Velma Berger – 2/4/05

This page was last updated on February 5, 2005.

Iraqis vote but won’t fight; Velma Berger; Beaver County Times; February 4, 2005.

I have to concede I had the same impression as Ms. Berger until about six months ago. Since then I’ve seen that Iraqi security forces appear to be a bigger enemy of the terrorists than Americans. My evidence of that are the attacks on Iraqis by the terrorists.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“I have been watching the Iraqis casting their ballots in 14 countries, including the United States. A large number of men were helping out at the polling places.

“I couldn’t help but notice many were your healthy, able-bodied young men. I just question why they do not return to their homeland and fight alongside our brave troops who are being killed daily.”

[RWC] Not all Iraqis who could vote outside of Iraq ever lived in Iraq. Even if you were born outside of Iraq, you could vote if your father was an Iraqi citizen.

On a side note, Ms. Berger only mentioned men. What about women?

“It is easy to cast your vote when you are living the good life in this great country, but are they willing to put their lives on the line?

“I say return to your country and fight for it if you believe in the cause.”

[RWC] Ms. Berger sounds like Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and apparently hasn’t been paying attention to the news. Since mid-2004, approximately 1,500 Iraqi policemen died in the line of duty. Despite being targeted by terrorists, approximately 5,000 additional Iraqis per month apply to be police officers. I don’t know how many of these men and women returned from exile to serve. Though I don’t have the figures, I understand there is similar participation in the other Iraqi security forces.

Finally, even Iraqi civilians are getting bolder. An Australian newspaper reported the following. I heard it on a TV newscast so I don’t have the article citation. Prior to the election, terrorists warned the people in a village south of Baghdad that they should not vote. If they did, the terrorists would kill them. Despite the threats, most of the villagers voted. When the terrorists came back after the election to make good on their threats, the villagers – both Shia and Sunni – killed five of the terrorists, wounded the other eight, and burned their vehicle.