'There is justice ... there is God'

LAST IN A SERIES

Salih Radhi grew up in Baghdad and came to the United States 30 years ago to pursue an engineering degree. In 2004, he returned to Iraq for the first time to visit his siblings and their families. Radhi, 52, is a technical writer for Northwest Airlines and lives in Plymouth. These are his words:

The biggest thing that was positive about the war was the removal of the worst dictator that has ever ruled in the area. ... Saddam [Hussein] was a very bad dictator. ... To see this man go to court to face justice, I think that brought a smile to a lot of his victims, a lot of widows and orphans. ... It was a huge relief to the Iraqis and to the region.

You know, when the war started we were actually on vacation, me and my wife. ... I happened to be flipping the channels in the hotel and I found CNN and I just was following the war and that definitely messed up the vacation because I didn't feel like doing anything after that.

You'd see these huge explosions and you never know how smart these bombs were. ... That always kind of played with your emotions, whether this missile was going to hit their target or land in the wrong area ... or go under and in a destination it's not supposed to be in. The tension was really strong.

I think after Saddam was captured it was a huge relief to see that it was actually going to be ... a better life for our loved ones after all.

You know, in a way, it sent a signal to not only me, but I think to everyone that thought that [Saddam was] going to be there forever. ... It makes us feel more like there is actually justice. There is justice by God that you cannot keep oppressing people and abusing them. ... And that has kind of increased my faith personally. ... Before, I thought "I'm going to die before I see him go anywhere and I'm still not going be able to see my family." But when I saw what happened to him then I felt like "Yeah, indeed, there is justice and definitely there is God."

After all of what happened ... I think I still look at it like there is still light at the end of the tunnel. Before the Iraqi view of Saddam's regime, they never felt there was light at the end of the tunnel. Right now, we see even a small movement of reconciliation among the Iraqis. ... I guess they are realizing the hard way ... they have to coexist, this is their country, and they have to build it together.

I think it's going to be baby steps, but I think the result will be very good for the Iraqis. ... There is just so much potential for Iraq. It's a very rich country. It has the wealth of the waterways, like from the Tigris and Euphrates and it has the culture, the civilization, the ... natural resources and oil, and it has also the people. And the Iraqi people happen to be one of the most educated compared to other Arab countries and that really is their strongest asset. ... And when the security situation is settled, I think a lot of people who are outside this country, who left the country because of the violence, will end up coming back and build their country. And I think at that point Iraq will be a very great success story.

Radhi's comments have been edited from a longer interview with staff writer Richard Meryhew.