An Iraqi Caught in a Game of Tug of War

Last Friday evening, December 15, 2006, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend a dinner with an Iraqi parliamentarian and other peaceniks in order to discuss the current state of affairs in Iraq. The dinner started out with quick informal greetings, marhaban or “Hello, nice to meet you” and the passing of the business card, in a noisy D.C. hip restaurant. The peaceniks immediately began asking the Iraqi parliamentarian questions about his opinions on the state of affairs in Iraq. In particular, these people wanted to know what he thought of the U.S. administration’s stance on keeping troops in Iraq – and now possibly increasing troop levels by 30,000. It was as if a pack of wolves had set in. I thought about how this Iraqi must have viewed us. Rather uncivilized I would assume as no one took the time to get to know this man’s story.

Because it was so loud in the restaurant not everyone could hear the answers given by the Iraqi official. With each question I leaned in a bit more and strained to listen. He talked about the desperate humanitarian situation, the lack of electricity and clean water. He spoke about the elections that occurred in Iraq – how they were not as fair as publicized here in the U.S. After about an hour in this clamorous environment we all moved into a private room.

With what should have been a more intimate setting, everyone should have had an opportunity to ask relevant questions and listen to the answers. But each question was the same – When are you going to publicly demand that U.S. troops leave Iraq? Sooner than later the questions turned into a lecture about how he must tell the U.S. president to withdraw U.S. troops. Meanwhile one man keep a rolling video camera focused in on the visitor the entire time. The parliamentarian remained calm-- though some of the peaceniks did not-- while he tried to explain his precarious position.

This man must answer to so many different parties: Iraqi citizens, constituents, Sunnis (this man is Sunni), members of his political party, United States citizens, and even to the U.S. president whom he had met with earlier that day. Of these factions, who can this man rely on? With kidnappings rampant and killings everyday occurrences in Iraq this man is stuck in a horrible game of tug of war. He is pulled to the left by the peaceniks overseas calling for an end to this war and by Iraqis who call for the U.S. to withdraw. Meanwhile, the Iraqi parliamentarian is being pulled to the right by Bush and his cronies, as well as by Maliki’s people who say “stay a little longer.”

Like everyone else in the room, I wish the man had looked directly into that camera and stated that the U.S. presence in Iraq complicates the tragic situation and that no military solution exists. I wish he would have stated unequivocally that all U.S. troops should be withdrawn within a specified timeframe. But this Iraqi parliamentarian did not and the game of tug of war will continue into the New Year.

In 2007 President Bush will present Congress with the 2008 budget, one that will include defense spending that surpasses domestic and foreign aid budgets. He will also stress the desperate need to refurbish military equipment that has been damaged in this “war on terror” and thus ask for additional “emergency” supplemental funds that may exceed $100 billion. Ask yourself, will these dollars save lives or just place more lives in danger? It is time to stop the game of tug of war, a game where the rope has been replaced by innocent humans stuck in a war zone.