On Sunday, June 1, 2008, the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. "National Parade of Honor" had reached DeKalb, Illinois, a community that had acquired a sizeable Muslim population since the turn of the century. As the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. motorhomes pulled up to the local Navy Club in DeKalb, a large group of Muslims were already peacefully assembled, and waiting. Their leader, an elderly bearded gentleman who identified himself only as Al-Aback, spoke in broken English loudly enough for all to hear without the aid of a microphone. 'We would respectfully request," he announced, "that we be allowed to join your parade of honor today. We have our own veteran whom we wish to honor, Saddam Hussein, former ruler of Iraq and a great soldier."
Stunned and taken aback by the request, the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. representatives asked to meet with members of the Muslim group, the Navy Club officials, and municipal leaders. The Navy Club opened the doors of its facility, and approximately 40 people were invited into the private meeting.
The Muslims explained their case thoroughly, and without malice. "Eighteen months ago," Al-Aback recalled, "our esteemed Iraqi leader was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity. He was accused of murdering 148 people in one small village, people who did not agree with his regime. Just as there are factions within America that despise their country's choice of leaders, there were - and always will be - people in Iraq who will not agree with that nation's leadership. There is no question that Saddam Hussein did terrible things, but - frankly - it is not any different that what your President Geroge W. Bush has done in your country. We left Iraq because of the turmoil and despair; we came to America in search of a better life where we could prosper in peace. Still, we regarded our leader, Saddam Hussein, as a military veteran who deserves to be part of this "National Parade of Honor". We believe it will represent many of those in Muslim communities across the U.S.A."
Local law enforcement officials viewed this as incendiary; they worried about backlash and violence. Navy Club officials regarded it as an insult to all the veterans who had died in Iraq. O.U.T.R.A.G.E. officials saw it from two very different perspectives: could it enflame emotions, or could it diverse cultures closer together?
Al-Aback's arguments were convincing. He commanded a mysterious presence that forced people to listen; as he spoke, his intense dark eyes reminded many of Osama binLaden. On fact, had he been a foot taller, he could have been mistaken for binLaden at a distance. "After September 11, 2001," Al-Aback said, "the United States needed a scapegoat...someone on whom to blame the murder of three thousand innocent Americans in the World Trade Center Twin Towers, and in the Pentagon. I, for one, have no doubts that the 9-11 'terrorist attacks' weren't part of a conspiracy in which the evil Bush administration played a role. The United States government has been ruled from behind-the-scenes for decades now; we believe the 9-11 massacre was a plot that could be used as an excuse for the invasion of Iraq.
The Bush family had a personal vendetta against Saddam Hussein ever since the days of Desert Storm, when George H.W. Bush was criticized for not 'finishing the job' and exterminating Hussein during that conflict. Bush (Sr.) was appalled at Hussein's bold attempt to invade Kuwait, and Bush - being a friend of the Kuwaitis - wanted to stop that from happening. Now, as America's dependence on foreign oil, and the world's demand for more oil, became more pronounced, Iraq's rich and easily-accessible oil fields were a much sought-after prize. China coveted Iraqi oil, and America needed Iraqi oil. Other nations were interested in Iraqi oil. The United States knew it could not allow all of Iraq's oil to be shared among other nations of the world.
Our leader, Saddam Hussein, was not perfect, just as Hitler, Stalin, and George W. Bush were not perfect. They were all egomaniacal imperialists who destroyed their countries and killed many of their own people. But, under Hussein's rule, many Iraqis were prosperous, productive, and content. Yes, there was a fear of Hussein's psychopath, and many people who spoke out against his dictatorship were unfairly punished. The same thing happened in Russia, in pre-war Germany, and even in the United States under the reign of George W. Bush. As in your America, those who went along with the Bush administration, and its policies, were prosperous, productive and content. Those who rebelled were often ridiculed, stifled, or silenced. Both of our countries were, in effect, police states. Hussein controlled everything through the use of a heavy hand; Bush tried to exercise control through the use of scare tactics and bravado. We who have come to America see little difference in the way the two countries were managed. The only difference was in the strategies the two leaders implemented. In Iraq, there were those of us who did well under Saddam's rule, just as in America there are those who did well under Bush's reign. Both were reigns of terror; both administrations at times took the law into their own hands.
It is no different in your country than it was in ours. Politicians are mere humans; they have personal feelings, emotions, fears, vindictiveness, hate, love, and - often - misguided intentions. They can be manipulated by those around them - in your country, you call them 'yes men' - and all too often they abuse their power without regard for the 'common' citizen.
Just as upper-class citizens in pre-war Germany saw nothing wrong with the persecution of Jews, and Stalin saw nothing wrong in censuring authors or the press, Hussein saw nothing wrong in protecting his own interest. George W. Bush saw nothing wrong in protecting the interests of those who had put him in office.
On Sunday, November 5, 2006, Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death for the murder of 148 people. We all knew he killed many thousands more. Yet, George W. Bush was never tried for the murder of 750,000 Iraqis or 10,000 U.S. soldiers. Killing is killing, regardless of how many are killed or why. While many in the U.S. regard George W. Bush as an emboldened Commander-In-Chief, many also saw him for what he was: a puppet installed by those who work behind-the-scenes to boost the profitability of the giant U.S. military-industrial complex and enhance the earnings of oil companies and federal government contractors."
Squirming in their seats, O.U.T.R.A.G.E. officials quietly listened as Al-Aback continued. The local government leaders and Navy Club members had agreed to this meeting, and had agreed to maintain order. They listened, as uncomfortable as it was to do so.
"We wish to march in your 'Parade of Honor' to memorialize our fallen leader, Saddam Hussein. We know some Muslims along the parade route will disagree with what we do. We also know other Muslims will agree. The United States of America illegally and unconstitutionally invaded our country after the 9-11 attacks. Iraq was a sovereign nation that had in no way threatened, provoked or attacked the U.S. It was purely a way for the Bush family to 'settle the score' with Hussein, and for Dick Cheney to get his hands on all of Iraq's oil so that he could ensure his friends at Mobil-Exxon of continued huge profits. Hussein had other offers from countries who wanted to buy our Iraqi oil at higher prices - the United States couldn't afford to allow that to happen, at any cost. So, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and 535 members of the most incompetent, evil, arrogant, cowardly, contemptible, selfish, corrupt Congress in U.S. history sanctioned the killings of our brothers and sisters, all for the sake of oil. We want to march in your parade, not so much as a tribute to Saddam Hussein, but as a tribute to all of the innocent Iraqis who have died because of the vindictive evil of two insane leaders: Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush."
Discussion followed. Everyone was given their opporunity to weigh in on this critical subject. Conference calls between Colin Powell and John McCain ensued. Other O.U.T.R.A.G.E. advisors in St. Kitts provided input. Opinions varied. The parade wa scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. At 12:40 p.m., the Muslims were invited to participate in the parade. Many of them agreed to follow the entourage across the country. Hopefully, this would provide a haven for healing; perhaps Americans didn't recognize how much alike their respective rulers had been. Perhaps it was a good thing that they were gone.
Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush shared one trait: an ego that allowed them to order mass killings without conscience.
Certainly Satan had reserved a special oil-soaked corner of Hell for these kinds of devils. Certainly by now, Hussein and Bush were in the company of Dick Cheney; Donald Rumsfeld; members of the exterminated U.S. Congress; arrogant, self-absorbed celebrities and prominent U.S. citizens; greedy corporate chieftans; and media moguls. Right next to them would be Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Idi Amin, and all of the world's other former despots who had so callously helped destroy the inherent goodness of the Earth.
The DeKalb 'Parade of Honor' took place without incident. Refreshingly, it was another sign of unity that was beginning to pull the United States back to its roots. O.U.T.R.A.G.E. was helping to reform the country into the "kinder, gentler nation" that George H.W. Bush had envisioned in his inaugural address. Somehow, he'd gotten off track. Somehow, his son had turned America into the world's newest 'evil empire' that most other nations now feared. With cell phones and 'cells' of rebels strategically placed around the country, O.U.T.R.A.G.E. had taken the first steps toward the renewal of America as a land of the free, a home of the brave, and a leader among nations.