The above is from Michael Hastings' "The undemocratic invasion for democracy, and some pushback against Iraq victory meme" (The Hastings Report, True/Slant). And, yes, there are always alternatives to war. It's a thought that the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm Mike Mullen has been raising this month including at his DoD blog "Chairman's Corner:"
The first is that military power should not, maybe cannot, be the last resort of the state. Sometimes, the military -- because of its unique flexibility and speed -- may be the first, best tool to use. But it should never be the only tool.
Use of military forces must be accompanied by other instruments of national and international power. Defense and diplomacy are simply no longer discrete choices, one to be applied when the other one fails, but must, in fact, complement one another throughout the messy process of international relations.
And I believe that U.S. foreign policy is still too dominated by the military. Should we choose to exert American influence solely through our troops, we should expect to see that influence diminish over time.
"The voting may be over," observes Jim Loney (Reuters), "but the March 7 parliamentary election viewed as a make-or-break moment for Iraq as it tries to emerge from decades of economic decline, dictatorship and war is far from over." The ballots counted thus far is still estimated to be approximately 80%. Al Jazeera reports that Nouri al-Maliki's party (State Of Law) are complaining of election fraud, stating the tallies are being manipulated. No concerns until al-Maliki's perceived lead was thought to drop. (Thought to. The ballots are still being counted.) Jomana Karadsheh and Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) also note 80% of the ballots have been counted and state that the biggest vote getters thus far apper to be the Iraqi National Movement (led by Ayad Allawi and also known as Iraqiya) and State Of Law. Xinhua explains, "However, the rivals on Wednesday are keeping their eyes watching the remaining count of about 20 percent of the elections votes that may either widen Allawi's margin or reverse the balance." Anthony Shadid (New York Times) adds that Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc appears to have done well by the votes counted thus far and may even be the second most popular Shi'ite bloc in the election behind Nouri's political party. At War (the paper's blog) has video of Shadid speaking to Stephen Farrell about al-Sadr's bloc and another Shi'ite party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which has done very well in previous elections. (However, leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim died last fall of cancer and his son Ammar al-Hakim is the new leader.) Jason Ditz (Antiwar.com) weighs in on al-Hakim's party.
Meanwhile AFP reports that Iraqi Christian Sabah Gurgis was shot dead by unknown assailants in Mosul. This appears to be the latest in another wave of persecution of Christians in Mosul.
There are two views of arriving in Iraq today. Omar Chatriwala (Al Jazeera) explains visiting the country to report on it:
While in Iraq, everyone I spoke to back home -- whether over phone, email, or instant messenger -- told me to “stay safe”. Not to belittle the risk - 100 mortars were fired on election day -- but I think the precautions we took were sufficient.
We wore body armour when we left the compound, never stayed in a spot for very long, and tried only to go out when necessary (I was told to think “I could die on this trip – is it worth it?”). Our compound too, felt secure -- to get in meant passing through at least 3-4 security checks and gates.
What all this boils down to, though, is that as much emphasis is put on safety as doing the job you're there to do. Reporting trips are well-planned, not spontaneous (there's no chasing breaking news). And getting into the International Zone (IZ - the re-branded Green Zone) for news conferences requires you to leave well in advance, just in case they're being strict with security. Our movements to the IZ were further limited because we only had clearance to get one car in.
Hela Rahman (Scoop) reports on her visit:
When I look back it doesn’t seem real. It doesn’t seem like I actually went to a country almost half a world away, a country invaded and occupied since 2003 by Western forces, a place that has suffered over a million civilian casualties and that continues to suffer day after day. Not having been back to Iraq since 1999 I didn’t really know what to expect. A lot has happened in the past decade, a decade which I safely spent in New Zealand away from the violence. The closest I ever came to Baghdad was news reports and phone conversations with family still there. So when November 26th rolled around I still hadn’t realised that this would be a life defining trip, an experience more eye-opening than any news report.
The final leg of our journey to Baghdad was a flight from Amman, Jordan, care of ‘Iraqi Airways.’ Flights to Iraq have been a rarity since the First Gulf War and have only recently resumed, with most travel previously done by road. Like most of Iraq’s infrastructure, Iraqi Airways is severely under resourced - our plane was rented from the Ukraine. All the announcements were in English as none of the hostesses spoke any Arabic, but the food tasted like a home cooked Iraqi meal. As the plane began its descent I could see patches of light amongst the night. Since sanctions were imposed upon Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War, electricity has been very limited and supplies fluctuate depending on the situation. Each suburb receives eight hours of electricity a day, administered in two hour blocks. What I was seeing were suburbs receiving their two hour share.
My uncle had organised a driver to pick us up as only travellers, officials, workers and taxi drivers are allowed into the airport. This is a security measure designed to protect the area around the airport, which is now an American base. United States forces have occupied numerous properties once owned by Saddam Hussein, including ‘The Republican Palace.’ This is now the United States Embassy and part of the ‘Green Zone’ - a secluded area where US soldiers, overseas civilian workers and Iraqi parliamentary officials are based. This area enjoys electricity 24 hours a day. It is also relatively safe, with access to clean water, fresh food and all home comforts. The rest of the country makes do with almost nothing.
Individuals, organizations and groups are gearing up for the demonstrations Saturday. DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco have scheduled demonstrations. One organization participating is A.N.S.W.E.R. and they note:
In just days, we will be taking to the streets! We are hearing from people all over the country who are coming to bring their message to D.C., and we want to share with you some of the plans and ways that you can make an important contribution to the impact of the March 20 National March on Washington to demand "U.S. Out of Afghanistan and Iraq Now!"
Visual Impact
As always, there will be thousands of printed and handmade signs. We will also be making hundreds of coffins with flags representing the multinational victims of U.S. wars of aggression, and many people are bringing coffins that they are making themselves. You can help make and carry coffins in the march by arriving at Lafayette Park between 10 a.m. and 12 noon.
In just days, we will be taking to the streets! We are hearing from people all over the country who are coming to bring their message to D.C., and we want to share with you some of the plans and ways that you can make an important contribution to the impact of the March 20 National March on Washington to demand "U.S. Out of Afghanistan and Iraq Now!"
Visual Impact
As always, there will be thousands of printed and handmade signs. We will also be making hundreds of coffins with flags representing the multinational victims of U.S. wars of aggression, and many people are bringing coffins that they are making themselves. You can help make and carry coffins in the march by arriving at Lafayette Park between 10 a.m. and 12 noon.
You can also bring visuals that are specific to the stops on the march. We will be marching from the White House to the offices of Halliburton, Washington Post, Mortgage Bankers Association of America, National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
For example, Cheney puppets would be great to have when we go to Halliburton. You might want to bring a copy of the Washington Post to return to their doorstep since it’s functioning as pro-war propaganda rather than real news. Think about each stop and be creative!
Be Seen AND Be Heard
We’ll have speakers on the rally and march, and of course we’ll be chanting. We also want to have as many drums as possible, so we are encouraging everyone who can to bring a drum (or a bucket or other implement on which you can drum). The drums should have straps so you can hold them while at the rally and on the march.
If you are not able to bring anything, don't worry. You can pick up a sign when you arrive.
| Here are a few things you can bring |
|
Yesterday's snapshot covered the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing and Kat covered it at her hearing last night in "Senate Armed Services Committee," while Wally covered it in "Saxby Chambliss wants clarification" at Rebecca's site and Ava covered it in "Guantanamo, Bagram" at Trina's site.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
true/slant
michael hastings
mike mullen
reuters
jim loney
al jazeera
cnn
jomana karadsheh
mohammed tawfeeq
the new york times
anthony shadid
xinhua
omar chatriwala
scoop
hela rahman
antiwar.com
jason ditz
iraq
kats korner
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
trinas kitchen
the daily jot
the third estate sunday review
