- It is really quite horrifying, how many cloned, fundamentalist,
fanatical, extreme putrefied pods are "staying the course"; in
this depraved theater of mayhem-chaos-debauchery-sadism-snarling dogs-bodies
wrapped in plastic-dog leashes-hoods-nakedness-sleep deprivation-humiliation-decapitation-etc.
-
- Easy to "stay the course" in marbled halls
surrounded by concrete barriers and guards. Easy to "stay the course"
slurping down that tumbler of whisky at the club or some Georgetown pub.
Easy to "stay the course" heading to Jackson Hole, Wyoming (retreat
for the elite) for a little fly fishing. Easy to "stay the course"
riding the range in designer cowboy attire seeing to that errant cow that's
left the herd.
-
- Not so easy, when one is sloughing along in 130 degree
heat with 60 pounds of equipment. Not so easy, without the proper equipment,
and riding around in vehicles with plastic windshields and no armour. Hell---these
convoys of dignitaries riding through Washington are better protected.
Not so easy, when your gulping down another MRE and sipping on warm water.
Not so easy, trying to brush the fleas and gnats from your cot or bedding
with no chance to shower.
-
- Senator Inhofe, is spooky beyond belief. Listening to
his raging and ranting against those who would find anything wrong with
torture was appalling. Beyond reason or rational, he identified all these
prisoners as thugs-terrorists-murders-gangsters-etc., of the worst ilk,
and deserving of any and all atrocities. He was beyond any first hand reporting
of the International Red Cross that has reported otherwise. They reported
that, from 70-90% of those imprisoned, were so, without rhyme or reason.
Civilians swept up in wholesale arrests. Civilians detained for months
on end with no charges no trials. Senator Inhofe, meantime, has been judge
and jury screaming "Off with their heads-sentence now-verdict later"
-
- We are reminded daily, of the brutality of Saddam, the
tragedy of Somalia, the atrocities of terrorists crashing across America
killing innocent civilians. Somehow in the manipulation of language, we
are led to believe that America's standard is to be measured against these
greater evils? In the "liberation" of Iraq last year in "Shock
and Awe" numerous photographs showed the shredding of children. A
footless child retrieved from the bombing. Little Ali, asleep in his distant
farmhouse, awoke with arms severed and third degree burns. His family
all dead around him. Mr.Rumsfeld said that "collateral damage is not
counted". Think on this message.
-
- The siege of Baghdad saw museums-libraries- places of
culture, all allowed to be systematically looted and destroyed. This the
Cradle of Civilization. The loss is immeasurable. Iraqi citizens saw only
the Ministry of Oil protected with all its records. Cluster bombs, Daisy
Cutters (that rupture internal organs and eyeballs), missiles; all to instill
democracy. Is it any wonder that Iraqi citizens are bewildered, confused,
and raging? If per chance, China, should decide that we needed rescued
by pre-emptive strike, into Communism-how would we respond? Would we throw
flowers at Chinese troops amidst the ruins of Washington-armless children-and
burning farmhouses?
-
- We were told (insane) that Iraq with its 25 million citizens
(mostly women and children) were an eminent threat to our security. Weapons
of Mass Destruction would see our demise. This, from a country, with no
navy-no air force-and an infra-structure pulverized in Gulf War I. We,
with the most massive collection of Weapons of Mass Destruction, in the
history of mankind, were to be kowtowed by a distant desert land? One would
imagine that if all these weapons of mass destruction were on hand, why
they weren't used when Iraqi was invaded? What were they being saved for?
-
- Like many I've lost track of the various reasons. Democracy,
liberation, freedom and now sovereignty. Billions spent on bombing a land
back to the stone age and now billions more to rebuild and democratize?
Doesn't make too much sense. Has anyone asked the Iraqi people subjected
to such inhumanities these past years what they want? Do they want the
Mall of Iraq, MTV, theme parks, McGarbage, Walmarts, Home Depots, baseball
parks, and 500 mindless TV channels? Well--do they?
-
- Iraq is a tribal nation. They identify strongly with
tribe. Americans going to fight in this foreign land have little to no
idea of its location let alone its history, culture, or language. As long
as a tribe is big and powerful, then its sheik is big and powerful. Despite
the efforts of the British and the monarchy it installed, the tribes still
exist. They have survived the confiscation of much of the sheiks' land
holdings, being stripped of much of their powers, and when he became desperate,
Saddam's appointment of what became known as the 'Swiss shieks'-ring-ins
who were not born into sheik families but who the former president believed
would run the tribes according to his will.
-
- In the 1920s--the British supported Sheik Abdul Razak
Ali Sullerman. He was the Sheik of Sheiks of the Dulame tribe and they
gave him the authority of a governor over the western region of Iraq. The
sheiks have the power to declare that there will be no more attacks on
Americans. If America is serious then it must have good relations with
the sheiks. Loyalty to the tribes is bigger than ethnic or religious loyalty
in Iraq.
-
- Since the fall of Baghdad the tribes and tribal law have
become even stronger because of the political vacuum---there is no direction
or security for the people and they have no one to follow except the tribe
and their sheik. That is why it is so shallow and ridiculous to hear uneducated
Americans spouting off advice that individual Iraqis should rise up. It'll
never happen. Picture belonging in a tribe culture and deciding your going
to go your own way. Adnan Abu Odeh, a former adviser to the late King Hussein
of Jordan, argues that the tribes are the strongest social force in what
he calls the "broken shell" of the state of Iraq. The sheiks
don't have ambitions beyond their tribes---they are not nationalist in
their outlook.
-
- They know in the end they'll not be the main game, so
they have to benefit as much as possible before the rules change. The most
today's sheiks can hope to get is to have people from their tribes in the
new establishment to sustain benefits for the whole tribe at the highest
level possible. Adnan warns, "The tribes are good actors. They intimidate
and they blackmail, they are experts at massaging ego--it's their usual
approach; for them its an art, an instinct."
-
- "Their national pride has been emasculated-especially
by the easy fall of Baghdad and by the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein.
The Americans need to study shame and pride in the Arab world, because
while they think that Iraqis are grateful, they are not--they are feeling
humiliated". Thus one can understand (exception the few in Foggy
Bottom) these photographs. Nothing like throwing gasoline on a fire. Ali
Shukri, a member of Saint Anthony's College at Oxford says, " The
tribes will listen to anyone who is dishing out money and they can control
the level of resistance, so they can be pillars of the new Iraq. If the
US cannot impose law and order, then only the tribes will be able to do
it. They might have come across oceans with their Apache helicopters and
Bradley fighting vehicles, but if you don't have the support of the tribes
in these parts, you are dead. There are two ways to control them. One
way is to do just that---by continually attacking and killing them. But
if you want them on your side, what will you give them? What's in it for
them? They will name a price. If it is met, they will be on your side.
Overnight, they could give the Americans security, but they will want money,
weapons and vehicles to do the job."
-
- In postwar Iraq, the historic role of Lawrence of Arabia
is raised again and again as an implicit criticism of the US and its failure
to understand the subtleties and imperatives of tribal life. Iraqis separate
Lawrence's performance from that of his government. They take great pride
from the fact that Lawrence almost became an Arab just so that he could
understand them---he wore their dress, he ate their food and he lived their
lives. Lieutenant-Colonel John J. Bryant initially defended the US effort
to reconstruct Iraq. But after some thought, he said, "In terms of
the resources we have, the challenge is huge." Asked about the power
of the sheiks, he said, "It's awesome--we just don't understand it.
There is a financial part to every deal and if an aid group or the US comes
into an area, then the sheik needs to be seen as having brought them in."
Lieutenant Colonel Hickey, in Fallujah says, " The hardest thing for
me coming into the region is understanding the local power relations. I've
got seven tribes here, but I'm still learning where they are and who's
in charge. It's confusing--I've been here for a few weeks and I ask the
mayor for a meeting with the sheiks, but later I'm told that the people
he lined up for me are not the real sheiks. What does a sheik look like?
They don't carry a sheik ID card. "
-
- Americans given brief showings of bombs exploding and
obscene pictures of Iraqis being humiliated in Saddam's former torture
chamber. They have little, to no grasp, of ordinary soldiers nineteen
and twenty year olds, having to deal with such complexities in a foreign
land. They might as well be on Mars and dealing with aliens. Might makes
right doesn't appear to be working. You can't bomb tribalism out of people
anymore than you can instill democracy by missiles.
-
- War and all its evil opens the door to unconscionable,
unthinkable acts of barbarism. A tribal culture will seek revenge for
family members humiliated or killed. It is required of them. Something
that we can't accommodate thousands of miles from desert cultures. It
is simply irresponsible for supposed leadership in this country, far from
the threat of being a victim of these killings, to incite with inflammatory
language, an already volatile situation. When administration officials
talk about cleaning out "rats nests" it likens Iraqis to vermin.
Calling the enemy " towel heads, sand niggers, or camel jockeys"
will not win over the people's hearts. Politicians screaming out "sub-human,
gangsters, thugs, etc.," is not exactly supportive of the troops,
who are facing death daily. If elected officals refuse to understand the
culture and the people, it would be best that they keep silent. We should
not create a climate in which barbarism is encouraged in any way. We shudder
in horror at the carnage and savagery that kills so wantonly . Thankfully,
citizens were not made privy to the same such actions and photographs of
Vietnam, or they would not feel so morally superior. War brings out the
worst in man--tribal or otherwise. Frankly, I don't see that we have the
time-energy-manpower-fortitude or money, to liberate a culture thousands
of years old into modern day McFreedom and McJustice for all.
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