Monday, October 31, 2005

Iraq: Silver lining? Rose-colored glasses?

My new Boston Globe column, "A silver lining in Iraq," is now up. Some of you may think that it should have been titled, "Iraq through rose-colored glasses." Time will tell, to use a time-worn cliché. It seems to me that since we cannot undo the invasion, the most humane alternative is to hope that something good may still come of this.

On a related note: Despite the insurgency, the resentment toward U.S. and British troops, and the uncertainty of day-to-day life in Iraq, there are many Iraqis who are bravely and actively working for a better future. Several such people -- women who are working as armed guards for a security firm -- were profiled recently in The Washington Times. Not to bring in a note of frivolity, but I found this passage particularly heartwarming:

"I used to watch action movies when I was a kid, I loved them," laughed Xena, a conservative Muslim who chose her pseudonym from the film character, Xena the Warrior Princess. "My favorite actor is [Jean-Claude] Van Damme."

Xena lives! Let's hear it for female empowerment.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll bite.

Who the hell cares about Xena? This is not a fantasy war.

You should be forced to view pictures of all the women, children, and men too, killed dead by this war before writing such inane posts.

So much for female empowerment

thecobrasnose said...

Well, let's see...a brave young Iraqi woman cares about Xena. Presumably she has seen the horrors of both war and "peace" under Saddam and has chosen to emulate a character who adeptly combines ancient and modern myths.

But then, what would she know about female empowerment that you don't, eh "anonymous"? She uses an pseudonym because her life is at risk--you use one to post on a website. Maybe I'll take her opinion on Xena a tich more seriously.

Unknown said...

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