Was he stretching the truth about Iraq?

Question

We had a soldier come into my school awhile ago to show us videos he had made in Iraq. He said that Iraq was pretty much a 3rd world country& that they didn't even have toilet paper, which is why you never shook hands with them (which I though was pretty rude to say..), but at the same time we saw cars& trash (coke cans, food wrappers, etc) in the streets on the video. How is it they don't have toilet paper, but still have cars&soda?

Also,
He said most of the bad stuff about American soldiers in the news was lies to get ratings. Do you believe this is true?

Answer 1

no.. I don't believe this is true.. they say whatever is convenient.. it's good to see that you are questioning...free minds are a great thing.. keep it that way, and always think for yourself.

Answer 2

The cities of Mosul and others around northern Iraq (near the turkish border) are fairly peaceful. They have large kurdish populations, and Turkey is very concerned about them splitting off from Iraq.

Baghdad was a prosperous city back before we started selling weapons to Saddam, egging him on to attack Iran. Funny thing, there was an SNL skit once that hit very close to home. When the character playing Colin Powell was asked how we knew Saddam had chemical weapons, Powell replied, "we have the receipts!"

Iraq went down hill some during the long years of economic sanctions we placed against his country, particularly after his invasion of Kuwait. But they have gotten much, much worse during the past four years, and it will be a miracle if the country ever recovers.

On the other hand, who stand to profit most from a destabilized Iraq? Conflict and turmoil in the middle east create wonderful opportunities for american weapons exporters and texas oilmen. Oh, we may lose a few thousand soldiers. Small price to pay for the huge profits we will reap. SAIC raked in $8 billion last year. Aegis Defense Systems has made billion. Haliburton, KBR, Bechtel, Blackwater, Custer Battles, these are just a tiny handful of players whose CEOs have earned multi million dollar annual bonuses since their pal George invaded.

It is too bad Bechtel is not publically traded--I would have liked to have made some money off the Iraq war myself. If there is a profit to be made slaughtering the children of muslim infidels, every able bodied american ought to be able to get in on it.

Answer 3

next time have some well prepared questions. Yes it is true that in Arabic cultures they use their hands to clean themselves and then they wash their hands afterwards of course. It's a cultural difference that's all. And it does not count for all Arabic people. It's like saying all Americans blow snot rockets. As far as ratings are concerned, we all know soldiers don't make good TV. Anna Nicole and Naomi Campbell make the ratings go up. We have created a government in Iraq, that in turn has created Sunni death squads. which are killing more shite Muslims then Saddam ever did. Do your homework on Iraq, and the next time this knucklehead comes to school ask him the tough questions. You will quickly find out the truth. Stretching the truth is what people do. best bet is to do your own research and make up your own mind. That's what makes Y/A's so fun. people already have the answers, they just want to make sure they are not alone in their decisions.

Good luck and God bless you and your family

Answer 4

Some of the population in the Middle East still do not use toilet paper. Normally it is an option. Some resturants have both a biday and toilet paper. And what he said about not shaking hands with them is a false statement, even if it were true the right hand is always okay to shake with. In fact its more tradition to never offer your left hand due to times before toilet paper.
Also granted the media is the military's worst friend. More often than not what you see is someones opinion dressed up to get ratings. You will see more bad things of the military on the news rather than good things because it pulls higher ratings.