How America Lost Iraq
However, the goodwill earned quickly dissipated as the United States bumbled the occupation and transformed infuriated Iraqis into a majority who oppose the American occupation. The 2004 campaign in Fallujah was the big turning point that enacted a metamorphisis of the insurgency from fringe elements to a significant segment of the Sunni and Shia population. In the north, rival Kurd tribal factions enjoy their status, and in many respects have implemented same sorts of controls Hussien imposed on the nation at large. Huge money flows to contractors and foreign mercenaries, yet the social situation deteriorates for Iraqis, as they pull their children out of school, and unemployment rises to obscene levels.
A cycle of violence is lodged in perputuity, American forces are heavy handed in retribution that pushes innocent Iraqis into sympathy for the insurgency. Every civilian caught in the cross fire and deemed colatteral damage hardens the hearts of natives. Women and children are picked off by snipers, ambulances riddled with bullet holes, and in one shocking account, shieks shot in the head at a human rights office. Roundups and detention of Iraqis, with no probable cause, and no information given to the family on where suspects are taken and what the charges are, enrage many. Understandable that our forces must exercise caution in a dangerous locale, but from the perspective of the Iraqi native, the American occupation has wrought a great wrong.
Mr. Glantz has penned a recent article stating that immediate withdrawl may be the only way to avert a civil war. As in his book, he describes how the Bush administration hired a North Carolina company called Research Triangle International (RTI) to appoint new political leaders for the country.
A final note — regarding general Iraqi dislike of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, but disapproval of American persecution of him — due to the history of his family, specifically that they were martyrs who suffered and died speaking out against Saddam Hussien.
Comments
"There's Progress in Iraq
By Kofi Annan
Tuesday, June 21, 2005; Page A21"
"In a media-hungry age, visibility is often regarded as proof of success. But this does not necessarily hold true in Iraq. Even when, as with last week's agreement, the results of our efforts are easily seen by all, the efforts themselves must be undertaken quietly and away from the cameras."
"There are, of course, those who wish to exacerbate communal tensions and prevent the emergence of a democratic, pluralist, stable Iraq. They seek to capitalize on the serious difficulties faced by ordinary people, and to exploit popular anger and resentment to promote hatred and violence. Their work is seen on the streets of Iraq every day.
I do not believe that security measures alone can provide a sufficient response to this situation. For such measures to be successful, they must be part of a broad-based and inclusive strategy that embraces the political transition, development, human rights and institution-building, so that all of Iraq's communities see that they stand to be winners in the new Iraq. These efforts must be underpinned by steps to deal with Iraq's tortured past -- a past that still exacts revenge and will, if not addressed, blight future generations. This is difficult for any society in transition, let alone one as dangerous as some areas of Iraq are today."
"The Iraqi people continue to endure a painful and difficult transition, and they still have a long and tough road ahead. The United Nations is privileged and determined to walk it with them. In doing so, we serve not only the people of Iraq, but the peoples of all nations.
The writer is secretary general of the United Nations."
http://www.washingtonpost.c...
To try and say IRAQ is lost at this point is as FOOLISH as saying it was won the day the Statues came down in Baghdad....this whole story is still in the making and the decisions of Americans and Iraqis in the coming months have more to determine the fate of this NEW IRAQ than any pessimistic viewpoints that ALL IS LOST and we need to get out while we can. All I can say, in the immortal words of Lone Watie in The Outlaw Josey Wales, is we should "endeavor to preserver."
I'm not back just stopped by for a visit and to offer something positive for you all to read. I will not respond to any posts but feel free to comment all the same.
WHERE THERE IS HOPE THEIR IS FAITH
WHERE THERE IS FAITH ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.
"More Evidence that we are Winning in Iraq
When Kofi Annan tries to claim credit for success in Iraq, it's a pretty good sign of two things: success is unmistakeable, and the UN had nothing to do with it. Interestingly, Annan is starting to sound like the military and the more hawkish bloggers who follow war events closely: "In a media-hungry age, visibility is often regarded as proof of success. But this does not necessarily hold true in Iraq. Even when, as with last week's agreement [bringing Sunnis into the process of writing the new Iraqi constitution], the results of our efforts are easily seen by all, the efforts themselves must be undertaken quietly and away from the cameras."
Of course, for the military, it's often the opposite: actions are taken in full view of the cameras, but the results are off-camera and largely not understood by a public and punditry that does not, by and large, understand the military or the nature of guerilla warfare.
Posted by jeff at June 21, 2005 12:16 PM "
http://www.caerdroia.org/bl...
It's Just GLOOM and DOOM from certain parties who were and are and will be against This President and this PUSH for Americas Defense and Freedom in the Middle East. Here are a few more GOOD NEWS links you wont get from those who dwell in darkness and more of the TRUTH about IRAQ.
http://unix.dfn.org/good_ne...
When Iraqis and foreign companies alike want to do business in Iraq they start in http://www.baghdadbusinessc...
http://www.indict.org.uk/ab...
http://www.iraq-today.com/ from IRAQ the inside story Iraq Today is a weekly newspaper printed in Iraq, created to give ordinary Iraqis, rather than vested political interests, an influential voice in the governance of their country.
http://kbciraq.org/ An interactive information resource for businesses interested in investing in Kirkuk. Please use this site to find out more information about the Kirkuk business opportunities and how the KBC can help your business.
http://www.dfn.org/
Here are a few more articles that put things into proper perspective, from an *Iraqi* POV:
http://news.independent.co....
The news now from Iraq is only depressing. All the roads leading out of the capital are cut. Iraqi security and US troops can only get through in heavily armed convoys. There is a wave of assassinations of senior Iraqi officers based on chillingly accurate intelligence. A deputy police chief of Baghdad was murdered on Sunday. A total of 52 senior Iraqi government or religious figures have been assassinated since the handover. In June 2004 insurgents killed 42 US soldiers; so far this month 75 have been killed.
The "handover of power" last June was always a misnomer. Much real power remained in the hands of the US. Its 140,000 troops kept the new government in business. Mr Allawi's new cabinet members became notorious for the amount of time they spent out of the country. Safely abroad they often gave optimistic speeches predicting the imminent demise of the insurgency.
Despite this the number of Iraqi military and police being killed every month has risen from 160 at the handover to 219 today.
http://riverbendblog.blogsp...
Detentions and assassinations, along with intermittent electricity, have also been contributing to sleepless nights. We’re hearing about raids in many areas in the Karkh half of Baghdad in particular. On the television the talk about ‘terrorists’ being arrested, but there are dozens of people being rounded up for no particular reason. Almost every Iraqi family can give the name of a friend or relative who is in one of the many American prisons for no particular reason. They aren’t allowed to see lawyers or have visitors and stories of torture have become commonplace. Both Sunni and Shia clerics who are in opposition to the occupation are particularly prone to attacks by “Liwa il Theeb” or the special Iraqi forces Wolf Brigade. They are often tortured during interrogation and some of them are found dead.
There were also several explosions and road blocks today. It took the cousin an hour to get to work, which was only twenty minutes away before the war. Now, he has to navigate between closed streets, check points, and those delightful concrete barriers rising up everywhere. It is especially difficult to be caught in traffic and that happens a lot lately. Baghdad has been cut up into sections and several of them may be found to be off limits immediately after an explosion or before a Puppet meeting. The least pleasant situation is to be caught in mid-day traffic, on a crowded road, in the heat- waiting for the next bomb to go off.
What people find particularly frustrating is the fact that while Baghdad seems to be falling apart in so many ways with roads broken and pitted, buildings blasted and burnt out and residential areas often swimming in sewage, the Green Zone is flourishing. The walls surrounding restricted areas housing Americans and Puppets have gotten higher- as if vying with the tallest of date palms for height. The concrete reinforcements and road blocks designed to slow and impede traffic are now a part of everyday scenery- the road, the trees, the shops, the earth, the sky… and the ugly concrete slabs sometimes wound insidiously with barbed wire.
THAT IS ALL I AM GOING TO SAY ON THIS MATTER....I AM NOW GOING TO CONTINUE WITH MY VACATION FROM BLOGGING.
"A war that cannot be won entirely on the battlefield most certainly can be lost entirely off it — especially when an ailing Western liberal society is harder on its own democratic culture than it is on fascist Islamic fundamentalism. "
http://www.defenddemocracy....
GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS
"A Poem from an Iraqi blogger
By Ali
Apr 11, 2005
I wrote this piece on the 2nd anniversary the toppling of Saddam two days ago but I didn't have the time to post it. It was not meant to be a poem, as I can't write even poetry in Arabic. But it didn't seem to me it can be posted like a regular article. So I'll just put it this way and hope you'll like it and that it'll give you an idea of how some Iraqis look at the 9th of April, as although there are some personal stuff that can be found in my piece but most of my thoughts and feelings are similar to what I find in the hearts and minds of many fellow Iraqis.
Two years now and "they" still wonder
And "they" still ask Was it worth it?
Was it right?
Two years and it seems to me Like it was yesterday
Two years and "they" keep trying
To silence the voice inside us
Yet it only grows louder
I was once free When I was a kid
But when I grew up
I couldn't be the man I am
I couldn't be the kid I was
And I couldn't flee
Two years since I finally became
The man in me, and the kid in me.
And "they" want to take this away?
"They" would have to kill them both first
The man and the kid
And turn the clock back around
And still "they" can't change me back
Two years since I stopped weeping
Inside of me, day and night
Two years since the widow
Found her husband's body
In a feast of death for the human death lord.
Two years since the orphan
knew Where his father lied
And now they finally have peace
And they have a future
No matter how painful it is to go on
And their dreams still go on
Two years since I started dreaming
Dreams that have a chance
And are becoming true
Two years since I regained my heart
And then I found her...
And she found me...
And the world looked beautiful!
And "they" think they can separate us?!
Think again, or keep wishing.
"They" say we are being slaughtered
"They" say we are being abused
Am I blind or are "they" the ones who are sightless?!
As why can't I see what "they" see?
And the best "they" can offer of their view is Maybe I'm a CIA?
Or maybe the other "they", that of their accusations is paying me?
But who is their accused and rumored "they"?
Oh, the accusers have so many names for this other "they".
Sometimes they're the CIA
Sometimes they're the NSA
Sometimes they're Bush and the gang
I say, yes they exist and they "pay" me, and I'm seduced.
I see with my own eyes this other "they"
And I call them simply, Americans.
What are they paying me?
Oh, you couldn't afford that!
Saddam couldn't afford it.
Sadr cannot afford it.
"They" think any of these can?
Could their "they" even try!?
Two years and some are still
Trapped in the past
And some cannot withstand the moment
And want to arrive without struggle to a better future
While others just enjoy what is already better now
And work to meet the future, bettered with them.
Two years and they ask
Should I be grateful?
Am I?
Do I even need to answer that!?
YES, and to the last breath!"
Letter from Iraq read at soldier's funeral
Saturday, February 05, 2005
By Sheila Grissett
East Jefferson bureau
http://www.nola.com/news/t-...
"Nine months ago, Sgt. Michael Scott Evans II wrote a farewell letter to loved ones -- just in case.
On Friday, a week after Evans and two other young Louisiana National guardsmen were killed during a Jan. 28 attack, his words were read to family and friends in a Metairie chapel filled beyond capacity."
"I will start by stating that I am proud of what I've done with my life, and that none of it would have been possible without your support, love, and care.
"It may hurt that I have passed, but please know that I died for you, and I am honored to have done so.
"You all have inspired me to do great things. Since the day I joined the Army, I knew that I would eventually have to fight for the freedoms that we all have taken advantage of; this did not bother nor scare me in the least. It only made me try harder to be the best I could be.
"Please keep on going with your lives. My death will mean nothing if you stop now. I know it will be hard, but I gave my life so you could live. Not just live, but live free. I love you all and will check in on you from time to time. Just know that I'll always be there - just in your heart is all.
"Please don't ever forget what I died for, and never let anyone disrespect that."
AMEN
http://www.defenddemocracy....
http://www.defenddemocracy....
http://www.defenddemocracy....
http://www.defenddemocracy....
"Free-thinking Arabs refute all the premises of Western Leftists who claim that colonialism, racism, and exploitation have created terrorists, hold back Arab development, and are the backdrops to this war. "
"The more left-wing the Westerner, the more tolerant he is of right-wing Islamic extremism; the more liberal the Arab, the more likely he is to agree with conservative Westerners about the real source of Middle Eastern pathology."
Anyway, I just want to say that I support the Democrats 100% of the way in opposing the President’s Supreme Court nominee’s, if he tries to appoint a new justice who opposes a women’s right to choose. Fuck all you Republicans who try to tell me what I can and can not do with my own body.
Anway, with that said, I also just want to point out, once again how extremely hypocritical the Republican base truly is. I remember a few months ago, one of my Republican Buddies stating how great Bush is because he appointed Alberto Gonzales to the attorney generals office. Well today according to Meet the Press, the thought of him being nominated as a Supreme Court Justice is not good enough for some you right wingers. Apparently he is way too liberal for some of right winged waco’s. What’s up with that???? The right’s opposition to Alberto Gonzales, clearly demonstrates how hypocritical the majority of Republicans truly behave in order to advance their own little agendas.
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