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=> Lies and more lies, this time from Southfield

Lies and more lies, this time from Southfield

Posted by Tony (Guest) assurhaddon@socal.rr.com - Monday, April 26 2004, 0:01:42 (CEST) from 24.165.85.137 - cpe-24-165-85-137.socal.rr.com Commercial - Windows XP - Internet Explorer Website: Website title:

Iraq's uncertainties in focus Michigan's delegation will join others in talks with U.S., Iraqi officials By Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News SOUTHFIELD — Some Iraqi-Americans have been working for freedom and democracy in their homeland for 40 years. For them, the accomplishments of the past year in Iraq are epochal events they thought they might not see in their lifetimes. But the past few weeks have brought new worries so profound that they have begun to wonder if their lifelong dreams will be dashed. About 60 Iraqi expatriates from southeastern Michigan flew to the Washington, D.C., area for a conference today, “The Future of Iraq,” that is planned to include representatives of the Bush administration and the Iraqi Governing Council. “A lot of people are worried,” said Nabil Roumayah of Southfield, a member of the Iraqi Democratic Union of America, one of 29 groups sponsoring the event. “My first question is: Are we committed to that June 30 date?” Roumayah said, referring to the date on which the Bush administration has pledged to hand governing power to the Iraqis. “Are we committed to democracy in Iraq? Is the United States still committed, in the long run, to helping the Iraqi people obtain democracy and freedom?” Recent events — including the deadly bombings in Basra, reports that the upsurge of violence in the country has brought some redevelopment efforts to a halt, and expressions of concern in Congress over the growing expense of the war and the reconstruction of the country — have shaken the confidence of the Iraqi-American activists. “We know the president is committed,” said Basma Fakri, a civil engineer who lives in Plymouth. “But it is just that the situation in Iraq is not as good as we were expecting — as good as everyone was expecting. “We are looking for a plan,” said Fakri, 50, who lived in Iraq until she was 22 and whose son has worked there for the Coalition Provisional Authority. “It is not possible to do the work of redevelopment when there is no security.” Fakri said the past few weeks have been particularly wrenching, especially because of increasing American casualties, for people who call both the United States and Iraq home. “We were hoping it would be easier for the coalition forces, and the American citizens, and the Iraqi people,” Fakri said. “I raised my children in this country. I know it is not easy for mothers, wives and daughters who live here, whose sons, husbands and fathers have died. As an American, I know they paid the ultimate cost for freedom and democracy for my other country, Iraq.” President Bush and several ranking officials from his administration are invited to the conference, organizers said. But spokesmen for the White House, the departments of State and Defense and for the National Security Agency said Friday that they had not received invitations. The White House said Bush was not scheduled to attend. “It may just be that the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing, down in Washington,” Roumayah said, before he left for the conference, which is in Arlington, Va. Officials who have confirmed their attendance include two members of the Iraqi Governing Council, Ibrahim al-Jaafari of the Daawa Islamic Party and Younadem Kana of the Assyrian (Christian) Democratic Movement. Rend Rahim, the Iraqi ambassador appointed to represent the council in the United States, also will attend. Since 1963, when he was a young man in Iraq, Dr. Jacoub Mansour of West Bloomfield has worked with democracy movements in the country. He views the efforts of the United States as heroic, but says other countries must now be involved. Mansour and others who are attending the conference said they were heartened last week when Pakistan and Malaysia said they would send troops to Iraq, if it was done under a United Nations banner. “If you don’t involve other countries, we are going to have a problem there,” Mansour said. “I am afraid that some Iraqis believe that the United States is dominating Iraq, now. If the United Nations was involved, I think they would think, ‘Oh, all the world is involved.’ They would feel better.” Shoki Conja of Franklin is the director of Chaldean Voice Radio, which broadcasts Saturdays on WNZK-AM (690) and is available in Iraq via the Internet. Conja, who is attending the conference, said many participants are interested in the preservation of religious freedom in the country. “I am hoping that the current Governing Council will be expanded in the way that other elements of Iraqi people will be included,” said Conja, who pointed out that only one Chaldean sits on the council. “This way, the entire population will have a chance in the new face of Iraq. “To me, that is the first step until they establish a constitution which will be the basis for a new Iraq.” --------------------- - BACK TO INDEX - REPLY - QUOTE - EDIT - DELETE -

The full topic: Lies and more lies, this time from Southfield Tony - Monday, April 26 2004, 0:01:42 (CEST) Re: Lies and more lies, this time from Southfield parhad - 04/26 01:35 Re: Lies and more lies, this time from Southfield Tony - 04/26 02:48

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