Saturday, July 03, 2021

Iraq continues to suffer with the heat and lack of electricity

 Abby Martin Tweets:


Julian Assange turns 50 in prison today. His “crime” is publishing journalism that exposed US war crimes in Iraq. Meanwhile George Bush is free, Cheney is free, Condi Rice is free, Colin Powell is free & the guy who lead the Democrat push for the war is president. What a world


Pretty much says it all.  It's why the phrase "The wrong people are behind bars" never goes out of style. Speaking of War Criminals, Donald Rumsfeld passed away this week.  Mohammed Almezel (GULF NEWS) notes how the War Criminal lied in his own memoir:


Here, Rumsfeld’s memory seems ‘sketchy’ as he tries to pin the responsibility of the catastrophic Iraq invasion on President Bush. He claimed that invading Iraq was Bush’s idea, which he first broached to Rumsfeld on September 26 - a fortnight after 9/11.

But multiple sources, including Washington Post writer Bob Woodward and even Rumsfeld's biographer Bradley Graham says that is a lie. They confirmed that “within hours” after the attacks, Rumsfeld told Joint Chief of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers that the US should consider “striking Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.”

The next day, in a meeting of Bush’s war cabinet, Woodward and Graham note, Rumsfeld asked if the September 11 attacks “offered an opportunity to attack Iraq.” Bush, in his memoirs ‘Decision Points’, recalls a September 15 meeting at Camp David in which Rumsfeld said that “Dealing with Iraq would show a major commitment to antiterrorism.”

The rest is history or not quite - as the process of the destruction of Iraq continues until today. The 2003 invasion was disastrous in every sense and on all levels.

Rumsfeld tried hard in his memoir to absolve himself of any responsibility blaming as always incompetent others — this time a ‘reluctant’ Secretary of State Collin Powell, ‘arrogant’ National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and the ‘insubordinate’ ‘and often ‘reckless’ Paul Bremmer.  


Yes, he turned on his own -- in his rush to push the blame elsewhere.  He was an awful person but most War Criminals are -- look at Mad Maddy Albright.

In Iraq, the people continue to suffer.  Robert Bryce Tweets:

"Iraq continues to grapple with crippling power shortages, particularly during the summer, which have been exacerbated by years of conflict since the US invasion in 2003…"



AFP notes:

When the mercury soared to 52 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) this week in Iraq, Ali Karrar placed his baby for a couple of minutes in the fridge.

But when the power went off on Thursday night across oil-rich Iraq, people were left at a loss as to how to escape the torrid heat.

Those with the means hooked up fridges, air conditioning units and fans to private generators — but not Karrar, who lives in the town of Al-Hillah, as well as others across the impoverished and rural south.

Four southern provinces have been without electricity since Tuesday, including Basra — home to Iraq’s main port.

Sizzling temperatures have been compounded by high levels of humidity.

“The children sleep right on the floor to try and stay cool, but us, the adults, haven’t slept a wink these past nights,” Meshaal Hashem, a Basra docker and father of three, told AFP.


MIDDLE EAST MONITOR notes:


#Iraq protesters block main road in Diyala to protest power outages


Though they aren't showing up on the side link list yet, Elaine's "That always disgusting and unethical Hunter Biden," Trina's "Peas with Mushrooms and Thyme in the Kitchen" and Isaiah's "Grand Dragon Greta and Little Women" went up and the following sites did as well -- and are linked on the side: