Free Iraq

This is interesting, even if your interpretation is a bit dubious (I'm fairly sure the military rotates clerics regularly, just like any other personnel). I am curious, however, if and when you will write again about the latest show of people power in Beirut.
 

War is brutal. Horrendous things happen to people whether they are civilians, mercenaries or armed forces. Live people and corpses are treated with disregard.
So what else is new? Is this supposed to make us feel 'antiwar'? Not at all. The Iraq war is no different to other wars in history.

Again, this is another attempt to manipulate the emotions of the jelly bellied, and those with malleable mindsets.
 

Since the red flags are out early today, time for a couple of quotes:

- Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels. (Samuel Johnson)

- Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons. (Bertrand Russell)

- Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it. (George Bernard Shaw )

And, a recent provocative/thought-provoking/inflamatory (for the reader to choose) article at -

http://www.rense.com/general63/peacegr.htm

in which the author speaks of, inter alia -

" . . . colossal crimes the United States is committing in Iraq (and in a list of beleaguered countries that is now practically endless) - after all, the USA is now waging war on the entire world, and our so-called leaders are not ashamed to admit it."
 

Evelyn
"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it. (George Bernard Shaw )", It's particular true that we know that 80 % of the US citizen doesn't have a passport but They are brainwashed by media saying america is # 1
 

An Army medic, recently returned from eight months in Iraq,

1. criticizes the poor coverage of the Iraqi war by the U.S. media
2. highlights how poorly equipped and trained American troops have been, and
3. refutes the notion that Iraqis are content with the U.S. presence in their country.

"First, (Iraqis) would say, they were glad that Saddam (Hussein) was gone," he said. "But they would always follow that up with, 'At least under him, we had security.' "

Dismissing the idea that most of the troops in Iraq are satisfied with their situation, he cites a poll in a military magazine that found that about 60 percent of soldiers in Iraq did not approve of the war. He also said soldiers are open about their disapproval of the war, and many want to leave.

"There was a running joke that IRAQ stood for 'I really am quitting,' " he said.

He is upset at the apathy many people feel toward the war, saying Iraq is a potential Vietnam. He attributes the difference in the protests between the Iraqi war and Vietnam War to the absence of the military draft.

"The reason that this is being forgotten is because there's no draft, and there's no one protesting it because it's not affecting them," he said. "It's sad." He thinks, however, that reinstatement of the draft is just around the corner.

http://www.browndailyherald.com/global_user_elements/printpage.cfm?storyid=892406

A different article notes what the war has inflicted on Iraqis:
"Readers often write in for an update on Fallujah. I am sorry to say that there is no Fallujah to update. The city appears to be in ruins and perhaps uninhabitable in the near future. Of 300,000 residents, only about 9,000 seem to have returned, and apparently some of those are living in tents above the ruins of their homes. The rest of the Fallujans are scattered in refugee camps of hastily erected tents at several sites, including one near Habbaniyyah, or are staying with relatives in other cities, including Baghdad.

"The scale of this human tragedy-- the dispossession and displacement of 300,000 persons-- is hard to imagine. Unlike the victims of the tsunami who were left homeless, moreover, the Fallujans have witnessed no outpouring of world sympathy."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/031405K.shtml
 

Stef -
Thanks for the link. Recommended for all adherents to the notion of American 'superiority'. The list of over 30 indicators includes these three:

"Nearly one out of four Americans [believe] that using violence to get what they want is acceptable" (The European Dream, p.32).

"Forty-three percent of Americans think torture is sometimes justified, according to a PEW Poll (Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2004).

"Nearly 900,000 children were abused or neglected in 2002, the last year for which such data are available" (USA Today, Dec. 21, 2004)."

The notion of superiority for ANYONE is misplaced. In our case, the superiority to which we cling and which is forced upon others with the barrel of a gun is our military might. By spending such a huge % of our GNP on the military and technologically advanced killing toys we decimate other populations and greatly impoverish our own. When will we learn there are better choices to be made?
 

Judithw
The neoconservatives' agenda did not take into consideration the Shiites, whether in Lebanon or in Iraq.

And they just might choke on it.

See "Understanding Hezbollah of Lebanon" by Sam Hamod, Ph.D.
03/12/2005

http://www.todaysalternativenews.com/index.php?event=link,150&values[0]=&values[1]=2301

 

Though more relevant to discussion around Dr Khadduri's Sunday, 13th March posting and an article about "Inventing Political Violence", I here note a new article, "The End of Days" posted today at

http://malakandsky.blogspot.com/

In it Anwaar Hussain explores the term 'fundamentalism', its origins, and, among other things, a possible dreadful outworking.
 

The Plan is Still on Track (Bush Strategy for Syria, Lebanon and Iran) by Gary Leupp complements "Understanding Hezbollah of Lebanon" by Sam Hamod, Ph.D. (to Judithw from Dr Khadurri).

http://www.counterpunch.org/leupp03152005.html
 

TELawrence -
"There are Americans, and the President chief among them, who will say, "Aw shucks, these things happen in war!" True enough, but then Iraq isn't a war, it's the aftermath of a calculated invasion. The troops shooting up civilians day after day are there for no high purpose. Likely Bush would offer the same dismissive reaction concerning recent evidence of America's brave boys having used napalm and poison gas in the Fallujah."

From John Chuckman's article "The Creature Walks Among Us"

http://baltimorechronicle.com/030905Chuckman.shtml

written following the recent killing of an Italian secret service agent and in relation to American war propaganda and reported work to develop robot soldiers.
 

Evelyn, I think you are missing out a few slightly essential facts, possibly deliberately, but maybe just out of forgetfulness.

Why treat the troops with such disdain? I don't know where your disrespect originates from, but it is very unnatural and unusual if you are from the west, as you purport to be. I have a sneaky suspicion that you are not a westerner. One day, you may need these same troops to protect you; they are not just used in cases of war overseas. They are not robots out there terminating the lives of civilians, they are human beings deployed to a place not of their choice, to do something, not of their choice, ie, police a nation.
Some of these lads are only 18-20 years old, with little in the way of wisdom and composure behind them. They will make mistakes. Soldiers make mistakes because they are human, and as a result their friends die, their allies can die and civilians can die.

I remember in March 2003 when the US accidentally shot down a British Tornadoe jet. As much as the British were devastated to have lost airmen under a "blue on blue" attack, they at least admitted that fright, fatigue and inexperience may have accounted for the young soldier launching the Patriot missile to take out the Tornadoe. If they have the wisdom and courage to accept this, having lost friends and allies, then you should have. There has been many an inadvertent killing, it is not isolated to Italian journalists.

You talk about Fallujah? With all due respect, the people of Fallujah were given a chance to leave their town before the assault started. This gave every one of them ample opportunity to save themselves. Did you ever see the Nazis, or Saddam, or the Serbians, or the Russians or the Argentinians giving civilians a chance to leave a town before a military assault? No, of course not. This demonstrates the US is giving Iraqi civilians every chance to survive, an unusual trait in a war machine.

I for one admire what western troops are doing in Iraq. They are sacrifing their lives, have removed Saddam Hussain and nothing can be as honourable as that. When the new government asks them to go, they will go. I am sure they want to go!
 

The Faluja marine attack is vastly exagerated.
 

If Iraq becomes peaceful, Bush wins credibility, and that's something that the antiwar lobby on this site do not want. The well-being of Iraq is not your priority, it seems, your anti-Bush and anti-western feelings are.

These same individuals seem to relish civil war and chaos in Iraq. It's as if its their only method of trying to prove Bush's policies wrong. Peace can never be attained through force? Oh yes it can. As the years unravel, you'll see the positive affect of the invasion - Iraq will have its own elected government and the people will not be afraid, ever again, to speak their mind.

Credit to the pro-war crowd who stand by their beliefs. You can bring out all the progagandist websites you want, but it won't stop progress in Iraq - progress initiated and perpetuated by Bush.
 

Stoned Crow -
Your belief that possibly I misrepresent myself interests me. It would seem to demonstrate (correct me if I'm wrong) the following:

1. The world is divided into two camps: Westerners and Others. Us and Them. Westerners (Us) have one set of values (good) and Others (Them) have another set (not so good). Westerners will (naturally) support whatever the United States asks of its military. Others will (perhaps) be a bit slow to catch on.
2. American (meaning, U.S.) media act as a PR machine for the administration and military. They sell us a set of ideas about the war and the reasons for the war and their behaviour in that war. Challenging ideas and the 'information' disseminated is thought unpatriotic and dangerous. Perspectives and values differing from those officially sanctioned are neither represented nor taken into consideration. They are to be ignored or eliminated.

Regarding the troops, some of what you say I agree with. I agree that they are human beings (there is no sarcasm in my statement). I agree that, for the most part, they have not chosen their place of deployment or much of what they have been asked to do. Indeed, they are young, often terribly frightened (I too would be), and of course they make mistakes. All of us do every day, and in the horrors of a war situation, how much more so. I totally acknowledge the trauma they suffer.

I do not hold them in disdain. They are our sons and daughters. They are our flesh and blood. But I hate what they are asked to do. I see our intrusion into Iraq as having been one of choice, not of necessity. I totally disagree with your understanding about Fallujah. I do, however, believe you have entered into an honest discussion and have respectfully outlined your points of departure with me. For that I thank you.
 

"People would ask me about my war experiences and answering them took me back to all the horrors - the firefights, the ambushes, the time I saw a young Iraqi dragged by his shoulders through a pool of his own blood or an innocent man was decapitated by our machine gun fire. The time I saw a soldier broken down inside because he killed a child, or an old man on his knees, crying with his arms raised to the sky, perhaps asking God why we had taken the lifeless body of his son. I thought of the suffering of a people whose country was in ruins and who were further humiliated by the raids, patrols and curfews of an occupying army.

"And I realized that none of the reasons we were told about why we were in Iraq turned out to be true... I realized that I was part of a war that I believed was immoral and criminal, a war of aggression, a war of imperial domination. I realized that acting upon my principles became incompatible with my role in the military, and I decided that I could not return to Iraq." (Mejia, 'Regaining My Humanity,'

http://www.codepink4peace.org/National_Actions_Camilo.shtml)

Normally, the implicit assumption is that signing a contract and being paid to do a job absolves us of all further moral responsibility. We have signed an agreement to do as we are told - an ostensibly innocuous act. If the people with whom we made this agreement then choose to send us to incinerate and dismember civilians, that is their moral responsibility, not ours.

The psychologist Stanley Milgram noted that this is a classic evasion used by people unwilling to accept responsibility for their own actions:

"The key to the behaviour of subjects [willing to torture and kill on command] lies not in pent-up anger or aggression but in the nature of their relationship to authority. They have given themselves to the authority; they see themselves as instruments for the execution of his wishes; once so defined, they are unable to break free."

--------------------------

All the above comes from an article HOW DO YOU SHOOT BABIES?, which includes comments made by US soldier Camilo Mejia who refused to return to his unit in Iraq after taking leave in October 2003.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=21&ItemID=7447
 

Dr Khadduri -
Having already overloaded your present posting, let me now simply pass on this link. Thank you for your tolerance, and thank you for responding to Anna.

http://www.counterpunch.org/zeese03162005.html
 

I'm sorry, but it's just too much.

In an article, "Bush Rejects Timetable for Iraq Pullout" Bush says, "Our troops will come home when Iraq is capable of defending herself."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/031605L.shtml

And then comes: "Iraqi general shot dead by US troops at checkpoint west of Ramadi: police"
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=38797
 

I hereby solemnly pledge: I will not do this again today!

DAHR JAMAIL ON HIS EXPERIENCE OF THE IRAQI RESISTANCE

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php4?article_id=6071
 

The last few days have signalled better times for Iraq and that is applauded. I was watching "Fighting the War" last night on History Channel, and it reminded of how brave and efficient our British troops were in dealing with the regime and its Fedeyeen.

Iraq's politicians have to act faster though, to get things moving. People want to see results quickly. The Iraqi public felt so strongly about voting that they risked their lives to vote and they deserve a government that functions efficiently and as one.
The fruits of freedom are coming Iraq's way. People deserve it. Risking one's life just to vote is astonishing.

I am looking forward to the day when the Iraqi parliament will let the Brits go home. Its up to the Iraqis now as to when and how they want the occupation to end.
 

Ah, a new day!

Stoned Crow -
You say, "Posting links about shooting babies is all very well ... ." This suggests that shooting babies gets a pass. However, the article was about much more than JUST shooting babies. Did you read it? In your effort to get the fuller picture, did you read any of the articles for which links have been provided?

With so much fake ‘news’ offered up as the real thing, sourcing information and providing links helps others assess the value of information offered up in support of a position.

We now know, for instance, that both Britain and the United States are inundated with government sponsored PR.

In the US, the Bush administration has been paying actors to produce news, paying journalists to write propaganda, and paying Republican party members to pose as journalists.

Similarly, in Britain journalists working for the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC) have been commissioned to provide news reports to the BBC. The BBC has been using these reports as if they were genuine news. In fact, the SSVC is entirely funded by the Ministry of Defence as a propaganda operation, which according to its own website makes a 'considerable contribution' to the 'morale' of the armed forces.

http://www.counterpunch.org/miller03142005.html
 

"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." (William Colby, Former Director, CIA)

http://www.strike-the-root.com/51/herman/herman5.html
 

REPORTING GOOD NEWS: more -

A New York Times investigation details the extent that pre-packaged news releases - produced by the federal government - are being used by television stations all across the country.

The article reports that at least 20 federal agencies - including the Defense Department and the Census Bureau - have distributed hundreds of television news segments in the past four years. Many were then broadcast on local stations without crediting the government as the source of the information.

It states that "the administration's efforts to generate positive news coverage have been considerably more pervasive than previously known. At the same time, records and interviews suggest widespread complicity or negligence by television stations." Further, "some reports were produced to support the administration's most cherished policy objectives like regime change in Iraq...They often feature quote, unquote "interviews" with senior administration officials in which questions are scripted and answers rehearsed. Critics are excluded.

This one was produced by the State Department.

REPORTER: The televised images from Baghdad prompted celebrations from Iraqi Americans all across the United States. They seemed to revel in the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, as much as they did in Baghdad. In suburban Detroit, hundreds of Iraqi Americans marched triumphantly through the streets. The community of Dearborn is home to America's largest Arab community. On Warren Avenue people chanted, "No more Saddam," as they honked horns and waved Iraqi and American flags.

IRAQI AMERICAN 1: We love the United States! We love America! They help us!

IRAQI AMERICAN 2: Yes!

REPORTER: In this Kansas City cafe, Iraqi Americans watch the historic events on TV.

IRAQI AMERICAN 3: I'm very, very happy. I said, thank you, Bush. Thank you, U.S.A. I love Bush, I love U.S.A., because they do that for Iraqi people’s freedom.

REPORTER: At the Arab American Center in San Jose, California:

IRAQI AMERICAN 4: To see him toppled and destroyed, it's very gratifying. It's very gratifying to all of the Iraqis.

REPORTER: At this Mid-Eastern market in Denver, Colorado:

IRAQI AMERICAN 5: I never heard anybody who said he wants to see Saddam stay so they all want Saddam to go.

REPORTER: For Iraqis living in the U.S., the nearly quarter century-long nightmare in their homeland is now drawing closer to the end.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/14/152202
 

I cannot evaluate this, but think it noteworthy:

http://www.rense.com/general63/russiaplanswartodefend.htm
 

OIL, Iraqi oil, has ALWAYS been one of the primary reasons for the invasion, occupation and (unfortunate) devastation (wouldn't have been necessary if the folk had just rolled over with the welcome mat, as per original script). This is not news to most visitors to this site. For the unconverted, this link is offered:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/031705A.shtml
 

FALLUJAH: Suffering and devastation exaggerated? The good we have brought Iraq? I BEG the doubters to read this story. How we sleep at night is beyond me. How the politicians and corporate thugs and media who have sold us this lie manage to face their children and neighbours, I do not know. They at least can have the humility to cease invoking the name of the Almighty, of whatever faith.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/18/120.html
 

I love quotes that people use on this site...."as fictive as WMD" and "How we sleep at night is beyond me".....how perplexing. Firstly, there is nothing fictitious about Iraq's WMD; this can be corroborated by 4 tiny but notable facts:

1. thousands of Iranians, Kurds and Shias have been exterminated by them

2. UNSCOM had a massive WMD dismantling operation to do in the early 1990's

3. It is freely accepted that Iraq's WMD program was severely injured by sanctions and the first Gulf War

4. It is well known that Saddam was desperate to detonate nuclear bombs, even crude ones, in Kuwait and Haifa harbour in Israel

Secondly, how can we sleep at night? Well, the same way as millions of people slept during the Boer War, Crimean War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Falklands War, Iran-Iraq War, Gulf War I, Yugoslavian War, Gulf War II...etc etc
The world is used to wars and this is just another addition to the list.

Your had better ask yourself why the people of the coalition countries haven't made their politicians pay yet for the war on Iraq and their cocktail of lies. Did Australia? No. Did the US? No. Will the UK? probably not. The Spanish only sacked theirs because their own people were killed in what some argue was an indirect result of the war on Iraq - not as an indirect, or direct result, of the death of Iraqis.
 

(to Judithw from Dr Khadurri:>
The Plan is Still on Track (Bush Strategy for Syria, Lebanon and Iran) by Gary Leupp Complements "Understanding Hezbollah of Lebanon" by Sam Hamod, Ph.D.<
I think I wasn't clear in my remarks. First, I was wondering if you would give the same approving attention to the Opposition rally of perhaps as much as 1,000,000 as you gave to the Hezbollah rally. Second, Sam Hamod's article (which you recommended I read)is very simplistic. I'm surprised that anyone reading your blog is not thought to know about Hezbollah at least to that level. I spent much time in Lebanon in the late '90's, so I know that they are regarded as resistance fighters (but Amal is too), and are strong on charities, etc. But there is another side, of oppression and mob-think that any fair minded reader should also consider. Not to mention their collaboration with the Syrian occupiers and the rather specious excuse (that little ol' farm) for keeping their militia intact. Do you really think that why they remain separate from the Lebanese army? Somehow I doubt it. JudithW
 

JudithW: Thank you for the rebuttal.
Gary Leupp’s article http://joun.leb.net/leupp03152005.html is both historically informative and ‘religiously’ leaning in its respondency (for some reason or other). However, nowhere does he give credence to distinguish between ‘Resistance Against Occupation’ and ‘Terrorists’. That may reflect his ‘scholarly’ ivory castle approach. Surely you yourself do not deny the legitimate right of the first, and have not succumbed to the numbed main stream news media.

To your First, yes, I would give due respect and attention to the Opposition rally as it represents a sizable portion of the Lebanese people (unlike the initial microscopic demos). The Lebanese people are, as are other peoples, worthy of democracy according to their own traditions, cultural and historical development and not having it forced down their throat or bombed into submission to accept its false charades.

To your Second, not all who visit my Blog have lived in Lebanon for many years, as you seem to have. I humbly posit: how ‘democratic’ is your assumption?

Finally, I am not that familiar with Lebanon’s recent internal history to offer a comfortable answer your query on why Hezbollah remains separate from the Lebanese army. Perhaps a Lebanese reader may offer a Comment on that.
 

A good site for insight into Syria/Lebanon is The Angry Arab, who apparently has a Phd in Lebanese politics. I don't know the exact address at the moment. He gets pretty deep with it.
 

Imad's opinion -

"The Lebanese people are, as are other peoples, worthy of democracy according to their own traditions, cultural and historical development and not having it forced down their throat or bombed into submission to accept its false charades"

Why do you say democracy has been forced down their throat? Are you saying their culture and traditions have changed or been compromised in some way? If so, I would say you are hallucinating. They are still largely Arab, they will still listen to Najwa Karam and Diana Haddad, it will still be a Republic and they will still eat stuffed grape leaves and humus. Their history is unchangable.
The Lebanese people can now protest on the streets, finally, because they have the backing of Bush, Rice and Co. Before American support, they would have been shot. Or Syrian security forces would have used the force you refer to merely to cow the Lebanese views.

Lebanese democracy has not been forced - it has been given a helping hand. The only people using force in Lebanon are the Syrians. If anything was forced on these people it was a Syrian dictatorship and its nasty, unethical intelligence agency.

No more will the Lebanese be at their mercy. Another added bonus is that the Israel-Palestinian conflict will have a better chance of working without Syrian troops menacing the borders.

A good move overall, I'd say!
 

Stoned
By "as are other peoples" , I was referring to the Iraqis.
Take your eye blinders off
 

I think the whole world should use Lebanon and the US as an example of how to push democracy. With a million people protesting, the Lebanese clearly wanted the right to exist without the interference of the terrorists in Syria. To suggest that the US forced it on the Lebanese is nothing but wishful thinking on the part of a fantatic who supports violence and terrorism, merely to support his viewof the world.

The Syrians are on the run now. Assad will soon become an isolated dinosaur in a new middle eat.Him and his crook friends will soon be the next to feel the crack of the whip!
 

Mavis -
I understand you to mean that the United States will "push democracy" by making people "feel the crack of the whip!" A interesting tool for ensuring freedom, democracy, and the blessings of liberty.
 

Democracy has to be pushed for the civilians of Lebanon, as they themselves push for it. Evelyn, you are so sour in your defeat.
 

Oliver / Mavis:
Oh!