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>> Major Marlin Livingston: How long have you
been in the military?
>> Colonel Rahim: [speaks Arabic]
>> interpreter: 24 years, around
[unclear dialogue] and he joined the army in 1983.
I spent four years in the engineering school and the rest
of the time I spent in the military.
>> Major Livingston: How many wars have
been, how many wars, four wars?
[translation in Arabic]
>> Colonel Rahim: [speaks Arabic]
>> interpreter: I was the working
department of the army, labors department.
All the Iraqi people, they were obligated to be in the Iraqi
army for Sadam's time, and for my work in the military I have
to [unclear dialogue].
I was in the first Gulf War, and I was in the second Gulf War.
Now I'm working on Iraqi operations, freedom operations.
But they usually force the people to go to the popular
army, it was kind of the party militias and every person was
kind [unclear dialogue] to join the party militias.
They're going to dismiss him from his
occupation or the university.
So you can sympathize or [unclear dialogue] because you
are not going to join the militia.
He was working with the support [unclear dialogue] but not like
the [unclear dialogue].
We were working on maintaining the power in [unclear dialogue]
for the army and [unclear dialogue] for
the army camps and bases.
>> Major Livingston: What makes your family
strong, how would you describe your family?
[translation in Arabic]
>> Colonel Rahim: [speaks Arabic]
>> interpreter: He says I can describe
in aspects, I can tell you, economically, the
situation [unclear dialogue] nowadays
families are able to buy anything they want a car, a new
dress, which many Iraqi families are not able to buy these things
socially, social relationships get worse because the people are
not able to connect with each other [unclear dialogue].
I can tell you we can't keep connecting with people from far
places like the different Iraqi governement [unclear dialogue]
far places.
We have clothes [unclear dialogue].
So we really kind of damages in the cycles and we can't contain
the connections with their relatives who
are living in the far places.
Plus the Iraqis are not able to go to the resorts or to make
tourists to the good places in Iraq.
For me as religious, I can tell you about the religious sides
for me as she I usually have to go
to the shrines [unclear dialogue].
Before we take our families to these places, now we are not
able to do this.
There is a negative effect, there's negative my family
[unclear dialogue].
We can't deny that the [unclear dialogue] make change where the
families [unclear dialogue].
And because of criminal operations against the civilians
that's why we can [unclear dialogue].
Naturally the time for [unclear dialogue] Iraqi people has
caused another type of damage on these type of people.
Some of the fuel crisis that has happened in Iraq
that has caused kind of cycle.
Or for the rich families they are able to buy anything they
want, the fuel, or they can maintain the power in their
families, but for their poor people the picture is different.
>> Major Livingston: Sihadi, you make about
$900 a month, I think that is the case or something
like that, is there a financial stress on your family?
[translation in Arabic]
>> Colonel Rahim: [speaks Arabic]
>> interpreter: The nowadays [unclear
dialogue] taken from the government now.
>> Major Livingston: In your family Sihadi,
what decisions does your wife make and
what decisions do you make?
[translation in Arabic]
>> Colonel Rahim: [speaks Arabic]
>> interpreter: My wife makes the
decisions concerning domestic affairs.
But the other decisions, I make it by myself.
Like buying or selling the stuff or changing the furniture and
sometimes we wish to make a decision together.
>> Major Livingston: Would you recommend
that your children go into the military?
[translation in Arabic]
>> Colonel Rahim: [speaks Arabic]
>> interpreter: Of course I recommend
my children to join the military especially
in this [unclear dialogue].
[unclear dialogue] my brothers and my neighbors to join the
army because you know you can understand the situation
[unclear dialogue] and I really encourage them.
Sometimes people in my neighborhood, do you advise us
to join the army and I say yes, I
encourage you to join the army.
Because you know [unclear dialogue] we need too much
soldiers and there is still insurgence [unclear dialogue] we
ask people who can protect themselves.