works productively outside government. Conservatives who own companies hire other Conservatives who want to work for a living.
Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to "govern" the producers and decide what to do with the production. They also like to take money away from successful people and give it to the failures. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when Conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get MORE for NOTHING.
Thus ends today's lesson in world history.
Tomorrow we will discuss the origins of the evolution of whining.
I think someone got butt raped by a liberal and they are a little hurt about it.
Ask your interpreter what "arribee teezuk" is, because that would be you!
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