If Iraq mattered?
Dirk Adriaensens "2013: Another year of slaughter in Iraq claims the lives of at least 21 media professionals" (BRussells Tribunal) wouldn't be the only report noting, "In Iraq, at least 404 media professionals have been killed since the US
invasion in 2003, among them 374 Iraqis, according to The BRussells
Tribunal statistics. The impunity in Iraq is far worse than anywhere
else in the world."
If Iraq mattered?
The assault on Anbar Province would be universally called out.
If Iraq mattered?
People would have pointed out what we did here ahead of the assault: This never reduces violence.
Even in real time, it doesn't reduce violence.
National Iraqi News Agency reports a Mosul bombing claimed 1 life and left another person injured, 2 bombings in Baghdad's Sha'ab neighborhood left 9 people dead and twenty-eight more injured, a Hilla roadside bombing claimed the lives of 2 Iraqi soldiers and left three more injured, a central Baghdad bombing left 1 person dead and five more injured, an eastern Baghdad bombing killed 1 person and left ten more injured, 6 truck drivers were shot dead at a fake Baquba checkpoint, 1 person was shot dead in Baghdad, 1 female corpse was discovered in Baghdad, and a Kirkuk roadside bombing left one police member injured.
None of the places mentioned above are in Anbar Province.
The assault on Anbar solves nothing.
In America, the pattern is to get honest with regards to others.
So you get one zillion movies about attacks on an oppressed people (not clearly identified as oppressed in the films) and the attacks solve everything.
But let them make 1940's The Mark of Zorro and they can let Don Alejandro Vega (Montagu Love) speak plainly and state that attacking the oppressed people will never bring peace. (The Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell film is set in southern California before 1850 when California became a US state.)
These are not new concepts that only emerged yesterday.
An oppressed people will defend themselves.
The US Congress made clear in November and December that a political solution was needed.
They made clear that for things to improve in Iraq, Nouri had to bring Sunnis into the fold.
Attacking the Sunni province of Anbar is not bringing them into the fold.
US Secretary of State John Kerry was asked about Anbar by the New York Times' Michael R. Gordon in Jerusalem today:
Michael R. Godon: On another Middle East subject, Mr. Secretary. A
significant number of American military personnel died to take Fallujah
from al-Qaida in Iraq, and now two years after the American forces were
withdrawn from Iraq, much of that city has been taken back by an
al-Qaida affiliate. The 75 Hellfire missiles that the Administration is selling to Iraq
and the ScanEagle drones it plans to deliver by March don’t appear to be
sufficient to prevent this al-Qaida affiliate from controlling much of
Anbar and other parts of Iraq. And yesterday, your State Department
issued a statement saying that American officials had been in touch with
Iraqi tribal leaders and that the U.S. was working with the Iraqi
Government to “support those tribes in every possible way.” My question is: What specific steps is the Administration prepared to
take to help the Iraqi tribes or the Iraqi Government roll back the
al-Qaida advance in western and northern Iraq? Nobody is suggesting the
U.S. send ground troops, but would the United States be willing to carry
out drone strikes from bases outside Iraq? Would you provide arms to
the tribes? The leader of this al-Qaida affiliate has been designed a
global terrorist by the State Department. What specific steps are you
prepared to take?
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, Michael, I’m not going to go into all
of the specifics. Let me just say in general terms a couple of things.
First of all, we are following the events in Anbar province very, very
closely, obviously. We’re very, very concerned by the efforts of
al-Qaida and the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant, which is
affiliated with al-Qaida, who are trying to assert their authority not
just in Iraq but in Syria. These are the most dangerous players in that region. Their barbarism
against the civilians of Ramadi and Fallujah and against Iraqi security
forces is on display for everybody in the world to see. Their brutality
is something we have seen before. And we will stand with the Government
of Iraq and with others who will push back against their efforts to
destabilize and to bring back, to wreak havoc on the region and on the
democratic process that is taking hold in Iraq. Now, we’re going to do everything that is possible to help them, and I
will not go into the details except to say that we’re in contact with
tribal leaders from Anbar province whom we know who are showing great
courage in standing up against this as they reject terrorist groups from
their cities. And this is a fight that belongs to the Iraqis. That is
exactly what the President and the world decided some time ago when we
left Iraq. So we are not, obviously, contemplating returning. We’re not
contemplating putting boots on the ground. This is their fight, but
we’re going to help them in their fight. And yes, we have an interest. We have an interest in helping the
legitimate and elected government be able to push back against the
terrorists. This is a fight that is bigger than just Iraq. This is part
of the reason why the Geneva conference is so critical, because the rise
of these terrorists in the region and particularly in Syria and through
the fighting in Syria is part of what is unleashing this instability in
the rest of the region. That’s why everybody has a stake. All of the
Gulf states, all of the regional actors, Russia, the United States, and a
lot of players elsewhere in the world have a stake in pushing back
against violent extremist terrorists who respect no law, who have no
goal other than to take over power and disrupt lives by force. And the United States intends to continue to remain in close contact
with all of the Iraq political leaders to see how we can continue to
support their efforts in the days ahead. But it is their fight; that is
what we determined some time ago, that we can’t want peace and we can’t
want democracy and we can’t want an orderly government and stability
more than the people in a particular area, in a particular country or a
particular region. And so we will help them in their fight; but this
fight, in the end they will have to win, and I am confident they can.
As the innocents of Anbar are terrorized and slaughtered, John Kerry spins and lies.
He's so unprepared to speak that he contradicts his own department and the White House.
It's over, I'm done writing songs about love
There's a war going on
So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove
And I'm writing a song about war
And it goes
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Oh oh oh oh
-- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)
The number of US service members the Dept of Defense states died in the Iraq War is [PDF format warning] 4489.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
i hate the war
the ballet
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