A Blog from Iraq Since the feeling of many Americans is the same as the Administration -- that the Fallujah Massacres must be avenged, I think its fair to point to a blog of someone actually there. My fear with Iraq, now that we are in the difficult position of being there, whether one opposed the war or not, is that we will appear to be essentially following the Israeli policy of reprisal tit-for-tat. Too many people, view life in a black & white motif. I've seen too many people say something along the lines of what Fox Pundithead Fred Barnes has said upon returning from Iraq, "the Iraqis are ingrates". Well, that is just self-fulfilling prophecy isn't it? It gets pretty close to the "we have to destroy the village, in order to save it" philosophy of Vietnam. Bluntly, this method of decision-making is far too comfortable to too many Americans and is symbolized by the actions of those responsible for starting this whole nightmare. The Commander-in-Chief. We criticize politicians who "flip-flop" as if that is ipso facto a bad thing -- what if it actually can reflect somebody who realizes nuances over time. Simple theories of life are fine if you are living a simple life. But when you are the leader of the most powerful nation in history, you need some ability to realize life's pallete comes in various shades, not black and white. Americans like the Simple person over the Complex, the "common man". It's been the approach of every political party since real democracy took root in the 1820s. That approach may have been fine when Andrew Jackson was President (actually it wasn't even then) but we are a sophisticated nation, we deserve sophisticated leadership and it is time for we, the voters, to realize it and frankly, grow the hell up. Many politicians from both parties ran as Common Men, without actually being common in the least. But our current executive? Undoubtedly the most average intellect since Harding. His rival for having a President in his bloodlines is not the prickly intellect of J. Quincy Adams, but the pedestrian mind of Benjamin Harrison. But anyway, what does an Iraqi think? It reflects this need for an appreciation of complexities, not blood lust. Granted this is only one person, and a person who is quite rare, Iraqi with a PC and the Internet. I would like to see Salaam Pax or Riverbend's thoughts, but they haven't posted since the attacks of 3/31. Nonetheless: "Raed in the Middle" says, hold off on the vengence, the cycle of violence must be stopped somewhere and the Fallujah attack, while inexcusable, is the product of several things, including some mistakes by the Americans that are being perpetuated.