Found myself in conversation with an Iraqi-American AP reporter last weekend. He was born and raised in Iraq and spent some years living in Iran.
I asked him what his experience was like living in the Middle East. He said it was "dangerous." I said, "Dangerous... how so?" He said families were always at risk of having their children kidnapped and held for ransom. When you came up with the cash and gave it to the kidnappers, they would still kill the child. I was kind of shocked to hear that as I was picturing things like theft and gang violence. I asked who was doing the kidnapping. He said the Iranian military. I said, "And the killings, are you saying it's the Iranian government that's holding these kids hostage and then killing them after receiving the ransom?" He said, "yes, that is exactly what I am saying." I said that's almost unbelievable. He said that's just one example of the horrible life in Iran/Iraq. He said if you criticize the leader of Iran, that is punishable by death. If you steal, you lose a hand. He said even the people of Iran hate their own leaders but have little hope that this tyranny will ever end.
I asked why he moved to the US. He said for the safety of himself as well as his family. He has three kids. His daughter is in college studying to be a dentist. But his son was what triggered the move to the US. Why? Because his son's name is "Omar." What's wrong with that, I asked? Well, Iran one day decided to kill -- yes, KILL -- everyone by the name of Omar. I asked why in the world they would do that. He said because Iran has been harboring a grudge for 1,400 years about an Islamic warlord who came into their country and converted all their people to Islam.
I asked, respectfully, if he himself is a follower of Islam. He said "yes, but I follow the real Islam. There are a lot of people giving Islam a bad name -- they are practicing 'fake Islam' and the leaders of Iran are building schools throughout the Middle East and forcing the kids to learn this version of 'fake Islam,' and this it is going to create a lot of problems in the future."
He went on to explain that when the US left Iraq, Iran came in and took control. He said these new US sanctions have been suffocating Iran and everyone in the Middle East is refusing to buy Iranian products, so there's a real squeeze going on. But the problem is Iran has control of Iraqi oil. No idea if true, but he said Iran is stealing $100 million of oil from Iraq every every single day.
And with all that being said, I can't imagine how happy he must have been waking up to the news that Qasem Soleimani is dead.
I asked him what his experience was like living in the Middle East. He said it was "dangerous." I said, "Dangerous... how so?" He said families were always at risk of having their children kidnapped and held for ransom. When you came up with the cash and gave it to the kidnappers, they would still kill the child. I was kind of shocked to hear that as I was picturing things like theft and gang violence. I asked who was doing the kidnapping. He said the Iranian military. I said, "And the killings, are you saying it's the Iranian government that's holding these kids hostage and then killing them after receiving the ransom?" He said, "yes, that is exactly what I am saying." I said that's almost unbelievable. He said that's just one example of the horrible life in Iran/Iraq. He said if you criticize the leader of Iran, that is punishable by death. If you steal, you lose a hand. He said even the people of Iran hate their own leaders but have little hope that this tyranny will ever end.
I asked why he moved to the US. He said for the safety of himself as well as his family. He has three kids. His daughter is in college studying to be a dentist. But his son was what triggered the move to the US. Why? Because his son's name is "Omar." What's wrong with that, I asked? Well, Iran one day decided to kill -- yes, KILL -- everyone by the name of Omar. I asked why in the world they would do that. He said because Iran has been harboring a grudge for 1,400 years about an Islamic warlord who came into their country and converted all their people to Islam.
I asked, respectfully, if he himself is a follower of Islam. He said "yes, but I follow the real Islam. There are a lot of people giving Islam a bad name -- they are practicing 'fake Islam' and the leaders of Iran are building schools throughout the Middle East and forcing the kids to learn this version of 'fake Islam,' and this it is going to create a lot of problems in the future."
He went on to explain that when the US left Iraq, Iran came in and took control. He said these new US sanctions have been suffocating Iran and everyone in the Middle East is refusing to buy Iranian products, so there's a real squeeze going on. But the problem is Iran has control of Iraqi oil. No idea if true, but he said Iran is stealing $100 million of oil from Iraq every every single day.
And with all that being said, I can't imagine how happy he must have been waking up to the news that Qasem Soleimani is dead.
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