June 14, 2008 at 13:42:56

Ungrateful Iraq

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By Peter Cohen (about the author)

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Ungrateful Iraq

Peter G Cohen

Sometimes it's really hard to understand the Iraqi mentality. They are so resistant to the slightest suggestions and so suspicious of our motives. After all that we've done for them! It's really unforgivable.

Let's try to see it from their point of view. Suppose that China had made war on us in 1991 and killed thousands of our people and destroyed our army. Suppose they then persuaded the U.N. to sanction our nation, while routinely bombing our infrastructure and preventing us from importing things like water filters for 12 years. Wouldn't we be grateful?-

And then, suppose they invaded and occupied our nation, got rid of our government and set up a government of people who would collaborate with them - all at great cost and sacrifice on their part. And under this occupation our nation became so dangerous that four million people, fearing for the lives of their families, were driven from their homes and many became refugees in Canada and Mexico.-

By putting ourselves in their position you can see how grateful we would be. But no! The Iraqis don't even want to sign over their oil to our American corporations at unusually advantageous conditions. And now, the final insult, they don't want us to continue the occupation indefinitely with our troops and contractors living on 58 permanent bases, control of their airspace and immune to Iraqi laws. What is wrong with them?

Perhaps Kipling was right, the East is not only inscrutable, but also really hard to understand.

Peter G Cohen, Santa Barbara

Peter G Cohen

1116 N. Milpas Street

Santa Barbara CA 93103

Tel: 805.884.0704

petergcohen.com

Peter G Cohen, artist and activist, is a veteran of W.W. II, a father and grandfather. For 57 years he painted mostly figurative paintings of people working, warring, psychological studies and, finally, a series on fertilization within the ovum. (more...)

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