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RedditBy the grace of god our friend the sheik is at home and receives us warmly; he even speaks English. He demands that we stay for lunch and tea in his diwan, or sitting room. The walls are painted blue and decorated with a beautiful Chinese print, framed Koranic verse and a small piece of thrift-store-style art of a coy little girl.
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Saving Iraq
Robert Dreyfuss: Dire predictions aside, it's not too late for a unified, nationalist Iraq to emerge from the rubble.
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Who Will Get the Oil?
Christian Parenti: War and corruption have decimated Iraq's oil supply, and Western companies are angling for a cut of what's left.
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Pity the Region
Augustus Richard Norton: Robert Fisk's The Great War for Civilization criticizes a self-righteous US foreign policy oblivious to the power of retributive justice in the Middle East.
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Pacifying Iraq: Insurgent Scenarios
Tom Hayden: In informal but politically credible ways, factions of Iraq's armed national resistance are developing scenarios for an honorable withdrawal of US troops and a shared set of demands that could lead to peace.
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Language of the Heart
Cindy Sheehan: We need to learn a new language of peace and love that we can speak, even shout, to our leaders who only understand the language of greed and murder.
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The Question of Kurdistan
Christian Parenti: The Kurds have almost no natural resources and suffer from a culture of corruption. But their call for autonomy is a serious threat to the building of a united Iraq.
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Pyrrhic Victory in Iraq
Iraqi Reconstruction/ Occupation
For Iraqis fed up with the violence and chaos of the occupation, passage of the new Constitution is just one more US-imposed measure that will set the stage for civil war.
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Letters
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Class Struggle in the New China
Christian Parenti: Across China there is a rising rural and urban class struggle as the economy moves from Maoist socialism to a strange type of quasi-Maoist capitalism.
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Letters
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What Nuclear Renaissance?
Christian Parenti: Despite a slick PR campaign hyping its promise, the nuclear industry isn't going anywhere. It's too costly and won't save us from global warming.
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A New Diplomacy for Pakistan
Christian Parenti: As American policy-makers and pundits seek a Plan B for Pakistan, it's time to recognize the desperate need for a new diplomacy for the Muslim world.
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The Fight to Save Congo's Forests
Christian Parenti: A history of colonial neglect and endemic corruption has unleashed a lawless logging binge in the heart of Congo's massive woodlands.
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Christian Parenti: Congo Diary
Christian Parenti & Laura Hanna: The Nation's international correspondent journeys deep into the heart of the Congo Basin woodlands to see how a massive logging boom is decimating the world's second-largest tropical forest.
"No, this time the mujahedeen attacked. The United States is on the defensive," says the sheik. "The resistance sent out fliers warning us to stay in today, and they attacked at dawn." At several points our interview is interrupted by a series of huge explosions. They sound very close.
"Mr. Christian, do not be so scared," says the sheik. "These are just for sound, to scare us. But for us, we've had so much war it is normal." He's so calm I start suspecting that he's high on Valium, which is sold over the counter in Iraq and used by millions to cope with the stress of war.
The sheik says the Americans cut power to the whole city as part of their siege, but other than that his story is similar to the one offered by the First Infantry Division: The muj attacked first, and the United States responded with tanks, helicopters and warplanes but are still stuck on the edge of town.
"The fighters here are very well armed and well prepared. They have Kalashnikovs and RPGs," says the sheik. Why this uprising? "We do not like the occupation. Look, everything is smashed--no electricity, no security, nothing gets fixed. People have no work. They are sick of waiting," says the sheik. "The Tartars occupied us, the Turks occupied us, the British. All were driven out. The West cannot win this fight."
The sheik's brother adds: "When the resistance is from inside Iraq I put my hand with them. But we do not like the foreign fighters, the Saudis or Syrians." He is simultaneously dismissing claims that Al Qaeda is running the rebellion and acknowledging the controversial presence of internationalist mujahedeen.
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