He's from Baghdad.

He's 35 and runs a human rights organization in Baghdad. In a rare opportunity to speak one-on-one, myself born and raised in the USA and him, born and raised in Iraq, we spoke of personal experiences. 

He said:

"During Saddam, it was dictatorship. There was no civil society. It was safe to walk on the streets, even late at night. Baghdad was safe. However, no one could get involved with politics or voice their opinion because if they did, they would disappear. Then, in April 2003, the United States arrived.

At first, soldiers would walk the streets with their rifles by their side, licking their ice cream cones in a relative calm. Bahdad was still safe. However the Iraqi people were confused with the strange infusion of an unfamiliar culture. While not having Saddam was a sigh of relief for many, what followed was a suffocation of rights, worsening still with each passing day."

Notes:

Terrorism grew out of terrorism, out of desperation.

The reason? Iraqi people will not succumb to the current illegal occupation (per UN international law). The Bush Administration is leading a stalwart resistance, not admitting that there is no longer a reason to have US troops in Iraq. UN peacekeeping troops, maybe.

Nevertheless, there are 14 permanent US bases and the streets are turning more dangerous and chaotic each day.