From Sadr city with "Love"...


I did not feel like blogging tonight but was somehow compelled.

As usual, I can't sleep. How I wish I can run away from it all...

Some of you who follow my blog on a regular basis, know of Kamel's story.
I mentioned in my post "Fresh from the Iraqi oven", that Kamel is held in an American prison supervised and guarded by sectarian shia militias, on charges of "insurgency".

I also mentioned that they demanded extortion money in exchange for his release and their signing a piece of paper saying he is not an insurgent- which is the truth.

We finally managed to collect the requested sum of 2 Million Dinars. The money was paid and we got double crossed. They took the money and did not release Kamel. Only God knows what is happening to him right now.

Money is not the only thing they extort from us. Sex read rape is another.

I read a story today on IRIN and am reprinting in its entirety.

Such kind of story is not uncommon at all. You hear them daily...in free Baghdad.
So here it is.

BAGHDAD, Mother of three Um Muhammad al-Daraj, 35, recently went through a traumatic ordeal to try to save her husband’s life.

She told IRIN her husband was kidnapped by militants who had accused him of supporting the insurgents. After two days without news of her husband, Ahmed, two people came to her home and ordered her to follow them to meet her husband, who was reportedly being interrogated.

“I didn’t think twice and left my children with my neighbour. I was desperate for any news of Ahmed and they drove me to a distant neighbourhood where my husband was supposedly being held.

“After half an hour’s drive we reached [predominantly Shia] Sadr City and my legs were trembling because I know how dangerous the area is and the guys with me didn’t speak a word.

“They asked me to enter a disgusting-looking house and told me to wait. A rude man came into the room and bluntly told me that I had two choices: have sex with him and get my husband released or return to my home and never see Ahmed again.

“I was shocked and started to cry. I fell to the ground trying to kiss his feet and begged him to release my husband and not to treat me badly.

“The man told me that he would be back in 15 minutes and by that time would want to know my decision. In those minutes I hated my beauty and myself. I know that if I had been an ugly woman this wouldn’t have happened to me, but the life of my husband was in my hands.

“After 15 minutes - I was crying the whole time - the man came back and repeated the question and I didn’t have any option than to accept, in order to save Ahmed’s life, even knowing that after that they might kill us both.

“I had to forget my honour to save my husband’s life. It was the most terrible 20 minutes of my life. I just felt pain and wanted to vomit all the time. In the beginning I tried to refuse but was hit in the face and had to cry in silence, while asking God’s forgiveness.

“After that he told me to put my clothes on and the same two men drove me home, with tears streaming down my cheeks. I couldn’t look at my children because I felt dirty. I didn’t even know if my husband was going to return.

“Later that evening Ahmed appeared on the doorstep with signs of having been hit in the face, and when I went to kiss him he told me that I was dirty and that he was going to divorce me as he had been forced to watch the whole scene and preferred to be killed than see his wife sleeping with another man, even if it was to save his life.

“Two days later he left home and went to his parents’ house and said that soon I would get the divorce papers. Even now I cannot believe that losing my honour to save his life was taken by him as a betrayal.

“Now I’m alone, without a job or husband, with three children to look after. Sometimes death is the best way to end suffering.”


I have covered several instances where sunni women are raped, mutilated in their genitalia, then murdered and dumped in some street.

The culprits are always the same. The sectarian militias and the sadrists in particular - renowned for their sadism and their sexual perversions.

So the above story does not surprise me. As I said, you hear stories like that daily. I am glad it made it to your screens.

I am glad it made it to your screens because whatever we say is taken with so much doubt, I wonder what is it exactly you need to see or have to believe?

Well to hell with what you believe or do not believe.

It is torturous enough to learn about what your brave boys did in Abu Ghraib and Mahmoudiah amongst other places...From sodomy, to rape, to burning, to pissing...and whatever other perversions your brave boys are bred on...

It is humiliating and painful to learn that Iraqi women are forced into prostitution to feed their families...

It is ugly enough to learn that Iraqi women are increasingly suffering from poverty, disease, violence, grief and sexism...

But to keep hearing stories about your "own kind" doing that to you is too much for anyone to stomach.

Sunni women have become easy targets for both the occupation forces and the sectarian shia militias.

The formers vent their sadism, spite, racism and hatred of Arabs and Muslims on their female victims with the aim of debasing, humiliating them...till their ultimate death.

And the latter vent their rancor, hatred, sectarianism, violence, sadism, spite, vengeance, vindictiveness, envy and their inferiority complex...on their victims till their total destruction.

The sectarian shia militias are the enemy number.1 along with the American occupying forces. Their brutality emanates from a sick mind and a sick soul. These psychopaths are a public danger.
But guess what ? Your equally psychopathic government has put them in place to rule what once was a great nation.

They are put in place to debase, humiliate, rape, torture, murder the essence of Iraq i.e her Women.

The West's hatred and the East's hatred for women have been combined and poured over and into Iraqi women and in particular sunni Iraqi women.

Mind you shia women who are considered too Arab Iraqi for the militias taste are also the target for scorn and exclusion.

I sent this story to my lifelong friend Zaynab ,a shia.
Zaynab is a Phd holder and a brilliant woman. She is one of those thousands who benefited from the former educational system and was given a grant to undertake her postgraduate studies abroad.
Zaynab was laid off her job not long ago. Her boss who is also a member of a sectarian militia told her she was too Arab for his taste. The fact that she is more educated than him thanks to the former government, did not go well with him either.
Zaynab was constantly harassed until she was made to hand in her resignation. Now, Zaynab feels like a pariah within her own circle.

Her reply to this story was : " ...By Allah, Layla, if the Imams Ali, Hassan and Al Hussein were alive today, they will burn this Sadr city and raze it to the ground...These people have nothing to do with Islam or shi'ism. They are "huthala'a."

Now, "huthala'a" is difficult to translate. It means lowest of the low. Synonyms would be vermin, scum, filth, garbage, trash...words along these lines.

I agree with Zaynab. And I add that anyone who supports or backs them ideologically or otherwise is even worse than them.

Having these "people?" called the "new" Iraq is an insult. An insult to every single decent Iraqi men and women - whatever their creed.

Sometimes I am so disgusted with it all, I feel like throwing up non stop...

I secretly wish that someone would invent me a new nationality, a nationality that does not exist and is specially tailored for people like myself who no longer recognize, accept, or stomach what has become of this country.

Sometimes my disgust is so great that I have this persistent fantasy assailing my mind, the fantasy of vomiting it all...

Vomiting it all over the government, the ministries, the militias, the Green Zone, the peshmergas, the politicians, the prisons, the torture centers, the American camps and their soldiers...then the fantasy transports me to the Pentagon, the White House...and all the way up to the Statue of Liberty.

Oh yes, vomit my way from Sadr city to New York City. One humongous pool of vomit.
And even then, my disgust will not abate...


Painting : Iraqi artist, Jaber Alwan.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Layla,
I have a request. Can you please use art that shows men suffering, drowning, starving, dying..etc?
I will admit, I'm a bit tired of women being the central sacrifice in the post AND the art. This is the age of political correctness and we wouldn't want men to feel left out. Especially since men are the cause of the worlds violence.

on another note:
This post is more depressing than others. I can't stand stories about women being the sacrifice, yet again!!
I honestly don't know how you deal with all this. How you can take it all in and regurgitate it back to us in a brilliant bath of linguistic art. I can't imagine what would happen if you couldn't write, it seems to be the only outlet you have.
Anonymous said…
keep fighting for iraqi women layla, under saddam they had more freedom than women do in the "land of the free" do- but this is how the americans define their free women; prostitutes, rape material, and sexual objects for exploitation...at least bush and co aren't claiming to "free" iraqi women like they did in poppystan.
Anonymous said…
Dearest Layla, thank you for this heartbreaking blog. Women (and children) are paying the highest price for the destruction of Iraq. The lady in the article did what any woman might have done to save a member of her family, in this case, her husband. It's a little unsettling to learn that the man divorced her following his release - for which SHE paid so high a price.. So now, not only has she been brutalised by sadists (Sadrists?), both physically and psychologically, but she will have to live with the knowledge that her husband rejected her as well. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't... Unless one walks in the same shoes, one has no right to condemn. I just dread to think how this lady will handle the psychological distress of both rape and rejection and raise her children effectively - so the little innocents will also pay a high price.

The combination of America/CoW and Shia militias has caused so much destruction and broken lives in Iraq, it is so difficult for the simple human mind to absorb the horrors and to remain untouched.

Filistini, I have to agree with you about women being sexual objects for exploitation in the 'land of the free'. And this is done with their consent, too.

I'd also like to thank here the contributions on Halabja from Iraqi Democrat and TAI on the previous post - information such as this is crucial, particularly at a time when we are inundated with LIES.
Anonymous said…
I am lost for words. I have always felt that raising a family and keeping a home has always been achieved through the magic touch of a lady. "Even now I cannot believe that losing my honour to save his life was taken by him as a betrayal." Only Um Muhammad al-Daraj knows what losing her honour means. Seems it was this, as opposed to her husband losing his life. This story is sooooo sad. I just wish her husband would, at least, be rational. Now he has abandoned his own children. It is just beyond me to conceive of any man doing this to anyone. And here I refer to both her husband and the rapist. I have read many stories of Iraqi women resorting to prostitution to provide for themselves and their children. I am divorced, and I raised my three children as a single parent and never remarried, as per their wishes; however, I am a man and that was easy for me. I can just TRY to imagine what it is for a lady in Iraq. Despite the fact that one of my two daughters don't speak to me and the other accuses me of every hideous act, (told to her by her mother, and which, if true, happened before she was born), I would not have abandoned my children. I would do it all over again, if I had to. Yet, I tell my children that their mother will always be THEIR mother and they should always see her as such. I cannot imagine what will happen to Um Muhammad al-Daraj and her children. But worse, I cannot imagine what all the children of Iraq are enduring. Children in America get "all kinds" of considerations, from all the governments. I just don't know what they think of the children of Iraq. But then, Iraqi children are the children of people who are "less than the dogs of most Americans." Today, for the first time, on the Internet, I saw pictures of US soldiers raping Iraqi women. How do these people live, after they commit these acts? I don't know what else to write. Perhaps Allah has "its" ways. I can find solace only in my God. Writing these few words took me several hours. I just wish I could help but, I suppose if I do, that will qualify me as an insurgent. I really feel so sad for Um Muhammad al-Daraj and her children. I don't know what is in the minds of people who sexual abuse women (and children.) The "Civilized West" festers on these acts, every white nation and lots of men of all colour. Sick, very very sick. Life goes on.....It's a very very sad world.
Anonymous said…
To Lady:
"I have a request. Can you please use art that shows men suffering, drowning, starving, dying..etc?"
I suspect Layla is conveying the message that women carry the brunt of the suffering in this occupation. I will submit that children also endure much suffering. Almost all the (sad) stories of abuse in Iraq, on IRIN, is of women and children. You may read them here: "More Iraqi voices."
Anonymous said…
filistini said...

keep fighting for iraqi women layla, under saddam they had more freedom than women do in the "land of the free"
Anonymous said…
Hi!
Re divorce after rape: If you can, tell her that this "husband" is a bloody idiot.

Lots of Greetings!
Volker
Anonymous said…
Thanks Layla for another lash to our sleepy beautiful consciences.

And about sleeping beauties... I wonder how "anti-war" policy maker Phyllis Bennis would comment on this new women emancipation exported from the home of the brave and the land of the free into post-Saddam Iraq.
Angel said…
Hi Layla,

Your post is horrifying. This stuff does not go down well in the West, I'm sure they think it's all untrue. That's if they THINK at all.

I posted your WHY? in your name on news.com.au blogs. One on the comments as to WHY? was "all we can do is look after ourselves". I couldn't believe what I was reading. Complete utter apathy.

Mostly the comments are supportive, but there is also a lot of "it is Iraqi killing Iraqi".

Keep fighting, don't ever give in. Our beautiful Iraqi women. So sad, am in tears now..

Keep safe.
Thaqalain said…
Layala
I think your article is biased. It seems that you are Anti-Shia and your article shows a hate toward Shias alone.
You have tried to mix truth & false together and havn't think about what factors leading any individual to commit social crime in Washington Controlled Baghdad.

Do you know neother Maliki nor Mehdi Militia is in-charge of over all security.You havn't mentioned a single terror incident your Salafic brothers are continuously commiting to residents of Baghdad & Baquba.

Your article tried to pose Sunnis as innocent which is not the case. Infact it was your Bathist lord CIA funded lord Saddam & his Washington and Riyadh Sponsors who should be blamed for todays chaos and turmoil in Iraq.

DOWN TO WAHABIS, SALFIS, BATHISTS
LONG LIVE SHIAS AND BRAODMINDED SUNNIS
Thaqalain said…
Moreover it's not Shias but in fact Sunni Pimps (Hafez-e-Quran & others) who are conitnuously supplying Shia and Sunni girls to your American Masters for prostitution inside Green Zone.
Angel said…
thaqalain

This mess lies solely on the head of the USA.

Your location is the green zone. You would be the one to know who is supplying prostitutes there, from experience perhaps?

Of course there are no Shia pimps at all, are there? Because they are such absolute shining examples of manhood.

Layla mentioned Shia women being abused and used as well.

Your viewpoint is very one sided.
Anonymous said…
Thaqalain,

You are right that neither Maliki nor the Mahdi militia are in charge of the overall security; in fact, both are in charge of the overall scientifically planned genocide.

As for the Salafi extremists, let me give you an eye-opener: they happen to be funded, armed and trained by the same un-holy trinity US/Israel/Iran - "divide et impera".

Don't you dare associate the President Martyr and his heroic revolutionary party turned resistance movement with either those mentally retarded Saudi pawns or the criminal CIA ever again.
Layla Anwar said…
Hi Angel,

I think you said it perfectly well. You said "I do not think this will goes down well in the West." . You are right Angel, anything that reflects the TRUE horrors of their actions, will not go down well in the West.
Be well.
Layla Anwar said…
Thaqualain,

Thank you for your contribution. It was a "real eye opener".
I checked your blog. You have some
"interesting info". I hope you are enjoying the green zone and the planned murder of Iraqis.
I can already tell you in advance, you are not an Iraqi. You are a shia pakistani or iranian. Of that I am 100% sure.

Now I found it interesting that you know exactly who is pimping for who - mind you being yourself in the Green Zone you must have first hand knowledge - or so it seems. Suffice to say, you have confirmed every single thing I said in my post about the SECTARIAN nature of the shias who are currently ruling Baghdad.

The second interesting point...and this is what I love about Words. They are like keys to a person's mind and thoughts.
You said in your grande finale,
"Down with....Long live shia and MODERATE sunnis"...

I find it more than AMUSING, that Olmert and Bush co also say "long live moderate sunnis"...hahahahaha.

Of course your being an expert in politics, would know that moderate sunnis or muslims are :
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan...

So can I safely deduce that moderate sunnis are the same for you as for Olmert and Bush?!

In fact, when you look at it, there is nothing but moderate sunnis around.

The only ones you call extremists are the ones fighting the American occupation. But then you conveniently lump them with the Salafists and the Al Qaeda...

Funny again, because this is EXACTLY what Bush and Olmert do.

Now try prove to me that your darling Iran is anti zionist...I defy you !
Anonymous said…
In regards to post from Layla to Thaqualain...

I love when Layla's fangs come out!
Anonymous said…
" Lady said...

Layla,
I have a request. Can you please use art that shows men suffering, drowning, starving, dying..etc?"

Hi, can you tell us something about the painting at "All Black from the Green Zone" ? What is it about? Who are the figures in it and (not knowing Arabic myself) is the calligraphy at the top Arabic? If so, what does it say? Presumably its theme is related to your piece. Thanks
Thaqalain said…
Layla
Why should I enjoy on your Saudi Sponsored Salafic Suicidal Soldiers terrorism.
Does it matter whether I am Iraqi or not? Do the DNA on Parliament Iraq might lose 50% of it's members on the ground of having persian origin.
Being stick to religion is not sectarianism; there is only one sect in ISLAM which is on the right path ; other 71 factions are not on right path specified by Prophet. This is very important and todays world got to know Wahabi/ Salafi sect sponsored by Saudia; Jordanian Kingdom is actually propagator of terror and Shaitanic activities on this globe.

There is no peace on this globe until the fall of Saud House and White House Adminsttration.
Axis of Evil & Liars are Yahood+Hunood+Saud.
IRAN is the only true ISLAMIC state on this globe.If Persian gulf will stop flowing ; your Arabian sea will become dry the next day.
According to you if Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan are moderates then how worst will be your hardline Sunnis; can you imagine how deep is your extremeism and sectariansim and your hate to SHIAS and IRAN.
Anonymous said…
Instead of begging at his feet, she should have spat right in his face. Better to die with honour than to be grovelling at the feet of some tyrant.
antiZionist said…
Iam really fucking disgusted at puppet Arab servants and their cronies, or the so called the mules of imperialism ,such as the Kuwaitis and Saudi government for giving Iraq on silver platter to the American and the West.
you just can't keep blaming those whores in the green zone and their thugs for what's occurring in Iraq
Anonymous said…
Little deer said,

[Filistini, I have to agree with you about women being sexual objects for exploitation in the 'land of the free'.And this is done with their consent, too. ]

That's right, you dumb fucking cunt. Women here do just what they want.

As opposed to being the sex slave, servant and breeding cow of some stranger chosen by their parents.

Yes, this is the probably the only viable arrangement in your shithole countries where women can't participate in the labor market to the same extent as in the west. But that's no reason to knock our freedoms.
Anonymous said…
Anonymous above, you are ignorant, and your ignorance is showing through your ranting and raving. You have NO clue about 'your shithole countries' - your women are sex slaves to the public, and jump in and out of any bed that is available, at the flick of a finger.

Yes, you are right - in the 'shithole countries' women don't participate in the 'labour market', i.e., the meat market because they have too much respect for themselves.
Layla Anwar said…
Thalaqain,

I wrongly assumed that you have one iota of intelligence which obviously is not the case.
Even from a purely logical standpoint, your argument is fallacious to say the least.
You are propagating the idea that Iran is the only true Islam and all the others are Shaytan- satanic and you have the guts to come and accuse of sectarianism?!

But then that does not surprise me either, sectarians are DUMB by definition. And dumbness leads to BESTIALITY as it is clearly shown in the behavior of your TRUE MUSLIM shia militias...

And yes it does matter that the iraqi govt has persian genes. Iraq is Iraq and historically persia only came at the scene much later.
Get your historical facts right...but then again, I doubt you read history...

By the way you are not even good at propaganda...No wonder Iraq is in the state it is now ...

But by the way you still FAILED to reply to my question.

I defy you to prove to me that Iran is anti zionist and anti imperialist.

The role Iran has played in SUPPORTING the American invasion and occupation of my country belies every single effort and claim you try DESPERATELY to make...
And desperate you are ...because you and your ilk are cornered and when cornered the beast gets more stupid and more violent.

I will not honor you with any more replies.
Angel said…
Little Deer,

I see you have another anonymous Westerner with a foul mouth, who again, does not know what he/she is talking about.

I wonder if he/she knows anything, apart from the propaganda that has filled his/her cotton wool packed space, that is referred to as a brain?

He/she has a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock.
Thaqalain said…
Iran is the only country who has given refuge to 10s of thousands of oppressed Iraqis during Saddam era.
Iran is the only country who on the record has supported Anti-Zionist movements. Iranian clerics are not dumb and coward like your Saudi/Jordanian lords who have shaken hands and doing business with zionists.
The name of Baghdad itself having Persian origin:

Although there is no dispute over its Iranian origin, there have been several rival proposals as to its specific etymology. The most reliable and most widely accepted among these is that the name is a Middle Persian compound of Bhaga "god" + dād "given", translating to "god-given" or "God's gift", whence Modern Persian Baɣdād, Arabic Baġdād. Another leading proposal is that the name comes from Middle Persian Bāgh-dād "The Given Garden".

So I believe you are not following any sect and rather you are an athiest. Do you expect that we will blow all Mosques; Husseyniyahs; shrines to show whitehouse that Iraqis are secular and love democracy of ABC (Apache; Black Hawk and Chinook Helicopters).
All Iraq is Iran and all Iran is all Iraq; we are one; we were one and we will be one and we will never make friendship to your war lords from another continent. If your lords want to surrender to Americans to get booming business out of bloody Baghdad; Burning Basra and Baquaba; you can join them to blow yourself at one of check points in Iraq. But you can't get any success in your nefarious designs to throw Iraq in turmoil.
I can easily judge that you are part of those devils who have made a deal with American forces and now you are enjoying a lavish life in New York's Manhattan.
Iraqis are smart enough and they know who is their real enemy/friend ; they will cotinuously punish those elements who want to work for USraelis.
Iraq can't survive a single moment without Iran's support. Come in Baghdad and try to purchase any single commodity which is not having persian specs.
You can't stand to truth and thats why you failed to reply on time.
remember Heaven is for only one sect ; its not for Bin La`deen sect.
Anonymous said…
Thank you Layla, for another extraordinarily sad post.

I had heard of Muslim men doing this before. I thought perhaps only fundie Shia.

However, this story made me remember something. I was married for about 20 years to a man who once told me that if I was gang raped he COULD NOT touch me again.

I remember being totally shocked. It was as if I had committed the crime! But by then I had four children to take care of, and a farm that needed both of us to work, and I stayed for a long time. Then when I finally was about to leave, he went away and committed suicide.

So westerners reading this and thinking that OUR men wouldn't do that, believe me, some would. And some would have us working like dogs, and others would belt us up, and whatever took their fancy.

So read Layla's story and weep for the mother of three, but do not think that this just happens to Iraqis - or Arabs, or however we word it to say that we are "better" than them. We are NOT!

And I, too, believe genocide is being carried out in Iraq. I am still telling as many people as I can, but the apathy is so hard to break through I could scream.
Anonymous said…
Republican presidential hopeful talks of blowing up Mecca and Medina

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/02/america/NA-POL-US-White-House-2008-Tancredo.php
Anonymous said…
(BAGHDAD, Mother of three Um Muhammad al-Daraj, 35, recently went through a traumatic ordeal to try to save her husband’s life.)

That was hot, Layla. I might write a story based on this. Except that in my version, the wife would be a newly married teen hardbody who has multiple orgasms while being gangbanged by big shi'a thugs. The husband, a voyeur who cums as he watches his wife getting fucked. After being released, they stay together but the wife can't help but contact the thugs again and they invite the husband for another show...

Sound good? It'll be posted on alt.sex.stories.moderated soon.
G.Gar said…
@Thaqalain what are the percentage of Iranian citizens who share your views and extraordinarily enlightening wisedom ?
Anonymous said…
Thaqalain,

Pedar koondeh.

Molla nanato kard.

Kos pareh khar.

Kiram too roohe aval va akharet.
Anonymous said…
Yes, Daphne, you are absolutely right - the abuse of women is carried out in all socieities, irrespective of creed, class or colour. What this poor Iraqi lady went through, just to 'save' her underserving husband, is something anyone of us could have gone through, under the circumstances. One must always remember that the situation in Iraq today is not NORMAL, and such things NEVER happened prior to 2003. Certainly, her actions do not deserve condemnation.

Angel, I agree with you - the cowardly 'anonymous' is just mouthing the propaganda he/she has heard about women in what he/she refers to as 'shithole countries', and has not bothered to find out what the reality is. It may appear to USans that women of the East are subjugated, etc., but, on the whole, women are content because it is all within the cultural context. And WHY should women from the East follow what is being done in the US? One sees nothing but failure in the US 'experiment' - there is a breakdown in almost everything that holds a society together - values, morals, dysfuctional families, breakdown in education, dysfunctional children....the list goes on and on. And so they look for psychologists/therapists to help them look for solutions rather than look within themselves. Whereas in the East, the WOMAN is the pillar in the home and the wider society, whether educated or not.

AND some of the BEST educated and sophisticated women originate from 'the shithole countries' and would put those from US to shame.. And they don't need to sell their honour, dignity or respect to climb the ladder on the labour market that he/she refers to.
Anonymous said…
It's amazing just how far back, the occupation and their friends are wanting to turn the clocks back, on womens rights in Iraq.

What has been written above, sounds more like a scene from the first British occupation of Iraq, where backwardness reigned at the point of the empires gun and the gassing of the Kurds was explained away with teaching a "lesson to these uncivilised tribesman", as stated by Winston Churchill.

For those uncertain of Iraqi independence, womens rights before the occupation were enshrined within state law and women did participate fully within "Iraqi Society", which saw Naziha Dulaimi elected as the first female cabinet minister in the 1950's and women such as Huda Ammash in the 1990's.

The war against Iraqi women, did not start though under the occupation but after the Gulf War in the 1990's, when the United States and United Nations saw the concept of the "Iraqi family" as being like a pack of animals in need of being put down.

The West demonstrated this through the mass genocide of over one million children under the age of five, who lost their lives as a result of embargo related causes.

The crime that was being committed against women and the Iraqi Families, was the malnutrition, unemployment etc, brought about through the collapse of the economy and the lack of government to combat this.

The very fact that the international community, passed laws which made it legitimate for a woman to miscarry her child and be forced to watch without the right of defence, her child to die in hospital, because the "international community" wanted to "contain" Saddam Hussein, is under the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child the ultimate crime.

What is taking place now, is a continuation of that same policy, so if the genocide of one million Iraqi children is "A price worth paying", then what is rape, in the eyes of this evil occupation!
Anonymous said…
Daphne
...I am still telling as many people as I can, but the apathy is so hard to break through I could scream.
The apathy of the West is derived from a conviction of its own infallibility and superiority. The entire culture is not conducive to the accommodation of the "non-west," on equal terms. I assume you are speaking with adults. After being "raised" in a "West culture", they simply seem to be unable and/or incapable of "another" level/mode/way/model of understanding, if I may call it that. A Caucasian lady (State employee) recently told me she just had her Medical benefits reduced. I told her that what The West has visited on the "non-west" world is not unlike that to which they are now subjecting their own "patriots." She referred me to the massive aid they are giving to the "non-west." Well, I can educate her about "the massive aid," but that would be useless. She cannot "overlay" her current "education." Such is the mentality of the west. "When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat.....

Now they are coming for the "patriots" and "us" "non-west" folks cannot penetrate the cranial-barrier to enlighten them (The patriots").
Twenty-odd years of a "western education" has been so effective and total, it cannot be breached. "The animal is dying, not for lack of medication, but for failure of the medication to reach its target." Hence, the cries of Iraq go unheard.
With respect to your husband, I would repeat what I have said to many women, "this is a man's world." My daughters and some of my female students become angry at my expression, but surprisingly, many of my Western educated female students (mostly Caucasian), volunteer to explain to them what I am really saying. Yes, while the West (entirely men) demonizes other cultures, they ought to look into a mirror; the image will not surprise them.
Anonymous said…
Yahood+Hunood+Saud

I can understand Yahood and Saud - but what do the Indians have to do with this whole mess?
Anonymous said…
Anyone who wouldn't stand by their loved ones, whether husband, wife or child, when they have been wrongly assaulted is nothing higher than a piece of shit on the scale of evolution!

daphne consider yourself blessed to be rid of that spineless piss-ant of a husband. (his actions speak volumns).

No-one and I mean no-one, should EVER be treated like shit from family or friends. If they are, it's time to cut them loose and move on. The lowest life forms have better social skills than some people!
Layla Anwar said…
I find it quite interesting that those who commented on Umm Mohammed's case, pointed the finger solely at the husband.
I have not read any comments, showing how shocked you are that rape and mutilation of women is used as a weapon by the sectarian govt- yes the sectarian shia govt.
How come ?
Layla Anwar said…
If I AM FORCED AT GUNPOINT to have to chose between Iranian occupation and American occupation...My first reaction would be none, neither...
But if I am absolutely forced, I would rather be occupied by the Americans alone rather than the Iranians...
Anonymous said…
I have not read any comments, showing how shocked you are that rape and mutilation of women is used as a weapon by the sectarian govt- yes the sectarian shia govt.
How come ?

---

plz excuse their retinence layla....they all go by the chomskian ideal of critisizing their own countries and find it hard to critisize others. theyre alright really

umm mohammed is still a knob 4 what he did....im not 1 for kicking a man when hes down...but he really shud think of others... the world does NOT revolve around him
Anonymous said…
If I AM FORCED AT GUNPOINT to have to chose between Iranian occupation and American occupation...My first reaction would be none, neither...
---

layla if ure at gunpoint u'd be dead by now.....neways i guess the iranians must be pretty bad if u pick those dickhead americans over them
Anonymous said…
ive noticed arabs absolutely DESPISE iranians.....though i was a bit surprised u picked the americans over them layla
Layla Anwar said…
Hi Jr,

Nice to see you again.
Well Jr, it is a hypothetical situation unlikely to happen. You know why? Because both Iran and the USA have cooperated in the occupation of Iraq and in its subsequent division.

Secondly you say I despise Iranians. Now, you are putting words in my mouth. I despise absolutely despise the Iranian meddling in Iraqi affairs. It is actually more than meddling. The south is virtually annexed and Baghdad is under the control of both the Americans and the Iranians.
I also dislike persian chauvinism and sectarianism. both salafist and shia.
Thaqalain said…
Iraqi Democrat nice commnents
Thaqalain said…
Layala this is exactly what Rice and Saudi Kings doing, so go ahead and shake hands with Americans to save your life due to your fear from neighbor Iranians.
But at the end the same Americans will arrest Saudi Kings from sewage manhole sooner or laterlike your favorite SAD-dam.
Layla Anwar said…
Iraqi Democrat,

The rape of Iraqi women has been done at the hands of the Americans and the shia militias.
This latter consider sunni women as non muslims and therefore impure hence "halal" for rape.
After all sectarian shias call Ayesha a whore...so what do you expect them to do to the "descendants of Aysha"..but rape and torture and mutilation.
Political shiism as exported by Iran is one of the most dangerous ideologies. It combines both persian chauvinism and sectarianism...and the combination is deadly.
Anonymous said…
Layla, you said:

"I have not read any comments, showing how shocked you are that rape and mutilation of women is used as a weapon by the sectarian govt- yes the sectarian shia govt.
How come ?"

Because many of us who read your blog are already very aware of wht the Shia "low life" do to the rest of the Iraqis.

That particular brand of Shia is beyond disgust, just as the Kurds working with the Israelis is.

You weren't telling us anything knew when you spoke of the Shia who raped the Iraqi woman. I said it was 'extraordinarily sad', and I meant it.

But I knew that many westerners (not on this blog particularly) would bypass that and go straight to the husband and what he did to his wife, who'd gone through hell to save him.

I just wanted westerners to understand and face the fact that it happens here too, in our oh so enlightened countries... not.
Anonymous said…
Last night I watched a newly released video called something like "The Road to Guantanamo".

It was the story of four Pakistani young men, all of whom lived in England, who were totally innocent (as to me they all are, because 911 was an inside job), but who got caught up in the bombing and war of very early Afghanistan - October 2001. They had actually gone to Pakistan to celebrate the wedding of one of the men, and when war broke out in neighbouring Afghanistan went to look - BIG mistake.

They spent three years of their lives in Guantamano Bay, and the film showed just how despicably they were treated by the soldiers there. In the end they stuck to their story and would not capitulate and say they were "Al Quaeda" or had met bin Laden and were released. Without an apology. Just taken back, blindfolded, to England where they had originated.

The film was pretty graphic, and you are left with no choice but to be horrified by the barbarian tactics of the "zoo-keepers" over there. My son didn't have a clue what he was going to watch, but couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw.

I hope many get to see this film, which may - just may - shock them into seeing the reality of this "war on terror" that is being carried out against Muslims.
Anonymous said…
Jnr, you said:

"plz excuse their retinence layla....they all go by the chomskian ideal of critisizing their own countries and find it hard to critisize others. theyre alright really"

Is it chomskian to see the reality that mankind is the same all over the world?

I've known that for a long time, and I'd never heard of Chompsky.

I've explained why I didn't mention the Shia. I knew that many westerners would be congratulating themselves that that's barbaric and cruel and doesn't happen to us.

All fundamentalism is evil. Probably the most evil IMO is the Jewish Zionist fundamentalism, which has as its creed to DESTROY. They've been doing it for centuries. And to know that the Kurds as well as the US are working with them sickens me.

And I think Layla said the Iranians were too. Yet Iraqis are winning. This is truly amazing against so much utter evil.
Thaqalain said…
Thanks for accepting the truth and reminding me Ayesha's Status. It won't be an insult to Ayesha to call by that title.
I am very happy to know that you know it.
May Allah grant all Wahabis/Salafis coaward mothers like Ayeshas.
Anonymous said…
[This latter consider sunni women as non muslims and therefore impure hence "halal" for rape.]

There is the peaceful religion of Islam for you. It's lawful to rape non-muslim women. The very fact that the muslims have codified such a law speaks volumes.
Angel said…
Layla,

Because there are no words that can describe how abhorrent genital mutilation is. Also, I do not comprehend how anyone could do these sickening things.

No words.
G.Gar said…
"If I AM FORCED AT GUNPOINT to have to chose between Iranian occupation and American occupation...My first reaction would be none, neither...
But if I am absolutely forced, I would rather be occupied by the Americans alone rather than the Iranians"

I fully agree with you. Americans, sooner or later, will leave, and nothing could ever prevent this inevitable outcome, mainly because of the concrete Arab /Muslim structure of Middle-East.

However, the Iranian case is totally different. The factual entity so called Iran is always there. And it has been nothing but a destructive force in the Arab near east for thousands of years.

The geographical proximity makes it possible for Iran to cause demographic and cultural changes in Iraq. Something, Iraqis and Arbs would never accept

Iran is not a neighbour of Iraq it is an enemy. I can never understand why Iranians insist on imoposing their unwelcome presence on the Arab world!

Iraq and Iran are not one. Iraq is semitic/ Arab with well respected minorites that have always lived harmoniously in Iraq (except for Iranains) while Iran is Persian/ Indian/Turkik with a very eccentric culture- that is not middle eastern.

Iranian disposition and mind is fundamentally different from the Arab one. So, it makes more sense if Iran tries to integrate with the Indian east, or else disintegrate that country where the Turks join Azaribejan, Balluches join Pakistan and Ahwas is returned back to Iraq. The remaining part which is supposedly linked to the ancient Persians, though by fictional ties, would turn into a peaceful entity that serves as a unique country where fiction and ancient fairy tales construct the cultural pillars.

That in turn would make Iran a very good material for Disney productions. I'm sure that Iran will be the Mickey mouse of the 21st century animation world

Iranians must live with the fact that Arabs don't like them. We don't have to be enemies, good fence makes a good neighbour, yet I'm sure that reason is not the best way to handle Iranians... Living history has taught us that Iran never bugs off, unless it is struck harshly by Arabs


Thaquryan, having Iranian ancestory or sympaqthy in Iraq is treason.

Layla, the woman is an innocent victim. But still you can't blame the man, that is the way Arab mind is. Had Iraq been left alone, I'm sure we would have witnessed a radical changes in Islam and Arab culture. However thanks to colonialism and fanatic Irnanians that didn't happen
qunfuz said…
Sadly this article generates the kind of hatrd that it claims to oppose. There are mor than a million people living in Sadr city. What's this nonsense about ALL of them being scum, and that the place should be burned to the ground. It's certainly true that shia militias are killing innocnt Sunnis, and it's wrong, but what about the crimes of the takfiris? What about the bombs in shia mosques and market places? What about the past, about the rape rooms built by Saddam? The occupation is a terrible crime, the deliberate dismantling of the iraqi state so that only criminal gangs and militias rule is a crime. And the wahabbi nihilism that the writer ignores is a crime. She should do some vomiting from Fallujah to Saudi Arabia, the hom of wahabism and America and Israel's great friend. The comment above that there are no wahabis in Iraq is absurd, and the poster knows it. In fact, there is now a war between honourable sunnis of al-anbar and the wahabis.And when Layla responds to thaqalain's good points by accusing him of being a Pakistani Shia I sigh. I even feel like vomiting, Layla. You remind me of Mish'an al-Jabouri on the famous jazeera discussion where he screamed 'persian' at the Iraqi journalist who dared to condemn the crims of Saddam Hussein. That's Saddam who was put in power, funded and armed by America, Saddam who murdered hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, who invaded Iran and Kuwait. By the way, I'm Sunni, but Sunni denial of wahabi and Baathist crimes makes me sick. It also makes it impossible for an alliance to be built between sunni and shia in iraq and in the wider muslim world. this alliance is essential to our hoped-for liberty and security. imperialism seeks to divide and rule, and layla falls into the trap.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alan the Red said…
I find it quite interesting that those who commented on Umm Mohammed's case, pointed the finger solely at the husband.

I have not read any comments, showing how shocked you are that rape and mutilation of women is used as a weapon by the sectarian govt- yes the sectarian shia govt.
How come ?

Because they worship the god of the male oligarthy; why else?

I get so annoyed when you start acting like a subbie, but then you invite the subbies to put comments on your blog and drag you down.

Every day you create another picture. Every day you CREATE. This makes you a Goddess, and yet here I see you, once again, begging others to do the creating.

Damn you woman; wake up, stop whining, and do the creating, and stop letting your subbies drag you down into their mindset. The subbies should be made to realise their place; serving you.

And NEVER, EVER, beg to anybody!

Hey, love and kisses. I still can't get over that ten minutes. Not many really creative men around you, are there?

Hey, and go on; delete this comment because I dare to question that incompetent god. Why exactly are humans to blame for his screw-up? I'll certainly never beg to him; he's pathetic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECE1X9VGk_Y

Maitreya
Layla Anwar said…
Qunfunz, a porcupine?

Whatever- I need to ask you two things.
1) since you claim to be a sunni, I would request you to read the comment by your "friend" the Iranian who lives in the GZ and bears the name of Thaqalain.

2) I am also interested to know how much do you cash in for your iranian - american propaganda and do you have good investments. I guess having Iraqi unity destroyed must be a swelling experience for you.

I suggest you look into the mirror and vomit all over yourself whilst you're at it.
Layla Anwar said…
Maitreya, once you are done with the drugs let me know. You are on a permanent head trip.
Layla Anwar said…
anonymous above who accuses Islam of raping non muslim women.
Typical jewish zionist twist.
perverted, idiotic response from someone who combines both stupidity and ignorance.
Layla Anwar said…
Daphne, you assume that everyone knows what the militias do.
How wrong you are...
The anti war movt still supports Muqtada al Sadr and his drill boys militias as the great hero against the occupation.

Please read the link provided by the Cat's dream and his response to Bennis. That will give you a clue or two.
Maysaloon said…
Layla I think your blog and articles are amazing! A real eye opener for me. Thank you.
Alan the Red said…
Layla honey, I don't do any drugs. I'm slightly older than you, and I am somewhat inclined to mock people, but you I feel I have to try to help, if only you would see that.

Let me tell you a little story. About ten years ago I was very ill and went into a newsgroup to get some "help" from my "fellow sufferers", mostly Yankees :-)

I realised something was very wrong with them, apart from the illness, something that I can now best describe as them being "subbies".

They leach onto you and get you to fight their battles for them, as in:

"I have a request. Can you please use art that shows men suffering, drowning, starving, dying..etc?"

But when you try to fight on their behalf, they are weak and have no stomach for a fight; and there comes a time when you find that you are on your own, with your head on the chopping block, and all the scum-sucking subbies have run away and hid; hell they will even turn round and help attack you.

Now yes, there is something wrong with those men; they don't have a clue how to love a woman and make her fly so that she can work magic, but part of the problem is that their mothers helped make them that way.

And Layla, I am on a head trip? I give you the words of Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived:

"My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck."

and on:

"How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity?
and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you,
I will make known my words unto you.

Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel and would none of my reproof:

I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind;
when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Then shall they call upon me,
but I will not answer;
they shall seek me early,
but they shall not find me:
for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

they would none of my counsel:
they despised all my reproof.

Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them."

And I am saying that Eve is not our mother; Lilitu is, my darling Layla, and you had better start living up to your name.

Oh, by the way, most of the Yankees in that newsgroup have since died of their illness, but Moi? I'm doing fine thanks
Anonymous said…
The reason people have focused on the husband is because it's obvious that the rape is a tragedy. The larger tragedy is that her husband, supporter, soul-mate, father of her children, rejected her.
He couldn't get past his pride and see her unselfish act was for his benefit. An entire family unravelled because of one mans pride. That is a tragedy.
Anonymous said…
Amre El-Abyad said...
(Layla, the woman is an innocent victim. But still you can't blame the man, that is the way Arab mind is)


You said it
Anonymous said…
Layla Anwar said...
Daphne, you assume that everyone knows what the militias do.
How wrong you are...
The anti war movt still supports Muqtada al Sadr and his drill boys militias as the great hero against the occupation.

Please read the link provided by the Cat's dream and his response to Bennis. That will give you a clue or two.

5/8/07 6:01 PM

I will read the link Layla, but I don't think I explained myself well. Most reading your blog understand what the militias do. I knew a long time ago from Riverbend and Imad Khadduri - before he started writing a lot in Arabic as he does lately.

This "antiwar group" you speak of includes Chompsky I guess. As I've spoken of him before as a gatekeeper, I think I make my point that he can tell me NOTHING worth listening to. In fact, they probably DO know, but have an agenda which doesn't include making this public.
Anonymous said…
Anonymous said...
The reason people have focused on the husband is because it's obvious that the rape is a tragedy. The larger tragedy is that her husband, supporter, soul-mate, father of her children, rejected her.

What you say is absolutely correct. Horrible though her experience was, if her husband had acknowledged her gift to him, and they had stayed together as a family, she may have been able to pick up the pieces a bit. Now, I have no idea how she's going to go on wanting to live, apart from the fact that her kids need her.

This made the horror she experienced into a real tragedy for this woman.
Anonymous said…
Hello All

What you described is truly hellacious, but don't listen to the idiots claiming the man filing for divorce is somehow bad, evil or even uniquely "Arab" (as the above poster posted). Every time that man takes a breath he knows deep down its because three thugs had his wife and made him watch...every time he looks at her, what do you think is in his head- how great it is to be alive? How wonderful his wife is? Get serious, all he sees is his wife submitting (being raped but depending on when he enters or is forced to watch an interrogator will make it seem like she came willingly to do so in order to secure his release)....In the US an event like that would necessitate tens of thousands of dollars in psych fees, medication and therapy and still wouldnt resolve what happened....so dont get all judgmental/holier than thou on the husbands...What happens when he stares at his wife (which he most likely loves) and feels amorous (he sees the men raping her) every time he feels anything even remotely intimate about her, sees her nude etc what do you think he sees?!?! HE sees those men raping her...That divorce and him leaving the house was absolutely necessary- why- because as a therapist I know what the alternative is (him thinking about the rape each time he sees her, sees how she has changed -i.e. fear, shame from act, and then attempting to "erase" the thought, and this will be done via savage beating....same thing happens in the US with the exception being that in the US the man would get drunk first.) . Your site is powerful and hope you can persevere despite the hell America has brought to your lives...
Anonymous said…
Hi Layla,

you said "The anti war movt still supports Muqtada al Sadr and his drill boys militias as the great hero against the occupation."

How ironic that when countries like the United Kingdom are supposedly on a "high terror allert", that members of Iranian backed death squads are allowed to enter and speak at "public rallies".

So whilst British people cheer Al-Sadrs men, Iraqi's are being killed by them.

I hear, that he may have even applied for "Asylum" after the rally in Britain, alongside a judge who shant be named.

Does anybody want to join a death squad and get a free long time holiday, all expenses paid, to the country of your choice?
Layla Anwar said…
I liked this comment from someone called Mojotrex on ICH in response to this post and the other comments. And here it is.
__________________________________
90% of those cars (VBIEDs)that are directed against civilians indiscrimanatly are manufactured in Northern Iraq (Mosad) and Iran (Italaat) ! Both Israel and Iran have a diffrent strategic aspect from using VBIEDs but they both have a mutual interest in the destruction of Iraq to reach their goals !
The rest 10% of the VBIEDs are directed against the occupier by the ressistance !
5000 VBIEDs in Baghdad alone in a matter of 4 years and the United States government were´nt able to detect the source of one of them...only one....why ? While the car in Scotland had its source followed all the way to Australia in 24 hours !
If you are searching after the truth in Iraq then look in Kurdistan and their ties with Israel ! Look into this strange relationship between Iran, the States and Israel and why is the destruction of Iraq is the mutual key factor to all in order for their plans to work !
Look into Muwafak al Rubaie´s history ( he is the national security director who was apointed by the americans for 5 years unchallenged, while this same individual takes his orders from Iran ) ! Check what Kan3an Makia did in Israel in 2002 along with Ahmad al Chalabi when they returned with their plans to dismantle the iraqi army and security forces in post Saddam Iraq ! Check what Black Water contractors/terrorists are doing in Iraq at night and you will know who is planting car bombs in civilian neighborhoods !
Israel and Iran are doing the planing and the stupid american is doing the dirty work......for a bunch of dollars or some barrels of oil !
mojoetrex | 08.05.07 - 10:51 am | #

-----------------------------------
I really do not need to add more at this stage. Thank you Mojoetrex.
Anonymous said…
Layla, you said:

"5000 VBIEDs in Baghdad alone in a matter of 4 years and the United States government were´nt able to detect the source of one of them...only one....why ? While the car in Scotland had its source followed all the way to Australia in 24 hours!"

The "sources" that followed this "terrorism" to Australia were a bit too smart. There were so many errors that eventually they had to let the poor man go without charges - but won't renew his visa.

Australian politics stinks at the moment. Most Australians now believe, due to the bungled lies about this poor man, that he was innocent.

I just hope they realise one day that the true terrorists are they PM Howard, and our "esteemed" western leaders, obviously doing the will of the Zionists, who throughout history have been bent on the destruction of any nation that stands in their way. (Read Controversy of Zion for a good eye opener on this.

So regarding the above link to Australia, I say RUBBISH. The whole stupid mess was concocted by our leaders, like most of the others, to "terrorise" us more, and make us more susceptible to:

1. Hating Muslims
2. Allowing them to bring in draconian anti-terror laws

What totally disgusts me is that they're winning the overall battle. Which was why it was so refreshing to have this one fought out and eventually dropped.

Maybe people all over need to get a clue or two about what's really going on. We all have our little niches where we know a lot. If we put all that information together, we might start getting to the truth.
Anonymous said…
However, this is indeed truth:

"If you are searching after the truth in Iraq then look in Kurdistan and their ties with Israel! Look into this strange relationship between Iran, the States and Israel and why is the destruction of Iraq is the mutual key factor to all in order for their plans to work!"
Anonymous said…
Daphne O'Brien

Do you realise what you are saying regarding Australia is sedition? You are besmirching a name that has been, up to this point, unsullied? Prime Minister Howard, whilst not a perfect specimen, and not my choice of leader, has to tow the US line, just as most of the world has to follow. Australia is not big enough economically to stand alone. You are obviously living in Australia, yet you denigrate her and her citizens as becoming Muslim haters? Draconian terror laws? I think not. Whilst in perfect sympathy as to why terrorism exists, I would not like to see a 9/11 type of incident in Australia, as is happening in Iraq. Perhaps you would like to move to downtown Baghdad instead, where you can abuse your country as much as you like and quite possibly become one of the victims that are graphically described on this blog? As to the truth Daphne, you know deep down exactly what that is, and you use this forum to disguise it.
Angel said…
Hello Layla,

I was just reading a post by one of your anonymous's. This one is an American therapist.

All through the post, he/she makes the point of 'don't blame the husband', for leaving.

Sorry, Mr/Mrs Therapist, I don't buy that. This is a man who does not love his wife, the Mother of his children. He has treated her like scum, she has sacrificed something sacred in exchange for his life and all he can see is filfth, not the beautiful woman, who has become by now, completely distraught.

How is she going to cope with the burden of what she had to do, her husband's consequent rejection of her, and have her sanity remain intact?

This world is sick Layla, don't think it's just Iraq, because it isn't. Iraq is becoming very prominent, and the world is finally taking notice, and voicing outrage About time too.

I find I now have words for the genital mutilation. I have done a bit of reading, and have come upon some sobering information on the topic.

To all the men, who's minds are warped and twisted like snakes in a vine, I hope God shows no mercy on you, in this life or the next. I hope your deeds are noticed by those that matter, and you are accorded a suitable punishment, like emasculation, or maybe a slow withering disease of your "percieved" manhood. Genitalia does not maketh the man, it's his deeds that will be taken into account on the day of reckoning.
A&Eiraqi said…
Layla
This story is so true and so sad.
I really belive it and I'm sure it happens alot in the "new democratic and free Iraq"! which we've got after the invasion.

It represents how mean nad horrible they're and how oppressed the women in our countries.

Yet, you've shown half of the truth
Shii't women are also suffering the same from sunni insurgents and many suffered before (regardless to their sect from Saddam intelegence system and from Odai).

I also disagree with what your freind (Zainab) said about Al-Thawra which has been named as Al-Sadr city; from such place we got many great Iraqis like the wonderful Shalash, and many football players, doctors ,...etc.
It's quite unfair to say that such place should be burned, except if we accept hearing someone asking to burn places like Falluja, Ramadi and many areas which bring up sunni insurgents.

The first enemy is the Invadors, they came to our country, they raped our people and they allowed militias to be active and they gave power to stupid ones like all the ministers and the members in what is consiered as Parliment.

Iraq is for Iraqis, regardless to their sect, origion or faith.

One question I have; do you think killing Margret Hassan is justified by any mens? Yet, it was done by those who claim being sunnis.

All the insrgents who kill, attack, kidnapp or rape are bad , sector has nothing to do with this apart from deciding the sector of the victim, and whenever they have no one to hurt, they will hurt people from their own sector.

Regards
Anonymous said…
Layla said:
"The sectarian shia militias are the enemy number.1 along with the American occupying forces. Their brutality emanates from a sick mind and a sick soul. These psychopaths are a public danger." Stunning. Apparently there is no consideration that the Sunni husband abandoned not only his wife but also his children over this. Layla says occupying forces have the sick minds and sick souls. I think you would be hard pressed to find an American man who would abandon his family over something like this. If this husband is an example of Sunni men then they are the sickest of the bunch.
Anonymous said…
Hi layla,

I was sent this little bit of interesting information: "On the evening of the 24th I spoke with a local Iraqi official, Colonel Faik, who said the Muftis would order the severance of the two fingers used to hold a cigarette for any Iraqis caught smoking.

"Other reports, from here in Diyala and also in Anbar, allege that smokers are murdered by AQI. Most Iraqis smoke and this particular prohibition appeared to have earned the ire of many locals.

After an American unit cleared an apartment complex on the 23rd, LTC Smiley, the battalion commander, reported that residents didn’t ask for food and water, but cigarettes. In other parts of Baqubah, people have been celebrating the routing of AQI by lighting up and smoking cigarettes."

Would be interested in your thoughts.
Layla Anwar said…
A&E Iraqi,

Hello. Hope you are well.
I have not read any accounts of "insurgents" raping, then mutilating women in their genitals and then dumping them in the streets. I know that "insurgents" mainly al Qaeda blow people up. This I know. But rape and mutilation and extortion, this I have not heard. If you have any info on that then please provide me with it.

As for my friend Zaynab, I relayed what she said. I know Zaynab very well and I am sure she was referring to the militias of Muqtada al Sadr who control ALL of Sadr city and not to the inhabitants of Sadr city. I like to call it al Thawra. And yes you are right, al Thawra produced some remarkable sportsmen, artists, singers...etc...

As for the occupation being the cause - well obviously it is. The dual occupation of American and Iran.
The Americans literally handed Iraq on a silver platter to the Iranians and that is a fact too.
Hence the sectarianism we are witnessing today is a direct product of Iranian intervention.

Now back to Saddam. Saddam this and Saddam that, Uday this and Uday that...I am sorry but this is an old tactic, I can no longer accept. Saddam and Uday are gone and they have been away from the Iraqi scene for over 4 years now.

Moreover,I do not believe that Saddam approved of the rape of women as a political weapon.

And may I remind you that during Saddam's time (whom you seem to dislike) there was no militias and no insurgents. Yet the man is constantly reviled.

Iraq is for ALL Iraqis, just the way it used to be.

Regards
Layla Anwar said…
kuffar kid,

I do not know your origins, but it seems you do not know the mentality of middle eastern men whether they are sunnis, shias, christians or even atheists...

Seems you absolutely want to turn this thing against the sunni man who was not only tortured but was also forcefully made to witness his wife being raped. The fact the he left the family, well what can I say ? Should he have done so or not - I really do not know. I am not a middle eastern man and I do not have the mentality of a man either.
since you are "man" maybe you can tell us, if you were held up in some dump, tortured for 2 days and then forced to witness your partner raped what would you do?

I have enough on my plate as a woman, I really do not wish to engage in this tedious exercise anymore.
Layla Anwar said…
Iraqi Democrat,

Seems am being asked to chose between gang rape or having my fingers cut for smoking.

What can I tell you ID, quit smoking if you ever plan to return to Iraq ! And as for me, I shall wear a chastity belt made of stainless steel and avoid militias infested neighborhoods.
Anonymous said…
You said "One question I have; do you think killing Margret Hassan is justified by any mens? Yet, it was done by those who claim being sunnis."

Seek the information and you may find answers.

Look further into the questions that are still being asked in relation to Margaret Hassan and you may also find suspects.

Look beyond the superficial and there may not be a "Sunni"
issue about it.

The grass is always "green" er on the other side but always read between the lines!
Anonymous said…
Anonymous you said:

"Daphne O'Brien
Do you realise what you are saying regarding Australia is sedition? You are besmirching a name that has been, up to this point, unsullied? Prime Minister Howard, whilst not a perfect specimen, and not my choice of leader, has to tow the US line, just as most of the world has to follow. Australia is not big enough economically to stand alone. You are obviously living in Australia, yet you denigrate her and her citizens as becoming Muslim haters? Draconian terror laws? I think not. Whilst in perfect sympathy as to why terrorism exists, I would not like to see a 9/11 type of incident in Australia, as is happening in Iraq. Perhaps you would like to move to downtown Baghdad instead, where you can abuse your country as much as you like and quite possibly become one of the victims that are graphically described on this blog? As to the truth Daphne, you know deep down exactly what that is, and you use this forum to disguise it.
6/8/07 1:25 PM"

Wake up and smell the roses A. 911 was an inside job, and now a third of Americans believe this. Why don't we? Because Howard has better clamps on real information than anyone I know.

Read "Silencing Dissent..." written by several well known Aussies, about just how good he is at this, and how our democracy is eroding under him.

Then read Andrew Wilkie's "Axis of Deceit". He left Intelligence in March 2003 so he could protest that there were NO WMD in Iraq.

Howard lied about Iraq (and went to war without even consulting parliament), lied about Iraqi children being thrown overboard, had real and complicit knowledge of the sabotage of the SIEV-X in which 352 mostly Iraqi, women and children died, lies more frequently than any Aussie politician I have known, throws more dirt at people who dare to stand up against him than any other politician in Oz, and is generally a despicable man.

Another interesting read, and a book that was promoted on Late Night Live on ABC, was "A Certain Maritime Incident..." by Tony Kevin, Oz Ambassador for Poland and Cambodia in his time. His website is: www.tonykevin.com.

Go learn about this despicable man, who most definitely has to take some of the blame for the tragedy that is Iraq right now - and still lies about our needing to be there to "give the Iraqis democracy and the chance of freedom"!

Howard should NOT have to follow the idiot Bush's every order. He is supposed (ha ha ha) to be PM of a "democracy". You know, by the people, for the people? Yeah right.

I will sully his name all I like, because I have read every book I can find on him and his actions have left me feeling sick with rage and impotence. He is destroying our values and our democracy and lying to us about Iraq, and we can do nothing!!!

So don't tell me what I must do. Go read a few books. You'll find some, at least, at most bookstores. If you want a list, I'll give them to you.
Anonymous said…
Anonymous, go to this site for starters if you want to know about the 353 (not 352) mostly Iraqi women and children died on the SIEV-X in October 2003.
http://www.safecom.org.au/sievx-hutton.htm

When you've disgested all this, then come back and tell me about your version of Howard.
Slave Revolt said…
Your hatred directed at the Shia is better directed at the imperial occupation forces--and their Iraqi enablers.

This type of hate will lead to further destruction--and impede the goal of ridding Iraq of the infidel occupation forces. Just a thought.
Layla Anwar said…
slave revolt,

Is that all what you've retained from this post? Are you able to see anything else but my so called hate and sectarianism.
Or maybe I am nothing but a projection of your own...hence you see it everywhere.
Pathetic, truly pathetic.
Anonymous said…
Layla

People like me in an Asian country still do not know how to effectively contribute in howsoever minor way to mitigate the sufferings of Iraqi people.

THis old poem from Vietnam days is still valid.

If we do not
speak of it others
will surely rewrite
teh script. Each
of the body bags
all of the mass
graves will be
opened and their
contents abracadabraed
into a noble cause.



Layla keep writing so that we can keep talking around till we can do anything better.

Never_say_die
Anonymous said…
Your writing is sectarian rubbish.
Layla Anwar said…
anonymous,

My writing is not rubbish and it is certainly not sectarian rubbish.

What is rubbish though, is your putrefied mind that refuses to acknowledge the sectarian nature of the current Iraqi government and its militias installed by America.

What is rubbish is your ignorance that negates historical and actual facts of political shi'ism, an ideology that has wanted to knock down the Iraqi nation since the early 80's and which America &Co toyed with until our utter destruction.

What is rubbish is your myopic vision of politics through black and white lenses, refusing to see stark facts on the grounds.

What is your rubbish is your repulsive visit to this blog.

But more importantly, what is not rubbish, is that I have managed to touch a raw nerve of truth in you.
Anonymous said…
Daphne O'Brien

Please take your blinkers off and re-read what I actually said.

I said nothing about sullying John Howard's name at all. You can sully his name all you like, and it will not offend me, nor many others, no doubt. It is our country, who's name you are besmirtching.

What I am saying is, you are bringing Australia, as a nation, to the forefront, you are drawing attention, in other words.

Are you telling me terrorism does not exist? Take off your rose coloured glasses. Osama Bin Laden has addressed Australia directly, on two occasions, saying it is not our problem, and to withdraw.

I have been reading this blog for about a year now. Layla knows terrorism exists. She has spoken of Al Q elements in Iraq, deliberately stirring the pot of malcontents, in quite a few of her posts.

I have no need of your books Daphne. They seem to dictate your sentiment, which belittles your country and her people in a reckless manner. You should experience life yourself, not offer opinions gained from sources portrayed in a medium of which there is no policing and no guarantees of truth.

If you dislike Australia and her people so much, tell me this: why are you still here?
Angel said…
Hello Layla,

Your blog seems to touch a lot of raw nerves, as it should do.

How could a topic such as this not effect someone?

Your writing is definitely not rubbish, as you know. You, have a lot of supporters in bloggerland. We love it because you write from the heart, and the topic is sincere.

That is the difference between someone who cares, and is suffering, to annother who is not witnessing first hand, what you are seeing with your own eyes.

Stay safe.
Angel said…
Hi Layla,

I have just watched 'Foreign Correspondent' on TV. Featuring a US platoon, and aided by Baghdadi's being bombed and raided. Not nice, Everyone in tears, soldiers included. One elderly lady could not stand up, she was shaking so much.

The verbal message the platoon of soldiers sent to Bush via this program was: If the president and congress didn't have brains the size of a 2 year old, they would know we should not be here.

It might just be the beginning of the end, for the US.
Layla Anwar said…
Hi Angel, thank you.
My mum said to me the other day, she said if Bush can cause a World War III before he leaves office, he will do it. She added this man is sent to destroy...
I think that however many soldiers complain and cry, they are staying the course, way beyond 2009 if you ask me .
Keep Well
Layla Anwar said…
Never say die hard,

I believe you are the first Asian who posted here. Hi and thank you for visiting and your words of support.
Anonymous said…
A, you make me sick.

You say:
"If you dislike Australia and her people so much, tell me this: why are you still here?"

I happen to love Australia and am devastated at how low we've fallen, especially since the Howard years. I guess you could say I love Oz but don't like it very much at the moment.

Al Quaeda (means the base) is a CIA invention, and bin Laden was a CIA asset. I believe bin Laden is well and truly dead now. He was on kidney dialysis in the middle east when two CIA agents visited him at an American hospital 6 weeks before 911. Most wanted? Ha!

Terrorist groups are growing, because there are many people extremely unhappy at what the west is doing to their countries and their people. A lot of "terrorism", however, such as Bali, London, and of course 911, simply could not have been done by people outside the system, or at least without the "help" of groups such as the CIA. About 50% of New Yorkers believe it was either MIHOP or LIHOP, and 30% of Americans.

911 was the big "terror" event to "terrorise" the people enough to start waging endless war in the middle east and bring in draconian laws in the west. 911 information is all over the net, where every minute detail is covered on one or more of the sites. Go read about it, thoroughly, then come back and say I'm besmirching Howard's or Australia's name wrongly.

Australia MUST get out of Iraq. I am hoping that with a change of government that will happen.

We can also, perhaps, start reclaiming our democracy, which like America and England, is in tatters right now.

And remember, Anonymous, I am not afraid to use my name, as you obviously are.
Anonymous said…
Daphne O'Brian

I apologise for making you feel sick. It was never my intention to make you vomit, my intention was was for you to use your brain.

As for Howard, I repeat, AGAIN, he does not matter. Why do you insist I read about him? He is the same as every other politician, a liar and manipulator of the truth.

As for saying our democracy is in tatters, utter rubbish. I am Iraqi by birth, compare the two.

Do not believe everything you read on the web. If fact do not believe half of what you read or you risk becoming brainwased.

Whether OBL is dead or not, is of no consequence. The ideal he has left behind is.

It would seem I have to put the following into black and white, so your brain can retain corect and relevant information

There is a very good reason I post as anonymous. Have you ever had the Australian Federal Police knock on your door? I am telling you to be careful.
Margo Moon said…
Layla,

Is there ever a moment of stillness for your mind? Just a small one, when you are able to form images of what the best possible future for you, for Iraq would look like?

And by 'best possible,' I mean given the reality of what my country has done to yours.

If you have such visions, can you share them with us?

I am in no way minimizing the value of the harsh reality you so bravely present. But perhaps a brief glimpse of a healing Iraq would help. What are the possibilities at this point?

At the oddest moments, I find myself hoping you are safe.

Margo
ThatDeborahGirl said…
I am in America.

I know that what you write is true.

It haunts my dreams and screams in my bones and yet everyone around me says, "It's just politics, what can you do. The end of the world is coming anyway."

Or, "It was foretold in the bible and there is nothing you can do anyway."

I want to tear out their eyes because they refuse to fight for humanity. For themselves, for the Iraqi people, for life itself...

I see it all slipping away and I wonder how it could have happened and how those around me can be so blind, helpless and yes fearful, that just speaking up or out, could somehow harm them more than Iraq has been harmed.

I am not Iraqi. I was born and raised in a small corner of Ohio. But I feel angered and disgusted and yes fearful...

I fear inaction...I fear not being able to help...I fear the world has gone mad

How do your reach across an ocean and a world at war?
Layla Anwar said…
Hello Deborahgirl and thanks for visiting.

You said :"How do your reach across an ocean and a world at war? "

You just did.

Keep doing what you are doing, Truth will always prevail.

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