This is from Iraq the Model blogspot. He is a physician from Iraq who has been blogging for some time now since the fall of Saddam’s regime. I wish that more Americans would here his words of hope and gratitude. Here is a recent post from his blog http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/
What Iraqis think of the French government.
France is the biggest enemy for Iraq. A letter to Kofi Annan.
Hamza Al Jawahiri.
Your Excellency, Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations
We extend our best greetings and highest appreciation, We, the undersigned, Iraqi civil society organizations as well as a group of Iraqi and Arab intellectuals are gravely concerned at the continuing attempts of certain governments to undermine the democratic process in Iraq. In the vanguard of these governments stands the French government. Since the start, this government has opposed the endeavours of the international community to help the Iraqi people end the despotic rule of Saddam Hussein, a rule that posed a threat to international peace and security, under the pretext of protecting the integrity of the Iraqi people. It threatened to resort to the veto in the UN Security Council to thwart any resolution which could help the Iraqi people rid themselves of the dictatorial regime. After the liberation of Iraq under United States leadership and supported by many countries in the world, the French government called for the participation of the Baath party in the transitional government in spite of that party’s totalitarian thought, nationalistic fanaticism and sanguinary past. These efforts were repeated in different forms including the persistent call for the withdrawal of multinational forces from Iraq, forces which Iraq needs in order to ensure security. The last such effort was the French government’s demand to convene an international conference in Egypt to include governments and representatives of what it calls factions of the “Iraqi resistance”. We wish to confirm to you that this “resistance” is none other than an alliance of remnants of the ousted regime in Baghdad and non-Iraqi Islamist and extremist terrorist groups affiliated to the Al Qaida organization led by Osama Ben Laden whose Iraq branch is headed by the Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, as well as organized crime gangs previously released by Saddam Hussein before his fall. The Iraqi government objected to the presence of terrorists at this conference, one which is a gathering of governments and not a joint meeting with non-governmental organizations. This stance was supported by Iraqi civil society organizations. This notwithstanding, the French government submitted a new proposal calling for the holding of a special conference to which “factions of the Iraqi resistance” would be invited under the appellation “Iraqi civil society organizations”. This term implies that these are merely peace-loving civil society organizations which believe in democracy, reject violence and terrorism and strive to protect human rights and society by peaceful means. We do not know whether the French government has accepted that representatives of these terrorists groups would attend masked, or if it will ask them to remove their masks so that hostages would recognize their kidnappers and witnesses of beheadings would behold the face of murderers. We believe that the purpose which the French government seeks through all of the above is to accord international legitimacy to terrorist groups in Iraq, delay elections sought by the Iraqi people and press for the withdrawal of the multinational forces before stability is established and before security and democracy are realized in Iraq. This contradicts Security Council resolution No. 1546 which was approved by the very same French Government, a resolution that gave the Iraqi Transitional Government the sole right and authority to demand the withdrawal of these forces. We believe that withdrawal of the multinational forces in this critical transitional phase in the life of the Iraqi people is tantamount to paving the road, either to the restoration of the Saddam Hussein regime– one that has filled Iraq with mass graves and displaced millions of its sons – so that it may pursue its persecution of the Iraqi people, or transform Iraq into a large hotbed that attracts criminals, thieves, murderers and terrorists turning it into a centre of international terrorism with the attendant threat to peace and security of the peoples of the region and the world. We therefore appeal to you, Your Excellency the Secretary General, to call on the governments of the states neighbouring Iraq as well as the French government to rectify their negative positions vis-à-vis the Iraqi people and to join the international community in the bid to help Iraq and its people defeat terrorism, realize security and democracy and rebuild their country, thereby restoring peace and security to the Middle East region, key to security and stability in the world.
With sincere thanks and appreciation, Signed
Cc:
1- President George Bush, President of the United States of America, the White House, Washington D.C.
2- Mr. Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 10 Downing Street, London.
3- Mr. Jack Straw, Foreign Minister, U.K Foreign Ministry, London.
4- President Vlademir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, Moscow.
5- President Guojia Zhuxi, President of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing.
6- President Jacques Chirac, President of France, Paris.
7- Mr. Gerhard Schroeder, Chancellor of Germany, Berlin.
8- Mrs. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commission of the European Union, Brussels.
9- Mr. Iyad Allawi, Prime Minister, Government of Iraq, Baghdad.
10- Mr. Hoshyar Zebari, Foreign Minister of Iraq, Baghdad.
11- Mr. Ahmed Abu Al Gheit, Foreign Minister of Egypt, Cairo.
12- Mr. Amr Mousa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Cairo.
