Iraqi-Americans and the War on Terror

Zulfi Urfali, who was born in Iraq and now lives in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain, understands fear. Although his father was heavily involved in Iraqi politics as an advisor to the king's uncle before the bloody overthrow of the monarchy in 1958, Urfali and his family have remained silent on all matters political for nearly 50 years. That rule of silence continued even after he immigrated to the US in 1977 from Lebanon, where the family fled after the king's murder. He feared that speaking out about politics would bring harm to his family back in Iraq, which included a brother and cousin.

Then came September 11, 2001, and along with it an epiphany. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

"[The] terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, made Urfali rethink his life's purpose. A few months later, he called the Georgia Republican Party headquarters on Roswell Road. 'That was the turning point in my ideological views toward civil society and democracy as a whole,' Urfali said. 'I realized this was a war of ideology.'"

Urfali is now going door to door asking people to support President Bush's reelection effort. He wants to see civil society and democracy come to his homeland, and by exercising his free speech rights (he became an American citizen in 1980) and entering a political campaign here, he's demonstrating an understanding of what it takes to make any society free and prosperous.

The AJC talked to some Iraqis in Detroit, home to the nation's largest Iraqi population.

"'President Bush means liberation for my people,' said [Hussain] Talabani, an Iraqi of Kurdish descent. 'For me, Bush means the return of my people to their villages. No more chemicals. No more torture in basements.'"

These are deeply moving words. Is the anti-war crowd listening?