Thursday, April 17, 2008

Iraqi nickname for American soldiers? The Jews

Source: NYTimes, article by Thomas L. Friedman of all people (dateline October 24, 2004):

I was speaking the other day with Scott Pelley of CBS News's "60 Minutes" about the mood in Iraq. He had just returned from filming a piece there and he told me something disturbing. Scott had gone around and asked Iraqis on the streets what they called American troops - wondering if they had nicknames for us in the way we used to call the Nazis "Krauts" or the Vietcong "Charlie." And what did he find? "Many Iraqis have so much distrust for U.S. forces we found they've come up with a nickname for our troops," Scott said. "They call American soldiers 'The Jews,' as in, 'Don't go down that street, the Jews set up a roadblock.' "


Many Iraqis have so much distrust for U.S. forces we found they've come up with a nickname for our troops.

They call American soldiers 'The Jews,'

As in, 'Don't go down that street, the Jews set up a roadblock (and will kill you when you drive near - AG).


Seems to me those Iraqis have a pretty good idea exactly whom this war benefits, unlike the clueless American population.

Bonus Material:
The rest of the linked article is Friedman's pathetic attempt to obfuscate, lie and diffuse exactly WHY Iraqis are calling American soldiers "Jews."

According to Friedman, it is because they are stupid - they can't tell the difference between Israelis and Americans.

Our communications in Iraq have been so inept since we arrived, many Iraqis still don't know who America is or why it came.


Who are you kidding and who will believe this shit?

Oh - that's right.

Americans.

We'll believe anything the TV and media tell us.

Perhaps, Friedman, the Iraqis are the ones who are smart here, have much more wisdom than the clueless American soldiers in Iraq who don't know WHY they are there and the overworked, laid off and foreclosed American population who has no clue WHY their sons and daughters are in Iraq.

The Iraqis nailed it.

Extra Special Bonus Material:
You know, gotta give Friedman his props here. Writing in 2004, he ended the article thus:
But in the struggle between Mr. Sharon and common sense, America should be with common sense. The late Yitzhak Rabin wanted to get out of Gaza to make peace with the Palestinians, because he understood the danger of "Jews, Israel and America" all getting melded together in the nuclear age. Mr. Rabin knew that no peace deal would resonate in the Arab-Muslim world if it did not have a legitimate Palestinian partner. Mr. Sharon seems to want to get out of Gaza to make peace with the Jews. His aides have made clear that he is getting out of Gaza in order to entrench Israel even more deeply in the West Bank and the Jewish settlements there.

In the face of this plan, the Bush team is silent. This is partly because the Palestinians continue to stick with Arafat as their leader, even though this bum has led them to ruin - so the U.S. has nothing to offer Israel. And it's partly because the Bush team, which is so inept at diplomacy, has never had the energy or creativity to shape a better Palestinian alternative to Arafat. As a result, the Sharon vision of getting out of Gaza in order to take over the West Bank will probably win by default. If that happens, "Jews, Israel and America" will be bound together more tightly than ever as the enemies of Arabs and Muslims.

100% agreed, Friedman.

Mr. Rabin knew that no peace deal would resonate in the Arab-Muslim world if it did not have a legitimate Palestinian partner.

Mr. Sharon seems to want to get out of Gaza to make peace with the Jews. His aides have made clear that he is getting out of Gaza in order to entrench Israel even more deeply in the West Bank and the Jewish settlements there.

And it's partly because the Bush team, which is so inept at diplomacy, has never had the energy or creativity to shape a better Palestinian alternative to Arafat.

As a result, the Sharon vision of getting out of Gaza in order to take over the West Bank will probably win by default.

If that happens, "Jews, Israel and America" will be bound together more tightly than ever as the enemies of Arabs and Muslims.


Funnily enough, there is now an alternative to the corrupt Palestine Liberation Organization, which is still mourning Arafat.

It is Hamas - the uncorruptible, zealot, super religious Moslem fundamentalist political cum guerrilla force.

And guess what, Friedman - you were right, "Jews, Israel and America" IS bound together more tightly than ever as the enemies of Arabs and Muslims, except now it is not JUST Moslems who are thinking that - but China, Japan, France, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Luxemburg... .... ...

Bonus Material:
Admittedly, there isn't much to corroborate Friedman's friend's story.
There is this, from the NY Times:

Many Iraqis also consider the resisters fedayeen, even those Iraqis who strongly oppose the American occupation here, and worry that Mr. Hussein would return if the resisters win.

''If it were not for Saddam, I think more people would have joined already,'' said Kashid Ahmad Saleh, 48, a farmer here who is deeply angry at the American presence.

It was hard to pin down any single motive for the fighter here, who said he served in the Iraqi Army for six years, ending in 1998, and who gave the nickname ''Fighter for the Sake of God.'' In compact and articulate answers, the man seemed a fanatic neither for God nor for Mr. Hussein.

''We are not fighting for Saddam,'' he said. ''We are fighting for freedom and because the Americans are Jews.(...)".



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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are very ignorant and categorize all Americans. We are not stupid and we do not believe everything we see on television. If we are such gullible fools than why are we one of the most educated Nations in the world. According to the CIA World Factbook, Iraq is 97% Muslim (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%). We are allies of Israel so of course some Iraqi's are not going to understand why we are there. I think you need to pull your head out and write about the facts, or not, keep writing garbage and see how creditable of a writer you become. You are clearly new to journalistic writing so I will give you a break.

Anonymous said...

Oh, one more thing.. learn to spell "MUSLIM". If you are American, than I see your point about America being ignorant... but believe me your the minority my friend!

Anonymous said...

Since the Americans receive their marching orders from Natenyahu, aren't the Iraqis right?