November 2, 2008

Letter to Christopher Hitchens from a longtime Iraqi friend

By Ayad Rahim
Dear Christopher,I was dismayed and profoundly disappointed -- and, on reflection, felt betrayed -- when I heard that you endorsed Barack Obama for president of the United States.For the 20-plus years I have known you, you have been nothing but generous towards me, and I am very fond of you and grateful for your friendship. Our main points of convergence have been my native Iraq, journalism, atheism and our roots in the Left. Your early detection of the nature of Saddam's fascist rule and your principled and stalwart advocacy for the liberation of Iraq - among many other views and insights, clearly and elegantly expressed -- have drawn me to you and deepened my admiration and respect.It is over Iraq, Christopher, that I feel betrayed by you. Mr. Obama, in particular -- and the Democrats and news media in general -- have campaigned for the past several years on Iraq as a dirty word; the essence of the Democrats' and the media's specious (and thinly veiled) argument has been,...(Read Full Article)