"Ua pepehi ʻo Al-Qaʻida i ʻelua o kā mākou mau kāne ma ʻaneʻi i ʻelua lā i hala aku nei," wahi a ka cop. "A laila kāhea lākou iā mākou e haʻi iā mākou i ka inoa o kā lākou hana - ma kahi lekiō mākaʻi!" Ke kū nei mākou i loko o Fallujah i kūkulu hou ʻia, kahi i noi ai nā mākaʻi i nā haole a pau e kiʻi i kahi alakaʻi. Ua loaʻa iā mākou ʻeono, hoʻokahi i paʻa i ka pale ski. Loaʻa iā ʻoe ka manaʻo. E like me ka ʻōlelo ʻana a kahi mākaʻi ma hope: "Aia nō ʻo Al-Qaʻida ma ʻaneʻi, he mea hoʻopilikia iaʻu, iaʻu iho i ka wā e neʻe ai au a puni ke kūlanakauhale. Akā ʻaʻole like lākou."

Ke kū nei mākou ma ke kahua kaʻaahi US Marine kahiko ʻaʻole mamao loa mai ke kahua kaʻaahi hou i kūkulu hou ʻia - ʻoiaʻiʻo, ʻaʻohe kaʻaahi - a aia nō ka stencil haʻihaʻi o "USMC" ma ka paia. Akā, ua puhi ʻia ka lepo a puni ka pā a ua haki kekahi mau ʻeke one.

Ma ke ala a pau e hoʻi ai i Baghdad, ʻike ʻia nā kahua kahiko o ʻAmelika, ua hiolo kekahi o nā paia pahū. Aia kekahi manaʻo o ka haʻalele ʻana o kahi aupuni - ʻo Beretania ma hope o ka haʻalele ʻana o ko Roma.

ʻAʻole ʻo Iraq ʻaʻohe pilikia. ʻO kona hope-peresidena, ʻo Tareq al-Hashemi, ua mahuka ʻo Baghdad no Iraqi Kurdistan, a laila lele i Qatar a laila i Saudi Arabia a e mākaʻikaʻi ana i ke kahawai - i ka huhū o ke aupuni o ke Kuhina Nui ʻo Nouri al-Maliki, nāna i hoʻopiʻi iā ia i ka holo. nā pūʻali make. Ua ʻōlelo ʻo Al-Hashemi he ʻekolu o kāna mau kānaka i hoʻomāinoino ʻia a make i loko o ka hale paʻahao ʻo Baghdad - ʻōlelo ka hoʻokele al-Maliki i hoʻokahi wale nō i make, a no nā kumu olakino.

ʻAʻole ia he moʻolelo maikaʻi. Ke makemake nei ke aupuni waena e hoʻopaʻi i nā luna ma ke kahua mokulele ma Irbil, ke kapikala Kurdish, no ka ʻae ʻana iā al-Hashemi e lele i Qatar. ʻAʻole ʻo Beretania he repubalika, akā ua like ia me Cameron e kapa ana iā Clegg he kipi, ua holo ʻo Clegg i ʻEkokia a ʻōlelo ʻo Cameron ʻaʻole pono e ʻae ke kahua mokulele ʻo Edinburgh iā ia e lele i ʻIlelani. "ʻO ke kānāwai Iraqi hoʻokahi a pili ia i nā mea āpau, me Kurdistan," i hoʻolaha ai kahi ʻōlelo a ke aupuni.

ʻAʻole naʻe. He mokuʻāina ʻokoʻa ʻo Iraqi Kurdistan - aia kāna hae ponoʻī, kāna ʻōlelo ponoʻī - ʻoiai ʻo ka liʻiliʻi o kāna mau papa inoa kaʻa he Iraqi. Ma ke ala a pau a hiki i Irbil, aia nā mākaʻi Iraqi a me nā pūʻali koa - ke kaʻa nei kekahi o nā mākaʻi me nā Chevrolets ʻōmaʻomaʻo-a-melemele - a ʻoi aku ka maikaʻi o lākou ma mua o nā mākaʻi kahiko ʻAmelika kahi i kuhikuhi ai nā koa US makaʻu. ka lakou mau pu raifela ia oe ina he pepehi kanaka oe. He 40 mau mile ka lōʻihi i manaʻo ʻia ʻaʻole palekana - ʻo ia ka ʻāina ʻo al-Qaʻida, inā hiki iā ʻoe ke hoʻohana i ka huaʻōlelo - a laila hiki ʻoe i Kurdistan, a hulahula nā muliwai ma lalo o ke alanui a ʻoi aku ka maikaʻi o nā mākaʻi. . Ma waho aʻe o Irbil, aia kahi kahua hoʻomaʻemaʻe nui e like me kahi hale dute. ʻAe, ʻoi aku ka palekana o Iraq, ʻoiai ʻo ka "kū'ē" kahiko o ka Sunni - me ka ʻole o nā ʻenemi ʻAmelika e hoʻouka - ua hoʻolaha i kēia manawa ʻo Iran kona ʻenemi. ʻAe paha.

Aia wau ma ke ala nui me Dr Lubna Naji, he kauka lapaʻau 25 makahiki. Luliluli ʻo ia i kona poʻo. "ʻAʻohe ʻāina maoli. Ke kamaʻilio nei au i koʻu mau hoaaloha, ʻo ka hapa nui o nā kauka - a me nā kamaʻilio āpau e neʻe aku i waho o Iraq. Ua moe lākou āpau e hele i waho. No ka mea ʻo ka home kahi āu e makemake ai. ʻO ka manaʻo o kekahi mea iā mākou, ko mākou ʻāina hānau, ua nalowale ko mākou ʻano ʻāina ʻo Iraqis.

Lohe nui ʻoe i kēia. ʻO ke aupuni, haʻi lākou iā ʻoe ma Baghdad, he sectarian hilahila ʻole. A kolohe. He mea kākau moʻolelo ʻo Saad Tahr Hussein me ka manaʻo o ke kumu. "Noʻu, ʻoi aku koʻu makemake e make ma ʻaneʻi, me he lāʻau lā e kū ana, ʻaʻole e heheʻe." Ua ʻakaʻaka au i kāna ʻano hoʻohālike like ʻole a nalu ʻo ia i kona lima. "ʻO ia ka ʻokoʻa ma waena o nā hanauna kahiko a me nā ʻōpio." Holo mākou ma mua o nā wahi hoʻopaʻa he nui a ʻaneʻane hoʻi au. I koʻu wā i Irbil, ua helu au i 13 mau ʻano like ʻole o ka lole camouflage. ʻO ka poʻe ʻeleʻele a puni Baghdad, ʻo ia ka hui Shia al-Dawa a al-Maliki. ʻO nā mākaʻi āpau he mau militia, ua haʻi ʻia iaʻu, ma ke kūlanakauhale ʻo al-Hawaya. ʻAe, e mālama lākou a pau i ke kānāwai. £300 ka uku mahina no na makai, no na luna koa £500. Ma Iraq, pono ia e hoʻoweliweli i kou ola.

Aka, pehea ka pouli? He aha ka mea i hana ʻia ma Iraq i nā lā ʻeleʻele o ke kaua sectarian a me ka ʻaihue a me ka pepehi keiki? Haʻalulu ʻo Kauka Naji. "He haumāna lapaʻau makahiki ʻehā au ma ke keʻena lapaʻau forensic e pili ana i ka hale kupapaʻu a ʻaʻole ʻoe e manaʻoʻiʻo i ka mea a mākou i ʻike ai. Ke hoʻomanaʻo nei au i kahi kino e hele mai ana i hoʻokahi manawa. Manaʻo ʻoe ʻo wai ka mea e hana i kēlā mea? Ua lilo ke kanaka i ʻīlio. ʻO ia ke ʻano o ka hana a nā Safavids, a i ʻole nā ​​​​Mongols. Pono mākou i kahi noiʻi noʻonoʻo o Iraq ma 2005-7.

Me he mea lā ʻaʻole pilikia ka mana aupuni, ke ʻōlelo nei ke aupuni Baghdad e kūʻai aku ana nā Kurds i ka aila me ke kānāwai ʻole i ka poʻe Iran, e hoʻonele ana i ke aupuni i nā piliona kālā. ʻO ka Hope Kuhina Nui Hussein Shahristani, ka mea i hōʻeha ʻia e ka poʻe hoʻomāinoino o Saddam - pehea ka poina iā mākou i kēia mau ʻeha o ka wā i hala, ʻoiai ʻaʻole ʻo Iraqis - ʻōlelo ʻo ia ka nui o ka nui e waiho ana i kahi hemahema i ka waihona kālā.

Ua ʻae kekahi luna koʻikoʻi o Afghan i ʻOkakopa i hala aku nei e kūʻai ana kona ʻāina ponoʻī i ka ʻaila Kurdish - he ala lōʻihi ia no kahi pahu aila e hoʻokele - akā hoʻokahi noose ke aupuni e hoʻopuni ai i nā Kurds. Ke uku nei ia i ka uku o ka peshmerga, nā pūʻali palekana o Kurdistan. "Inā pau kā lākou uku, ho'ōki lākou i ka hāʻawi ʻana i ko lākou kūpaʻa i ko mākou mau alakaʻi," i ʻōlelo mai ai kahi Iraqi Kurd iaʻu ma Irbil. "Loaʻa iā mākou nā pilikia pono'ī maʻaneʻi - ma luna o ke kūʻokoʻa o ka'ōlelo a me nā hōʻikeʻike - a pono mākou e hoʻoponopono i kēia mau mea ma mua o ka hoʻomakaʻana e kamaʻilio e pili ana i ka loaʻaʻana o ko mākou moku'āina. Ua koi ʻo ia i ke kūʻokoʻa no Kurdistan?" Hiki i kekahi ke noʻonoʻo.  

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