Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
3:33 | Iraqi interpreter Ali Alzubaidi had settled in the US but he was feeling a little isolated because he had been so close to the soldiers back in the war zone. Then he heard about a reunion.
Keywords : Ali Alzubaidi Iraqi interpreter reunion
Ali Alzubaidi grew up near Sadr City in Iraq. He heard stories about the war with Iran initiated by Saddam Hussein, who was insulated from the populace with multiple layers of security. During that war, people were still doing fine economically, so there was not yet resistance to the brutality of Saddam.
Of the three religious groups in Iraq, only the Sunnis were favored by Saddam Hussein. The Shia and the Kurds were second class or worse. Ali Alzubaidi explains that there were many who were not afraid to resist, but the threat of harm to their family members made them hesitant.
Ali Alzubaidi was a pre-teen when Operation Desert Storm began and the sky was filled with American weaponry. People were terrified until they realized the accuracy of the weapons systems was sparing them. Afterward, the economy got very bad and, as he began college, it was hard times.
It was on a modest black and white television that Ali Alzubaidi saw footage of the 9/11 attacks. What did it mean? Who was behind it? As American forces began to deploy around the world, including the Persian Gulf, he began to be optimistic that Saddam Hussein's time would come to an end.
Ali Alzubaidi knew that the Iraqi Army had terrible morale and would collapse quickly when the Americans invaded. He was disgusted when he saw his fellow countrymen looting everything in sight. He pleaded with a US Marine to stop them, but the Marine could not.
As soon as American forces entered Iraq, Ali Alzubaidi wanted to work with them. He had long dreamed of a free Iraq and he had studied English, so he set out to become an interpreter. The troops loved him because they had no connection to and little understanding of Iraqi culture. It was difficult for many Iraqis to accept them because of American policy toward Israel.
Interpreter Ali Alzubaidi was amazed at how warmly he was welcomed into his first American unit. Some of his family had just passed away but now he had a family of 150. He began to feel unsafe when he wasn't with them, however, especially after he got a threatening phone message.
From 2003 until 2008, Ali Alzubaidi served as an Iraqi interpreter for American troops. Then he heard about the possibility of emigrating to the United States and that was it. He settled in Colorado with his wife and even enlisted in the Army, where he served for eight years.
