Nice Bombs

I've been listening the American controlled radio Sawa. Spreading the goodwill of USA through really bad American pop songs and some okay Arab pop. The Arabic music is not so bad... but some of the Western pop makes me want to vomit.

I wish I could pick up some Iraqi radio through the internet.

My wife says I've been a little obsessed with Iraqi lately. She's right. I can't stop thinking about Iraq. I try to age my memory in order to have some idea of what I may see.

When we left Iraq and ended up in Saudi Arabia, I was shocked. I admit it felt 'safe' being surrounded by such western motifs, like large malls, KFC and the most advanced techy toys out there. All laid out in at the open market. But my childhood attraction to those shiny American symbols of capitalism quickly wore off. I had never really been exposed to Islam in such an overwhelming manner. Living in Iraq I had never really been pressured to go to Mosque or pray. We observed Ramadan and my Grandfather would sometimes borrow my space-themed sleeping bag to pray on. And certainly the whole country did not shut down and rush to mosque when it was time. And another thing that bothered me, I could never see women in Saudi Arabia. When attending dinner parties at the homes of Saudi's the men would enter from one side of the house (the main section, of course) and the women would usually go behind, with the servants and such. After these segregated events my sisters and I would consult and compare notes. Of course their events were more casual and less formal.
I really don't think it's healthy to always be separated from the opposite sex. As a young boy I was always in total awe of the beautiful Iraqi women my parents knew. I even remember one lady that was almost 10 years older then me teasing me and telling me she had my picture in her wallet. My father would joke with her and tell her that I was going to marry her soon.

In 3rd grade, while in Baghdad, I knew these twins. I took an interest in these two girls and felt that they were my girls. I used to wear this black turtleneck jacket and comb my thick, shiny black hair straight down before I greeted my girl-twins. Our parents would go to some Baghdad dinner club and the twins would accompany me, one girl on my left and the other on my right, holding their hands. I was a proud young man. This was before the war with Iran.
How quickly things changed when war broke out.
Everything got darker. No lights. No more nightclubs.

I just don't want Iraq to turn into a large McDonalds with a repressive religious govt. I don't want the Saudi Arabia model. Just look at what that has produced.

We need to keep America's ugly capitalism away from Iraq. We need to set up restriction on what chain stores and western business are allowed to open. Trust me, if you say yes to Starbucks, McDonalds, Nike, etc you will open the flood gates to something much uglier and insidious than the current situation.