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Nonviolence gaining tiny foothold in Iraq Commentary by MICHELE NAAR-OBED Having just returned from my third trip to Iraq, I'd like to offer a perspective that is often lacking in American news media. It's the perspective from the ordinary Iraqi who doesn't live inside the "green zone," from the ones who have watched their country laid waste by dictatorship, violence, bombs, depleted uranium and occupation and the ones whose hopes and dreams held common by most human beings have turned into nightmares. Iraq is a complex country with a wide range of political and religious beliefs. The people are resourceful, intelligent and hospitable. Their cultural roots run as deep as the beginning of civilization. Its people cannot be neatly categorized and their actions cannot be described in black and white terms. We've heard much about the success of the election. There's even talk of vindication of President Bush's heavy-handed policies in the Middle East. While many people voted, there is grave concern over the validity of an election held under occupation. And of course, there was a price to pay for casting those votes. After witnessing that price, I have deep questions regarding the means to the end. The late Archbishop Oscar Romero once said governments should know that "reforms are worth nothing when they come about stained with so much blood." The river of blood runs deep in Iraq, especially in Fallujah and Ramadi. While in Iraq, our delegation heard reports from refugees, human rights workers, sheiks and imams about the November 2004 invasion of Fallujah. We learned of execution-style killing of men handcuffed and blindfolded, of women and children killed while holding white flags and of bodies burned and grossly disfigured. Doctors are convinced chemical weapons or, at the very least, napalm was used. Men between 16 and 50 years were not allowed to leave the city even if they weren't part of the "insurgency." U.N. representatives confirmed these reports and told us they have spent weeks negotiating access into Fallujah to begin investigation and have been denied. While in Iraq, we learned that "Operation River Blitz" was in process. This military operation has the city of Ramadi and its surrounding villages along the Euphrates River under siege. There has been a media blackout about this, but the U.N. representative told us that "spin off" was starting to occur. People were fleeing and starting to give reports. Our soldiers are paying a hefty price. The ones who make it back are coming home severely damaged from carrying out orders they believe are immoral and, in some cases, illegal. As one Marine who was in Fallujah summed it, "You have to be psychotic to kill like we do." Many who refuse to follow orders or try to escape are hunted down and treated like criminals when the real criminals are the ones in the Pentagon who create these policies. On the positive side, we met representatives from grass-roots Iraq-based organizations who believe in the power of nonviolence. Some of them were involved in serious negotiations with the multinational forces that led to the diversion of further violence. It seems there are many from all sides of this conflict, ours included, who are quite skilled in diplomacy as we learned that negotiation and diplomatic solutions have been employed behind closed doors routinely. We met with the fledgling Muslim Peacemaker Teams and Women's Will, both rooted in the teachings of nonviolence. The United Nations, whose work of diplomacy and nation building is often overlooked and underestimated, is slowly regaining the trust of the Iraqi people. It is steadily persevering on a course it hopes will soon disentangle Iraq from foreign occupation. The war and daily violence is taking its toll on everyone. For 10 days I learned what it was like to worry that the vehicle I was in could be blown up. I stiffened when our driver got near a military convoy. Soldiers have been known to shoot at cars that get too close. The possibility of kidnapping was real, and it changed the way we related to people, causing even more stress on the fragile bonds of human friendship. The longer this cycle of violence continues, the more fear, distrust and despair will deepen. This administration has put in a request for another $81 billion to fund the war. I'd like to propose we use that money to train our young people in diplomacy and negotiation and utilize nonviolent means to solving conflict. Worldwide democracy and freedom may actually have a chance despite Mr. Bush's policies. --------------------------------- MICHELE NAAR-OBED of Duluth was a participant on a recent peace delegation to Iraq. She is a member of the Loaves & Fishes Catholic Worker Community in Duluth, MN. _____________________________ Note: This message comes from the peace-justice-news e-mail mailing list of articles and commentaries about peace and social justice issues, activism, etc. If you do not regularly receive mailings from this list or have received this message as a forward from someone else and would like to be added to the list, send a blank e-mail with the subject "subscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or you can visit: http://lists.enabled.com/mailman/listinfo/peace-justice-news Go to that same web address to view the list's archives or to unsubscribe. E-mail accounts that become full, inactive or out of order for more than a few days will be deleted from this list. FAIR USE NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the information in this e-mail is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. 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