To River:

That you don’t hate Americans, hate military presence, and occupation is a perspective that seems reasonable. That you are willing to tell us how you feel is amazing and appreciated. I can’t speak for everyone, but I appreciate it. Whether or not I agree with you doesn’t matter. I am not you, you are not me, I’m not living in your situation and my purpose is not to criticize, but to try to understand what is happening, what has happened, and how it will impact what will happen.

I’m an American, you are an Iraqi. There may be some things upon which we could agree, and may be some things about which we will not agree. I’ve been interested in the events in Iraq for years. I’m curious about much, have questions about much, and while there was little information before, there is more information now. So, I’ve been reading all the Iraqi Blogs I can find, and the Iraqi newspapers on the web, listening to as much of the news as I can, and following the press reports.

There is a lot of confusion in trying to understand both sides. When horrible things happen, there is anger. You write very well, and express yourself very well. You have more command of the English language than many born into English-only speaking families. It was a surprise that English was taught in the schools. I was taught Spanish and Latin. Well, I never had a chance to converse with Spanish-speaking people on a regular basis and Latin was only useful in deciphering prescriptions, and sometimes, word derivation.

I thought that Fulujah incident was rumor, but I’ll check on that to find out more information. The troops don’t usually shoot unless there is a gun somewhere, or they think there is a serious threat. Rocks are awful, but they don’t usually kill someone unless there’s an RPG or weapon. I’m not saying it isn’t true, only that I don’t know but will try to find out more information.

It’s awful for everyone. Anxiety is in the air. It’s not only in Iraq, but in America. People get angry and shout. To call you “naïve and spoiled” is incredible because no one knows you and you can’t get everything into a blog message. Well, I am certainly not here to say any of those things. If you’d like to discuss war and politics and life and futures, it’s good. You can say what you feel and I can say what I feel, and as far as I’m concerned, honesty is the policy. Truth and looking for truth in this horrible situation is important.

America isn’t perfect; Iraq isn’t perfect; and with some work we will all improve---but we’ll never be perfect.

MORE U.N. BOMBING INFORMATION
In the U.N. bombing, the rumor of the concrete truck is not true. Apparently, no one could be found to corroborate the information of the concrete truck. Instead, the media is saying that it was a Russian-made, flat bed truck loaded with explosives. This makes sense. A flat bed truck seems more likely to direct an explosion upward into the U.N. building.

The Net has enough destructive information on it, which helps the creeps. I don't feel that the above information tells them anything that they didn't already know. It looks like the bomb materials all came from Saddam Hussein's arsenal. Not known how this was determined. The unofficial total has risen to 24.

The bombing of the U.N. Headquarters, in the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, is despicable. A sad, sad event, for the U.N., for the U.S., and for the Iraqi people, it is a disgusting example of how far the creeps will go. The U.N. people were trying to help, Iraqi people were there trying to give and receive help. I’ve heard there are 20 dead, 100 injured—killed by what appears to be a homicide bomber in a concrete truck.

Sergio De Mello ( 55 years old, a wife and two children) survived the initial blast, but died later.

A U.N. spokesman said that the U.N. did not wish barbed wire, and a visible presence, because it would intimidate the people. Kofi Anan (U.N. Sec. Gen.) said that he didn’t know who would have done that. A rumor is that the U.N. was in the process of requesting more protection, but too late. Another rumor is that the truck was from Syria.
We don’t know. . . .we just don’t know.

The FBI and the Iraqi Police are working to find out more. There was a body and they are trying to determine that the body was in the bomb vehicle. They want to be sure that this was a homicide bombing and not someone who delivered the bomb and escaped. Homicide bombing is not a typical method for the regime, but the bomb materials were reportedly similar to those in possession of the regime.

Sincere condolences to the families of all of the people who were killed, and hopes for the full recovery of those who were injured.

Tues. Aug 19, Max
$400 BILLION
If it is going to cost us $400 Billion to get the infrastructure ready and help to form a government which has the best hope to function (with a means to protect yourselves from being taken over by a group or country,) could you kindly work with us? That is a lot of money. That is more money than anybody mentions (talks about,) even thinks about over here.

Mon. Aug 18, Max
PUNCTURE the POLITICAL FOOTBALL
If ever there were a time to put politics “as usual” onto the back-burner, this is it. When you “fry” each other on the front-burners, you are really frying US---the U.S., “We, the People.” Carping about a war in progress seems un-American. . . . and the carping is still going on.

There is a slight change. Some of the people who were anti-war are beginning to discuss measures to correct problems and discussing the events, rather than screaming about the war. There will be some people who will yell about the cost of this for years. Estimates, so far, are around $400 Billion.