Review – Why do you kill? The untold story of the Iraqi resistance

Why do you kill? The Untold Story of the Iraqi Resistance, Jurgen Todenhofer, 2009, ISBN 9781934708149

This book looks inside the Iraqi resistance and shows how it is fighting not only the American occupiers, but also the Al-Qaeda terrorists and the various private militias.

One person can argue about the conduct of the war in Iraq, how well or poorly it was executed, and whether the submarine is torture, etc. The central premise that we are guided by noble desires to help Iraqis enjoy the fruits of democracy cannot be questioned. Arabs are supposedly unprepared for Western-style democracy. Opinion poll after opinion poll, including those conducted by American officials in Iraq, show that a vast majority of Iraqis want American troops to leave, totally and immediately.

If an ally of the United States was invaded and occupied by another country under false premises, and the invaders were not wanted by the local population, do they not have the right to resist that occupation? Unquestionably, the answer is yes; such a person would be hailed as a freedom fighter. But when the United States or an ally takes over the occupation, there is no legitimate resistance. Freedom Fighter is automatically equivalent to Terrorist.

The author entered Iraq through Syria in 2007, intentionally without the knowledge or consent of the US authorities. He wanted to avoid the Green Zone in Baghdad, the (fake) Potemkin villages set up by the US military and talking to “approved” Iraqis. He was able to meet and stay with many Iraqis who told him exactly why they joined the resistance.

A central tenet of Islam is never to kill innocent people. That is the difference between resistance fighters and terrorists. All families have lost someone during the occupation, some were arrested and never heard from again. To the claim that a civil war will break out if US troops leave; thus it is much worse than what was happening when this book was written (2007). If US troops left, the Iraqi resistance could easily get rid of Al-Qaeda on its own. At the beginning of the occupation, US troops in Fallujah fired on a peaceful demonstration of Iraqis angry that troops had seized a local school, killing 15 and wounding 65. US General Geoffrey Miller has been quoted as saying that he was never should allow Iraqi prisoners He thinks they are something “more than a dog”. After a bomb blast in Baghdad, an imam called for blood donations over the mosque’s loudspeaker. The American response was to bomb the mosque and shoot the imam. The reason given was that that district supported the resistance.

This is an excellent piece of journalism of the kind that is rarely seen in America these days. Easily reach the level of Wow.