A letter from my friend, an Iraqi journalist in Baghdad now, please read

[nodehopper]

I am putting it here in its entirity because there is a pre-election media blackout about Iraq right now and while people are understandably focused on only one thing today, this should remind us why we are trying to get that monster out of the White House.

Hi V______, Great hearing from you. I hope you are enjoying Ecuador. It must be great to be away from the United States of Paranoia!
As for myself, as you know I am back in Baghdad. i Arrived about 10
days ago. Things are intense. Daily bombings and attacks. People are afraid.
Tension is rising.
I visited a church yesterday that was bombed about two weeks ago. An old Palestinian man looked at the destruction crying:" Tell Bush that this is all his fault."
It does not matter whther you are Christian or Muslim in Iraq, you are
still against the occupation and the Bush regime.
I seem to be one of the few Western journalist who leaves the
hotel at this point. The fear of something happening is increasing. Esp. after the bombing of the the Al-Arabiya office in Baghdad two days ago. Many Iraqi journalist have been killed, not to mention the estimated 200000 Iraqi civilians killed.
If you ask me and the Iraqis, we all say in one voice it was not
worth it. If anybody in the States thinks that it was worth it or as an American woman said on talkshow shown on BBC two days ago : " The Iraqis should thank Bush."
Our question is for what? For 200000 civilians dead. Women being afraid of leaving their houses. Parents afraid of sending their kids to school. People of being afraid of being outside after dark. Haliburton and other US companies robbing Iraq. Hospitals lacking resources. US soldiers destroying Iraqi homes, looking for Al-Qaida that was not in Iraq before...
Tell the people in the US who tell us that we should thank Bush that they should come here and look for themselves and to receive our gratitude.
Take care, Urban

If you want to look at my pix or see what I am upto, go to:
www.urbanhamid.com

[Columbia]

1. Wow, that death toll sure goes up quick

A month ago it was 10,000. A week ago it was 100,000. Now, it is up to 200,000.

[nodehopper]

3. well, the US press always downplays it.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

5. No one really knows

Since there is no "official" source monitoring civilian casualties.

[nodehopper]

7. no, but there are "unofficial" sources on the ground in Iraq

At this point I trust "unofficial" sources more than "official" ones. And I trust my friend.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

9. I agree with your friend

That the figures are probably MUCH higher than the media has been reporting. Especially considering that U.S. sources have a vested interest to downplay numbers -- don't want to lose what little access they have.

[nodehopper]

10. totally

it's also like with the reportage of soldier deaths, they don't report the ones who die later from wounds after being transported to Germany. Just like the Iraqi statistics don't include the people who expire in hunger and despair in the ruins of their destroyed houses.

[molly]

2. I tried to sign his guest book and this popped up - twice

http://kelly.here.ws/

you may want to tell him!

[nodehopper]

4. gah, it did that yesterday too

Thanks I will!

[leftchick]

6. thank you for sharing this nodehopper ...

The American people don't want to know how bad Iraq is and that our soldiers are dying for nothing except war profits. You wait, once John Kerry is in the WH it will be bad news from iraq 24/7.

[nodehopper]

8. once John Kerry is in the WH it will be bad news from iraq 24/7.

yep. I agree.