Posted: 8/12/2011 4:47:21 AM EDT
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I'm curious about what the average person on the streets of Iraq actually thinks of us Americans now. Fox News tells me they love us. MSNBC tells me they hate us. I know it's somewhere in the middle but don't really have a feel for what the majority of the country believes. Just looking for opinions from you guys who were on the streets interacting with them. Is it heavily divided depending on Sunni or Shia? Can you even tell the difference by the way they dress or something? |
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In my little section of Baghdad, some were ambivalent, many liked us, and some hated us and were trying to kill us. That was what I saw in and around Nasiriyah over the past year. Lots more IEDs, IDF, and assorted jackassery in the last six months compared to 2009, with a big upswing about the time Mookie Al Sadr returned from exile. |
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Thanks to everyone for the responses. Sorry to ask a question then disappear. For you multiple tour guys, was there much change in attitudes over time? Was it obvious to everyone that Iran was fueling a lot of the violence against you guys? Or is that an impression I got more from watching Fox News? |
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I did convoys all over babil province from VBC down to Taji. You could see a huge difference in attitudes depending on the area.
Urban areas around baghdad they either hated us or just didn't really care about us at all. Rural farming areas they were much more friendly and often times they would help us locate and target insurgents. Bottom line though, as soon as we are gone it's gonna be a giant anti-American shithole again. The Kurdish areas might hold out but the rest of the country is in for a SHTF event of biblical proportions. |
| It's half and half, the local everyday joe loves us while some of the highly educated despised us......I did'nt do much street work so my opinion is based mainly from details with locals.......Some where Lawyers and Doctors begging to work with any unit and others were just run of the mill dumbasses looking to scam a lil dollar here and there........So yeah it's in the middle....... |
While in the Sinjar Mountains it was definitely 50/50. So long as you didn't interrupt their smuggling they loved you. Even was fed by a family that turned out to be deep into the smuggling business. The place is a strange melting pot of culture. Christians, Sunni, Yezidi, and Kurds all living in the same area. At times you could see the smugglers and insurgents across the border in Syria, but you could do nothing but shadow them and hope they crossed over. Local corruption was rampant. A load of cigarettes were taken from smugglers and stored at an Iraqi Police station, which promptly disappeared. Its also one of the most beautiful places in Iraq, with farms and greenery that was absent elsewhere.
I was also fortunate to spend some time at the Port of Entry Trebil. It was a strange experience, considering the number of Marines there was very small. Endless lines of trucks entering and leaving were amazing. There was also a no-man's land between Jordan and Iraq. Living there in that space were some Kurdish refugees. Apparently they had been offered assistance before, to move them back to their home lands for free, but they were holding out for a better offer. They believed they would be rescued, transported to America or some other country. As far as I know they are still there. It was amazing because they had bootleg electricity, satellite television, but lived in a cardboard hut. In spite of their condition they were all polite and welcoming. 
My experiences in Iraq are unlike others, since I roamed the country with a camera. These photos are not mine, but represent where I was at. I can post more if interested, just have to upload them. |
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I think a lot depends on what the government is doing for the person on the day you ask them. I think the 'joe on the street' just wants to put food on his table and not have him/his family killed.
When we leave I dont care if they don't have to like us, I just dont want them to kill us. |
| In Anbar 2008-10 the Iraqis loved our money and wanted us to stay as long as we were doling out the cash. Atmospherics were mostly good. Many of them didn't want us gone per se, but would like it if we stayed just over the horizon, out of sight, but ready to roll into town when SHTF. |
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Quoted:
While in the Sinjar Mountains it was definitely 50/50. So long as you didn't interrupt their smuggling they loved you. Even was fed by a family that turned out to be deep into the smuggling business. The place is a strange melting pot of culture. Christians, Sunni, Yezidi, and Kurds all living in the same area. At times you could see the smugglers and insurgents across the border in Syria, but you could do nothing but shadow them and hope they crossed over. Local corruption was rampant. A load of cigarettes were taken from smugglers and stored at an Iraqi Police station, which promptly disappeared. Its also one of the most beautiful places in Iraq, with farms and greenery that was absent elsewhere. http://images.op-for.com/images/Sinjar%20Mountain.JPG I was also fortunate to spend some time at the Port of Entry Trebil. It was a strange experience, considering the number of Marines there was very small. Endless lines of trucks entering and leaving were amazing. There was also a no-man's land between Jordan and Iraq. Living there in that space were some Kurdish refugees. Apparently they had been offered assistance before, to move them back to their home lands for free, but they were holding out for a better offer. They believed they would be rescued, transported to America or some other country. As far as I know they are still there. It was amazing because they had bootleg electricity, satellite television, but lived in a cardboard hut. In spite of their condition they were all polite and welcoming. http://d3.static.dvidshub.net/media/thumbs/450x323/photos/0902/151464_q75.jpg My experiences in Iraq are unlike others, since I roamed the country with a camera. These photos are not mine, but represent where I was at. I can post more if interested, just have to upload them. Were you in Trebil anytime between Oct '08 and Apr '09? |
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@ HonorStudent: Looking at my captions here, which is good because my memory is gone!
August 11, 2008. I was sent there to cover a generator entering the country, we called it the MOAG, Mother Of All Generators. Damn thing was huge, and supposed to be a big PR event. Locals were supposed to cream their shorts over this thing since Iraqi's bought it for Iraqi's. Not a coalition handout. No one gave two shits except MNF-West. |
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Quoted:
So, does the whole Sunni or Shia thing make any difference as far as feelings about the US? I had the impression those two groups just about hate each other. They do tend to hate each other. A lot. Shia's never planted IED's for us to run over, so I guess I like them more. |
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Quoted: @ HonorStudent: Looking at my captions here, which is good because my memory is gone! August 11, 2008. I was sent there to cover a generator entering the country, we called it the MOAG, Mother Of All Generators. Damn thing was huge, and supposed to be a big PR event. Locals were supposed to cream their shorts over this thing since Iraqi's bought it for Iraqi's. Not a coalition handout. No one gave two shits except MNF-West. Did the generator survive or did someone blow it up? |