I'm Anything But Ordinary

I'm Anything But Ordinary

11 December 2005

24 Hour Quiet Hours Will Kill Me in the End


~~~~ Drained

I can't believe it. It's 5:14 on a Saturday afternoon and I've already been yelled at twice for being "too loud" during quiet hours. I HATE 24 hour quiet hours. NO ONE is studying right now nor will they start until sometime tomorrow. I strongly dislike Miami RA's enforcement of corridor policies. Grrrr.

Today has been a good day. I woke up at noon and Steffie and I went to Erickson for brunch. We had never been and the food had actually been very good. Then we had our secret santa gift exchange. Tierionna was my secret santa and she got me a Miami tote and a little stuffed frog. Verrrry cute! I think Lanita liked her gifts too. I mean, I got her chocolate, you can't really go wrong there. Then Steffie, Marissa, and I went to the Rec. Nothin special. We just did some abs, lifted weights, and I got a bike for half and hour. I feel pretty good and I think I should go with them more often. The idea of working out always makes me not want to especially do it but if I get off my lazy ass and actually work out I find it very enjoyable. So then I showered and here I am. Tonight we're going to a Miami Hockey game. I'm not sure who they're playing but it should be good! Right now though that's all I want to do. Right now I'm so sleepy I just want to curl up and vegitate. Maybe that's what I'll do until we leave.

Flogging Molly comes to Cleveland in February. I wonder if I could find someone to go with me...

09 December 2005

If America Left Iraq

The Atlantic Monthly | December 2005

With Permission from The Atlantic Monthly Group. Copyright 2005.

If America Left Iraq

by Nir Rosen

At some point—whether sooner or later—U.S. troops will leave Iraq. I have spent much of the occupation reporting from Baghdad, Kirkuk, Mosul, Fallujah, and elsewhere in the country, and I can tell you that a growing majority of Iraqis would like it to be sooner. As the occupation wears on, more and more Iraqis chafe at its failure to provide stability or even electricity, and they have grown to hate the explosions, gunfire, and constant war, and also the daily annoyances: having to wait hours in traffic because the Americans have closed off half the city; having to sit in that traffic behind a U.S. military vehicle pointing its weapons at them; having to endure constant searches and arrests. Before the January 30 elections this year the Association of Muslim Scholars—Iraq's most important Sunni Arab body, and one closely tied to the indigenous majority of the insurgency—called for a commitment to a timely U.S. withdrawal as a condition for its participation in the vote. (In exchange the association promised to rein in the resistance.) It's not just Sunnis who have demanded a withdrawal: the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is immensely popular among the young and the poor, has made a similar demand. So has the mainstream leader of the Shiites' Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, who made his first call for U.S. withdrawal as early as April 23, 2003.

If the people the U.S. military is ostensibly protecting want it to go, why do the soldiers stay? The most common answer is that it would be irresponsible for the United States to depart before some measure of peace has been assured. The American presence, this argument goes, is the only thing keeping Iraq from an all-out civil war that could take millions of lives and would profoundly destabilize the region. But is that really the case? Let's consider the key questions surrounding the prospect of an imminent American withdrawal.

Would the withdrawal of U.S. troops ignite a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites?

No. That civil war is already under way—in large part because of the American presence. The longer the United States stays, the more it fuels Sunni hostility toward Shiite "collaborators." Were America not in Iraq, Sunni leaders could negotiate and participate without fear that they themselves would be branded traitors and collaborators by their constituents. Sunni leaders have said this in official public statements; leaders of the resistance have told me the same thing in private. The Iraqi government, which is currently dominated by Shiites, would lose its quisling stigma. Iraq's security forces, also primarily Shiite, would no longer be working on behalf of foreign infidels against fellow Iraqis, but would be able to function independently and recruit Sunnis to a truly national force. The mere announcement of an intended U.S. withdrawal would allow Sunnis to come to the table and participate in defining the new Iraq.

But if American troops aren't in Baghdad, what's to stop the Sunnis from launching an assault and seizing control of the city?

Sunni forces could not mount such an assault. The preponderance of power now lies with the majority Shiites and the Kurds, and the Sunnis know this. Sunni fighters wield only small arms and explosives, not Saddam's tanks and helicopters, and are very weak compared with the cohesive, better armed, and numerically superior Shiite and Kurdish militias. Most important, Iraqi nationalism—not intramural rivalry—is the chief motivator for both Shiites and Sunnis. Most insurgency groups view themselves as waging a muqawama—a resistance—rather than a jihad. This is evident in their names and in their propaganda. For instance, the units commanded by the Association of Muslim Scholars are named after the 1920 revolt against the British. Others have names such as Iraqi Islamic Army and Flame of Iraq. They display the Iraqi flag rather than a flag of jihad. Insurgent attacks are meant primarily to punish those who have collaborated with the Americans and to deter future collaboration.

Wouldn't a U.S. withdrawal embolden the insurgency?

No. If the occupation were to end, so, too, would the insurgency. After all, what the resistance movement has been resisting is the occupation. Who would the insurgents fight if the enemy left? When I asked Sunni Arab fighters and the clerics who support them why they were fighting, they all gave me the same one-word answer: intiqaam—revenge. Revenge for the destruction of their homes, for the shame they felt when Americans forced them to the ground and stepped on them, for the killing of their friends and relatives by U.S. soldiers either in combat or during raids.

But what about the foreign jihadi element of the resistance? Wouldn't it be empowered by a U.S. withdrawal?

The foreign jihadi element—commanded by the likes of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi—is numerically insignificant; the bulk of the resistance has no connection to al-Qaeda or its offshoots. (Zarqawi and his followers have benefited greatly from U.S. propaganda blaming him for all attacks in Iraq, because he is now seen by Arabs around the world as more powerful than he is; we have been his best recruiting tool.) It is true that the Sunni resistance welcomed the foreign fighters (and to some extent still do), because they were far more willing to die than indigenous Iraqis were. But what Zarqawi wants fundamentally conflicts with what Iraqi Sunnis want: Zarqawi seeks re-establishment of the Muslim caliphate and a Manichean confrontation with infidels around the world, to last until Judgment Day; the mainstream Iraqi resistance just wants the Americans out. If U.S. forces were to leave, the foreigners in Zarqawi's movement would find little support—and perhaps significant animosity—among Iraqi Sunnis, who want wealth and power, not jihad until death. They have already lost much of their support: many Iraqis have begun turning on them. In the heavily Shia Sadr City foreign jihadis had burning tires placed around their necks. The foreigners have not managed to establish themselves decisively in any large cities. Even at the height of their power in Fallujah they could control only one neighborhood, the Julan, and they were hated by the city's resistance council. Today foreign fighters hide in small villages and are used opportunistically by the nationalist resistance.

When the Americans depart and Sunnis join the Iraqi government, some of the foreign jihadis in Iraq may try to continue the struggle—but they will have committed enemies in both Baghdad and the Shiite south, and the entire Sunni triangle will be against them. They will have nowhere to hide. Nor can they merely take their battle to the West. The jihadis need a failed state like Iraq in which to operate. When they leave Iraq, they will be hounded by Arab and Western security agencies.

What about the Kurds? Won't they secede if the United States leaves?

Yes, but that's going to happen anyway. All Iraqi Kurds want an independent Kurdistan. They do not feel Iraqi. They've effectively had more than a decade of autonomy, thanks to the UN-imposed no-fly zone; they want nothing to do with the chaos that is Iraq. Kurdish independence is inevitable—and positive. (Few peoples on earth deserve a state more than the Kurds.) For the moment the Kurdish government in the north is officially participating in the federalist plan—but the Kurds are preparing for secession. They have their own troops, the peshmerga, thought to contain 50,000 to 100,000 fighters. They essentially control the oil city of Kirkuk. They also happen to be the most America-loving people I have ever met; their leaders openly seek to become, like Israel, a proxy for American interests. If what the United States wants is long-term bases in the region, the Kurds are its partners.

Would Turkey invade in response to a Kurdish secession?

For the moment Turkey is more concerned with EU membership than with Iraq's Kurds—who in any event have expressed no ambitions to expand into Turkey. Iraq's Kurds speak a dialect different from Turkey's, and, in fact, have a history of animosity toward Turkish Kurds. Besides, Turkey, as a member of NATO, would be reluctant to attack in defiance of the United States. Turkey would be satisfied with guarantees that it would have continued access to Kurdish oil and trade and that Iraqi Kurds would not incite rebellion in Turkey.

Would Iran effectively take over Iraq?

No. Iraqis are fiercely nationalist—even the country's Shiites resent Iranian meddling. (It is true that some Iraqi Shiites view Iran as an ally, because many of their leaders found safe haven there when exiled by Saddam—but thousands of other Iraqi Shiites experienced years of misery as prisoners of war in Iran.) Even in southeastern towns near the border I encountered only hostility toward Iran.

What about the goal of creating a secular democracy in Iraq that respects the rights of women and non-Muslims?

Give it up. It's not going to happen. Apart from the Kurds, who revel in their secularism, Iraqis overwhelmingly seek a Muslim state. Although Iraq may have been officially secular during the 1970s and 1980s, Saddam encouraged Islamism during the 1990s, and the difficulties of the past decades have strengthened the resurgence of Islam. In the absence of any other social institutions, the mosques and the clergy assumed the dominant role in Iraq following the invasion. Even Baathist resistance leaders told me they have returned to Islam to atone for their sins under Saddam. Most Shiites, too, follow one cleric or another. Ayatollah al-Sistani—supposedly a moderate—wants Islam to be the source of law. The invasion of Iraq has led to a theocracy, which can only grow more hostile to America as long as U.S. soldiers are present.

Does Iraqi history offer any lessons?

The British occupation of Iraq, in the first half of the twentieth century, may be instructive. The British faced several uprisings and coups. The Iraqi government, then as now, was unable to suppress the rebels on its own and relied on the occupying military. In 1958, when the government the British helped install finally fell, those who had collaborated with them could find no popular support; some, including the former prime minister Nuri Said, were murdered and mutilated. Said had once been a respected figure, but he became tainted by his collaboration with the British. That year, when revolutionary officers overthrew the government, Said disguised himself as a woman and tried to escape. He was discovered, shot in the head, and buried. The next day a mob dug up his corpse and dragged it through the street—an act that would be repeated so often in Iraq that it earned its own word: sahil. With the British-sponsored government gone, both Sunni and Shiite Arabs embraced the Iraqi identity. The Kurds still resent the British perfidy that made them part of Iraq.

What can the United States do to repair Iraq?

There is no panacea. Iraq is a destroyed and fissiparous country. Iranians and Saudis I've spoken to worry that it might be impossible to keep Iraq from disintegrating. But they agree that the best hope of avoiding this scenario is if the United States leaves; perhaps then Iraqi nationalism will keep at least the Arabs united. The sooner America withdraws and allows Iraqis to assume control of their own country, the better the chances that Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari won't face sahil. It may be decades before Iraq recovers from the current maelstrom. By then its borders may be different, its vaunted secularism a distant relic. But a continued U.S. occupation can only get in the way.

Copyright 2005 The Atlantic Monthly Group. Reprinted by MoveOn.org Political Action with permission. All rights reserved.

07 December 2005

On Snow and Reading


~~~~ Peaceful

Every time winter rolls around I think I hate snow and how miserable it makes me. Then it actually gets to the point where the snow's here and my mind's telling me I should hate it because in just a few months I will but I don't. I was walking home from Italin a little bit ago and although I was freezing and I had left my gloves back in the dorm I was still kinda happy to be outside and in the snow. Maybe I'm just saying this now that I'm sitting in my snuggly warm dorm and happy because I really don't HAVE to leave it again but it felt good to be out in the cold and to see snow falling. Oh well, it could just be me.

I finally finished The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. My reading has been seriously handicapped by my college experience. I use to love reading for pleasure but now it seems like I should have better things to do. But I did get it read and now I've started on A Light in August. The last of the Faulkner books I'm making myself read. So far I like it the best out of the three books. Probably because it's the easiest to follow. I would have been totally lost in The Sound and the Fury if it hadn't been for sparknote.com. I mean, I got that Benjy was mentally handicapped but I had no idea his portion of the story had flashbacks. It was just one continuous strain of conscious. And Quentin's story? Oh goodness! Four pages would pass without a period! It was almost harder to read then Benjy's section. I'm glad I am now able to say I have read The Sound and the Fury, but don't ever expect me to do it again. I think the reason I like A Light in August the most is because it actually is told in a way that the reader can comprehend the story. I actually like the characters in this book! But I also kinda want to get it read because once I finish I think I'll start The Lord of the Rings (again). I normally read them around this time of year and I've been bitten by the Tolkien bug [hehe] quite badly. I think I'll start with the Silmarillion, then read The Hobbit, then the Trilogy. I'll see if that's calmed me after I finish those but I do have other Tolkien books to read too. I'm sick of reading books I'm not sure if I'll like. The last couple of books I've read have been a real bust. But you know me -- I can't just stop in the middle of a book. I HAVE to finish it.

But right now all I want to do is curl up in bed and watch the I Love the 80s marathon on VH1. So that's what I'll do.

05 December 2005

I Can't Believe


~~~~ Pleased

I can't believe this weekend went by so fast. There was basically none of the sitting around and doing nothing that I've come to associate with weekends and Miami U. It was a very nice weekend though. Friday we went to Taco Bell and Kroger. Always a good time -- never dull. We rented Harold and Kumar go to White Castle and, believe it or not, it was a fantastic movie. :Thank You, Come Again: Oh so funny!

Yesterday Lindsay and I went to Mary's Madness Sale and got holiday presents for friends and family. I got Alex and Kenny Miami shirts, my Secret Santa a Miami clock and stuffed bear with a shirt saying I Heart Miami, my mom the same bear only smaller, and a pretty wind chim for my Grandma. All of that for only $40! It was fantastic. Then we went to the Miami vs Michigan hockey game which was pretty insane. I have to say it was my first hockey game but I don't think it'll be my last. It was crazy to watch. I heart hockey fights :) Then we went to see Rent for the THIRD time! Amazing movie. It's coming to Cleveland in February and we're gonna get tickets. I can't wait to see it on stage again. The movie's good and everything but it can't compete with the show and I just have to see it again.

Today's been very low key. I helped Lindsay and Steffie tape their English project and that's about all I've done. I really should study for Italian and read some of my book because I really want to get that done before break but I just lack all motivation. I've been watching movies all day! I have to go to the library tomorrow and I'll get all my work done then -- really, I promise! We're getting East Quad delivery tonight and for some reason that really makes me excited. Is it sad that that's the highlight of my day? NO! Because that means I haven't had to do anything else all day!

03 December 2005

*Cheers*


~~~~ Okay

It's marvelous to have my blog back. I've missed it bunches and bunches.

It's the weekend and that makes me happy. I've basically been asleep all day. I woke up at 8:15 for my 9am but after class got out I came back to my dorm and went back to sleep. So here I am, still in the dorm. It's very warm and comfy here all curled up in my blankets, and it's very cold and windy outside so I'm very happy here. I don't have any plans until later tonight so maybe I'll just stay here! We're making a Taco Bell / Kroger run but that isn't until Steffie gets back from dance. Tomorrow we're getting some Christmas shopping done and going to see Rent again. Ah, Rent. One of the best movies EVER!

Only 13 days until I'm home for the holidays. I'm really excited and looking forward to it. I love it here. My friends are great, the school's fantastic, and the freedom's unbelievable. But I miss home too and Chanda'll be home this time and I haven't seen her since August. I just want finals to be over and the holiday spirit to begin. Only 19 days until Yule!!!!