WHAT LANGUAGE IS U.S. SPEAKING IN IRAQ?
HAROON SIDDIQUI One cringes on hearing some Americans analyze non-Americans. Here is Lt.-Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, chief commander in Iraq, announcing the curtailment of U.S. raids in the futile search for Saddam Hussein, Baathists and other troublemakers — raids that have alienated Iraqis because troops were often ending up at the wrong address due to faulty intelligence: “We created in this culture some Iraqis that then had to act because of their value systems against us in terms of revenge, possibly because there were casualties on their side and also because of the impact on their dignity and respect.” Set aside the awkward lingo. The message is clear enough: Iraqis are resisting the occupation not because innocent bystanders are getting killed or injured in ill-conceived and ill-executed American operations. Nor because doors to people’s homes are being kicked down in the middle of the night, their meagre possessions turned topsy-turvy and their cash, essential for survival in the ab
