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Two brothers, Jamal* and Khalid,* were arrested randomly in a raid of their neighborhood by Iraqi Special Police Forces, the Palestinian ghetto in Baghdad. They were tortured and forced to confess on a television program to acts of terror they didn't commit. Other Palestinian refugees have been dragged out of their homes and killed.

Dalia* and Sara,* two sisters, along with other members of their family, were accused of funding the resistance and were detained in Abu Ghraib for nine months. One day their brother's dead and tortured body was brought into their room and thrown on their laps.

In Fallujah, four months after the November 2004 massive U.S. attacks in which 60 percent of the buildings were destroyed - including several schools and the main hospital - the southern half of the city was complete rubble. The Musa Abdulla* family, of 26 persons, was one of hundreds of families that had been forced to return and live in a tent next to the remains of their former home.

Hundreds of Palestinian refugees living in Iraq fled to the Syrian border because of threat to their lives. Only some were allowed to go to a refugee camp in Syria. Others were not allowed into Syria - but also not allowed back into Iraq - so have been living in tents in the no-man's land in-between.

Six-year-old Mohammed was playing on the gate in his front yard when he was shot in the head in the cross-fire of a gun-battle between U.S. Military and resistance fighters. He lost his right eye and the right side of his face is disfigured.

When the surge started, our former neighbor, Alia,* in Baghdad told our peace team, "The increase of U.S. military forces in the city only increases the hell we are living in." A month later her youngest son was injured when a bomb blasted in our former neighborhood.

As a long-time human rights worker, Hameed helped mediate between fighting groups on the streets of his city. He made several trips with a group of Shia, Sunni, and Christians into Fallujah in 2005 to develop peaceful relationships between the different ethnic groups. In 2006 he survived an assassination attempt. He knows that at any time he could be targeted again.

* Real people and situations, but names have been changed

Peggy Gish is a fulltime worker with Christian Peacemaker Teams, which seeks to enlist the whole church in organized, nonviolent alternatives to war and places teams of trained peacemakers in regions of lethal conflict. CPT initiated a long-term presence in Iraq in October 2002. She is the author of Iraq: A Journey of Hope and Peace.

Comments

these are tragedies that need to be brought to light, but have you failed to recognize the extremely horrific acts of those we wage war against? Beheading, mass graves, roadside bombs and hiding among women and children are only a glimpse of the enemy we face. Are you suggesting that American forces leaving Iraq will leave the people of Iraq in better condition? Maybe we shouldn't be there in the first place, but then Saddam and his 2 monstrous sons would still be in power and people would continue to die under his watch. I believe the battle must continue until we have stabilized the region and the people of iraq can live in peace. That is the only responsible option.

Posted by: Steve S | March 11, 2008 4:54 PM

The suffering created far exceeds the suffering that could be reasonably projected to have occurred had we not moved into Iraq. Unfortunately, that is one of the required precepts of Just War Theory. Neither Just Cause according to it nor Just Waging were satisfied from the perspective we are seeing things from now.

From a humanitarian standpoint, it is absolutely heartbreaking. All the justifications in the world for being there, for going, for staying forever and a day, or only until not needed, or until the oil's gone, whatever, don't change those tragic dimensions.

Posted by: Sojourner Truth | March 11, 2008 5:09 PM

I can not imagin . Makes you feel guilty for being ticked off for being caught in rush hour traffic jams .

Also glad I live in the Northwest of the USA .
We are blessed with so much .

Posted by: Mick | March 11, 2008 5:27 PM

the first thing I pray each morning is that my wife and children return to our home at the end of the day, safe and sound. But in truth, our lives are quite safe. I cannot imagine what it must be like watching family members exit the house in the morning, and not know if they will return in the evening.

Posted by: carl copas | March 11, 2008 6:38 PM

When we pull the troops out of Iraq will Haliburton, it's subsidiaries and the rest of the mercenaries get to stay?

Pastor Jeff

Posted by: Pastor Jeff Staples | March 11, 2008 6:38 PM

Just because this country, USA dosn't see eye to eye with every nation, it isn't give it a right to police these nations. I will continually pray for every nation, language kindred and talk to know Christ and to obey by the sermon on the mount and to take care of this planet Earth and to be peacemakers and the Holy Spirit is speaking to us to be Holy, as GOD is Holy. Quit your complaining and pray and love all people, like Christ love us in our sinful state. God is not a respector of person, but of their actions to others in love. So many people critize GOD of the OLD Testament, but they don't know GOD very well. HE knows everything at all times, and sees all and knows what they are going to do, because their is no time with HIM, and HE knows us better than we know ourselves. People have to be walking in the spirit of God to understand why things happen and were done, to preserve His people. We see how Moshe had a hard time dealing with them that it cost him to go to the promise land. America and other nations quit trying to divide Jerusalem and Jewish nation up into pieces, because when He comes this time they will all have to obey. That means every nation.

Posted by: Sydney R Mooradian | March 11, 2008 7:54 PM

What is the point of this article? The vast, vast majority of atrocities faced by the Iraqis comes at the hands of their own countrymen. Iraqis make personal decisions everyday to slaughter each other instead of work with each other to create a better life.

Maybe the US shouldn't be there. But the personal decisions of the Iraqis remain the same.

Posted by: Eric | March 11, 2008 10:49 PM

Posted by: Pastor Jeff Staples

Would you ?

Posted by: mick | March 12, 2008 12:51 AM

If we pull out now, 5 years from now or 10 years from now, the religious and tribal rivalries that had existed for hundreds of years before the United States existed will flare back up, and will be played out whether we like it or not. The country is already dividing by sectarian divisions. The U.S. soldiers are the finger in the dike that is Iraq. If we eventually pull out, they will settle matters in their own way.
There's only one thing that most Iraqis agree on from what reading I have done, and that's that the U.S. needs to leave Iraq. Roughly 75 to 80% of them think this, I keep hearing.

My opinion, we should have left testerday.

Posted by: Paul W | March 12, 2008 7:45 AM

There would be no profit to be got so would vanish rapidly, if not shot first.

It could be considered just if they did. The role and status of non military combatants / mercenaries in front line situations is fairly murky.

They could help repair the damage, but at much less extortionate rates.

Posted by: JohnH | March 12, 2008 9:02 AM

"What is the point of this article? The vast, vast majority of atrocities faced by the Iraqis comes at the hands of their own countrymen. Iraqis make personal decisions everyday to slaughter each other instead of work with each other to create a better life.

Maybe the US shouldn't be there. But the personal decisions of the Iraqis remain the same."

So it's all their fault anyway. And the U.S. invasion has nothing to do with the civil war in Iraq.

And the sun rises in the west. War is peace. Work is freedom. Gov. Spitzer pretended the hooker was his wife.

Posted by: carl copas | March 12, 2008 11:19 AM

It looks like there are two Eric's here. I'm going to have to come up with an addition to my name. That wasn't my post above. Hmmmm...

Maybe I'll be Eric V for a while...

Posted by: Eric (the one who's been here a while) | March 12, 2008 2:58 PM

Steve S. wrote - "I believe the battle must continue until we have stabilized the region and the people of iraq can live in peace."

This is a proposturous statement! It "ain't" ever going to happen - so if this is the goal we'll never get out of there, so the 100 year war is indeed a reasonable expectation for our generation. What a mess we've gotten ourselves into because of poor and less than honest leadership.....doug

Posted by: Doug | March 12, 2008 3:01 PM

Pastor Jeff asked:
When we pull the troops out of Iraq will Haliburton, it's subsidiaries and the rest of the mercenaries get to stay?

Only if there is money to be made and Cheney retirment checks to be paid. Yes, I am very cynical at this point. The rich with no kids in the fight, on either side, keep sending kids off to die in their wars.

Randy

Posted by: Randy T | March 12, 2008 3:34 PM

Snapshots of Real People in Iraq (by Peggy Gish)

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