Al Asad Oasis

An Oasis in the middle of an Air Field and Military Base

According to Arab legend, Abraham, the patriarch of the Hebrew Bible, the Qur’an, and other Islamic writings, visited the oasis at Al Asad on his journey from Ur to Haran.

According to the legend, he stopped at the oasis, drank from its water, and bathed himself.  He and his family camped here for a short time before moving on to Haran. 


The Arabic name of the village near the oasis is Eyen Al Asad, which means “Spring of the Lion.”  Perhaps the named was derived from a time when this area was a wilderness area with all kinds of wild animals, including lions.  The lions are long gone perhaps the name came from the wild animals present when the first people came here.

In 1985 Saddam Hussein decided to turn the surrounding area into an Iraqi Air Base, which he hired Yugoslavians to build.  He paid the villagers a very small sum of money for their land and moved them to other locations, such as Hit, Baghdadi, and Baghdad.

Today, Al Asad Air Base located in the Al Anbar Province includes the second largest airbase in Iraq and the largest military base in Al Anbar province.  It is located in northern Iraq approximately 180 kilometers West of Baghdad and 12 kilometers southwest of the Euphrates River.  As a former Iraqi Air Force Base,it contained the larger part of the Iraqi Air Force prior to the Second Gulf War.

The environment at Al Asad is typical desert with summer temperatures ranging between 115 and 125 degrees F. Winter temperatures will on rare occasion dip to the low 30’s. While there are several small villages in the general vicinity, for the most part Al Asad is isolated in the middle of barren desert consisting mostly of rock, sand, and occasional scrub brush.

In February, 2010 I visited Al Asad on a business trip.  Below are some photos:

 The photos below are of a bombed Iraqi jet.

 The photos below are of the the"Can" where I stayed while on Al Asad.

 

There was an Olympic sized Swimming pool built by Saddam that the Military continued to maintain for use by soldiers and civilians.

There are several Jets abandoned by Saddam's Air Force.

My traveling companion was Ray pictured above.

 Above is soccer field.

As head of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, Uday (Sadaam's Son) oversaw the imprisonment and torture of Iraqi athletes who were deemed not to have performed to expectations. According to widespread reports, torturers beat and caned the soles of the football (Soceer) players' feet — inflicting intense pain without leaving visible marks on the rest of their bodies. One defector reported that jailed football players were forced to kick a concrete ball after failing to reach the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals. Another defector claimed that athletes were dragged through a gravel pit and subsequently immersed in a sewage tank to induce infection in the victims' wounds.  After Iraq lost 1:4 to Japan in quarterfinals of the 2000 AFC Asian Cup in Lebanon, goalkeeper Hashim Hassan, defender Abdul Jaber and forward Qahtan Chatir were labelled as guilty of loss and eventually flogged for three days by Uday's security.

Jihad is just another form of yoga?

I have read that Western academics and the media would have you believe that Jihad is just another form of yoga – the inner struggle to become pure and good. Really?

Yoga teaches non-violence (Ahimsa) both in thought and action, on every foreseeable level. On the surface the word Ahimsa may read like any other generic religious precept that instructs us not to hurt or kill our fellow man, but going deeper it is really a thought process, one that may take a lifetime to cultivate.

How often do we catch ourselves entertaining hateful thoughts about someone, if only for a second, wishing them harm or hardship based on a very tiny grudge that we will probably get over in a matter of days? This type of mental violence is much more difficult to bring under control than physical violence but is of the utmost importance, because if we can bring our thoughts under control then our actions are more likely to live up to our values.

On the other hand, Jihad (Holy War) is a permanent war that excludes the possibility of peace but allows temporary truces to improve the political situation.

The Islamic concept of jihad is complex.  The word means “to struggle” or “to strive.”  It is a struggle against all that is perceived as evil.  It is a cosmic struggle that spans all dimensions of human thought and action.

There are two main forms of jihad:

• The Major Jihad (Jihad al-Akbar) is the internal struggle to control one’s own passions and desires.
• The Minor Jihad (Jihad al-Asghar) is the external struggle for Islam, through pen, tongue, or sword, as applicable.

The purpose of jihad is not to spread the Islamic faith directly, but to extend sovereign Muslim power to territories ruled by non-Muslims.  The Islamic faith would eventually follow these conquests. Please read my previous blog titled, “Is Islam a religion of peace? “

This territorial expansion has always been a central aspect of Muslim life.

Juhadists routinely attack non-Muslims, loot their belongings and murder those opposing them.  Jihadists have enslaved hundreds of thousands of women and children, and have forced them.  The Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda called on Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula to wage jihad, or holy war, against Christians and Jews in the region.

Muhammad called for Jihad al-Asghar, the external, physical type of jihad (i.e. HOLY WAR) until his death, ending only with the unbelievers being subdued.

The Jihad (Holy War) is taught Jihadists and by fought by individuals in a variety of ways. Therefore, we not see groups of uniformed soldiers that represent a nation. Instead we see….

• Hijacked airplane crashed into a tall towering building.
• Kidnapped women who are raped and murders.
• Sheep header straps bombs under the belly of his sheep and drives them into a public place.
• A child with explosives strapped to their body and innocently walking into a group and detonating the explosives.
• Single gunman who shoots and kills people on a military base or school.
• Someone who poisons the food at a facility with many diners.

“Oh Prophet!  Urge the believers to fight.  If there are twenty steadfast persons amongst you, they will overcome two hundreds, and if there be a hundred steadfast persons they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they (the disbelievers) are people who do not understand.” - The Qur’an (8:65)

Is Yoga a Religion?

Yoga is not a religion but many people try to equate Yoga with a religion.

B.K.S Iyengar has said,
“‘If you not believe in God, do you believe in your own existence?’ Since you believe in your own existence, that means you want to improve yourself for the betterment of your life. . . So there is no need for you to believe in God, but you have to believe in yourself.”

Yoga is the mastery of the fluctuations of the mind.  A primary goal of yoga is to gain balance and control in one's life -- to free one from confusion and distress and to provide a sense of calm that comes from the practice of yogic exercises and the practice of breath control.

Yoga will teach you that the goal of every individual's life should be to take the inner journey inside one's self. When there is perfect harmony between mind and body, we achieve total balance and control.

Yoga is a personal practice.  It is an art, it is a science.  The practice of yoga installs optimism within you. It helps you to focus better and overcome any obstacles in your way while on your road to perfect health, spiritual contentment, and total well being.

Is Islam a religion of peace?

Is Islam a religion of peace?

I wonder.

My first exposure to Islam was reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X in high school, several decades ago. Malcolm X taught that black people were the original people of the world and that white people were a race of devils. In his speeches, Malcolm X said that black people were superior to white people and that the demise of the white race was imminent.

Around the same time frame, I read about Sirhan Sirhan. On June 5 1968 at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Robert Kennedy was assassinated by Sirhan. I later learned that Sirhan was motivated by Arab nationalism. During a search of his apartment after his arrest, a spiral-bound notebook was found containing a diary which contained his growing rage at Zionists, particularly at Kennedy. 

The next day, on June 6, The Los Angeles Times printed an article, which discussed Sirhan's motive for the assassination as confirmed by the memos Sirhan wrote to himself. Quote from the LA Times, “When the Jordanian nationalist, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, allegedly shot Kennedy, ostensibly because of the senator's advocacy of U.S. support for Israel, the crime with which he was charged was in essence another manifestation of the centuries-old hatred between Arab and Jew."

Some believed that Sirhan was somewhat justified in his actions. Dr. Mohammad Taki ("M. T.") Mehdi, then secretary-general of the Action Committee on American-Arab Relations, believed that Sirhan had acted in justifiable self-defense, stating: "Sirhan was defending himself against those 50 Phantom jets Kennedy was sending to Israel." Does this make sense?

In 1993 on a visit to India, I had the opportunity to talk a religious scholar of the Brahmin class. Brahmin is a class of educators, law makers, scholars, and preachers of Dharma in Hinduism. Brahmin occupies the highest position among the four social classes or castes (varna) of India.

During our conversation, he mentioned that Hindus have small families to stop the overpopulation of India, while Muslims have enough influence to create national laws that allow Muslim men to have multiple wives so they can have very large families. He feared that Muslims would over power Hindus simply by increasing their population and then change the national laws to favor Islam and obstruct and thwart Hinduism.

In 2003, while visiting Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia I made friends with a few Chinese and Indians. Malaysia is a Muslim country ruled by a Muslim royal family. My friends told me that the Muslims run the country and primarily work for the government and government supported jobs.

The Chinese are the merchants and operate most of the retail store. Indians provide the information technology technicians and engineers.

My Chinese friend, who was 45 years old in 2003, told me that when he was 16, his family had to flee into the mountains to avoid being persecuted, raped, tortured, and killed by Muslims. During the following 20 years the Muslim royal family and government desired to attract business and tourists from other countries so they adapted western styles and culture.

Malaysia as a unified state did not exist until 1963. Previously, the United Kingdom had established influence in colonies in the territory from the late 18th century. Tensions in the early years of the new union sparked armed conflicts with the people of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

While living a working on the East Bay of San Francisco in Walnut Creek, I talked to a coworker from Indonesia. She confirmed the violence in Indonesia. Her family had to flee in the 1960s to the United States to avoid being killed by Muslims who were taking over the country.

My Chinese friend was Buddhist and my young India friends were Hindus. The peoples of different nationalities, culture, and religions seem to be living in peace in region. However, the memories of torture and murder are not forgotten. And....

February 20, 2010 - Women Beaten in Malaysia under Shariah Law

As a result of Shariah law being imposed in Malaysia, Muslim women were caned on Tuesday for engaging in illicit sex, a serious crime under strict Muslim law.

During the last half century in my life time and long before 9/11 there are numerous examples of terrorist acts and genocide carried out people claiming to be doing the duty of Allah and of the Islam faith.

There is no doubt in my mind that radical Islam Fascists are at War with all peoples who are not Muslims. Whether we believe this fact or not is another matter.

A Google search on jihad terrorist and about 20 minutes of reading found the following:

• Oct 16, 2009 - Five Sydney men who embraced violent jihad have been found guilty of plotting a terrorist attack on Australian soil, after a 10-month trial.
• Feb 24, 2010 - Three British Muslims filmed themselves as they prepared for a terrorist attack, a court was told yesterday.
• RALEIGH, N.C. — The Johnston County man accused of having led an operation that plotted terrorist activities overseas often discussed waging a holy war, according to secret FBI recordings played in court Tuesday.
• 2010.02.26 (Kabul, Afghanistan) - Religious extremists attack guesthouses with suicide bombs and gunfire, killing seventeen people, including several foreigners.
• 2010.02.25 (Mosul, Iraq) - Two women are killed in separate Jihad attacks. One is stabbed and the other beheaded.
• 2010.02.25 (Pulwama, India) - Mujahideen gun down a shopkeeper.
• 2010.02.25 (Mosul, Iraq) - Two members of a minority community are gunned down in their store by militant Muslims.
• 2010.02.24 (North Waziristan, Pakistan) - Three civilians have their throats cut by the Taliban, who throw their headless bodies into a ditch.
• 2010.02.24 (Hangu, Pakistan) - Suspected Islamic radicals fire on a railway car, killing three passengers, including a college student.

A 48-year-old Somali begs for his life as he is partially buried in preparation for stoning over adultery by an Islamic court.

So, you think the Ku Klux Klan and the Spanish Inquisition are bad?
So do we, but...
Put the Numbers in Perspective

• More people are killed by Islamists each year than in all 350 years of the Spanish Inquisition combined.
• Islamic terrorists murder more people every day than the Ku Klux Klan has in the last 50 years.
• More civilians were killed by Muslim extremists in two hours on September 11th than in the 36 years of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. 
• 19 Muslim hijackers killed more innocents in two hours on September 11th than the number of American criminals executed in the last 65 years.

Source: http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/

Dinner at Iraqi Major General Home

An Iraqi Major General sponsors Boy Scouts / Girl Scouts program for Iraqi children of Iraq soldiers living on the Iraqi base. Many Americans volunteer to help with the program. He provides dinner every Sunday evening as appreciation for the volunteers.

 The legend is that the pond was filled with hungry alligators and did not have a railing so when Saddam had a party and did not like you, he just pushed you in.

One Sunday, Justin and Carrie from Kuwait joined me for dinner at the General's house.

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti - Victory Over America Palace

Saddam Hussein was born April 28, 1937 in Tikrit, Iraq. He died Dec. 30, 2006, Baghdad. He was executed by Hanging by Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal.
President of Iraq (1979–2003). He instituted a brutal dictatorship and directed intensive campaigns against minorities within Iraq
Saddam Hussein was a fanatic and evil. He was probably insane and may have been on drugs.

I toured the Victory Over America Palace and learned a few tidbits.

JDAM missile (smart bomb) detonated in Saddam's Victory over America Palace in Baghdad, Iraq. The Victory over America Palace was unfinished when we invaded in 2003. Today, it’s not only unfinished, but it’s also damaged from U.S. bombs.  Above is outside photo of front.

Below are 2 pictures of the inside.

Saddam was paranoid. He made the builders of the stairways in Palace build the steps in different heights and widths and he practiced running up and down the steps. If anyone chased him he could get away because he knew the layout of the steps while his chaser did not.

Saddam used much of Iraq’s money from the oil for food program to build the lavish palaces, guest houses and lakes around what is now Victory Base Complex, instead of getting food, water and medicine to the people.

The lakes around the palace were all man-made under Saddam’s instruction. This palace and several of the buildings are surrounded by water. Saddam believed that god (Allah) could not move or see over water so anything that was done in a building surrounded by water was not a sin. So when Saddam's sons kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered young 13 year girls, it was not a sin. Afterwords, the girls were murdered so the girl’s father would not have to do it.

I Love You From Iraq

I love you from Victory Over America Palace

From canvas, dust, and no A/C to marble, high rise, beach front, cool comfort

Dec 2009
In Oct – Dec, 2009 I traveled from Iraq to Kuwait a couple of times on business. Each time I stayed in a company apartment with a view of the Persian Gulf in the Indian Ocean. I was told that less than 6 years ago this area was desert. Today, it is booming with apartments, shopping malls, homes, a luxury Hilton hotel, and new building construction.

These apartments have 2 bedrooms, two baths, full kitchen, and large living room. One is on the 8th floor of a 13 story apartment building.

On my first trip I had this spacious apartment all to myself. The building includes a workout room with sauna and steam plus an outdoor swimming pool. There is a Starbucks on the front side. There a many US brands in Kuwait City including US cars, fast food restaurants, franchises, food products and clothing.

On Monday I was staying a 16 bed canvas tent with no electricity and no Air-conditioning. On Monday night the generator was fixed so my last night the light shone brightly all night but I was cool. By Wednesday I had moved to a spacious apartment and no roommate. Wow!!!

I was in Kuwait for a few days for training before I headed out for Camp Victory in Baghdad.

During the second trip I shared a similar apartment with a Site Manager from Iraq. We stayed in Kuwait a few days for training.

Below is front of one apartment building.

Roof Top Pool

Restaurant behind the apartment building where I ate dinner.

The Mud Is Thick During The Rainy Season

This is my car......

It is normally white.