Local Heroes in Iraq
Abdul Amir Shuwayli
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
I'm so glad I have the Early Bird news service the military provides me. What they do, see, is collect all sorts of pertinent news articles from various publications, and post them on the web for the perusal of the armed forces. It is because of this service that I now link you to the Washington Post: Link (Note: I was warned that a subscription was required, but I could view it without one)
I was first alerted to the story of this hero in an article (reproduced in the Early Bird) written by none other than Donald Rumsfeld, originally published in the Wall Street Journal, that addressed the need to recognize the hard work of and the efforts put forth by the Iraqi Security Forces, both military and civil (police). I'll tell you right now, the line blurs in the distinction between soldiers and cops very easily over there. Secretary Rumsfeld went on about the strides taken by the Iraqis in improving both their security forces, and their general situation, and complained somewhat about the negative attention that the ISF were attracting. To blunt the point that many Iraqi soldiers/guardsmen/police officers run at the hint of violence, Mr. Rumsfeld mentions, "George Washington repeatedly expressed frustration with poorly trained troops, many of whom fled from battles. At one point, Washington threw down his hat, whipped fleeing soldiers with his riding crop, and muttered: 'Are these the men with which I am to defend America?' They were; and he did."
But the Secretary specifically mentioned one instance that I wanted to bring up, a story I thought might be apocryphal if demonstrative: "Many thousands of Iraqi security personnel are performing exceptionally, and a few examples are worth mentioning. On election day, Iraqi security forces stopped a total of eight suicide bombers across Iraq who were hoping to upset the democratic process and kill innocent people. As was widely reported, one Iraqi policeman tackled and drove a suicide bomber back 50 feet from a polling station screaming, 'Let me save the people!' before the bomber's belt exploded, killing them both."
I was pleased to finally see this story in print (although it seems I didn't search very hard; USA Today Link ):
From the Washington Post:
Part of that mood change is credited to Abdul Amir, Iraq's newest national hero. On election day, Amir, 30, a policeman in Baghdad, noticed a man walking toward a polling station who appeared to be carrying something heavy under his coat. Amir wrapped his arms around the man and dragged him away from the crowd. A belt of explosives wrapped around the man blew both men to shreds.
Members of Iraq's interim cabinet have touted Amir as a symbol of national pride. Newspapers have been filled with stories about him. A statue is being planned, and the elementary school that served as the polling station where he died may change its name to honor him.
"It's too simple to say what he did was heroic," said Najat Abdul Sattar, the principal of the school, where bright-eyed children study in dim concrete classrooms just yards from where Amir was killed. "What more honor could we give the man?"
"When people saw what he did, they said we will not let those violent people intimidate us, and they went to vote in even greater numbers. Where there were three or four in line, after the blast there were 30 or 40," said Mohammed Hadithi, who lives near the school.
Yarhamahu Allah. God bless him.
I was first alerted to the story of this hero in an article (reproduced in the Early Bird) written by none other than Donald Rumsfeld, originally published in the Wall Street Journal, that addressed the need to recognize the hard work of and the efforts put forth by the Iraqi Security Forces, both military and civil (police). I'll tell you right now, the line blurs in the distinction between soldiers and cops very easily over there. Secretary Rumsfeld went on about the strides taken by the Iraqis in improving both their security forces, and their general situation, and complained somewhat about the negative attention that the ISF were attracting. To blunt the point that many Iraqi soldiers/guardsmen/police officers run at the hint of violence, Mr. Rumsfeld mentions, "George Washington repeatedly expressed frustration with poorly trained troops, many of whom fled from battles. At one point, Washington threw down his hat, whipped fleeing soldiers with his riding crop, and muttered: 'Are these the men with which I am to defend America?' They were; and he did."
But the Secretary specifically mentioned one instance that I wanted to bring up, a story I thought might be apocryphal if demonstrative: "Many thousands of Iraqi security personnel are performing exceptionally, and a few examples are worth mentioning. On election day, Iraqi security forces stopped a total of eight suicide bombers across Iraq who were hoping to upset the democratic process and kill innocent people. As was widely reported, one Iraqi policeman tackled and drove a suicide bomber back 50 feet from a polling station screaming, 'Let me save the people!' before the bomber's belt exploded, killing them both."
I was pleased to finally see this story in print (although it seems I didn't search very hard; USA Today Link ):
From the Washington Post:
Part of that mood change is credited to Abdul Amir, Iraq's newest national hero. On election day, Amir, 30, a policeman in Baghdad, noticed a man walking toward a polling station who appeared to be carrying something heavy under his coat. Amir wrapped his arms around the man and dragged him away from the crowd. A belt of explosives wrapped around the man blew both men to shreds.
Members of Iraq's interim cabinet have touted Amir as a symbol of national pride. Newspapers have been filled with stories about him. A statue is being planned, and the elementary school that served as the polling station where he died may change its name to honor him.
"It's too simple to say what he did was heroic," said Najat Abdul Sattar, the principal of the school, where bright-eyed children study in dim concrete classrooms just yards from where Amir was killed. "What more honor could we give the man?"
"When people saw what he did, they said we will not let those violent people intimidate us, and they went to vote in even greater numbers. Where there were three or four in line, after the blast there were 30 or 40," said Mohammed Hadithi, who lives near the school.
Yarhamahu Allah. God bless him.
