There are currently five threads started by the OP on the first page of this forum. Each of them gripes about some area of United States policy or operations in Iraq. :rolleyes:
I think we understand your position and yes, that was a rolleyes in Great Debates.
Gee, I can’t understand why someone would want to discuss the pros and cons of a war. Quick, lets get back to flaming Bush/Kerry or measuring how many cubic centimeters god takes up!
They are all on different aspects of US foreign policy, they are started at wildly different times, and they are all being discussed to their own merit. If you have a problem with discussing the war in Iraq, don’t click on them.
In the meantime, can you at least make a vague attempt to stay on topic?
After doing some hasty reading on the subject, I agree more with you. The Iraqis who reject the IGC will simply reject the flag along with them, and the ones who don’t will probably be mildly upset about losing their long-standing national symbol for the gaudy new one.
I’ll think about it this way; imagine that Bush added a big cross over the Stars and Stirpes, then France came and freed us from his tyrrany, then replaced the entire thing with an oak tree and some bright primary colors. Yea, I would want the real Old Glory back, too.
I revise my position. Simply ripping off the Allahu Ackbar (wasn’t it?) that Saddam added would be best.
My personal opinion is that the presence of the US and the pending semi-handover to the IGC is doing a terrific job of pumping up Iraqi nationalism. I saw something very interesting on the news last night. The pictures of al-Sadr carried by protestors in Najaf also carried an image of the old flag, “Allahu akbar” text as added by Saddam and all. There were different posters, but all had Sadr’s face in some kind of combination with the old flag.
Ah, the ironing is delicious.
And elucidator, stop taking my name in vain!
Failed to preview, missed this. The flaw in this plan of action is that it would almost certainly be seen as an attack on Islam. The US / IGC would never do this alone.
That was my first reaction… why not just go back to the old flag (without God is great)… but that stinks of anti-Islamic. Not a good move. Maybe stick another nice Islamic phrase ? Change some of the old flag to include Islamic Green ? Or better not fiddle with something so touchy at this moment.
Woah, duh, that’s a big slip on my part. You are both, of course, right.
Seems to be a rock and a hard place situation. I understand the motive for changing the flag, though. There is a reason, albeit questionable one. It seems to be a polarizing the people’s position, like the Reds vs Whites (etc) in Russia. I think the theory they are operating on is very Vader-esque, along the lines of, “soon the rebellion will be crushed and we shall control Iraq.”
Hm, that is the second time today I’ve used a Star Wars reference in a political debate.
Anyway, I think their opinion is starting the country off fresh and having no holdovers from the old regime - “this is a new Iraq” - a message to the world and to the Iraqis. That may or may not work, depending on if the transfer of power is smooth or not, and everyone has their own opinion on that.
Except that, given the meaning of this sentence, a lot of people could be pissed off by the idea of removing it. Saddam notwithstanding.
Why cant the new flag at least be consistent with international flag symbolism for muslim nations? An international flag expert on the radio this morning (cant find cite) said it defied islamic conventions.
What is wrong with ‘God is great’ on the flag? I know of one large country that has something similar printed on their currency - there doesnt seem to be a problem with that.
Is there anything which is not touchy at the moment, over there?
I don’t think anyone has a problem with the Allahu akbar directly - the problem is because that was Saddam’s addition.
One interesting thing I note is that it is trying to be very Islamic in a government that is supposed to be secular. Guess CPA needs to make some compromises.
By the way, there is a problem with the “god on the currency” bit in the one nation in your example. That voice just happens to be the minority.
A lot for sure… but if your organizing garbage collection or the postmen at least its useful… 
Even if the Sunni don’t want a Shi’ite postman.
Did anyone read the second article?
And they darkened the blue bands to reduce the resemblance to the Israeli flag. I rather like it, red-white-green-black is already used not only by a lot of Arab nations, but Italy and Mexico among others. This seems more original.
Say this much for Dopers, we know what the Iraqi people are going to complain about when it comes to flags.
hhmmm… just thought of something ! Now “insurgents” will stop burning american flags ! Talk about protecting the stars and stripes !
I’m just skimming this thread, but here’s my idea for a better flag.
Two blue stripes, bend-wise (top left to bottom right), representing the Tigris and Euphrates. A green cresent in the middle to show Arabian and Muslim heritage. The whole on a yellow background, representing the desert sands. (I can’t think of any good reason to use white.) Proportions of a typical 2:3, like most nations’ flags. Appropriate modifications for the military version, to avoid a yellow field.
Heraldically: Or, a crescent verd between two bends azure. (What’s the heraldic term for a crescent moon?)
I fully admit I’m basing this on the new flag. I think the new flag’s use of a blue crescent on white is just wrong; since the crescent represents Islam, it should be green.
Finally, the flag should be only proposed at this point, and adoption should wait until after the handover.
But it’s difficult to do that when someone’s got their hand up your …
Oh, I see your point.
I had just assumed it was the Sunnis and t he Shiites separated by their own cowardice.
That or it was Halloween-edition Oreo symbolism.
What’s wrong with God is Great? I don’t believe in God, but so long as you do, the phrase God is Great strikes me as fairly innocuous and noncontroversial, on par with “God tastes great and is less filling.”
What cowardice? Are you just taking a random swing at these guys?
And “Allahu akbar” means more to Muslims than a general statement like “God is really good”. It carries lots connotations, maybe like the words “Christ” or “Messiah” does in Christianity. Rather than “God is great” as a translation, try something like “God is Supreme” - it carries connotations of, among other things, strict monotheism and a focus on God’s right to be considered greater than anything temporal.
What exactly does an international flag expert DO? Is it really that common for questions such as this to arise?