Iraqi woman speaks out in support of coalition forces
The Sun Newspaper | 01.10.2004 10:47
In one electrifying speech, an Iraqi woman told the Labour Party conference why Britain is right to be in Iraq. Shanaz Rashid said: “All we wanted was to be free.” Free from terror and torture, from dictatorship and oppression, from indignity and humiliation. Those who criticise Tony Blair over Iraq should heed Shanaz's appeal not to pull out our troops.
Yes, she said, there had been mistakes. But WMDs were never the issue for ordinary Iraqis. Speaking as dozens of youngsters lay dead in Baghdad at the hands of al-Qaeda bombers, she said the only hope for Iraqi children was a new democratic nation. And only Britain and America could help Iraq to build it.
It would not be easy, it would take time. But pulling out now would end the dream for ever. Many Labour delegates who had expected to give Mr Blair a hard time on Iraq found themselves biting back tears instead. The cry for freedom has always found an answer among civilised nations.
Europe’s freedom was secured by defeating the Nazis. In America, Martin Luther King’s pleas to be “free at last” ended segregation. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela spent 30 years in jail to achieve freedom from apartheid. Today the enemy of freedom is al-Qaeda.
Only by securing freedom for nations like Iraq can we ensure our own freedom too.
http://www.thesun.co.uk
It would not be easy, it would take time. But pulling out now would end the dream for ever. Many Labour delegates who had expected to give Mr Blair a hard time on Iraq found themselves biting back tears instead. The cry for freedom has always found an answer among civilised nations.
Europe’s freedom was secured by defeating the Nazis. In America, Martin Luther King’s pleas to be “free at last” ended segregation. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela spent 30 years in jail to achieve freedom from apartheid. Today the enemy of freedom is al-Qaeda.
Only by securing freedom for nations like Iraq can we ensure our own freedom too.
http://www.thesun.co.uk
The Sun Newspaper
