My Interview With An Iranian-American

Cancel that title! It should simply read my interview with an American. I am currently in Texas at Lackland AFB, San Antonio. I arrived in San Antonio yesterday afternoon. After arriving at the Airport I hailed a cab for the short ride to the base.

The cab driver was clearly a man on Middle Eastern decent. After loading my bags he introduced himself and asked where I was headed. I told the man that I needed to go to Lackland AFB. He immediately smiled and said, "Oh Air Force, my only son is in the Air Force and he is on his way to Baghdad for a 6-month tour.”

As we started to talk I mentioned my tour in the Middle East, and the fact that I had been more than once. First response he had was, "I am glad you made it home safe."

After hearing he clearly loved our country I asked where he was from originally. He told me, "Iran, Iran is a terrible place." He went on to explain that he came to the US 27 years earlier to attend the University of Texas. He met his wife (Also of Iranian decent in college and their son was/is the only naturalized citizen in their family).

After realizing that politics were not only a safe conversation, but an encouraged one, we discussed many things. We started with Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr. Kalliff (as I will call him) told me that ultimately the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan will be much better for the US's involvement. He said, "The Taliban is nothing but a bunch of uneducated brutes, bullies, terrorists or whatever." He also said that "those" people don't even know why or what they fight for. If only they could taste freedom they'd never have an animosity towards the US. He said, that Saddam "is a son of a bitch. He is just a cowardly dictator who hid behind his abusive actions." He also said that "these" dictators are the sole reason that the Middle East is hundreds of years behind the rest of the modern world.

I asked him if he ever considered moving home. He smiled at me and said, "I am home." He went on to explain that he would rather be "just some poor cab driver who can honestly say he is an American than a wealthy Iranian any day!"

Mr. Kalliff was very passionate about these United States. He said he hopes more than anything that President Bush is re-elected and pushes for a regime change in Iran. He even said, "I know I could lose family in a war, but if it freed my people it would be an acceptable loss."

After talking about the war on terror I turned the discussion to politicians. My first question was what do you think about President Bush. His immediate reaction was, "I liked his Dad better, but he is a good man. He can be a little bit of a bully, but sometimes that is necessary." He said that he would like to see a democratic president elected because, "they are good to the people and the economy". He also said that now is not the time. Mr. Kalliff was very excited when he said, "John Kerry is a fucking liar, pardon my language but I think it would be a catastrophe if Kerry were elected".

As our conversation ended and I was unloading my gear from his cab, he once again held out his hand to shake mine. As I shook his hand he told me, "thank you for fighting for the greatest nation on Earth and making this a free place where even a poor boy from Iran can live free".

Sound too good to be true? Every word of it is true. He sounded every bit as patriotic as any member of the Armed Forces. It was hard for me to decide which he was more proud of, his son the Airman, or his right to vote and US citizenship.

Maybe, just maybe, there is hope for the Middle East. He certainly can't be the only person smart enough to realize that it is the dictatorships that are causing the demise of the Arab world.

SlagleRock Out!

Posted by SlagleRock at July 13, 2004 05:12 PM