Holy Water of Jesus!

US Secretary of Defense, Donald H. Rumsfeld, said recently “That [the] insurgency could go on for any number of years. Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years. Coalition forces, foreign forces are not going to repress that insurgency. We’re going to create an environment that the Iraqi people and the Iraqi security forces can win against that insurgency.” This stuff isn’t rocket science, Donald….

Every day that the US is in Iraq and doesn’t provide basic life sustaining needs, the insurgency will grow. Consider Iraqi blogger hnk’s words (a 16 year old Iraqi blogger)

“we have big problem in Mosul this week. The fuel is not available and it cost 25 times more than before from the black market. We don’t buy it from the fuel station because it’s too crowded and there is no hope to reach your turn before 10 hours, and after that 50% they will not get you fuel. That if you could wait till after 10 hours.”

“Baghdad have another problem, the people there don’t have water, not even polluted water. And we are in summer and this is Baghdad.”

“Clear water, dirty water doesn’t trouble it’s not making a different. We drink both of them. My uncle house’s water has a small fish on it beside its color and its taste which we get use on them. But fish, It’s another problem.”

Water! Iraqi’s are drinking foul, polluted water!

Another common problem in Iraq is lack of electricity. Hnk said

“Bad electricity service that we have here in Iraq couldn’t give us more than 4 hours in the day. In lucky days, we have 7 hours of electricity at the most level.” You see a pattern developing?

Then there is the matter of security. Hnk said

“I said that today is better than tomorrow we were so near from being died this week. Especially my parents. The people around me killed and kidnapped. OH, Allah help us.”

“One of the people who work with my father in the same building, called before an hour and asked my father not to come to the clinic, he said there is a confrontation in the region around the clinic.”

Having no clean water, little electricity, and no security will do more to grow this insurgency than anything else. Security and quality of life issues should be front and center if we expect to win the hearts and minds of Iraqi’s.

Like I said, it’s not rocket science. Unfortunately those in authority believe more in the power of neocon Jesus than in science.

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