Baghdad from the Inside: Heartening and Heart Wrenching

Mohhamed at Iraq The Model shared this post with the world yesterday; it reaffirms the best and worst of what we all see in Iraq to one degree or another.

Continuing my theme from last Friday regarding the absurdity of comparing Iraq per capita or deaths per 100,000 as a measure of how good or bad things are going there - my central argument was that they were distinctions with big differences and it did not change the horror of the human toll on the ground (A death is Baghdad is not less tragic or consequential because two die in Mexico City or vice versa). I think this passage from the ITM post linked above illustrates this well:

We decided to go home earlier than usual that day and then we were met by the terrible news about the savage massacre in Baghdad that took away hundreds of innocent lives. I avoided looking at the news after I heard of the open-ended curfew and we had to get prepared for the worse.Terrorists and militias started an open war; the battlefield is our city and the fuel is innocent civilians as always since those criminal groups find it easier to kill civilians than to confront each other (and rid us of their evil). The big problem is that the security forces are not strong enough to stop them, worse than that, some members of these forces let themselves become partners to the criminals.We had no choice but to rely on ourselves to protect our homes and neighborhood insurgents and militias alike. In our mixed block the elders met to assign duties and make plans in case things go wrong. They decided that people should all exchange cell-phone numbers as the fastest means to communicate at times of action, it was also decided that if someone calls to report an attack on his home, everyone else must go up to the roof and start shooting at the direction of the assailants.More roadblocks were erected and older ones strengthened—streets and alleys were blocked in any possible way to prevent any attack with vehicles.They also agreed that no one moves on the streets after a certain hour at night and any moving person would be dealt with as a threat. (Emphasis added)

Later:

Rough times blur the vision and disrupt reason, I understand that. When you hear stories about people burned alive or mass public executions it makes you imagine that the streets are full of monsters coming to predate everything and makes you shout calling for merciless punishment upon even those who are only suspects.Being stuck at home for four days with all the violence going outside and the fear that it might reach you at home was a horrible experience. When the news came that the curfew was over and people began walking on the streets again there was a strange feeling that was particularly very strong this morning in Baghdad; despite all the rumors and fear from more wide-scale revenge attacks there was a feeling among the people that they must go out on the streets and live in all possible means.The most beautiful scene was that of students going to their schools and colleges despite all what happened in the days before.Not everyone will absorb the lesson but I'm sure that this last dose of terror has changed the feelings of so many people here, a change in favor of denouncing and rejecting violence, I hope.

The entire post highlights two major themes I've been hitting on the past several days: equating the violence in numbers or nature with Miami or Washington, D.C. with that in Baghdad just does not wash. In America violence is rarely ideologically driven and is often (as much as 50% in some cities) criminal on criminal, not to mention that often counted in violent deaths in the United States are such categories as suicide, self defense or protection of family/property and domestic violence. Subtract all of that and life in virtually any neighborhood in any city in the United States is Shangri-La compared to Baghdad.

The second part reflects the hope and the need for Iraqis as a group to reject citizen on citizen violence instigated by outsiders and sociopaths.

One last thing - On the story of false reports of violence by Associated Press and others broke by Flopping Aces and well covered by Michelle Malkin and Gateway Pundit, it is interesting to read this last quote from the ITM post:

The other star of the crisis was rumors about ugly revenge attacks and I sometimes feel that those rumors are part of the terrorists and militias propaganda campaign