Forgiving Saddam
A note to a Iraq's Kurdish presidnet
April 13, 2005
iranian.com
Mam Jalal Talabani,
It is a pleasure to hear
that since Qazi Muhamad we now have another Kurdish head of a
state, although the state you are heading is not Kurdish. Congratulation
to you, your family, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and Iraqi
people
for your selection as the first Kurdish President of Iraq.
Hopefully
your neighbors learn from the Iraqi experience and eliminate
their bias toward Kurds so that they in return eliminate their
bias toward
them. Hopefully soon Kak Masood Barzani also becomes the President
of one of the future Kurdish states; and hopefully none of
you or anybody for that matter becomes a permanent head of any
state,
which has been the case in the Middle East for too long. Your
selection indicates that you have built a trusting relationship
with people
who had not trusted any Kurds to lead them. It shows your political
skill, leadership, wisdom, patience, tolerance, and understanding.
It is a sign that you consider many aspects of challenges that
Kurds and Iraqis are facing now.
I witnessed two other signs
of your wisdom recently. I had criticized not only sheiks,
kings, amirs, ayatollas, and permanent presidents for delegating
tasks
only to their next of kin, but also our Kurdish leaders for
assigning responsibilities to others based on family and tribal
relations.  After meeting Qubad and hearing his eloquently arguments
recently, I was convinced his role as a PUK representative was
because
of
his own competency and personal and professional attributes
and not because he is your son. His gentleness, maturity, and
openness were indicative of a good upbringing. Bravo to his mother
though,
since you have been busy with politic and fighting all your
life;
unlikely you could have contributed much to his development
except as a role model! His mother must be very wise and likely
had
seen your wisdom in advance; otherwise she would not have chosen
you
as an equal partner!
You probably have heard the rumor that
even in this modern age some ladies choose married presidents
as their
husband to become the first lady; unlikely your spouse,
the current Iraqi first lady, had imagined that you will become
a
president one day. Likely she chose you because of your dedication
to
a
noble casue!
The second evidence of your wisdom was your
recent comment
about Saddam. You mentioned that you do not support his
execution. Bravo! Again, it shows that you understand mankinds
flaws
and do not wish death for anyone even for a criminal. Such
an attitude indicates that you have reached a higher level of
personal and professional development.
I wish you could go even
one
step
further
by letting Saddam go! I wish you could forgive him
for all the pain and suffering that he and his associates have
inflicted
on
everyone
in general and on Kurds in particular. By forgiving
him,
you could
tell the world that the Kurds are not revengeful,
but forgiving
and peaceful, that they respect life of even their
worst enemy, and that they want to abolish all aggressive and
inhumane rules
and regulations of their opponents.
 By doing so,
some current abusive head of states might look at mirror and
be ashamed
of themselves for their negligence and ignorance! I understand,
however,
you
cannot let Sadam go, because the risk to humanity
overweighs the
benefit of a good Kurdish gesture! Therefore, my
plea to
you is to keep him in jail, respect his dignity, and
teach him lesson
of humanity until he reaches his final stage of
development and can live in peace so he leaves others in peace!
About
Kamal H. Artin, MD, is a member of:
- Kurdish American Education Society
- Kurdish National Congress of North America
- Kurdistan Referendum Movement
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