"People who were supposed to have been dead in the Dujail incident were
found to be very alive."
That's for Doug Henwood, one of his 'points of iritation' regarding my
presence on *his* list in times past. I've never believed there was
anything resembling the massacre which the U.S. government (and
subservient NGOs like AI) claimed to have happened.
That annoyed him. Denier.
That's all, no more bashing straw Henwoods.
Also, The reasons *why* any number of people died there for *any* reason
is suspect, and most likely to have occured due to pressure on Saddam
Hussein to "attack Iranians" at the behest of, and for the benefit of,
the U.S. government.
.. I’ll meet you ’round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and
souls can mend…
Sunday, November 05, 2006
When All Else Fails…
… Execute the dictator. It’s that simple. When American troops are being
killed by the dozen, when the country you are occupying is threatening
to break up into smaller countries, when you have militias and death
squads roaming the streets and you’ve put a group of Mullahs in power-
execute the dictator. Everyone expected this verdict from the very first
day of the trial.
There was a brief interlude when, with the first judge, it was thought
that it might actually be a coherent trial where Iraqis could hear
explanations and see what happened. That was soon over with the
prosecution’s first false witness.
Events that followed were so ridiculous; it’s difficult to believe them
even now.The sound would suddenly disappear when the defense or one of
the defendants got up to speak. We would hear the witnesses but no one
could see them- hidden behind a curtain, their voices were changed.
People who were supposed to have been dead in the Dujail incident were
found to be very alive. Judge after judge was brought in because the
ones in court were seen as too fair.They didn’t instantly condemn the
defendants (even if only for the sake of the media).
The piece de resistance was the final judge they brought in. His
reputation vies only that of Chalabi- a well-known thief and murderer
who ran away to Iran to escape not political condemnation, but his
father’s wrath after he stole from the restaurant his father ran.
So we all knew the outcome upfront (Maliki was on television 24 hours
before the verdict telling people not to ‘rejoice too much’).
I think what surprises me right now is the utter stupidity of the
current Iraqi government. The timing is ridiculous- immediately before
the congressional elections? How very convenient for Bush.
Iraq, today, is at its very worst since the invasion and the beginning
occupation. April 2003 is looking like a honeymoon month today.
Is it really the time to execute Saddam?
I’m more than a little worried. This is Bush’s final card. The elections
came and went and a group of extremists and thieves were put into power
(no, no- I meant in Baghdad, not Washington).
The constitution which seems to have drowned in the river of Iraqi blood
since its elections has been forgotten. It is only dug up when one of
the Puppets wants to break apart the country.
Reconstruction is an aspiration from another lifetime: I swear we no
longer want buildings and bridges, security and an undivided Iraq are
more than enough. Things must be deteriorating beyond imagination if
Bush needs to use the ‘Execute the Dictator’ card.
Iraq has not been this bad in decades. The occupation is a failure. The
various pro-American, pro-Iranian Iraqi governments are failures. The
new Iraqi army is a deadly joke.Is it really time to turn Saddam into a
martyr?
Things are so bad that even pro-occupation Iraqis are going back on
their initial ‘WE LOVE AMERICA’ frenzy. Laith Kubba (a.k.a. Mr. Catfish
for his big mouth and constant look of stupidity) was recently on the
BBC saying that this was just the beginning of justice, that people
responsible for the taking of lives today should also be brought to justice.
He seems to have forgotten he was one of the supporters of the war and
occupation, and an important member of one of the murderous pro-American
governments. But history shall not forget Mr. Kubba.
Iraq saw demonstrations against and for the verdict. The pro-Saddam
demonstrators were attacked by the Iraqi army.
This is how free our media is today: the channels that were showing the
pro-Saddam demonstrations have been shut down. Iraqi security forces
promptly raided them.Welcome to the new Iraq.
Here are some images from the Salahiddin and Zawra channels:
Zawra channel. The subtitle says: Baghdad: Zawra satellite channel has
stopped broadcasting by order of the government.
Salahiddin’s green screen which appeared suddenly says: Salahiddin
Satellite Channel
Sharqiya channel announcing breaking news: Two channels, Salahiddin and
Zawra, shut down. Security forces raid the offices of the channels.
It’s not about the man- presidents come and go, governments come and go.
It’s the frustration of feeling like the whole country and every single
Iraqi inside and outside of Iraq is at the mercy of American politics.
It is the rage of feeling like a mere chess piece to be moved back and
forth at will. It is the aggravation of having a government so blind and
uncaring about their peoples needs that they don’t even feel like it’s
necessary to go through the motions or put up an act.
And it’s the deaths.
The thousands of dead and dying, with Bush sitting there smirking and
lying about progress and winning in a country where every single Iraqi
outside of the Green Zone is losing.
Once again… The timing of all of this is impeccable- two days before
congressional elections. And if you don’t see it, then I’m sorry, you’re
stupid. Let’s see how many times Bush milks this as a ‘success’ in his
coming speeches.
A final note. I just read somewhere that some of the families of dead
American soldiers are visiting the Iraqi north to see ‘what their sons
and daughters died for’. If that’s the goal of the visit, then, “Ladies
and gentlemen- to your right is the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, to your left
is the Dawry refinery… Each of you get this, a gift bag containing a 3
by 3 color poster of Al Sayid Muqtada Al Sadr (Long May He Live And
Prosper), an Ayatollah Sistani t-shirt and a map of Iran, to scale,
redrawn with the Islamic Republic of South Iraq.
Also… Hey you! You- the female in the back- is that a lock of hair I
see? Cover it up or stay home.”
And that is what they died for.
- posted by river @ 8:25 PM
<http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_riverbendblog_archive.html#116274961239136314>
