11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A harrowing and truthful book about Iraq and Islam, April 16, 2009
This review is from: Why Do You Kill?: The Untold Story of the Iraqi Resistance (Paperback)
This is a book that every sane American should read, because it shatters all the comfortable lies that we've been fed about Iraq today. Iraq, we learn from Jurgen Todenhofer,is a country _not_ at peace (and, therefore, where Bush/Cheney's "surge" did _not_ succeed), and one that has been practically destroyed by US military might; and a country whose resistance movement never kills civilians.
Because he wasn't an embedded journalist--far from it--the author was entirely free to meet with members of Iraq's resistance, and thereby to sort out what's really happening there. While all our news reports suggest that we're at war with a chaotic mass of suicidal zealots, the fact is that the so-called "insurgency" is a rational and humane freedom-fighting movement that's supported by the vast majority of the population. Those who have been targeting civilians are a small, albeit lethal, minority, including the few thousand _foreign_ murderers who constitute al Qaeda, and the death squads of certain Sunni and Shi'a politicians (some of whom work closely with US authorities). The real resistance hates those killers just as much as they soon came to hate our troops and trigger-happy contractors such as Blackwater. Because our media over-focuses on the attacks pulled off by the extremist elements, we have, lodged in our heads, a totally distorted picture of Iraq.
The book's account of the resistance is then followed by an Afterword that will, and should, astonish many readers in America (and in Europe), as it explodes the myth--for that's exactly what is--that Muslims are a violent people, prone to "terrorism." Here Todenhofer takes us through the gruesome history of how the Western powers have treated Muslims for the last two centuries, and makes it crystal clear that it's the West that's ultra-violent and terroristic; and, in comparing Islam with Christianity and Judaism, he notes that Islam is not any bloodier than the other two. In fact, it's arguably _more_ humane in certain ways. Of such surprising truths there are so many in the Afterword that I can only urge you to get hold of it yourself. Suffice it here to say that Todenhofer recognizes clearly that the standard Western view of Islam is based exclusively on fearful ignorance, and that his book will help immeasurably to clue us in.
All those who care not just about Iraq, but also about Iran and Afghanistan, and Obama's foreign policy intentions there, must read WHY DO YOU KILL?----and buy some extra copies to pass out to others. It's worth noting here that Todenhofer will not make a dime from his book's sales, as he's dividing up his royalties, donating half to a medical fund to aid Iraqi children injured in the war, and half to an Israel/Palestinian reconciliation project.
And anyone who wants to shrug him off as "anti-US" or "far left" should note that he went to Afghanistan in 1980, to help the people there against the Soviets (activities for which the Soviets tried to have him killed),
and that he's doing the very same thing now. As for his politics, Todenhofer was a judge in the trial of the Red Army Faction, and then served in the German parliament for 18 years--as a Christian Democrat. He's also a devout Christian, with close friends in America and Israel as well all throughout the Muslim world (and elsewhere).
He is, in short, a man of principle, and one who's been around--and so, unlike so many of the pundits out there honking for more war, he actually knows what he's talking about. His book is therefore a must-read; and, because it has been published by a little independent company, it's up to us to spread the word about it.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must read, April 6, 2009
This review is from: Why Do You Kill?: The Untold Story of the Iraqi Resistance (Paperback)
I consider "Why Do You Kill" to be a must read for all who want peace and for all who want to be well informed citizens. The stories of the Iraqi resistance are personal windows into life in Iraq. As a Viet Nam vet who worked mostly with Vietnamese, I appreciate that Todenhofer shows that the so called "evildoers" are in many cases doing the same thing that we would do in the same circumstance. This is not some arm chair academic account of life, but is an account told by someone who risked his life to get these stories. There were numerous comments by the author which totally mesh with my experience. His comment that bombing is cowardly, for example.
The afterword is a gem in itself. Todenhofer does not pontificate but backs up each of his ten views with specific data to validate his views.
I just ordered 6 copies of the book to give to my special friends, including my US senator.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revealing, August 28, 2009
This review is from: Why Do You Kill?: The Untold Story of the Iraqi Resistance (Paperback)
Zaid is an Iraqi young man who refused to detonate a road side bomb because an old man was passing by. This reputation fueled the journalist appetite of Jurgen Todenhofer who traveled deep into Ramadi to meets face to face with Iraqi resistance, one of the most surprising parts was when he asked Zaid whether he cares about American parents losing their sons in Iraq; I would have expected a blunt answer like: "they should have not been there in the first place". However; Zaid who lost two brothers in the war was more of a human than a soldier, he said that when he detonated the first road side bomb he did imagine the people inside the Humvee, their parents... but he also remembered his two brothers, Zaid was anything but happy to kill. No matter which side of the fence you may be on, the book leaves you hating nothing but war itself.
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