Iraq citizens deem U.S. soldier as sheik

[ECH1969]

Horn, 25, a native of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., acknowledges he had little interest in the region before coming here. But a local sheik friendly to U.S. forces, Dr. Mohammed Ismail Ahmed, explained the inner workings of rural Iraqi society on one of Horn's first Humvee patrols.

Horn says he was intrigued, and started making a point of stopping by all the villages, all but one dominated by Sunni Arabs, to talk to people about their life and security problems.

Moreover, he pressed for development projects in the area: he now boasts that he helped funnel $136,000 worth of aid into the area. Part of that paid for delivery of clean water to 30 villages during the broiling summer months.

Some sheiks later gave him five sheep and a postage stamp of land, fulfilling some of the requirements for sheikdom. Others encouraged him to start looking for a second wife, which Horn's spouse back in Florida immediately vetoed.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf?/base/international-25/1122826992255580.xml&storylist=international

[theophilus]

1. Methinks that if we had 10,000 Horns in Iraq that Iraq, and the

world, would be a much better place. This should be our military strategy everywhere. Should we have invaded Iraq? No. Should we offer this kind of diplomacy and aid? Yes. Everywhere. Always. We would win friends and stop creating terrorists. Simply yet seemingly beyond the greedy powerful leading our country to the brink of destruction.

[KeepItReal]

6. Remember Rumsfeld torpedoed State Dept.'s reconstruction plans

He wanted DoD (A.K.A. Halliburton and friends) to do what the State Department had already planned and specialized in. You can see the end result of Rumsfeld's brilliance.

Look into "The Future of Iraq Project".

Better yet, here's a link:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/truth/fighting/turfwars.html

[Javaman]

8. The shame of it all is...

That there are so few Horns among the many Ugly Americans.

Colossal Failure*

[dArKeR]

2. When America attacks China and imprisons its leaders and sets their

citizens "free" and gives them a new constitution and elections... I'll read a story like this. In one day, China's leaders slaughtered more defenseless children than Saddam killed in decades of rule. Who's a threat to America? China or Iraq?

[pretzel4gore]

4. you wouldn't wanna mess with china

the US is peewee league compared to the peoples' republic....they could probably send men to the moon if they had any interest in that. if you compare the brutality of the present regime to the past, they're probably no worse, and it IS their country! (hell, read about british passenger ships going up yangtze river 100 years ago and purposely running down civilian junks, for the entertainment of the passengers; or read about the west using military force to force the chinese to allow the sale of hundred of tons of opium to their citizens, the chinese fought a war over it, and lost)

[NashVegas]

12. "Never Get Involved in a Land War in Asia"

Wise words.

[IndianaGreen]

3. a modern day Lawrence of Arabia

"Ninety percent of the people in my area are shepherds or simple townspeople," said Horn. "They simply want to find a decent job to make enough money to provide food and a stable place for their people to live."

These are the same kind of simple townspeople that elsewhere in Iraq form the heart of the insurgency, which goes to prove that our military might in Iraq is creating more enemies than friends.

I congratulate Sheik Horn, and hope that he returns safely home.

Figures that it took an NCO to figure out something that still eludes officers!

[angryxyouth]

5. If the Brits and US would have kept Lawrence's promise to the Arab people

of self determination, we would not be in this mess today.

[pretzel4gore]

16. didya know lawrence died in a motorcycle accident?

the cops said he swerved away from some boys on bikes, and a car hit him...the car disappeared...later reports left out the car from the story and made it sound like lawrence just going too darn quick (his bike became collector's item, it was undamaged)

[bribri16]

9. Before we invaded, most of them had at least a stable place to live.

Before Desert Storm and sanctions most had a way to make a decent living, education, healthcare, and recreation.

[IndianaGreen]

13. The US has done more harm to the Iraqi people than Saddam ever did

and whatever fate awaits our country for the crimes committed by Bush & Co, one can only tremble to think what became of the citizens of empires past.

[geek tragedy]

7. Clone him! That's a real American hero, folks. eom

[TahitiNut]

10. Article I, Section 9 ...

"No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."

[wli]

11. what about those knighted by the Queen of England?

[TahitiNut]

14. While "holding any Office of Profit or Trust"?

It's not proscribed for everyone.

[BrotherBuzz]

15. What about General Douglas MacArthur

In 1935, President-elect Manuel L. Quezon convinced Chief of Staff of the United States Army General Douglas MacArthur to act as the military adviser to the Commonwealth of the Philippines. MacArthur was given the title "Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government" and tasked with
establishing a system of national defense, for the Philippines, by 1946. For a time, MacArthur would also act as the Field Marshall of the Philippine Army.

http://www.public-domain-content.com/Military_history/Military_History_Philipp.shtml