The News We Don't Hear

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Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..

this statue is currently on display outside the iraqi palace that is now home to the 4th infantry division. it will eventually be shipped and shown at the memorial museum in fort hood, texas.

this statue was made by an iraqi artist named kalat, who for years was forced by saddam hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of saddam that dotted baghdad.

this artist was so grateful that the americans liberated his country; he melted 3 of the fallen saddam heads and made a memorial statue dedicated to the american soldiers and their fallen comrades. kalat has been working on this night and day for several months.

to the left of the kneeling soldier is a small iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.

we know the answer to why we don't hear and see this in the news is the liberal media. not shocking; not controversial; does not support their view of truth.

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Specializes in LTC.

I don't know what to think of the statue, but I've heard from other sources that Iraq has gone a lot better than the media is telling us.

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Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

No one will know how Iraq is doing for a generation. As for not hearing about the statue from the Liberal Media, I also didn't here about it from the conservative media either.

Moving the statue to Fort Hood will preserve the thanks expressed by this Iraqi artist but I feel the 4th would be better memorialized if the statue remained in Iraq to remind those there of the cost of freedom.

Or maybe the Iraqi people don't want to be reminded of the US sacrifice and the statue in order to be preserved needs to be moved to Ft Hood.

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I don't know what to think of the statue, but I've heard from other sources that Iraq has gone a lot better than the media is telling us.

I do not think that anybody is qualified to say how well Iraq is doing. Progress is relative, the only person with real political power is Grand Ayatollah Sistani. He is not going to give his blessing to any set of circumstances until errors of prediction can largely be excluded. Most Arab Iraqis have mixed views on the US occupation which range range from outright hostility to a more negative ambivalence. Generally speaking most Arab Iraqis dislike the US military and if they had a wish, it would be to see them leave as soon as possible. There are a variety of possible outcomes and one might relate to the civil war in Lebanon and yet another to the Afghan model. Democracy and peace would be the option which is potentially the least likely in my opinion.

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we know the answer to why we don't hear and see this in the news is the liberal media. not shocking; not controversial; does not support their view of truth.

the news will report anything they think will sell, whether they are liberal or conservative. that's why we have sex and violence and death on the front page and as top news stories instead of cute kittens (which i think i'd prefer, actually).
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Moscow, from where do you get your insight into the feelings and beliefs of the Iraqi people with regards to the U.S. military? Have you been there? Do you have open dialogue with people in Iraq? I welcome your opinions but if you are going to speak, even "generally," for a people back it up with substantiated references.

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Moscow, from where do you get your insight into the feelings and beliefs of the Iraqi people with regards to the U.S. military? Have you been there? Do you have open dialogue with people in Iraq? I welcome your opinions but if you are going to speak, even "generally," for a people back it up with substantiated references.

I absloutley agree. We have no idea how these people feel, we only see the liberal media display the bad things. The liberal media consists of the major networks which include CBS, NBC, and ABC. Fox news reports the good and the bad. There really is no "conservative" media to speak.

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Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
I absloutley agree. We have no idea how these people feel, we only see the liberal media display the bad things. The liberal media consists of the major networks which include CBS, NBC, and ABC. Fox news reports the good and the bad. There really is no "conservative" media to speak.
CBN addresses the hidden, positive news too. I watch it every day.
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The Iraqi sculptor was not "forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam," he did not produce the memorial shown because he was "so grateful that the Americans liberated his country," and the monument was not his idea. Members of the U.S. Army paid the sculptor, who had previously worked on a few other Saddam statues, to create the work pictured according to a design of their choosing.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/kalat.asp

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Boe,

With regards to statements made by individuals please read the reference pages and quote them in their entirety, In addition to the money there was another motivator in doing the initial statues of Saddam, "He said he took the job because he needed the money and was afraid of the consequences of saying no."

I found the statement in The Wall Street Journal article listed as a source on the snopes.com page. If given a choice between the integrity of The Wall Street Journal and snopes.com, the wise choice would probably be TWSJ.

The military articles do not paint an accurate picture of how the statue came to be; however, neither does snopes.com

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Moscow, from where do you get your insight into the feelings and beliefs of the Iraqi people with regards to the U.S. military? Have you been there? Do you have open dialogue with people in Iraq? I welcome your opinions but if you are going to speak, even "generally," for a people back it up with substantiated references.

The (Arab) Iraqi people generally do not like the US military. I would presume it fairly difficult to find even a US poll which sought to suggest otherwise. Grand Ayatollah Sistani is the only figure in Iraq who can command absolute support and obedience.

'Other problems include widespread public resentment over the presence of U.S.-led troops, as well as the bombings and assassinations that have become daily fare throughout much of the country. A new poll shows only 2 percent of Iraqis consider Americans to be liberators, and most Iraqis want them out of the country as soon as possible.'

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2004/06/29/ed.edit.iraqsovereignty.phn.ad.html

The Abu Ghraib issue has not been adequately resoved. The Iraqi people want the men who raped, tortured and sexually abused the female detainees to be punished.

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The Register Guard newspaper of Eugene, Oregon, Are you kidding me? Serioulsy, you are pulling my leg right? The 2% poll isn't even referenced as to where it originated. Again, please tell me you are kidding? This is not even an AP article it actually was written in Eugene, Oregon.

Again, you are speaking for the Iraqi people without any knowledge yourself. I have spoken with many returning veterans and for the vast majority their statements about the Iraqi people and the U.S. military run contrary to yours.

You keep speaking of Aya. Sistani, a Shia muslim, "is the only figure in Iraq who can command absolute support and obedience." You do realize ofcourse that a minority of Iraqis are Sunni muslim and don't like Shia muslims? This does not bode well for your statement. Not to mention the Kurds and turkmens in the North.

Abu Gharib is beyond shame and all involved should be brought to justice.

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