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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: i-node who wrote (167854)	4/15/2003 3:20:15 PM
From: Alighieri	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573943

Well, the most important thing to date is that the Iraqi people would be cheering and dancing in the streets -- which you and other neoliberals didn't believe. Al (What's a neo liberal anyway?) ====================================================== Anti-American protests intensify in Iraq Tue Apr 15,11:27 AM ET Add Mideast - AFP to My Yahoo! BAGHDAD (AFP) - Anti-American protests intensified here and in southern Iraq (news - web sites) as US forces struggled with the complex task of rebuilding the country after toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). Exasperated US military officials tried to hamper the media from covering new demonstrations in Baghdad on Tuesday while some 20,000 people in the Shiite Muslim bastion of Nasiriyah railed against a US-staged meeting on Iraq's future. The protests came as the Americans delivered a first progress report in their effort to restore Iraq to normalcy and head off a chorus of criticism over continued lawlessness and a lack of basic services. Some 200-300 Iraqis gathered Tuesday outside the Palestine Hotel, where the US marines have set up an operations base, for a third straight day of protests against the US occupation. For the first time, visibly angered US military officials sought to distance the media from the protest, moving reporters and cameras about 30 meters (yards) from the barbed-wired entrance to the hotel. "We want you to pull back to the back of the hotel because they (the Iraqis) are only performing because the media are here," said a marine colonel who wore the name Zarcone but would not give his first name or title. The crowd later moved to the nearby square where the statue of Saddam was toppled Wednesday to signal the end of the regime. As three of the marines' armored amphibious vehicles passed by, they chanted: "No, no, USA." Meanwhile, demonstrators marched to the center of the predominantly Shiite southern city of Nasiriyah, chanting "Yes to freedom ... Yes to Islam ... No to America, No to Saddam." They were protesting a meeting of Iraqi opposition groups convened at a nearby military base in an initial attempt by the United States to plot out a political future for the post-Saddam Iraq. "We want the American and British forces to go. They have freed us from Saddam and their job is finished," said Ihsan Mohammad, an official with the regional federation of engineers. "If they intend to occupy us, we will oppose that. We ask them to leave us free to decide our future and not to impose people on us." Although US officials have all but declared their military campaign over, tensions with the civilian population persist over a lack of police protection, water, electricity and other basic services. As the Iraqi protest grew more vocal outside the hotel, a marine corporal was holding an impromptu briefing for a few reporters on the progress made. Corporal John Hoellwarth said the US forces planned to boost joint police patrols, bring more hospitals back into service and have power restored to parts of Baghdad within 72 hours. He said 50 electrical engineers were brought in to assess the damage to the power system of the capital which went down April 4 amid massive US bombings and repairs began Monday. "We expect power to be restored to parts of Baghdad in the next 48 to 72 hours," he said. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said separately that water should be restored to much of eastern Baghdad on Wednesday as its staff repaired the Qanat pumping station. "Our engineers worked for 12 years to get these pumping stations working. They know them like the back of their hand," said ICRC spokesman Roland Huguenin-Benjamin. He said the power outages were also preventing the distrubtion of water. With Baghdad's hospital system in a virtual state of collapse after widespread pillage, Hoellwarth said 14 of the city's 33 facilities were secure and operational. He could not say when the others would reopen. Hoellworth said that joint Iraqi-US police patrols began Monday with five Iraqi cars going out accompanied by marines in all-terrain Humvees, and "today many more patrols are running." He said that US forces put out a call for 150 Iraqi policemen on Monday and had between 700 and 1,000 reporting for duty. "They are progressing steadily and we are also working to work out neighborhood watch programs," Hoellwarth said.

To: i-node who wrote (167854)	4/15/2003 6:23:29 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1573943

Exactly what has been proven correct about the war? Well, the most important thing to date is that the Iraqi people would be cheering and dancing in the streets -- which you and other neoliberals didn't believe. Excuse me......I was just as surprised as anyone else when the Iraqis didn't look all that happy when we landed in Iraq. As it turned out, they were still worried about Saddam. The fact that now they are dancing in the streets is to be expected.......why shouldn't they be happy? We got rid of a brutal dictator for them. The real victory is in the Arab street. These people have been shocked to find their next door neighbor was an evil person. Your joking.........they knew what Saddam was; however, they preferred him to us. They were shocked the Iraqis actually WANTED to be freed. Shocked? Maybe the leaders of SA,Egypt, Syria and Iran were shocked but not the people of those countries. And they are scared to death that an Iraqi democracy is going to steal their power from them -- which it is, over time. Yes, the leaders of those countries are worried. This is clearly the most important foreign policy success since Reagan won the Cold War. Maybe.....if it actually were a success; however as of yet, its a work in progress. The easy part's done; now comes the hard stuff.