RIT student returns from Baghdad with a call to action

RIT student Khury Peterson-Smith visited Baghdad over winter break. Now he is back to share with audiences some disturbing observations. "Let Iraqis run their own country," was the theme of his well-attended lecture on Jan. 28 at RIT.

RIT student Khury Peterson-Smith visited Baghdad over winter break. Now he is back to share with audiences some disturbing observations. "Let Iraqis run their own country," was the theme of his well-attended lecture on Jan. 28 at RIT.
Khury, pronounced ka-REE emphasis being on the second syllable, is a 21-year old veteran of political activism. Outspoken against the war last winter Khury has made numerous speeches at anti-war rallies and other political events.
Tonight he told of the devastating socioeconomic and ideological toll the war/occupation has taken on average Iraqis.
"You here of soldiers pointing guns at children, soldiers flipping the middle finger at crowds of Iraqi villagers who had assembled roadside to witness the parade of American tanks through their town. The students tell us about the cocky US soldiers sauntering through Baghdad University campus, with machine guns cocked to intimidating affect."
This is the arrogant and bullying side of the US Army that the American media is committed to omit. So it should be of no surprise that there were no major media organization attending the talk tonight.
Khury's list went on. There were stories of soldiers disrespecting elder Iraqi men and breaking down doors in mid-night raids with sergeants screaming at women. I am sure all components of the Army's mission to liberate the people. Khury believed these kinds of incidences were feeding the resistance.
"It's not the remnants of the Bathist Party nor Al Qaeda fundamentalists crossing the border. The US State Department wants people to believe that it is some fringe or radical element that is fomenting the resistance, but that is not true. As one Baghdad University professor told me, 'Even more devastating than the bombs, the looting, the violence, is the psychological impact of occupation. The dignity of Iraqis had suffered the most and sooner or later we'll all be part of the resistance.'"
Khury went on to criticize the claim that Iraqis can't govern themselves. "This is unbelievably racist that somehow because the Iraqis have lived under a dictatorship that they have no practice at democracy. Are they to follow America's example as if we know any better about democracy here? It's ironic that George Bush, who wasn't elected, is telling them how to run a democracy."
By far the most disturbing story Khury reported tonight was from the brother of the man who was murdered.
The U.S. troops came at 3 a.m. They used two tanks to block off the street where the home that they planned to raid was. The soldiers moved in, one of them kicking down the outside door of the house. The man who lived there, Ahmed Khalif Salman, opened the front door, and a soldier shot him in the chest immediately.
The soldiers brought him - still alive - outside to lie bleeding in the front yard. Then, the soldiers ordered everyone out of the house and ransacked it, stealing money and jewelry, and breaking furniture.
One of Ahmed's soldiers told us how the soldiers tied him up while his father lay in the yard. When they were done the soldiers wrapped Ahmed's wound, dragged him by his feet to a vehicle, threw him in and drove away.
The family, not knowing where their husband/father was taken, searched for him at detention centers and hospitals, finally learning that Ahmed had died and his body had been dropped off at a hospital.
There is no recourse for U.S. abuses. For example Ahmed's family went to the Coalition Provincial Authority to make his murder known and the CPA did nothing.
These are the same troops that NY Governor George Pataki would visit weeks later to "let them know that I and the people are very grateful for their courage and service."
Khury talked to a high school girl named Qitaf who had seen only war in her life. She was born in 1987 - the last year of the Iran-Iraq War. For her there was nothing to look forward to. Before the dreams of young people had been choked by Saddam's regime, now it is the occupation that takes away their hope.
"What is there left to hope for here," said Qitaf. "If there is a choice between living as we do now or resistance, I choose resistance."
In the question and answer session after the talk, a member of the audience asked about the morality of suicide bombings.
"What is the justification of these tactics if the targets are often innocent civilians and if it is against the inherent spirit of Islam?"
Khury responded, "I am sure the Iraqi resistance would use helicopters and tanks if they had them. I mean if Texas was under occupation, I am sure the people would use their guns or whatever means to defend themselves. What it comes down to is that there is no right way to occupy another country."
The discussion concluded with Khury calling for a more vigorous resistance movement inside the U.S. to force and end to occupation. "Let Iraqis run their own country," he said.

[ Khury Peterson-Smith is a multi-disciplinary student at RIT with a minor in Sociology and Criminal Justice. He is a member of the Campus Antiwar Network and the International Socialist Organization. He visited Iraq in January as part of a delegation organized by United for Peace and Justice, Global Exchange and Occupation Watch. Khury will be sharing his experiences in Iraq with larger audiences with speaking engagements around the U.S. For more information/ to schedule a speaking date, contact Khury at email: subterranean_fire@mail.com or visit www.ritantiwar.org.]