1. The initial inquiry I began with in this research project is how life has changed since the fall of Saddam and the rise of U.S. related and civil conflicts in Iraq. My inquiry has stayed the same so far because I am still in the process of investigating different views of life in Iraq. So far I’m finding that citizens of Iraq have a grim outlook on their situation both in the present for the future of their country. I’m sure that there are people there that feel just the opposite just from the mere fact that I believe there is always more than one view to every situation and those that hold power or in less hostile areas most likely feel as though things are going well. The problem is finding them and making sure they are not being used for propaganda.

2. I did not realize how much like us some Iraqis are. I feel ashamed for even having to say that because I’ve gotten this “Orientalistic” view stuck in my head prior to researching this topic. I prepared myself for the sullen attitudes that would come from war and all the ongoing civil conflicts within Iraq, but I was caught off guard by the extent of which I could relate some of the bloggers in the style that they wrote and not to mention their exhibition of strength under harsh conditions. This realization has caused me to become more immersed into my research. Also, gaining this knowledge has helped me connect with the views of the Iraqi citizens because the writings from my sources make me feel like I’m seeing a reflection of myself. If it can do the same for others then it helps to make the writer’s views increasingly valid to his or her readers.

3. I just want to know more about events that have an impact on the Iraqi citizens and how it affects their lives. Also, I want to find out what people think about how the US is handling situations there from the average Iraqi point of view (not politician’s views, they seem to be regarded as America’s Puppets), if they have gained any “freedoms” that Democracy has to offer and do they want it. I will be using blogs for my sources and other accredited material for backup.

4. I don’t really see the gap to insert an original idea just yet but perhaps I can force one through with a little ingenuity if it becomes necessary. I can for instance build an argument around the disparity our media tries to feed us and the reality that is affecting Iraqis. I never completely trusted the media to deliver the raw news that would undoubtedly make America look bad or rather worse as Iraq further deteriorates. So I knew that there would be incongruities between anything that comes from our media and the views that come straight from the Iraqis. An example of this is from one of my secondary sources that seem to be claiming that Iraq is getting better and showing that the performing arts are once again taking place in a theatre there.

5. If I had to make an argument about my inquiry right now it would have to be that Iraqi citizens are living in state of despair as their country is being torn apart which is contrary to what officials want us to believe. I want to get down to why there is this need to make fiction from fact as the media has been doing for so long. We need to know the psyche of Iraqi citizens so that we can get a better idea of how to truly improve Iraq and not simply impose our own solutions onto them. I feel that too many people blindly accept this war for what it is and never consider anything from a different point of view which ironically when put into the same situations can be quite similar.

Choose one primary research method that best suits your research project and answer the following questions in relation to that primary research method:

a. What do I want to discover?

I want to know what Iraqis experience due to this war and how they view it whether in favor or not from the start of the war till the present. I am also considering what their thoughts were before the first bomb dropped and what they think of their future after the war has ended. Also, I want to know if they think that it was a good thing for the US to start a war there. I obviously don’t think so but I want to hear it from someone with actual experience.

b. How do I plan on discovering it? (This is called your research methods or methodology)

I plan on finding documentaries where Iraqis give their insight into the effects of the war in their homeland. I also want to find news or journal articles and blogs that give more information to this subject. I especially want blogs because they are a more free space to voice opinions and such without censorship. I will be using a blog as a primary source for that reason, I don’t want any possibly scripted or omitted stories that we tend to see in our media today.

c. Who am I going to talk to/observe/survey? (These people are called your subjects or participants)

I am going to try and conduct an interview via email with Riverbend, the blogger of “Baghdad Burning”, which is my primary source. She delivers an amazing account of her experiences living in Iraq and her opinions about the forces that are causing conflict in Iraq. I will also try to do the same with other bloggers I find as secondary sources along with any accredited sources that I can use to back them up.

d. How am I going to be able gain access to these groups or individuals?

I have already gained access to these groups through there blogs. But I suppose the only group I haven’t officially found information from is the accredited sources. I will be looking for them through the library resources online, though I do feel like there may not be much to go on from there given biases in our media towards the war in Iraq. They barely show anything that is going wrong and when they do it is in a way that tries to gain more support for the war.

e. What are my biases about this topic?

My biases are that there is more to the war in Iraq than what I see on television and other media outlets. I feel as though I can’t fully trust them to give me the down and dirty details that an Iraqi citizen can provide.

f. How can I make sure my biases are not reflected in my research methods?

I will try my best to look at the issue as objectively as possible and develop my argument around what I discover from my research and not my own opinions. At least I will try not to place too much of my opinions into the equation.

e. What do I expect to discover?

I expect to discover the truths about how the Iraqi citizens feel about the events that are taking place in their country. I also expect to see a shift in thought patterns in favor or against the war is the conflicts drag on. I know that our media showed a lot of people being happy to have us be there and “liberating” them at the start of the war but I have my doubts about that and I’m sure their views have changed by now though our media does little to acknowledge this.

The title of the post I took my quotes from is: American Hostages...

Riverbend. "Baghdad Burning." Baghdad Burning. 02 May 2006. 02 Mar. 2008 .

“Baghdad Burning” by blogger, Riverbend, is a very interesting blog to say the least. I have chosen it to be my primary source for my sustained research assignment. It is amazing that I have such an in-depth look into the live of an Iraqi citizen. Before I have even gotten to read a single post the title “Baghdad Burning” has already peaked my interest and automatically gives me the impression that the blogger will be writing about an Iraq in turmoil. Just below the title reads “I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend…” I have done a search to find out if this is a used quote or Riverbend’s original quote and it seems like it is her own. I think this quote subtly breaks down the reader and instead of viewing this blog from someone you barely know it forces you to make a connection to the writer because the quote implies that you are a friend. Now what friend wouldn’t value what you’d have to say especially in a time where you’re struggling? I think this is a great way to get a sympathetic response from the reader.

During a search for her true identity I found that “Riverbend is the pseudonymous author of the blog Baghdad Burning, launched August 17, 2003. Riverbend's identity is carefully hidden, but the weblog entries suggest that Riverbend is a young Iraqi woman from a mixed Shia and Sunni family, living with her parents and brother in Baghdad. Before the United States occupation of Iraq she was a computer programmer” (Wikipedia). I can see two things from this information almost immediately, she is intelligent since being a computer programmer requires more than average brain power and she keeps herself hidden because what she has to say about what is going on in Iraq would incur a lot of serious and possibly deadly consequences.

Her blog posts are written in a way that paints an emphatic narrative of life in Iraq during the war. The descriptive way Riverbend writes forms a melancholy ethos with what I am assuming to be a sarcastic twist which is effective in pointing out the atrocities Iraqis have to endure during this time of war. Her writing also invokes a range of emotions from making me laugh at some points because she reminded me of my own sarcasm and at other times I felt sympathetic and angry for the fact that this whole war is causing her, her family, and others pain. She truly makes you feel like you are talking to a friend and that helps you to put yourself in her shoes and see life through her eyes not from our own inherently biased perspective. Below I have select one of the quotes from Riverbend’s blog to further analyze. It was hard to choose just one but here it is:

By the beginning of April, we had given up on getting any information from television and had to rely completely on the news we received through radio stations such as Monte Carlo, BBC and the Voice of America. VOA was nearly as useless as Sahhaf- we could never tell if the news they were broadcasting was real or if it was simply propaganda. In between news, VOA would broadcast the same songs over and over and over. I still can’t hear Celine Dion’s “A New Day Has Come” without shuddering because in my head I hear the sounds of war. “I was waiting for someone…” the roar of a plane overhead … “For a miracle to come…” the BOOM of a missile… “My heart told me to be strong…” the rat-tat-tat of an AK-47... I hate that song today.

VOA in that quote is the station called “Voice of America”. My immediate response to finding that out was, why is something like that broadcasting in Iraq, it’s so far away? Perhaps it is a propaganda technique since I can see no reason for it to be broadcasting on their airwaves. I can understand it was for the military, but that’s just my first observation. What really struck me, however how Riverbend describes hearing the song “A New Day Has Come”, by Celine Dion without hearing the sounds of war. I just couldn’t believe the irony of that song playing over and over as a bomb goes off in the background; it is intense just to think about let alone live it. I have no reason to discredit her experience because it is completely possible for that to happen. Her description here really paints a picture and sets the atmosphere that war has forced upon those in Iraq. This supports my belief that war just causes pain for everyone especially when it is unwarranted and forced onto those that do not want it.

This blog challenges the idea that Iraqis are just some people somewhere involved in some war that our media tries to perpetuate by keeping the identity of the Iraqi civilians distant from us and therefore develops a gap of misunderstanding between our two cultures. By doing this our cries for peace become a mere whisper and afterthought of those that are supposed to be ruling in our interests. I intend use this and other quotations from this source to stimulate my argument about how the war impacts Iraqi civilians. There might me more to this but I will update my argument according to new developments in my research.

This is just too funny! I had to post it.

A strong reader and writer needs to first know how to “process a deeply” and rhetorically and then write rhetorically. “Purpose in reading affects processing and monitoring of comprehension”. Based on Margaret Kantz’s “Teaching Students to Use Textual Sources Persuasively,” I realize the truth behind how easy it is to “use the structure and purpose of a source as the basis for one’s paper than it is to create a structure or an original purpose.” I know that I have done the same thing as the example of the student Shirley in the text. I used to basically summarize sources in my essays and not give much thought to how the so-called facts where being presented. In the past my papers would be average to say the least but with the knowledge of how to determine what rhetorical strategies are being used in text or film I am confident that I can improve arguments instead of accepting those that the author tries to press upon me.

In order to create a strong sustained research argument in Kantz’s opinion I need to do what Alice did and “formally select and evaluate material and to use it as proof in an original argument”. That would require me to come up with my own original argument and therefore engage my audience further. Also, it would be beneficial to point out any discrepancies in different sources to persuade my readers or “Decoders” to accept my views. Using strategic source placement will help me in my efforts by placing a certain part of a quote in a specific section of my argument, not to diminish the source’s credibility in any way but to make the best use of it.

Kantz distinguishes between opinions and facts which ironically she explains that they are the same kind of claims. She also states that the only essentials difference between the two is how they are received by the audience. This is very important because the way someone shapes either fact or opinion with shape how the audience perceives it. For instance a scientist can claim that something is fact with data used to back it up but other people, especially other scientists may not believe his or her claims by the way he has styled his argument or just because the others don’t want to accept it as fact. So it is possible to manipulate a fact into an opinion vice versa. This is a great technique to use when constructing an argument.

In Kantz’s anecdote she describes how rhetoric and rhetorical analysis comes into play in reading and writing as “The rhetorical reading strategy, by contrast, requires writers to discover what is worth writing about and to decide how to say it as or after they read their sources. The strategy requires writers to change their content goals and to adjust their writing plans as their understanding of the topic develops. It requires writers, in Flower’s term, to “construct” their purposes for writing as well as the content for their paper”.

I think Kantz wants us as students to realize that I already know how to create arguments but must fine tune that knowledge and be able to direct it into writing a robust research paper. She would like to see us create this kind of ethos in our minds where we establish ourselves as the authoritative factor in our papers, not those of the sources we are using to write about.

Edward Said may be a role model for the kind of read, writer, and thinker that Kantz advocates because he is able to take his opinions and facts that most generally would not accept and transform them into a formidable argument that invites us as an audience to take a look at Islam through his eyes. In my sustained research essay I want to focus on the thoughts of Iraqi citizens as they are going through the conflicts they face in this time of war. I want to mimic Said’s ethos and meet Kantz’s standards by processing everything I can from my blog interview with some of those citizen’s and try to use their experience vs. the US Army’s evaluation of how they are being affected to create my sustained argument. I haven’t come up with what that argument will entail but I will know as I continue to do my research.

The topic that I am interested in is the effect of the war on the citizens of Iraq. There are questions that I want an answer to such as how life has changed since the fall of Saddam and the rise of U.S. related and civil conflicts in Iraq. Do people there want democracy? Do they want the U.S. there? If so, how long is too long? I want to limit the time period from 2006 to the present.

As Americans, we tend to know very little about other countries and what is going on around the world. Even CNN barely covers things going on in other parts of the world. There are a lot of us who barely see any effects of this war here especially when compared to wars past where people had to make sacrifices, because we were at war. Therefore there is a disconnect between us and the war in Iraq. I think that we need to first know the truth from what the Iraqi people are feeling rather than the truth we may be fed by the government and the media so that we can fully assess the situation.

I plan on using the blog, , as a major source of information on this topic because I found that Iraqi citizens are blogging so I may be able to get more information from them. Blogs are becoming more prevalent in the media these days. I notice yesterday that CNN had a segment where they had three people on the show who I believe they called “Top Bloggers”, and they were talking about their opinions on the how the Democrats were doing in the Presidential Race. This signifies the growing popularity and importance of blogs so depending on the quantity and quality of the blogs I am researching, I may decide to leave them at the center of my focus and use other reliable sources to back them up.

It is important to me that we all get a deeper understanding of what is happening on the other side of this war. If this war does not eventually produce great results for both the Iraqis, Americans, and the “War on Terror” then what happens to the Iraqi citizens that are left in more turmoil now than when they lived under Saddam’s rule?

The blog I’ve been looking at for some time is (http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/). In the image from the Unit 1 Assignment I started to wonder what the effects our presence in Iraq has on its people. We are so prone to thinking about ourselves and how it affects our soldiers and our economy and how the world views us.

Well what about the Iraqi citizens? Has their lives changed for the better or for the worse? What do they think about us and what our true aim is? How do they respond to the violence that continues to grip their country? I can go on and on, in fact I shall in order to find a solid inquiry that I want to research. Now getting back to the blog above, it is interesting to find a blog set up with links to other bloggers from Iraq. Yes, actually Iraqi bloggers! Well at least I find it cool, because I never thought it would be possible for some reason that we actually get an opportunity to hear the voices of Iraqis. Perhaps it’s just from being sheltered so much by our own media that I never thought this possible although I wanted to find out more about them.

Some of these blogs go through some day to day things that happen in Iraq, and it seems that a majority of bloggers are from Baghdad. I still have to do more research on that but it wouldn’t be surprising that the largest city and country’s capital would have the most educated people and technology. I will definitely love to take a closer look into this and incorporate it into my Unit 2 Inquiry.