More from salam_pax
Jul. 6th, 2003 12:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
plutherusI've been following the continuing war in Iraq mostly through the occasional newspaper headline and salam_pax's blog. I do believe this guy really is in Iraq as there are just so many little things that seem right, and every time he's contradicted official stories, he's been shown to be right in the end.
His coverage ranges from intelligent commentary:
" If I wanted to instigate anti-American sentiments in a neighborhood which was until now indifferent towards the Americans what would be the best thing to do?
I would find a way to get the Americans to do bad things in that neighborhood, for example shoot indiscriminately at houses and shops...make them go on house to house searches, tie up the men and put sacks on their heads and scare all the children. this would tilt your American-o-meter from the I-don’t-really-care position to the what-the-fuck-do-they-think-they-are-doing? position."
To the downright scary (if you're in Iraq):
"What do you do when you are in a car with someone who asks you about the best place to hide a hand grenade?"
I knew the occupation would be difficult as soon as I saw the coverage from before the invasion, of the Iraqi government driving down the streets giving out free guns (AK-47's and RPGs) to anyone who wanted them. It's the NRA's wet dream over there: everyone is armed, and they're using their weapons to wage a guerrilla war against the occupying American and British forces. America responds with indiscriminate shooting and mass arrests and outrageous human rights violations (which have even been documented in the mainstream US press these days.) Which, of course, just makes things worse, as salam_pax points out.
I saw some time ago a report in the papers about Russia shipping weapons to Iraq. I don't know if the report was accurate or not, and if so I don't know if they're still doing it. If they're not, I'm sure someone else is. It may be a very long time before there is peace in the country again, and probably not until the occupation has ended. A new US president who's less of a gung-ho warmonger and self-righteous twit might be able to do something about it, but I don't see any hope as long as the Bush gang is in charge. Perhaps if our economy continues its current death-spiral we might run out of money to keep the occupation going, but then again the Soviet Union did the same thing in Afghanistan for ten years with an even worse economy back home. And the military, of course, will always be the last thing cut back.
There is also a new blog, by a woman in Iraq named Zainab, which can be found here
His coverage ranges from intelligent commentary:
" If I wanted to instigate anti-American sentiments in a neighborhood which was until now indifferent towards the Americans what would be the best thing to do?
I would find a way to get the Americans to do bad things in that neighborhood, for example shoot indiscriminately at houses and shops...make them go on house to house searches, tie up the men and put sacks on their heads and scare all the children. this would tilt your American-o-meter from the I-don’t-really-care position to the what-the-fuck-do-they-think-they-are-doing? position."
To the downright scary (if you're in Iraq):
"What do you do when you are in a car with someone who asks you about the best place to hide a hand grenade?"
I knew the occupation would be difficult as soon as I saw the coverage from before the invasion, of the Iraqi government driving down the streets giving out free guns (AK-47's and RPGs) to anyone who wanted them. It's the NRA's wet dream over there: everyone is armed, and they're using their weapons to wage a guerrilla war against the occupying American and British forces. America responds with indiscriminate shooting and mass arrests and outrageous human rights violations (which have even been documented in the mainstream US press these days.) Which, of course, just makes things worse, as salam_pax points out.
I saw some time ago a report in the papers about Russia shipping weapons to Iraq. I don't know if the report was accurate or not, and if so I don't know if they're still doing it. If they're not, I'm sure someone else is. It may be a very long time before there is peace in the country again, and probably not until the occupation has ended. A new US president who's less of a gung-ho warmonger and self-righteous twit might be able to do something about it, but I don't see any hope as long as the Bush gang is in charge. Perhaps if our economy continues its current death-spiral we might run out of money to keep the occupation going, but then again the Soviet Union did the same thing in Afghanistan for ten years with an even worse economy back home. And the military, of course, will always be the last thing cut back.
There is also a new blog, by a woman in Iraq named Zainab, which can be found here
