On the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, get the scoop from one of the country's strongest women and civil society leaders. Dr. Rashad Zidan answers OneWorlders' questions about sectarian divisions, the role of women, media portrayals, and much more.
In January you voted Rashad Zidan OneWorld's
Person of 2006. In February we gave you a
chance to ask Dr. Zidan about life in Baghdad,
politics, the U.S. role in Iraq, women's rights,
and much more.
As the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of
Iraq passes (technically, it was yesterday), why not take a few
moments to find out what Dr. Zidan had to say about life in
the midst of the Iraq conflict.
Here are a few excerpts of the conversation:
Jeffrey Allen: At the big anti-war protest in Washington DC last
week I saw a sign that said "71% of Iraqi people want the U.S. to
leave by September." Do you think that's true? What do most Iraqi
people want the United States government to do?
Rashad Zidan: I wish the U.S government had asked most Iraqi
people this question before the invasion. This number was taken from
an American poll done in September 2006 and I think the percentage
of Iraqis who feel this way is really greater. In Iraq, the population is
about 25 million, and no more than 1 million supports the occupation.
This war has destroyed the infrastructure of our country. It has killed
hundreds of thousands of civilians, producing huge numbers of widows
and orphans with no one to take care of them. It has dissolved the Iraqi
army, opening the border to all types of insurgents armed with heavy
weapons, training criminals and militias who are above the law. In the
face of the misery of our daily lives, what can ordinary Iraqi people say
to the American occupiers?
Joe T.: Do you believe that the main problem is civil war? Or, is there
something else going on that keeps security from becoming a reality
in Iraq?
Rashad Zidan: From the first day of the occupation, we started hearing
these strange words, such as majority, minority, ethnic division, sectarian
war, etc...
Click here for the rest of the conversation.
Video:
Windows Media Player
Quicktime
On the fourth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, Alive in Baghdad brings you an assortment of Arabs and Iraqis speaking about life in Iraq and some thoughts they have for Americans and the world.
This is only a small slice of opinion about the war and the ongoing conflict in Iraq. For other opinions continue to watch the blog section of Alive in Baghdad.
As the fourth anniversary passes without a foreseeable end to the ongoing conflict in Iraq, please consider making a small donation to continue our work, and enabling our Iraqi correspondents to continue producing regular news about life in Baghdad.
You can also check out these Iraqi bloggers for a wide range of opinion on events in Iraq:
Treasure of Baghdad
Iraq the Model
Healing Iraq
,Baghdad Burning
Tell Me a Secret
Baghdad Treasure will also be publishing a special anniversary blog entry, collecting thoughts and opinions from many Iraqi bloggers about the war in Iraq on its 4th anniversary. We’ll post a direct link as soon as he’s finished it!
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