I'm Just a Dumb Arab

My name is Ahmed and I am nineteen years old.   I was raised and used to live in the village of Bhareem, a short drive east of Baghdad.   I am just a dumb Arab; not dumb because I am not smart, but dumb because I have no education and did not know much about of the world beyond where I used to live.   That has all changed, but I am now getting ahead of my story.

 

Saddam Hussein was President of Iraq when I was growing up.   I knew little of him, but most people in my village thought he was a bad man.   However, one man named Jamel who lived nearby thought he was a good president.   Jamel did not get along with my family or our neighbors.   Most people were afraid of Jamel and thought he was crazy, but my father did not fear him and once had strong words with him.   Because of this, Jamel hated my father and swore he would get even with him.   We avoided Jamel as best we could and went on with our lives.

 

One day the village elders told us that the Americans were coming to destroy Saddam Hussein and take over our country.   At first I did not believe this.   How could this be true?   Americans do not take over other countries and what did they need Iraq for?   Some people said the Americans wanted to avenge Saddam's attack on Kuwait and others thought they wanted to steal our oil.   Either way, I did not care.   I had no use for Saddam Hussein and the oil beneath our feet does nothing to ease the emptiness in my belly or feed the animals I tend in the fields.

 

One day an officer from Saddam's army came into our town to recruit young men to fight against the Americans.   He told us that the Americans were coming soon and would begin their offensive by bombing Baghdad in an air raid called "Shock and Awe".   I asked this officer why the Americans wanted to "shock and awe" the Iraqi people.   He said that by bombing us they hoped we would be afraid so they could have their way with us.   They wanted to take everything we had, rape our women, and turn us into slaves.   I did not believe this man and when I saw my chance, hid in the fields until he left.

 

Three days later, the bombs started falling on Baghdad and I could not believe the news.   Could the Iraqi army officer have been telling the truth?   At this point I was very confused and afraid.   How could the Americans be attacking my country?   Two days after the bombing started, my family learned that my cousin Ishmal and his parents, who lived in Baghdad, were killed by an American bomb.   I loved my cousin and his death turned my confusion into anger.   When the Americans came, I would fight them any way I could.

 

A day or so later, some Iraqi troops came back into our village.   This time they gave guns to the men and told us that we must slow the American advance on Baghdad.   Saddam and his army needed time to prepare their defenses and we would buy them that time.   Despite my feelings about Saddam, I accepted a weapon knowing that as a citizen of Iraq it was my duty to defend my nation and its people despite the hopelessness of the situation I was in.

 

Several of us took up positions outside our village and waited for the Americans to arrive.   We didn't have to wait long.   At first, all we could see was the dust of their vehicles on the road but soon their monstrous machines came into view.   Frightened out of our wits, we began to fire in the direction of the Americans and suddenly there was a tremendous noise.   That is the last thing I remember of the Iraq I knew.

 

When I awoke, my hands were tied behind my back and I had a sack over my head.   I soon realized that I was not alone and I was in a room with several other prisoners.   I lay on the ground for hours on end and was sure that I would soon be killed.   After what seemed like and eternity, two men brought me to my feet and dragged me into an interrogation room.    My hood was removed and I gazed into the face of an American for the first time in my life.   In the course of my interrogation I learned that a man from my village had told them that I was an al-Qaida operative and that the only way I could save myself was to tell them everything I knew.   Apparently, Jamel had finally made good his boast.

 

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