Bluebirds over Baghdad

From “A Short Guide to Iraq,” published by the U.S. government in 1942. The handbook was written for American soldiers who were stationed in Iraq to prevent Nazis from seizing the country's oil.

You will enter Iraq (i-RAHK) both as a soldier and as an individual, because on our side a man can be both. That is our strength—if we are smart enough to use it. It can be our weakness if we aren't. As a soldier your duties are laid out for you. As an individual, it is what you do on your own that counts—and it may count for a lot more than you think.

American success or failure in Iraq may well depend on whether the Iraqis (as the people are called) like American soldiers or not. It may not be quite that simple. But then again it could.

One of your big jobs is to prevent Hitler's agents from getting in to do their dirty work. The best way you can do this is by getting along with the Iraqis, and the best way to get along with any people is to understand them. That is what this guide is for. And, secondly, so that you as a human being will get the most out of an experience few Americans have been lucky enough to have. Years from now you'll be telling your children and maybe your grandchildren stories beginning, “Now, when I was in Baghdad . . .”

WHAT IS THIS IRAQ?

What is Iraq, anyhow? Well, it's a lot of things, old and new. In Baghdad, the capital city, you will see street merchants selling exactly the same kind of pottery that their ancestors sold at the time of the Arabian Nights. Not far away you will see great dams and modern refineries equal to the best you have seen in America.

Iraq is hot! Probably you will feel Iraq first—and that means heat. Blazing heat. And dust. Or the first thing you notice may be the smells. You have heard and read a lot about the “mysterious East.” You have seen moving pictures about the colorful life of the desert and the bazaars. When you actually get there you will look in vain for some of the things you have been led to expect. You will smell and feel a lot of things the movies didn't warn you about.

MEET THE PEOPLE

But don't get discouraged. Most Americans and Europeans who have gone to Iraq didn't like it at first. Might as well be frank about it. But nearly all of these same people changed their minds, largely on account of the Iraqi people they began to meet. So will you.

That tall man in the flowing robe you are going to see soon, with the whiskers and the long hair, is a first-class fighting man, highly skilled in guerrilla warfare. If he is your friend, he can be a staunch and valuable ally. If he should happen to be your enemy—look out! Remember Lawrence of Arabia? Well, it was with men like these that he wrote history in the First World War.

But you will find out that the Iraqi is one of the most cheerful and friendly people in the world. If you are willing to go just a little out of your way to understand him, everything will be okay.

Differences? Sure, there are differences. Differences galore! But what of it? You aren't going to Iraq to change the Iraqis. Just the opposite. We are fighting this war to preserve the principle of “live and let live.” Maybe that sounded like a lot of words to you at home. Now you have the chance to prove it to yourself and others. If you can, it's going to be a better world for all of us.

By far the most people you will meet are Moslems. They do not like to have “unbelievers” (to them you are an “unbeliever”) come anywhere near their mosques. You can usually tell a mosque by its high tower. If you try to enter one, you will be thrown out, probably with a severe beating. If you have blundered too near a mosque, get away in a hurry before trouble starts.

You probably belong to a church at home, and you know how you would feel toward anyone who insulted or desecrated your church. Their feeling about their religion is pretty much the same as ours toward our religion, though more intense. If anything, we should respect the Moslems the more for the intensity of their devotion.

It is a good idea in any foreign country to avoid any religious or political discussions. This is even truer in Iraq, because it happens that here the Moslems themselves are divided into two factions something like our division into Catholic and Protestant denominations, so don't put in your two cents when Iraqis argue about religion. There are also political differences in Iraq that have puzzled diplomats and statesmen.

Your move is to stay out of political and religious arguments altogether. By getting mixed up in these matters you'll only help the Nazi propagandists who are trying to stir up trouble. If you can win the trust and friendship of all the Iraqis you meet, you will do more than you may think possible to help bring them together in our common cause.

Needless to say, Hitler will try to use the differences between ourselves and Iraqis to make trouble. But we have a weapon to beat that kind of thing. Plain common horse sense. Let's use it. Hitler's game is to divide and conquer. Ours is to unite and win!

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