Tuesday, December 21, 2004
On Dreams and Nightmares
In a better world…
The US administration would apologize…
• To the American people for the great losses they have caused in blood, money and moral standing.
• To the American army for putting it in such an impossible situation and for damaging its reputation in the eyes of civilians and military professionals the world over.
• To the world for the damage they have caused in strengthening the hand of international terrorists and for sabotaging the war on terror.
• To the United Nations for pulling out the last of the few teeth it had and for their part in turning it from a dream for humanity into a farce.
• To moderate Moslems for weakening their case and for causing fanatics to have the upper hand in many of their communities.
• To the Iraqi people for all the unnecessary suffering and loss of innocent life, the looting, the destruction of the infrastructure of their country, for the terrorists they lured into their country, for the lawlessness and for putting the country on the road to total anarchy and ruin. The actual list is much longer, but one shouldn't be too greedy!
The Iraqi people would thank America profusely for ridding them of Saddam.
The American administration would then make immediate steps to put things right and ask others to help, perhaps even the Iraqi people.
An impossible dream? Of course! But why not? We are all entitled to some unrealistic dreaming sometime. Isn't that what dreams are all about? Besides, dreams are harmless things, aren't they?
Not exactly.
There are those who have different dreams: dreams of eliminating all world terror at the present battlefield in Iraq; dreams of an Iraq Free and Democratic - an Iraq with a contented population grateful to America for all the good things this administration has done for them; secure flow of oil for decades to come; thousands of huge contracts providing riches to some and employment to many Americans.
All these wonderful things can be achieved by simply following the present course!
An impossible dream? Of course! But this one is a bit more costly. Personally, I would rather call this a nightmare. But nightmares happen during sleep… this one looks and feels so real!
Can somebody's dream be somebody else's day-and-nightmare?
Of course! So much in mankind's history is made of this stuff. Hitler's dream was a nightmare to many millions, including Germans. On the other hand, Gandhi's dream was a nightmare to some empire-builders in Britain. Martin Luther King's dream was a nightmare to some Americans.
Which dreams won and became a reality in the end?
It may be useful to remember here that America played no small part in ending Hitler's dream. Will America be able to do it again? I don't know. America seems to be busy with its own dreams and nightmares at the moment.
So many people in America seem to be dreaming. Some are having nightmares caused in 9/11 by some other people's dreams; some are dreaming of ending those nightmares through the dreams of other people mentioned above, or through a new wonder drug called neocon; some have their own dreams of glory and empire-building and a brand new American Century. So many dreams and so many nightmares.
In Iraq, as popular folklore has it, a heavy meal late in the evening leads to having nightmares. I really don't know enough about American eating habits to make a judgment.
Have a Merry Christmas… and don't eat too much late at night, just in case…
The US administration would apologize…
• To the American people for the great losses they have caused in blood, money and moral standing.
• To the American army for putting it in such an impossible situation and for damaging its reputation in the eyes of civilians and military professionals the world over.
• To the world for the damage they have caused in strengthening the hand of international terrorists and for sabotaging the war on terror.
• To the United Nations for pulling out the last of the few teeth it had and for their part in turning it from a dream for humanity into a farce.
• To moderate Moslems for weakening their case and for causing fanatics to have the upper hand in many of their communities.
• To the Iraqi people for all the unnecessary suffering and loss of innocent life, the looting, the destruction of the infrastructure of their country, for the terrorists they lured into their country, for the lawlessness and for putting the country on the road to total anarchy and ruin. The actual list is much longer, but one shouldn't be too greedy!
The Iraqi people would thank America profusely for ridding them of Saddam.
The American administration would then make immediate steps to put things right and ask others to help, perhaps even the Iraqi people.
An impossible dream? Of course! But why not? We are all entitled to some unrealistic dreaming sometime. Isn't that what dreams are all about? Besides, dreams are harmless things, aren't they?
Not exactly.
There are those who have different dreams: dreams of eliminating all world terror at the present battlefield in Iraq; dreams of an Iraq Free and Democratic - an Iraq with a contented population grateful to America for all the good things this administration has done for them; secure flow of oil for decades to come; thousands of huge contracts providing riches to some and employment to many Americans.
All these wonderful things can be achieved by simply following the present course!
An impossible dream? Of course! But this one is a bit more costly. Personally, I would rather call this a nightmare. But nightmares happen during sleep… this one looks and feels so real!
Can somebody's dream be somebody else's day-and-nightmare?
Of course! So much in mankind's history is made of this stuff. Hitler's dream was a nightmare to many millions, including Germans. On the other hand, Gandhi's dream was a nightmare to some empire-builders in Britain. Martin Luther King's dream was a nightmare to some Americans.
Which dreams won and became a reality in the end?
It may be useful to remember here that America played no small part in ending Hitler's dream. Will America be able to do it again? I don't know. America seems to be busy with its own dreams and nightmares at the moment.
So many people in America seem to be dreaming. Some are having nightmares caused in 9/11 by some other people's dreams; some are dreaming of ending those nightmares through the dreams of other people mentioned above, or through a new wonder drug called neocon; some have their own dreams of glory and empire-building and a brand new American Century. So many dreams and so many nightmares.
In Iraq, as popular folklore has it, a heavy meal late in the evening leads to having nightmares. I really don't know enough about American eating habits to make a judgment.
Have a Merry Christmas… and don't eat too much late at night, just in case…
# posted by Abu Khaleel @ 12:46 PM 
Comments:
Hello Abu Khaleel,
Sometimes I wonder who are the Iraqis? I think back to the distant past, to the beginning of my Western civilization with gratitude and respect.
As the Iraqi hero of Gilgamesh wondered [Americans also?],
"For whom have I labored? For whom have I journeyed?
For whom have I suffered?
I have gained absolutely nothing for myself,
I have only profited the snake, the ground lion!"
_____________________________________________________________________
My worst nightmares are the ones in which I am trying to get out of a difficult or dangerous situation but my vision is somehow veiled, I'm struggling to get my eyes properly open. I wonder if GWB has dreams like this?
I'll be away for a few days. Stay safe Abu. Keep out of the Green Zone.
_____________________________________________________________________
Circular
_____________________________________________________________________
Hey, you left out "the flu" and "bad breath" and "the law of gravity" from the things the Americans should apologize for.
_____________________________________________________________________
Drinking and Dialing
I met a girlfriend after work for a glass of wine, or two. For an hour and half, we caught up with one another. We talked about our fathers. Hers is dying of bladder cancer; mine, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, will be faltering over the next 6-8 years. We talked about what it meant to be good daughters. (Strange, I want to come home and deal with global issues rather than my immediate concerns.)
My friend and I disagree on issues, we are share concern on other issues. I know if you and I met, our conversation would meander, we’d talk about books, films, our family, our jobs, our pets, the economy, health care, religion & state and maybe we’d touch upon the mess we’re in.
I do dream.
***Although we have suffered losses and have serious doubts over our conduct and purpose, I am grateful to our military forces for handling themselves with utmost professionalism given the trying of circumstances we’ve place them in. I have confidence in them.
***To the world, I am grateful for your support in fighting terrorism. I grieve at the losses suffered in New York, Bali, Madrid, Fallujah, Rijad, southern Thailand, Jakarta, Beslan, Tunisia, Istanbul, Nairobi, Mombassa, Islamabad
***To the United Nations, you gave us Sergio and many others. I grieve the loss.
***To moderate Moslems, I am grateful for your faith and courage..
***To the Iraqi people, I apologize.
I acknowledge establishing a representative democracy in Iraq will not eliminate world terror. Iraqis need not be grateful to Americans. They are free to actively resent us like most of the rest of the world.
A small request, I wish you didn’t attribute our motives exclusively to profit motives - the contracts, the riches, the full employment. The average American isn’t thinking along these lines. Markets hate instability. There is tremendous pressure not to spend our treasury on the internal affairs of another country. At times isolationist, now don’t’ laugh, we have an aversion to fighting the civil wars of others. Your country has been at war prior to our arrival. Saddam’s killing fields are testament to these wars. There will be tremendous pressure to drawdown US troops in the latter half 2005. We’d like to bring them home. Please vote.
No, there is nothing wonderful about our present course. I simply dream/pray we are on the right course.
“Which dreams won and became a reality in the end?” Hitler, Gandhi, Martin Luther King. So, which would you rather be in 2005: a socialist German, a quasi-capitalist Indian or an entrepreneurial African-American from the South, they’re all good choices?
I ask your forgiveness, Merry Christmas.
_____________________________________________________________________
Anonymous said:
"The average American isn’t thinking along these lines."
absolutely correct. It isn't the average American calling the shots,though, is it?
I am very sorry for all the pain and suffering that Iraqis have had to go through since the US troops landed on thier soil. I hope it all works out okay, but I am pessimistic about the outcomes.
I am pessimistic about the reprecussions also.
_____________________________________________________________________
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Hello Abu Khaleel,
Sometimes I wonder who are the Iraqis? I think back to the distant past, to the beginning of my Western civilization with gratitude and respect.
As the Iraqi hero of Gilgamesh wondered [Americans also?],
"For whom have I labored? For whom have I journeyed?
For whom have I suffered?
I have gained absolutely nothing for myself,
I have only profited the snake, the ground lion!"
# posted by 
: 21/12/04 8:30 PM
: 21/12/04 8:30 PM My worst nightmares are the ones in which I am trying to get out of a difficult or dangerous situation but my vision is somehow veiled, I'm struggling to get my eyes properly open. I wonder if GWB has dreams like this?
I'll be away for a few days. Stay safe Abu. Keep out of the Green Zone.
# posted by : 21/12/04 8:58 PM
: 21/12/04 8:58 PM Circular
# posted by : 21/12/04 8:59 PM
: 21/12/04 8:59 PM Hey, you left out "the flu" and "bad breath" and "the law of gravity" from the things the Americans should apologize for.
# posted by : 22/12/04 2:42 PM
: 22/12/04 2:42 PM Drinking and Dialing
I met a girlfriend after work for a glass of wine, or two. For an hour and half, we caught up with one another. We talked about our fathers. Hers is dying of bladder cancer; mine, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, will be faltering over the next 6-8 years. We talked about what it meant to be good daughters. (Strange, I want to come home and deal with global issues rather than my immediate concerns.)
My friend and I disagree on issues, we are share concern on other issues. I know if you and I met, our conversation would meander, we’d talk about books, films, our family, our jobs, our pets, the economy, health care, religion & state and maybe we’d touch upon the mess we’re in.
I do dream.
***Although we have suffered losses and have serious doubts over our conduct and purpose, I am grateful to our military forces for handling themselves with utmost professionalism given the trying of circumstances we’ve place them in. I have confidence in them.
***To the world, I am grateful for your support in fighting terrorism. I grieve at the losses suffered in New York, Bali, Madrid, Fallujah, Rijad, southern Thailand, Jakarta, Beslan, Tunisia, Istanbul, Nairobi, Mombassa, Islamabad
***To the United Nations, you gave us Sergio and many others. I grieve the loss.
***To moderate Moslems, I am grateful for your faith and courage..
***To the Iraqi people, I apologize.
I acknowledge establishing a representative democracy in Iraq will not eliminate world terror. Iraqis need not be grateful to Americans. They are free to actively resent us like most of the rest of the world.
A small request, I wish you didn’t attribute our motives exclusively to profit motives - the contracts, the riches, the full employment. The average American isn’t thinking along these lines. Markets hate instability. There is tremendous pressure not to spend our treasury on the internal affairs of another country. At times isolationist, now don’t’ laugh, we have an aversion to fighting the civil wars of others. Your country has been at war prior to our arrival. Saddam’s killing fields are testament to these wars. There will be tremendous pressure to drawdown US troops in the latter half 2005. We’d like to bring them home. Please vote.
No, there is nothing wonderful about our present course. I simply dream/pray we are on the right course.
“Which dreams won and became a reality in the end?” Hitler, Gandhi, Martin Luther King. So, which would you rather be in 2005: a socialist German, a quasi-capitalist Indian or an entrepreneurial African-American from the South, they’re all good choices?
I ask your forgiveness, Merry Christmas.
# posted by : 24/12/04 8:39 AM
: 24/12/04 8:39 AM Anonymous said:
"The average American isn’t thinking along these lines."
absolutely correct. It isn't the average American calling the shots,though, is it?
I am very sorry for all the pain and suffering that Iraqis have had to go through since the US troops landed on thier soil. I hope it all works out okay, but I am pessimistic about the outcomes.
I am pessimistic about the reprecussions also.
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