Some 'strange' Iraqi urban legends

I have been receiving a steady trickle of U2U's regarding the situation in Iraq at present. I think that a few of you good folk are struggling to come to terms with the way in which the Iraqi people think, which is a little different from those in 1st world countries. As a 'people' they are hardy, proud, loyal and ingenious. I have made friends out who I would not hesitate in inviting into my own home. So lets all keep an open mind??

Here are a few 'gems' that I have picked up out here.

1/ Westerners wear sunglasses because they allow the wearer to see through Iraqi womens clothing.

I kid you not...this is quite a widely held belief through out the country. Next time you see the British Army operating out here see how many British soldiers are wearing shades. Then watch out for the US Army. In my experience 70-80% of US soldiers wear shades while speaking to the locals. How would you feel if you thought that another guy was looking at your wife with X-ray specs??

2/ M2 Bradley's have a force field around them which deflects RPG 7 rounds.

I put this down to the average Iraqi/other insurgent being a crap shot with an RPG 7. However I have been asked if my own vehicle has a force field by some of my locals. Obviously I have replied "Yes".

3/ An 'eye for an eye' mentality is very widespread.

If you were to have an RTA in which you killed someone, you would be expected to pay the aggrieved family compensation from your own pocket. If you refuse then it is quite acceptable for a suitable revenge to be carried out against you i.e. death.

4/ The family is a very part of an Iraqi's life. They adore their children, which makes it all the worse when kids are killed out here.

5/ An Iraqi man must be seen to be employed for him to have the respect of his wife, family, friends and neighbours. A man without a job is looked on as being a woman. This obviously causes problems if you have to reduce staffing levels and can result in violent revenge against Western employers. When 400,000 Iraqi soldiers were made 'unemployed' over night it was not the greatest day in Iraqi history!

6/ Remember not every Iraqi is an insurgent. Most are just men and women who want the best for their families. You know.......just like the rest of us.

Well I thought that I share the above with you. Not sure that this is under the correct topic section, so if any moderator feels it need moving, then please do so.

[edit on 20/10/2004 by BillyTheCat]

Thank you for sharing. I think the sunglasses belief is hilarious. I hope that you have told the Iraqi's that they are NOT x-ray glasses! The poor women are probably freaking out!

Stay safe!

Jemison

Those last couple of points are common sense, and not surprising. i just wish that those in charge would pay heed and actually try and help the poor sods.

I remember when I was there about six months ago, the Army said, it was in an actual manual, that the "thumbs up" sign means "F..... you!" in Iraqi. There were soldiers who actually believed that, even after the Army said they made a mistake. So even if Iraqi's supported you, by giving you a thumbs up, you'd think they were telling you to "F.... off!".

Thanks Cat. I also hope you promote the myth Kevlar has a forcefield.

I think that a lot of troops, public services types and contractors come in actually wanting to do some good? I hope thats true, and if so how hard is it to keep that perspective with whats going on? Can you tell us? How do you feel about it?

Thanks again.

Geez, I bet you didnt know what you were letting yourself in for when you came on here, hey?

Billy,
thanks a lot for shareing the info. I did enjoy reading what you had to say. Found the x-ray shades most enjoyable, where could I get a set of those?
As for the armor on the Bradley, nothing wrong with saying it has a force field, but I would hope it seems that way mostly because of the armor.
Thanks again for shareing the info Billy.

I admit I did find this post quite hilarious, especially the part about the x�ray specs. But really you cat blame them, I mean imagine how you�d feel if say aliens invaded earth and they all wore these strange glasses? I�m sure it wouldn�t be long before some politician or civil servant twisted the fact that there just to keep the sun out of their eyes and suggested they cause cancer or some BS.

But yeh, a good post. I sense that some people on this site need reminding that these people are only human and not all terrorists.

Originally posted by BillyTheCat


6/ Remember not every Iraqi is an insurgent. Most are just men and women who want the best for their families. You know.......just like the rest of us.



[edit on 20/10/2004 by BillyTheCat]

What do you think the insurgents want? What do you imagine motivates them?

Thanks.

They want victory or death.

Like most patriots, many of them are single, and have no training or employment to fall back on.

Many of them are hoping to destroy western civilization

Originally posted by dr_strangecraft

They want victory or death.

Like most patriots, many of them are single, and have no training or employment to fall back on.

Many of them are hoping to destroy western civilization

This seems hard to believe. Iraqis want to destro western civilisation but they waited to fight until their own nation was invaded?

If they wanted to destroy western civilisation why did they wait until they were invaded to start trying to destroy it?

cool post BillyTheCat

I think I would also like to keep the force field myth alive. So I guess if you think they have force fields X-Specs are not that far of a leap.

At least you could let them try on the sunglasses to help kill that myth. As long as they dont think there is a trick to use them.

I dont believe in the "Madhis Are Coming! The Madhis are Coming!"

But I do see the core leaders and figureheads of this brand of Islam that the Coalition is at war with having that agenda. At the very least the misguided agenda that they can and should drive all Western Influence out of the Arab/Muslim world, including the humanitarian and aid groups.

Some of the people who fight and die for them obviously do to. But the majority are just young men and women who are so angry and disenchanted with the Western promise. Not to be like us, but to have some of the opportunities many of us have. We held out that promise but never delivered for decades. "freind" and "foe" alike has taken advantage of that, and along the way we haven't done much by the standards of our wealth to disprove it. Not a judgement. Just a fact of life.

These kids are natural recruits for arseholes, especially when some of them have grown up under guns and bombs marked with "made in the west".....a lot of that kit has "made in the USA" stamped on it. They are bitter and angry and we have not paid much attention to them as long as it didnt reach us. When it did we invaded a few of them, doesnt matter if we beleive we were liberating them or not.

The were being invaded, and just as we like to portray ourselves as racing to the national defence they did too. We fought Germans and Italians and Japanese who were fighting for a lot of the same things we do when we justify going to war. Didnt matter thier leaders were bastards. I love people who get the whoops "but we beat them, thier supposed to surrender".

The vast baulk of them don't give a rats what thier leaders think. This is the chance to hit back. Maybe some of them wise up, like those of us who do not think "my country right or wrong", and go back home if they can. Maybe some of them really start to beleive the religious fervour crap. Maybe most of them still think they are fighting to save what's good about thier country from Westerners. Who knows.Maybe they even don't know.

I think many of them just wish we'd go away and leave them to it. I don't think they realise it isn't going to happen, or that if they ended the attacks and kicked those who seek them to fight out, thier country would be better, the people safer....because this re-building could be achieved.

It does not matter the aims of the administration, however self serving, if the Iraqi people are allowed just that much.

And then see where we go from there. Its not going to happen if we pull out.

What a great post! Sunglasses? no #?


Who would have thought that one?

Originally posted by judge

Originally posted by dr_strangecraft

They want victory or death.

Like most patriots, many of them are single, and have no training or employment to fall back on.

Many of them are hoping to destroy western civilization

This seems hard to believe. Iraqis want to destro western civilisation but they waited to fight until their own nation was invaded?

If they wanted to destroy western civilisation why did they wait until they were invaded to start trying to destroy it?

If you look back at your original post, I assumed you were asking what the INSURGENTS want. I believe, as is reported in the international press, that many of the insurgents are non-iraqi.

Insurgents and irregulars are never "just plain folks." They are usually on the ideological vanguard, and trying to polarize the populace. And yes, those are the ones I think are bent on ending Western Civ. Al Sadr and several clerics in Europe certainly use the rhetoric.

Originally posted by BillyTheCat
3/ An 'eye for an eye' mentality is very widespread.

4/ The family is a very part of an Iraqi's life. They adore their children, which makes it all the worse when kids are killed out here.

5/ An Iraqi man must be seen to be employed for him to have the respect of his wife, family, friends and neighbours. A man without a job is looked on as being a woman. This obviously causes problems if you have to reduce staffing levels and can result in violent revenge against Western employers. When 400,000 Iraqi soldiers were made 'unemployed' over night it was not the greatest day in Iraqi history!

6/ Remember not every Iraqi is an insurgent. Most are just men and women who want the best for their families. You know.......just like the rest of us.

What is so 'strange' about the above "urban legends"? Most of it is common sense stuff in religiously conservative socieities where honor is held above money. And why wouldn't Iraqis have feelings for children? Are you implying that its simply an urban legend that they care for their young and in reality love to see them die?

Heelstone....no not at all. It is just that sometimes it is easy to forget that the majority of people over here are just normal folk trying to get on with everyday life.

When you see so much death and destruction in any country, there is the general perception that life is cheap and that somehow family values don't count. I don't for a moment want to suggest that the average Iraqi parent doesn't love their offspring as much as say you or I do.

The 'eye for an eye' subject was just to try to show the thought process that sometimes goes on out here.

Sorry......wrong forum for this snippet

[edit on 20/10/2004 by BillyTheCat]