good clip from... "The Fall of Baghdad"
by David Chapman
April 15, 2003
[I have bolded the parts that you should take seriously
this might be a learning experience for you
but honestly, I dont consider you any longer to be "teachable"
you form beliefs that defy all logic and background facts
you justify our 1000:1 killing as a credit to our nation
come down from your democracy high horse idealist post
and attempt to offer a credible set of expectations and goals for this horribly difficult and violent country
after it was first savaged by Saddam
and then savaged again by our military
notice my grammar fix with Chapman also]
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In the end it was really no contest. After all what would one expect when a first world superpower takes on a third world country and outspends them on military 300 to 1. The ease in which this was accomplished reminds us of a victory by another world power in another period. Roughly 1900 years ago (113-117) the legions of Rome under the Emperor Trajan invaded the ancestors of today's Iraqis.
Iraq, then known as the ancient kingdoms of Mesopotamia and Parthia, were equally incompetent in the face of an overpowering force. But even as the conquest of the Parthian kingdoms was being completed revolts occurred among the recently subjected people to the rear of Trajan's advancing legions. The legions were forced to backtrack and recapture several cities that had already fallen. Trajan became ill during the campaign and eventually died. Still Trajan had pushed the boundaries of pax Romana to its furthest and gazed upon the Persian Gulf just as Alexander the Great of Greece had centuries before. But the conquests of the Eastern world led the Romans into a new and unfamiliar world and the Roman presence was regarded as utterly alien. The empire retreated.
Of course trying to compare the results of an earlier empire with today is extremely difficult but some of the same problems are still present. There are different tribal factions each of who[m] have no love for the other. There are different religions who [have] often been at odds with each other. There is the potential difficulty of bringing democracy to a land that has known no democracy. There is the potential for animosity between the occupiers and the inhabitants as the US is a foreign power in a foreign land that has not tolerated in the past foreign occupiers. Then there is the potential for problems between the Kurds of Northern Iraq and the Turks and there is Shiite Muslims in the South more closely aligned with the Iranians. The peace may prove more elusive then the war.
One interesting potential comparison is, however, with Afghanistan. While we have mentioned this before it is worth repeating. Both the British and the Russians learned that while conquering Afghanistan was easy, holding it proved considerably more difficult. While initially there seemed to be considerable hope in Afghanistan it is quickly being frittered away. The warlords once again control most of the country and they are again financing themselves through the heroin trade that had been largely eradicated under the Taliban. Assassination attempts have been made on President Harmi Karzai and some have been successful on other key Afghan officials. There is little order outside of Kabul. Due to a lack of pay numerous people recruited for the new Afghan army have been deserting.
It has been reported by Human Rights Watch that the brutal repression of the Taliban is being re-instituted particularly in the western province of Herat by a Northern Alliance warlord that was a key ally of the Americans. There have been increased attacks on aid workers and civilians. Guerilla factions are successfully executing the hit and run tactics against the Americans or UN forces that worked to such effect against the Russians. Little of the aid that was promised to Afghanistan has been forthcoming. US congress had to add aid for Afghanistan recently when the Bush budget that promised considerable delivered nothing.
Iraq, after the fall of Baghdad quickly descended into chaos of looting and reprisals. The institutions of a functioning civil society have been destroyed just as it was in Afghanistan. Parliament, courts, much of the civil service and most of the educational and health systems lie in ruins. In a sad case Baghdad's National Museum that housed priceless ancient artifacts some dating back to the cradle of civilization was plundered. These treasures not only belonged to the Iraqi people they belonged to the world. A cleric closely aligned with Tony Blair and expected to be a key leader in the new Iraq was assassinated shortly after arriving in Iraq. An assassination attempt has already been made on the US Pentagon designate Ahmad Chalabi, an Iraqi who has not lived there for over 40 years. Numerous factions are divided against themselves and many remain divided against the US. Little of Iraq is truly secure but it is worth noting that the oil fields are.
Now threats, rightly or wrongly, are being directed at Syria. Former CIA director James Woolsey told us that we are in World War IV and that it began on September 11, 2001 (the Cold War was WW III). He said the current war would last for decades. This comes against the backdrop of a fracturing world with major world institutions such as the United Nations, NATO and even the European Union in disarray and an ongoing weakening of civil rights in the US through such vehicles as the Patriot Act and the coming Patriot Act 2. Despite the pronunciations of many pundits that with the ending of the war in Iraq we sit on the cusp of a new economic boom we wonder where this is coming from against this ongoing background of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
While upwards of 70% in the US are supportive of the war a similar number are dismayed about the sinking economy. And so they should. Over 2.5 million job losses have been recorded in the past few years. The unemployment rate sits officially at 5.8% but it is undoubtedly considerably higher as it does not count those that have dropped out and are no longer looking. Earnings season is upon us and it seems that many hope that we will see improved numbers. That will probably be wishful thinking.
it continues.....
321gold.com
wake up and smell the carnage
you have an incredible amount to learn
perhaps getting a job would improve your enlightenment
something is clearly wrong with your thought process
I offer no "in my very humble opinion" here
I dont say this humbly, but instead angrily
these are not my opinions, but instead from other informed people
Tim, democracy barely works in our land
why would you think it can work in this ravaged Iraqi land ?
where illiteracy is almost 50% ?
where religious zealotry is more common there than flagwaving morons in America ?
/ jim
p.s. T Minus one week before IGNORE button |
