In Life of Lies, Iraqis Conceal Work for U.S.

[cal04]

For Hamed, a forklift driver at an American military base, life has become a series of disguises.

He has been a cabdriver, a man who does not understand English, and most recently, a laundry worker. None of these identities were true, but all were necessary to hide his ties to the United States.

(snip)
For the tens of thousands of Iraqis who work for the United States in Iraq, daily life is an elaborate balancing act of small, memorized untruths. Desperate for work of any kind when jobs are extremely hard to come by in Iraq, they do what they must, even though affiliation with the Americans makes them targets.

(snip)
He rented an apartment for his wife and children, and then traveled to Lebanon. There, he applied for refugee status, encouraged by an announcement by American officials that immigration quotas for Iraqis would be raised, but ran out of money after waiting months for his application to be processed. Unable to work in Lebanon legally, and faced with a choice of bringing his wife and children into poverty there, or living apart in Iraq, he decided to return to Iraq, forfeiting his application.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/world/middleeast/07disguise.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[Karenina]

1. The utter DEVASTATION

Americans have allowed their MIC to visit upon Middle Eastern peoples is on its way back. It will affect the innocent and guilty in the same manner as "Shock & Awe." I read somewhere it was some sort of cosmic rule. Kind like the "golden" one. Hmmmm... GOLD. A standard for all time??? I'll get back to you. Gotta go call my broker!