Bipolar - Two different extremes

Bipolar - Two different extremes here in Minnesota.

On the one hand, Minnesota's Iraqis. The Strib reports on their reactions:

"The Iraqi people lived a nightmare under Saddam Hussein, but now the nightmare is over," said Moslem Al-Jayashi of Fridley. "It's like a holiday today!" He stayed up all night Tuesday, watching developments on Al-Jazeera, the Arabic network.

On Wednesday afternoon, he and friends drove to the U.S. Courthouse in Minneapolis, waving American flags and patriotic signs to show their gratitude.

Another Iraq native, Yacoub Aljaffrey of New Brighton, said he wept with joy when he heard that U.S. troops had taken control of Baghdad.

"I cannot express how much happiness I feel, and how I thank the United States government and the troops that are fighting for our country," he said.

Said Rodwan Nakshabandi, a St. Paul restaurateur whose roots are Iraqi Kurdish: "The era of terror and brutality -- it's unbelievable it's ended."

It's hard to imagine the fear under which the Iraqi people have lived, said Adnan Shati of Minneapolis.

People were tortured and murdered by the secret police, who returned body parts in plastic bags to their families, he said.

Seeing the end of the war reminded him of visiting Iraq some time ago. "I was sitting in the living room and turned on the BBC. My younger brother jumped over me, grabbed the radio and turned it off. 'What are you doing? What if someone walked by and heard that? We could all die!' "

As Shati talked, his jubilant brother, Ali, phoned from Chicago: "Congratulations for free Iraq for getting rid of the monster!"

On the other hand, the "peace" movement, seemingly oblivious to the obsolescence of their cause, vows to continue...er, whatever it is they do. And what a contrast to their ebullient Iraqi neighbors these people are:

Willis Mattison, 59, former regional director of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in Detroit Lakes, participates in a vigil at noon every Saturday in Detroit Lakes.

Those vigils, too, will continue, he said: "We may have inflicted as much harm on the Iraqi people by waging war there as Saddam Hussein was doing to his own people."

I'd love to see Mr. Mattison meet Mr. Shati, from earlier in this post, face to face.

One of the most irritating facets of the local anti-war movment is its appropriation of the ancient Christian tradition of the vigil. What was originally a humble group expression of prayer has been turned into a pretentious political statement of sorts.

And often one that is misguided to the point of hypocrisy:

One of the largest and oldest is on the Lake Street-Marshall Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River on the border of Minneapolis and St. Paul. About 400 protesters were there Wednesday, and organizers handed out fliers saying the vigil will continue "as an ongoing symbol of our resistance to war and our efforts to promote peace through direct nonviolent action."

Non-violent, indeed. There've been reports of "non-violent" protesters spitting and throwing things at the counterprotesters that show up.

But it's ironic to note - as I will no doubt do next Wednesday - that peace has probably won a bigger victory through our armed action than it could have through another thirty years of vigils and faulty "containment" and "non-violent resolution".

Posted by Mitch at April 10, 2003 09:33 AM