I know it has been ages since I wrote anything about Iraq or the war. Here is an interesting article on the Huffington Post from a lady who was based out of Baghdad for most of 2003 and 2004 speaking ambivalently about the war and her feelings about it. What was really interesting to me were the comments on the post.
There was zero thought on what was said - you can see in her post how scared she was already to be expressing anything but wholesale hatred towards the war on a blog known for “liberal” commenters. Unfortunately, her fears were right. There was the usual cacophony of “you are nuts!”, “we know better than you because the folks on the teevee said so!” and the usual, “but, but Bush screwed it up!”.
That was one of the reason I had stopped talking about the issue a long time ago. It was doing nothing for me in terms of interest and every post was simply a pissing match between the sides and people with something to prove - people who think they have all the answers - people to whom someone else’s conversation is only a time to gather their arguments, not to actually take the time and make the effort to listen.
The post was very interesting to me, so head on over and read it. I wish people were more willing to talk in terms of gray than plain, old black and white and stop reading one anothers’ minds.
I am spitting mad at the cut-and-run chickens right now - looks like Barack Obama has joined in on the chorus too. Hello, folks! How irresponsible are y’all! Isn’t this the exact kind of thing that will prove to the world once again that when it comes to the rest of the world, America just the biggest bag of hot-air? Talk the big talk but fold it up quick as a lightning when it comes time to walk the walk?
I don’t get it! Are the Democrats trying to improve the image of America or cement it at the bottom of history under the category, “blunders for the ages”….
Via Protein wisdom comes this link to a story in the LATimes that laments US propagandazing the poor, innocent, Iraqi civilians with paid stories that “are basically factual, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the U.S. or Iraqi governments”.
Oh! The humanity! The sneakiness of it all and the awfulness of planting stories that are actually fact-based!
It has got to be against some UN convention or the other, I tell you. I mean, here I was I thought all you really needed for a good story is for it to be “fake but accurate” or atleast filled with lots of baloney and PC-emotion. Why does the damned US try to confuse the issue with facts?
Update: Here is more on the issue from Vodkapundit!
Tony Blair said it better than I could in the quoted passage below how I feel about the kidnapping of Margaret Hassan. If these guys are really interested in the welfare of Iraq and not the return of Saddam to power, how does anyone explain the kidnapping of a woman heading a charity helping Iraqis? She is a native, for Gods’ sake! What is killing her going to achieve? How is it better for anybody in the whole world if this woman who has dedicated her life to helping Iraqis lead a better life is murdered brutally? I don’t give a damn about the cause - just explain how this one woman’s murder is going to better anything for anybody in Iraq!
Aid worker kidnapped in Iraq“This is someone who has lived in Iraq for 30 years, someone who is immensely respected, someone who is doing her level best to help the country,” said Blair.“It shows you the type of people we are up against, that they are prepared to kidnap somebody like this.”
A Care International spokeswoman said she had no idea who kidnapped Hassan or what their demands might be, but was keen to stress Hassan saw herself as part of the Iraqi community.
“She sees herself as an Iraqi. Iraq is her home. She has been living there for many years and would never consider coming back to Britain,” the spokeswoman said.
Update: So how do you guys explain this video plea by the kidnapped lady? Is that still for ransom?
I don’t know what to write about specifically, I am just going to post about what I think about the day’s headlines.
CNN.com - U.S., Iraq to probe missing N-equipment - Oct 13, 2004Washington has said it will join Baghdad in a full investigation into missing machinery from Iraq’s nuclear facilities, and Iraq’s science minister has invited UN inspectors to the country.One of the things that had really bothered me about the war was the botching of the guarding of the possible WMD sites. This made the possibility of terrorists getting their hands on dangerous material so much more real that it terrifies me. It is good to see finally someone woke up and decided to do some thing about this.
U.S. agency taking spyware to court Woo hoo! I curse the moustaches of all spy-ware makers! May all your computers be infected forever!
India ranks 55th and Pakistan 91st out of 104 countries according to the World Economic Forum’s Growth Competitiveness Index.
Of course, they found another mass-grave in Iraq filled with women and children - “The body of one woman was found still clutching a baby. The infant had been shot in the back of the head and the woman in the face, the BBC reported.” Saddam? Just drop dead!
Oh, the Lakers lost to the Seattle Sonics 80-87 yesterday in their first pre-season game - if this is any indication of the season to come, Kobe will realize sooner than later that he ain’t all that without Big Daddy Shaq helping him out.
It sure warms my equality-loving-feminist heart to see pictures of Iraqi women not lying down and taking it but taking to the streets in an effort to make their voices heard. Check out pictures taken by Zeyad from a womens’ rally opposing the proposition 137 proposed by the GC that would curtail their right to vote - Healing Iraq Photoblogs.
Go Women! If they won’t give you what you want, don’t be afraid to fight for it!
I guess the Iraq war was about oil after all…only for the nations who were opposing it in the security council like France and Russia - MORE ON IRAQ’S OIL CONTRACTS!
Update: Here are Zeyad’s views on the story - The mother of all scandals and No Oil for blood - he seems to have a little more insider info on the subject -And to all you infidel naysayers: “May Allah damn your moustaches”. This IS an authentic official list. My uncle who has been working at the State Oil Marketing company for over 20 years told me that yesterday, and also that these ‘deals’ weren’t all under the Oil for Food program but also by illicit oil smuggling through Turkey, Jordan, and Syria. The deputy Minister of Oil has already issued a statement about it adding that there are many more documents proving these links that have not been released to public yet.[all emphasis in original]
Another update: Sam of Hammorabi has a list of countries and the names associated - for India, it seems to be a certain Beham Sing and the Congress Party - so who is this Beham Sing? A google search doesn’t turn up anything on the name - anybody know who this guy is? Does anyone wonder now why the CONgress Party opposed the sending of Indian troops to Iraq? Sonia Gandhi also seemed deeply concerned by the war - I guess she didn’t want her bribe-source to dry up before the elections…
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq plans to investigate allegations that dozens of officials and businessmen worldwide illegally received oil in exchange for supporting former leader Saddam Hussein, officials said Tuesday.Of course, the really interesting part is a partial list of the organizations and individuals alleged to have received these bribes -
Organizations named include the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Communist Party, India’s Congress Party and the Palestinian Liberation Organization.(link via LGF)
The Command Post - Iraq - Saddam Captured Alive, Iraq Official Says - it is a jolly good day to be alive :)
So, my Mavs whup some Laker butt in LA on the 13th anniversary of their last win there on Friday - my husband buys me an $1100-pair of diamond chandelier earrings on Saturday and I hear the Saddamonster is captured this Sunday morning - can my weekend be any more perfect? Funny you should ask :) I would love for Darrah or Sandra to beat sour-puss Lillian on Survivor, thankyouverymuch! ;)
I would give anything to be able to down a cool glass of Reisling right about now, but I guess I have to wait another 6 months before I can complete my celebration. heh!
Here is an initial first-hand report of the long-planned anti-terror demonstrations in Baghdad, held by the various political parties marching together for peace and democracy in Iraq - The Iraqi people spoke today. I will post more links as they become available. I think this is a good thing that the long-oppressed seem to have found a voice of their own and are for the first time marching for themselves and not Saddam.
Update: The Iranian reformers are trying to jump on the democracy bandwagon - here is news of huge demonstrations asking for an end to the brutal mullahcracy in Iran.
Iraq update: Zeyad’s perspective on the demonstrations is here - here are some pictures he took with his new digital camera of the demonstrations. I love these guys’ spunk and courage and the eternally optimistic outlook they project.
Another update: Here is a the Yahoo (AFP) story on the demonstrations - note the “sneer” quotes around the word “terrorism” - Bleh! Did I mention AFP is French?
(begin rant) Another thing to keep in mind - if even Al-Jazeera admits (per the Iraqi bloggers) there were 10,000 people marching in these demonstrations, why is this not a big media event? Why is the big media in general silent about it? Doesn’t fit with their storyline of a “quagmire”? Why is it that when “NON-IRAQIS” hold anti-war rallies it is a big thing but when the free IRAQI people hold them to make their views known, people just ignore them?(end rant)
It is also really interesting to see the difference between the so-called anti-war protesters and the Iraqis marching against terrorism in Zeyad’s photos (he has three sets of pictures up on his site). Where as there is nothing but blood, hate and a freaky carnival atmosphere in the “peace” protests, the Iraqis as you can see are well-dressed and almost every face shines with hope and happiness. The people look repectable and they seem to be proud in whatever they are doing.
Last update: Here is a hilarious comparison in pictures between the “peace” protesters and the Iraqi demonstrators.
An Iraqi colonel who commanded a front-line unit during the build-up to the war in Iraq has revealed how he passed top secret information to British intelligence warning that Saddam Hussein had deployed weapons of mass destruction that could be used on the battlefield against coalition troops in less than 45 minutes. Lt-Col al-Dabbagh, 40, who was the head of an Iraqi air defence unit in the western desert, said that cases containing WMD warheads were delivered to front-line units, including his own, towards the end of last year.This colonel not only says they had WMDs ready to be deployed in case of war, but that too within 30 minutes...It should be interesting to say the least, to find out what else will come out as these people will start talking about their capabilities to the coalition forces and to the world in general. Pre-emptive update: Here is a link to a site that claims that there can be RPG-propelled chemical weapons and have been known to be possessed by Iraq. Another update: An interesting article about how the Telegraph tracked down the Colonel. (All links via LGF)
I read in one of the blogs the following: “Bush was in Iraq on the 27th. He made a fleeting visit to Baghdad International Airport. Don’t let the name fool you- Baghdad Airport is about 20 minutes outside of Baghdad. It’s in this empty, desert-like area that no one is allowed to go near.”. I want to say: please watch at Baghdad’s map carefully, you can conclude easily that the longest displacement in Baghdad is 25Km, so, how can Baghdad international Airport be 4 Km outside Baghdad and in a DESERT like area??[All emphasis in original]
You can see the sectors: ‘Hay Al-A’amel’, ‘Hay Al-Firdows’,’ay Al- Jihad’ and ‘Hay-Al Ta’ameem’, all of these sectors located around Baghdad International Airport and the time which is needed to reach the airport from these sectors is less than 10 minutes!
So, the Airport is IN Baghdad and beside those sectors.
So writes Ays, another Iraqi blogger about a post written by Riverbend of Baghdad Burning. Now, I have always kept an open mind about both the pro-US and the anti- Iraqi bloggers so far, but this attempt to deliberately mislead people who might think she is telling the truth since she lives there is something that looks like a cheap tactic to pander to her audience or to bitch about something just for the sake of bitching about it. Eiter ways, it does a lot to damage her credibility when she deliberately distorts facts to make them fit into her world-view.
Update: Here is a BBC map of Baghdad for reference.
Looks like the action in Iraq is getting more unilateral by the day - Japan Set to Send Troops to Iraq (washingtonpost.com). Who cares if there are Italian, Spanish, Polish and British (just to name a few) troops out there in addition to the Americans? If there are no French, Germans and the UN (given the great job they seem to be doing in places like Ivory-no-blood-for-cocoa- Coast) I guess we still cannot call the coalition multilateral!
/sarcasm
Zeyad has a good-sized report on the recent anti-terrorism demonstrations in Iraq in this post - Yesterday’s anti-terrorism demonstrations in Baghdad - Omar has a first-nad report (he participated in the demonstration) in this post - I was there. It is hard not to be optimistic when you see these people so enthusiastically jump into the process of taking control of their lives back into their own hands and freely express what they want.
I have read in many places where people fight over which Iraqis are the real truth-tellers - optimistic ones like Zeyad, Omar, Ays and Alaa, or seemingly pessimistic ones like Riverbend. I am not going to get into the debate - it is also very true that depending on your ideology and what you want or expect to happen in Iraq, you are going to like one side better than the other. I admit as a supporter of the war, I like what the optimistic Iraqi bloggers have to say, since they seem to be validating my contentions that ultimately the war to remove Saddam would be good for Iraq.
What is more interesting to me is a look at the demographics and see how the viewpoints differ based on that. The skeptical ones, both Salam Pax and Riverbend are younger (in their 20s) and had a lot more privileges before the war than arguably most other Iraqis. The new Iraqi bloggers on the other hand are mostly middle-aged, well-educated (some are dentists and others doctors) - they seem to have seen a lot more happening around them than the reactionary and easily-enraged young ones. This is what makes me listen to them so much more, as they seem to be wiser and more cool-headed. The older bloggers also concentrate more on fixing the broken than rail that something is not being fixed as soon as they would like it.
Of course, this is not to say this somehow invalidates the viewpoint of the younger bloggers - as a young woman, I can see how Riverbend could be fearful for her safety in the current chaos reigning in Baghdad, which might not be that obvious to the men, Zeyad, Omar, etc. Ultimately, one is not neccessarily more right than the other, just because you like what they have to say. I think it is better to be able to see all the viewpoints and try to understand them, so you get a better overall picture of what is going on in Iraq.