G
gilliam
Guest
Dr. Talib Al-Zaidi was an Iraqi patriot. That is precisely why terrorists in Baquba murdered him. But with the assistance of an array of American patriots — both soldiers and citizens alike — his proud legacy lives on in the city of his birth.
A world-renowned engineer, Al-Zaidi fled Iraq for Canada 25 years ago after Saddam Hussein’s secret police executed his brother and arrested several friends because of their membership in a Shiite-based opposition movement. After the fall of the Hussein regime in 2003 he returned to his hometown of Baquba, located northeast of Baghdad in Diyala Province, and energetically engaged in public life. He joined the faculty of Yarmouk University, an important institution of higher education in the region that educates young men and women in several academic and professional disciplines. He put his engineering skills to work — literally — by starting a consulting-design firm. He was elected to the Baquba city council, and emerged as an eloquent spokesman for the new, democratic forces taking root in his city. He was deeply loved by his extended family and well respected by his neighbors.
"I will not leave Iraq."
He was also fearless. He knew that his role as a public figure extolling democratic reform placed him in danger, yet he refused to curtail his university teaching, his political activity, or his commitment to the welfare of his nation. He repeatedly voiced his determination during several meetings in the autumn of 2004 with this writer at a U.S. Army installation in Baquba. To his family he insisted, “I will not leave Iraq. I want to serve my country. And, come what may, I want to be buried here, in my homeland, next to my brother.”
nationalreview.com/comment/skelly200511020850.asp
A world-renowned engineer, Al-Zaidi fled Iraq for Canada 25 years ago after Saddam Hussein’s secret police executed his brother and arrested several friends because of their membership in a Shiite-based opposition movement. After the fall of the Hussein regime in 2003 he returned to his hometown of Baquba, located northeast of Baghdad in Diyala Province, and energetically engaged in public life. He joined the faculty of Yarmouk University, an important institution of higher education in the region that educates young men and women in several academic and professional disciplines. He put his engineering skills to work — literally — by starting a consulting-design firm. He was elected to the Baquba city council, and emerged as an eloquent spokesman for the new, democratic forces taking root in his city. He was deeply loved by his extended family and well respected by his neighbors.
"I will not leave Iraq."
He was also fearless. He knew that his role as a public figure extolling democratic reform placed him in danger, yet he refused to curtail his university teaching, his political activity, or his commitment to the welfare of his nation. He repeatedly voiced his determination during several meetings in the autumn of 2004 with this writer at a U.S. Army installation in Baquba. To his family he insisted, “I will not leave Iraq. I want to serve my country. And, come what may, I want to be buried here, in my homeland, next to my brother.”
nationalreview.com/comment/skelly200511020850.asp