The story so poignantly written by Ned Colt ...made me wish to just transport myself to El Amal school and share with these children my deep respect of mankind, love of the human spirit and of all cultures of this univers. Please tell this story to the world
: it is the utmost soaring call for peace and understanding among nations !

Well said Manon Isabelle, it's what the world needs to hear...

If this is an example of "good" progress in Iraq, I am scared to see what the final result will look like

I don't see too many commetns on this superb story of strength and determination. It seems that if the story isn't politically charged, there is nothing to say. Well, this story says it all. You wonder why we fight? Whether you believe in what we are doing in Iraq or not...believe in 68 young girls who deserve a chance at life and prosperity. I pray for the day when they will no longer need to worry about a car bomb destroying their lives as they walk home from school. Its our duty as Americans to give these kids a chance. Or else...who are we?

Well said Chris. It is our duty, but not just as Americans, as humankind. The whole world should help fight for the basic civil rights each person is born with, whether you are born American or Iraqi or whatever! We will all perish some day and the children of today will be the leaders of tomorrow. We need focus on family, teaching love and commitment so our children know what it means, and what to fight for.

The children are Iraq's only hope. The adults have been mis-educated and taught to hate for so many generations. Our money and effort in Iraq might bear fruit if we spend more on establishing schools that do not teach hatred. All we can do is pray for the kids and let our government know how we feel.

A few years back I was luck enough to enjoy a summer in Jordan. I came away thinking what I am reminded of as I read your story...We are all more alike than different worldwide and should seek unity through our similarites. We all love our children and want a safer, better world for them no matter where we live. All else should be put aside for the sakes of those precious children EVERYWHERE.

Thank you for this story,I feel so sad for these children. To live in constant fear is just wrong. I wish we could just say it will get better, but that won't happen anytime soon I'm afraid. My prayers are with these children and their families.

Chris -

Your comments and this story remind me of the feeling I get when I see a line of homeless people on the street. You want to help them because of the empathy to suffering you feel as a human being, but you quickly realize you could give until your bank account was empty and not make a noticiable dent in the millions in poverty - except perhaps to add yourself to their numbers.

Similarly, there's suffering, poverty, and death in places like Iraq, Darfur, Niger, and many others - but the U.S. CAN'T unilaterally solve the world's problems.

I concede that Iraq is a special problem, caused "our" reckless and shortsighted foreign policy. Long after GWB is back on his little farm clearing brush and having his memoirs ghost-written for him, we'll be suffering the consequences of the current administration's blunders. Yet at some point, like we learned in Vietnam, the cost in American lives and dollars will become too great and we'll HAVE to pull out and let the indigenous peoples figure out their own order.

Even the few "successful" interventions we've been involved in like Bosnia still require our stewardship for many years. We simply don't have the resources to camp out in Iraq for the next two decades until things "settle down." I look forward to the days when Iraq is peaceful again too, but unfortunately I don't think it's going to happen while we're there - it can only happen after we leave.

was going to war in iraq the right thing, they have no peace as of yesterday, today and tomorrow. please pray for peace in this war torn country.

Children need a peaceful and quiet environment to learn. Noise of helicopters flying above, gunshots, and bombs exploding is not the ideal environment for a child to learn. You can spin the story anyway you like, but the end result is not favorable for the kids. I feel sorrow everyday for the children in Iraq for what they must endure on a daily basis. What's going on in Iraq is truely a travesty for the children most of all. May Allah bless them and keep them safe.

If there is a message to be gleaned from this-it is what we are doing to the children who have no say, no choice..their children (who have died in droves), and eventually our children who will have to fight through the pretense of this war. Whatever you think about the war, be glad you are not fighting it, not absorbing the collateral damage at least physically for now. For all of those supposedly on one gods side or the other, perhaps this reminder can wake another up to choose humanity over politics; real love over confusion and fear. The world's fear is driving it deep into the souls of the world. It doesnt matter what uniform you wear. There are a lot of people who would trade someone else's son or daughter's blood for what they believe and even some who would continue dealing in such commodity for merely having too much pride to admit they were wrong. We're at a point where some of these talking heads cant even look into the eyes of the camera. When you wake each morning you know what a miracle life is. Now, look in the mirror and ask yourself, "where am I coming from?" Insanity is worldwide..and yes, now sadly, it lives in equal quantity across the plains and hills of this rural land (dont kid yourself). we used to think we were above such horror, but its well beyond debate at this point. some of us are waiting for this phenomenon called "suspension of disbelief" to expire and expire soon.

The one thing that holds true, the Worlds future is in the hands of our youths. If, through this war, peace, love and prosperity for one another can be allowed to be taught to the children in nations where they know only hate for those not like them, then we might have a chance. I beleive, we as Americans, a nation that battled for its own freedom, that battled for the freedom of slaves have a duty to help those in need. I feel the war has lost its way and has become a political war and is now not serving any purpose. It may be a decade before we see the true results of the war, where the children can grow up and know that there is a better way of life where you can freely choose your religion, what you want to be with out fear that you will be killed because of your differences. To many forget the lives lost in fighting for our own freedom many years ago. History shows that peace and freedom does not come with out a price. My prayers are with all the soldiers for their safty and safe return. We should all also pray for our leaders that they will make the right decisions for our nation and the people of Iraq.

Thank you for this insightful story. Having lived in Japan and in Germany, where something similar happened 2 generations ago - when both FDR and Harry Truman were laughed at for attempting to "impose" democracy on countries "culturally different and unfit for democracy" - I think there is hope for these children ... if only we don't pick up and run, abandoning these children and everybody else in Iraq to a fate of becoming "boat people" or rot in "re-education" (concentration) camps, just like we did in Viet Nam.

I am sickened by People who are out on the street waving their hand in the air and protesting the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.They should read this story of someone who has been there and suffer the tormoil that their country provided them.Perhaps they should be put to the test like what this family has gone through.Why do we go and fight in foriegn land? Well whos going to stop those who commits this types of crime.So stop waving on the street with your useless banner and do something.

Unfortunately, there has been a long history in that region of unrest. How long has it been since there was a stable government that ruled over a peaceful people in that region? There is not an attitude of tolerance for others, and without tolerance there will always be hatred and war.

As Americans, we all like to think we are tolerant, and we are for the most part....but if the people that we are tolerating have no tolerance for us, it becomes a matter of survival.....them or us. Is this just a matter of education? What are we to do in our civilized society with people who cannot be bargained with? What is it that we hope to accomplish over there, that history has proven for others an impossible task?

I am all for helping others work towards something they want, but it is hard to force feed the unwilling, no matter what it is you are feeding.

This is a great story, an age old story of hope. How terrible that Iraq has not known peace. For it is not peace when cruel men reign, when the old can be imprisoned, the young raped or tortured, the innocent vanished in the blink of an eye... and none dares to lift a hand. Life in Iraq yesterday was not peace, it was conquest. Today it is occupation. Tomorrow is what we must look to with and for these children for tomorrow is all any of us have. Yesterday is gone, courtesy of the U.S, today is hell, but tomorrow is hope and it too is courtesy of the U.S.

If those who are fighting us in Iraq win, then those little girls and boys in that school most likely will face death. Those who are fighting us in Iraq hate us not because of what we have done, or because of "failed" policies, but because we are Americans. They hate freedom, prosperity, democracy, and anything else that stands in the way of their own narrow view of Islam and Islamic society. A mosque is destroyed and there is outrage from both the Islamic world and Europe and the left here in America. Churches are destroyed in Gaza, Palestine, Kosovo, Albania, and elsewhere in the world and there is near silence. If you think that our leaving Iraq will make the "insurgents" go away, lay down their arms and make nice with the rest of the world you have another think coming. No amount of foreign policy will ever appease the radical Islamo-facists. Only your death will appease them. Only their defeat will make us secure. If you want to help those children into a better, brighter, safer future, then stand back and let us (U.S.) do our job.

Is all this worth TWO BILLION dollars, spent by the USA every TWO WEEKS, going to overcome the problems the Iraqis people face right at this moment?

I gladly salute a child that has to worry about death squads, militias, car bombs and civil strife; and yet has the "heart" or "courage" to go to school everyday to learn! I am however saddened that in this day and age, we still have war zones that affect the world's children. God bless them and keep them in Jesus name. Amen.

It is good to read these comments. It does seem that the average American still does have high regard for helping the disadvantaged - to acquire the right to live a life as 'free' citizens of the world, without fear of repression or worse yet, torture and murder. This is the America I am proud of and proud to be a citizen of. Living in Italy for over a decade, I continue to hear how they think we meddle in affairs solely for some type of 'personal' gain ... for oil, in this case.

jlf, what price is freedom worth? Not just our freedom, but freedom for young girls like the ones in this article. I am currently serving and while I have not been deployed yet, I am more than willing to deploy to help protect both the citizens of the US and bring freedom and peace to Iraq and the Middle East. The price I am willing to pay for the freedom and safety of not just US citizens, but oppressed and frightened citizens worldwide is my life if necessary

How long has it been since we won the war with Japan? We are still there. Yes we pulled out of Vietnam because of the Liberal Democrats. And what happened? 2.5 million Vietnamese perished. The same would happen if we pull out of Iraq. We will be fighting the terrorists here on the strees of America. I have a grandson that spent a year in Iraq. He says we had better stop them(the terrorists) there.

This story is very touching, those poor children subjected to such a violent place. I look forward to the day where war will be no more and peace will be abundunt to the extremity of the whole earth. This is what is promise to all of us from our creator, Jehovah.

We made the situation in Iraq worst to everybody,the U.S. could have helped Iraq people in other way. It is not the people they want to save but the oil and the billionaire contracts for Halliburton, etc.