Modi (Moderate): The last two nights have been a little exciting, Mani. We both managed to do some shooting. I am amazed at the number of fighters in that Mahdi Army. I was exhausted last night.
Mani (Mainstream): I really feel bad about shooting at fellow Muslims.
Modi: I do not think it is right, even if they are Shi‘ites.
Modi: For one thing, Mani, they were shooting at you. Besides that, you cannot consider them Iraqi because they are fighting against our government. They are part of the problem that keeps us from uniting under one banner. If the Americans had not intervened, our government would soon collapse and Iran would send more fighters in to take over. They have already bought up most of the available residential homes here.
Mani: You mean if it comes to another vote, our own Iraqis may be outvoted by those newcomers?
Modi: You guessed it. But even if the Iranians salted the field, they did it with common people like you and me. If we keep winning against whoever tries to divide us, they will eventually side with the winner.
Mani: I am sure we did not win this battle. Whenever I looked around, the government people were either dead or retreating. I don’t think we took the arsenal.
Modi: I guessed that we did not. But Maliki’s people did not run. Those Sadr people had too much of everything. If we were not in such a good position, we would have moved or retreated; it was too hot. Now that your cousins know better, they will plan better next time.
Mani: I hope you are right. Meanwhile, shooting at countrymen is making me ill. What would our most beloved Prophet (pbuh) say about it?
Modi: He would say, “Kill them wherever you find them.” Remember, he killed Meccans because they refused to listen to him. His followers raided commercial caravans and killed innocent drivers—fellow Arabs who were not part of the fighting. He killed other people for being Jewish.
Mani: I know that, but it still does not seem right for me to do it.
Modi: You are enjoined to do anything the Prophet (pbuh) did. He was the perfect man who led a perfect life. You know all of this.
Mani: I guess so, but I just do not like it.
Modi: You remember Zarqawi, right? He was killing Muslims wholesale in the name of Allah. The people were sick of him and told on him to the Americans, who killed him. It is the same thing.
Mani: But they did not pull the trigger.
Modi: Yes, they did. As soon as they gave up his schedule, he was as good as dead. The Americans were their weapons. Look, how many Iraqis, how many Sunnis would Zarqawi have killed had he lived? It would have been a very high number. How many Sunnis were killed by Sadr’s people? That too is a high number. By fighting here, Mani, you are saving the lives of other Muslims, and by helping our government you are helping to further the cause of Islam. You are a hero.
Mani: (Looks directly into Modi’s eyes) You are serious about this!
Modi: Quite so. When I squeeze a 7.62 round off from my Kalashnikov, with one of Sadr’s fighters in my sights, I know that the person wilting under my fire is a source of trouble for my tribe and my family and is holding back our unity. My wife and kid may live another day, another month, maybe a full lifetime because of what I did last night.
Mani: If we died there, Modi, would we be martyrs?
Modi: Forget all the rumors about that, Mani. We are all human. When good men do good things and it costs them their lives, they will see paradise. Many others who have ulterior motives for putting on a vest and walking onto a bus filled with Jewish children may be unpleasantly surprised after they pass beyond.
Mani: Are they told where to go and when to detonate?
Modi: Of course, some of them are told when to detonate, but they really do not have control. They personally may want to pass up groups of kids playing nicely together, but the handler doesn’t. Such a handler to me is a murderer as bad as Zarqawi.
Mani: I would not do that, Modi.
Modi: But would you kill the handler if you knew he was going to kill children at play, even if they were Jewish children?
Mani: I don’t know. I don’t think so. It is none of my business. I might hate the idea that someone is doing it, but I cannot interfere with that brigade. I can say truthfully that I wish they would stop it.
Modi: Had I the opportunity to keep the handler from doing it and have some reasonable chance of escaping notice, I would certainly try to stop him.
Mani: What if the handler turned out to be Radi?
Modi: That is an unfair question, Mani, but I will answer it. Since Radi knows me, I would call for him to stop first. If he detonated the bomb anyway without turning around, it would be too late. I could not shoot him after he did it; that would be retaliation. He would no longer be my friend, so the next time I would not call him.
Mani: Would you advocate stopping the homicide bombing?
Modi: Yes, but not by going after the handlers, that would be too dangerous. And if we had protesters outside their headquarters, they would have to send out only one or two bombers, and no one would ever protest there again.
Mani: Then how could you stop it?
Modi: Blow them up without warning. Have the government notify the brigades that they are now an outlaw organization. Have a fatwa issued that without government sanction no one may command such a brigade. Once the people have been given the word that homicide bombing is a ticket on Hell’s express, they will not be so quick to volunteer.
Mani: The government will have to maintain its vigilance and find as many imams as possible to sign off on a law prohibiting such slaughter.
Modi: When we are unified and not threatened by imbeciles here and in the American Congress, we will be able to do much more than we are doing. I just wish that before an American official speaks to the public he is required to take a polygraph first. We all need the truth.
Mani: Unfortunately, those Leftists do not know the truth. To them it is only what you can make the people believe.
Modi: Then it is going to be a long, long war. Here comes Radi.
Radi (Radical): Good morning. Ready for some breakfast?
Mani: Good idea. I am really starved.
Radi: I have not seen you for a couple of days. Off visiting another cousin?
Modi: We needed to get away from Baghdad for a while.
Radi: I don’t blame you. But if you stay around for a while, you may have a chance to get in on the new war.
Mani: New war?
Radi: I think that Iran is going to pull Sadr’s strings again, and if he is able to back up Maliki’s troops, al-Sadr will ask for Iran’s help, and they just might get the UN’s approval to oblige. That will put a different face on the war, and the Americans may have to leave.
Mani: Iran had better think twice about that one. I think General Petraeus is ready for anything coming out of Iran.
Modi: We know he is, and so is the US armed forces. But are Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid ready? Do they know what Iran is?
Radi: Good point, Modi. Perhaps I will have their heads after all.
Mani: It would not be worth the trouble, Radi. They are not warriors by any stretch of the imagination. They are only playing a game of politics. They do not realize yet that they do not pick up their marbles and go home when they lose. When they lose this time, they will not have homes. If they are lucky, they will have graves.
Radi: On that note, I say let’s go to breakfast. Thinking about beheadings always gives me an appetite.
Modi: Oops. I think I just lost mine.
Mani: Me too!
HJS
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