Buried In the Internet

[utopian <utopian@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I did not expect to find an Internet story like this in MNBC News,
especially since I found it by first going to a story on Gulf War Vets who
feel that they are "missing the action."

How do Iraqi Muslims respond to the fact that you are Christian?
       I haven¹t really experienced any hostility. The Iraqi people are very
hospitable people. I learned a lot about the Muslim faith, the difference
between Shiites and Sunnis. On one of my last days there, I had the chance
to go to mass, and one of my Iraqi friends, a Sunni Muslim, came with me and
actually celebrated communion. He just wanted to experience it. My team has
also prayed in mosques and has participated in the call to prayer.
       
Did you experience any hostility because you were an American?
       I was in Iraq for over two months and I didn¹t meet one enemy there.
After the bombing started, there was a run on food. I went to one market to
buy chips and pop for my shelter, comfort food stuff, but I ran out of
money. The shopkeeper told me not to worry about it. Then he gave me all my
money back and said, ³Why don¹t you just keep it and pay me later? You
should really have some money.² I thought, this shop owner has at least
half-empty shelves, his currency is being devalued every day, and he¹s
willing to give me, an American, credit. I don¹t even know this guy. There
was quite a bit of hostility to George W. Bush, but there wasn¹t really any
to us. 
       
How do you explain it?
       A number of people told me that they understand the difference
between people from the United States and the Bush administration. Every day
on the Iraqi news you¹d see war protests from the United States and Europe.
So the Iraqis can see that people from America are against the war. Many
Iraqis are well-educated. Many speak English; there are many doctors, many
engineers. A taxi driver friend of mine, for example, has a bachelor¹s
degree in French and English literature. They know people from around the
world do not want war.

.....

What sense do you get about how the Iraqi people feel about the U.S.
invasion?
       I get the feeling that people are really angry and scared. Anger is
not a strong enough word. I went to the market place that was bombed
recently, about 20 hours or so after it was hit. There were still pools of
blood on the sidewalks and on the street. It was just devastating to the
community. You could hear women wailing and crying, while shells were going
off in the background. People were so angry at the U.S. government that it
was difficult for us to get out of that neighborhood. I wonder how many
terrorists were born that day.
       
But would you say these same people would be happy to be rid of Saddam
Hussein?
       My whole time I was in Baghdad, I probably heard about five people
say that Bush is good and it will be better [after Saddam Hussein is gone].
But not many people said it. Very few people in the Middle East see this as
a war of liberation.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/896047.asp?0cb=-31o143917

Has anyone ever seen this report on TV?

-Utopian