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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (42709)	4/14/2004 1:04:05 PM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Those opposing the US are a few "thugs". I suspect the Iraqis have a different idea who the thugs are. Do thugs break down the doors of houses of worship? commondreams.org This is What Occupation Looks Like Destruction of Relief Supplies and Rampage at the Aadhamiyah Mosque Rahul Mahajan BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Aadhamiyah. People of Baghdad, Sunni and Shia, have been undertaking a massive relief collections for besieged Fallujah, coordinated through the mosques of Baghdad and beyond, with the mosque of Abu Hanifa in Aadhamiyah as the epicenter -- we saw it begin on April 7, within hours of the launching of the operation. (http://www.empirenotes.org/index.html#07apr043) Later on, as we saw when we were in Fallujah, there was a massive exodus of refugees from Fallujah, many of whom were taken into people's homes in Aadhamiyah. The U.S. military has many suspicions that mujaheddin are leaving Fallujah and that guns and fighters are being smuggled in through the relief program for Fallujah. So they paid a visit to the mosque in Aadhamiyah on Sunday. Built around the tomb of Abu Hanifa, the founder of the moderate Hanafi school of Islamist jurisprudence and one of the most important figures in the history of Sunni Islam, the mosque is 1250 years old. Although Umm al-Marek is bigger, Abu Hanifa is probably the most important Sunni mosque in Baghdad, and a site of pilgrimage for Muslims around the world. We talked with Issam Rashid, the chief of security for the mosque. He told us the story. At 3:30 am on Sunday morning, 100 American troops raided the mosque. They were looking for weapons and mujaheddin. They started the raid the way they virtually always do -- by smashing in the gates with tanks and then driving Hummer in. The Hummers ran over and destroyed some of the stored relief goods (the bulk of the goods had already been sent to Fallujah -- over 200 tons -- but the amount remaining was considerable). More was destroyed as soldiers ripped apart sacks looking for rifles. Rashid estimated maybe three tons of supplies were destroyed. We saw for ourselves some of the remains, sacks of beans ripped apart and strewn around. The mosque was full of people, including 90 down from Kirkuk (many with the Red Crescent). They were all pushed down on the floor, with guns put to the backs of their heads. Another person associated with the mosque, Mr. Alber, who speaks very good English, told us that he repeatedly said, "Please, don't break down doors. Please, don't break windows. We can help you. We can have custodians unlock the doors." (Alber, by the way, was imprisoned by Saddam for running a bakery. As he said, "Under the embargo, you could eat flour, you could eat sugar, you could eat eggs, all separately. But mix them together and bake them and you were harming the economy by raising the price of sugar and you could get 15 years in prison.) The Americans refused to listen to Alber's pleas. We went all around the mosque and the adjacent madrassah, the Imam Aadham Islamic College. We saw dozens of doors broken down, windows broken, ceilings ripped apart, and bullet holes in walls and ceilings. The way the soldiers searched for illicit arms in the ceiling was first to spray the ceiling with gunfire, then break out a panel and go up and search. They even went and rifled through students' exam papers (in Arabic), messed up offices. An old man who is a "guard" at the mosque (actually a poor man with a large family who is slightly lame and is missing several teeth) was hit in the head with a rifle butt and then kicked when he was down -- all because he was a little slow in answering the door. He says he never carries a weapon -- the whole mosque has only three Kalashnikovs, for security, kept in the imam's room. The Americans took the ammunition there too. And, of course, they entered the mosque with their boots on. The American commanders will say this was a necessary precaution to make sure no military goods got into Fallujah and that this was legal under the laws of war. But the Abu Hanifa mosque was not involved in this -- they found nothing. They didn't bother to ask. They didn't go to the Imam and see if they could search to mosque. And, after a year of being stationed in Aadhamiyah, they didn't know the people well enough to know there would be nothing -- even though they were told repeatedly that even the resistance in that area never fired from near the mosque because they were afraid of drawing return fire that would hit the mosque. You can guess how many hearts and minds were won by this little operation -- the third time that the mosque has been raided since the war. Abu Hanifa mosque has a tower that is being reconstructed. It was destroyed by the American attack during the war. It is only now being finished. Rashid told me why. He said, "After the war, the Americans came and offered money to rebuild the tower. We told them no. We will rebuild the tower with our own money. We will take no money from you. You can't just destroy this and then win our goodwill with money. This is not a game." When I asked Rashid if we could use his full name, he said, "Why not?" It's a response we get more and more these days, from people who would have been afraid but have lost their fears through anger. Dignity is one of the few things in Iraq that is not in short supply. commondreams.org lurqer

To: lurqer who wrote (42709)	4/14/2004 6:41:17 PM
From: Crimson Ghost	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

What Dubya Really Said By RON JACOBS Before I take your questions, let me speak with the American people about the situation in Iraq. This has been tough weeks in that country. Coalition forces have encountered serious violence in some areas of Iraq. Our military commanders report that this violence is being instigated by three groups. Of course, as you all know, these military commanders and their civilian bosses would never lie to me. After all, it is because of the proof they presented to us about Iraqi WMDs that we invaded Iraq in the first place. One of these groups is led by Manny of the Pep Boys, and the other two are led by his cohorts in crime: Moe and Jack. They want to run us out of Iraq and destroy the profit-seeking hopes of Halliburton and its subsidiaries. The violence we have seen is a power grab by these extreme and ruthless elements. It's not a civil war. It's not a popular uprising. It’s even crazier than that. Iraq is relatively stable, especially if you compare it to the first or second circle of Hell. Most Iraqis, by far, reject violence and oppose dictatorship. This is why they support the resistance in its struggle against US authoritarianism. In forums where Iraqis have met to discuss their political future and in all the proceedings of the Iraqi Governing Council, Iraqis have expressed clear commitments. They want strong protections for individual rights, they want their independence and they want their freedom. But guess what, they can’t have it except on our terms. America's commitment to the occupation of Iraq is required by our interests. Iraq will either be a US client regime or it will be leveled. By helping to secure Iraq, Americans serving in that country are protecting the interests of a lot of my rich friends. We are grateful to them all and to their families that face hardship and long separation. This weekend at a Fort Hood hospital, I presented a Purple Heart to some of the wounded, had the honor of thanking them on behalf of all my family’s friends. Other men and women have paid an even greater cost. We pray that their families will find God's comfort in the midst of their grief. As I've said to those who have lost loved ones: What a bunch of suckers. Hell, I never had to go to Vietnam, because I wasn’t going to risk nothing for my dad’s friends. America's armed forces are performing brilliantly, following orders to kill men, women and children and then blame them for their deaths. I am constantly reviewing their needs. Troop strength now and in the future is determined by the situation on the ground. If additional forces are needed, I will send them. If additional resources are needed, we will provide them. After all, I don’t give a shit. I don’t know any of these guys. The people of our country are united behind the men and women in uniform. They want them to return to the States right away. Guess what? That is not going to happen. One central commitment of their mission is the transfer of a sovereignty back to the Iraqi people. We have set a deadline of June 30. It is important that we meet that deadline. As a proud and independent people, Iraqis do not support an indefinite occupation, and neither does America. This means that we have to let them think they’re running the show. So, what we’re going to do is let the Iraqis we pick (because they owe us big time) do some of the little things around Iraq, like planting flowers and holding traffic court. Everything else, like running the army and the police, will still be under our control. America's objective in Iraq is limited and it is firm. We seek a compliant Iraq where US and British corporations can feel secure as they profit from that country’s resources. Were the coalition to step back from the June 30 pledge, many Iraqis would question our intentions and feel their hopes betrayed. So, we’re going to make a big show about this transfer thing and hopefully that will convince the Iraqi people that we are no longer there running their country and killing those Iraqis who don’t like us. After all, they must be stupid people since they don’t speak English, right? Iraqi authorities who work for the US are now confronting the security challenge of the last several weeks. In Falluja, coalition forces have suspended the collective punishment we wreaked on that city, allowing members of the Iraqi Governing Council and local leaders to try and convince the insurgents that once they give up the city we aren’t going to kill every one of them and hang their burned bodies from a bridge. Of course, we might. Our coalition is standing with Iraqi leaders who wouldn’t even be there if US forces weren’t protecting them as they attempt to establish any kind of authority in their country. The transition to what we like to call sovereignty also requires an atmosphere of security. And our coalition is working to provide that security. We will continue taking the greatest care to prevent harm to contractors working for US companies. We will not permit the spread of chaos and violence unless it is US forces conducting that violence. I have directed our military commanders to make every preparation to use decisive force if necessary to maintain order and to protect our troops. On June 30 when the flag of Iraq is raised, our handpicked Iraqi officials will assume responsibility for a couple of the ministries of government—like traffic and rubbish removal. On that day the transitional administrative law will take full effect. The United States and all the nations of our coalition will establish normal diplomatic relations with our handpicked Iraqi government. An American embassy will open and an American ambassador will be posted. This Embassy will oversee continued US military operations in that country and will also manage the activities of thousands of CIA agents, along with the work of tens of thousands of private mercenaries they have working over there. You can be sure that the US Ambassador will be experienced in intelligence operations and well versed in our colonial aspirations. According to the schedule already approved by the Governing Council, Iraq will hold elections for a national assembly no later than next January. This government better well be the one we want or there will be some more problems. Iraqis' neighbors also have responsibilities to make their region more stable. So I'm sending Deputy Secretary of State Armitage to the Middle East to discuss with these nations our common interest in a free and independent Iraq and how they can help achieve this goal. Of course, unless they agree with the plans Israel and the US have for that region, they may very well be the next country to feel the wrath of America’s military force. Let me repeat, our commitment to the success and security of Iraq will not end on June 30. On July 1 and beyond, our reconstruction assistance will continue and our military commitment will continue. This is necessary in order to keep the natives down. Having forced a new government on the Iraqi people, US military forces will be necessary to protect their government from the large numbers Iraqis who disagree with their presence and have no respect for its authority. Now is the time and Iraq is the place in which the enemies of US imperialism are testing the will of the Empire. We must not waver. The violence we are seeing in Iraq is familiar. The F-16 that drops a bomb on a mosque or in a civilian neighborhood is serving the same ideology of murder that kills innocent people on trains in Madrid and murdered children in Vietnam and El Salvador. We've seen the same ideology of murder in the killing of millions around the world. The attacks on the Pequot Indians back in the 17th Century, the destruction of two cities in Japan with nuclear weapons at the end of World War II, and in the merciless horror inflicted upon millions of innocent men and women and children during our war on Vietnam. None of these acts is the work of a religion. All are the work of a fanatical political ideology. The servants of this ideology seek tyranny in the Middle East and beyond. They seek to oppress and persecute women. They seek the death of every Jew, Christian and Muslim who desires peace over terror. They seek to set free peoples against each other. And they seek weapons of mass destruction to blackmail and murder on a massive scale. We will succeed in Iraq or we will kill a lot of people trying. We're carrying out a decision that has already been made and will not change. Iraq will be America’s Arab pawn. And America and Israel’s plans for the region will be safer because of it. We serve the cause of unfettered capital and that is always and everywhere a cause worth serving. Ron Jacobs can be reached at: rjacobs@uvm.edu