Tonight, great Iraq links, and the beginnings of discussion on where America goes from here. Have a happy Easter.
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Scott Burchill recommends Bush and Blair have lit a fire which could consume them, the Iraqi uprising will drive home the forgotten lessons of empire:
Where are they now, the cheerleaders for war on Iraq? Where are the US Republican hawks who predicted the Anglo-American invasion would be a “cakewalk”, greeted by cheering Iraqis? Or the liberal apologists, who hailed a “new dawn” for freedom and democracy in the Arab world as US marines swathed Baghdad in the stars and stripes a year ago? Some, like the Sun newspaper – which yesterday claimed Iraqis recognise that occupation is in their “own long-term good” and are not in “bloody revolt” at all – appear to be in an advanced state of denial.
Scott also recommends Former iraqi enemies unite to fight U.S.
Antony Loewenstein: “I can’t believe Robert Fisk is now in Fallujah. Now, that’s bravery. See Iraq on the brink of anarchy.”
Allen Jay: “Further to Peter Evans’ note in Uniting Iraqis, American style about CNN changing the terminology of `civilian contractors’, Webdiary readers may like to refer to their employer’s website for a reality check and to this backgrounder from Counterpunch. Do you want these guys to bring Freedom and Democracy to a town near you? These guys were all ex special forces and were not there on some peace and good government mission – more likely contract killing – so the fact that there were reprisals should neither surprise nor alarm.”
Max Phillips: “I’ve just found graphic evidence of what our job is in Iraq. Don’t click if you’re queasy. Chest thumping about not “cutting and running” by Howard and Downer makes you sick when you see these Al Jeezera images.”
Brian McKinlay: Juan Cole has been a most prescient observer of Iraq. He’s the author of a major work on Shia islam, and predicted the very events now unfolding.
The journos union, the Media Alliance: “Today marks the anniversary of the US shelling of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad. Two journalists were killed and three wounded when 150 journalists in the hotel came under fire. No satisfactory explanation has been given as to why the attack occurred. Since hostilities in Iraq began in March 2003 seven journalists have been killed in four separate instances of “friendly fire” by US forces. Today media workers and supporters are signing a petition to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. To read and sign the petition, go to ifj.”
Tim Gillin: Check out James Bovard’s book ‘Tyranny and terror’, the best of the post 9-11 crop of books. I have sent him a couple of emails and found him helpful. And see this Bovard interview.
Antony Loewenstein recommends a new book, The Buying of the President 2004: Who’s Really Bankrolling Bush and His Democratic Challengers – and What They Expect in Return, by Charles Lewis.
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MURDOCH WATCH
Murdoch backs Howard one day after moving News Limited offshore (what’s the betting the Foreign Investment Review Board will let him keep Brisbane’s Courier Mail despite the ban on foreigners owning more than 25 percent of a newspaper?) On the same bloody day as Murdoch and Alan Jones have a chat, Daryl Williams says he’ll try real hard to get Howard’s cross media laws through. Wouldn’t you just love a Murdoch owned TV network? Remember when Williams’ predecessor Richard Alston said during the cross media debate last year that Murdoch didn’t care about cross media changes and that the changes were to help the small players? Bullshit. Murdoch wants the changes bad, and said so to Jonesie.
The New York Times has run a piece on Latham, because Murdoch has noticed him! The Yanks know where the power really is, alright. See The Labor Party challenger, Mark Latham, says he’d take the Australians out of Iraq:
A candidate for higher office in Australia, especially one hoping to be prime minister, is rarely taken seriously until the home-born international media magnate Rupert Murdoch shows interest. So when the spirited new leader of the Labor Party, Mark Latham, 43, who is now ahead in the polls against the long serving conservative incumbent John Howard, turned up for supper at the Murdoch ranch, people took notice.’
I wonder if Lachlan asked Latham to make no trouble when Dad turned an Australian owned paper, The Courier Mail, foreign? Labor’s raised no questions.
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SHORTIES
Stephen Cox in Darwin: It’s good to see the sanity of Webdiary back and on the trail of the misguided misfit G. W. Bush and his idiot followers. For those of us who advocated that invading Iraq was wrong, unlawful, and just bloody stupid, we can no longer stand up proudly screaming “WE WERE RIGHT YOU IDIOTS” – because far too many people have been, and continue to be, killed, including those poor American troops who have lost their lives.”
Phil Moffat: The war in Iraq was executed to eliminate Saddam’s WM so said the Coalition of the Willing. We now know Iraq has no WMDs and all the war has achieved is to turn Iraq into a bloody mess. Maybe it is time for Saddam to return to his old job, reinstate his army and get the place under control. After all John Howard made it absolutely clear to us that we would not be involved in the war if it wasn’t for WMDs.
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WHAT NOW? THE BEST NEXT MOVE IN IRAQ
Chris Murphy in Southport, Queensland (and see his information website)
The leader in the New Statesman on April 7, Iraq: how to move on, concludes:
Countries are best left to sort out their affairs and achieve their own liberation, as eastern Europe and South Africa did. Iraq, it is said, would face civil war – but that is the oldest excuse for prolonging colonial occupation. The Americans should leave promptly and completely, and be replaced by the UN – if the Iraqis wish it. Now move on.
The crowd – the same mob who eventually sided with Bush and supported the invasion of Iraq – will scream at the conclusion drawn by the New Statesman. “We can’t go backwards!” they will cry. True, and more’s the pity, but they refuse to admit that the so-called `Coalition of the Willing’ is digging itself deeper and deeper each day.
And the hole they dig will inevitably become a grave, just like Vietnam.
“We must do something!” Oh yeah? What? Persevere with the concept of a democratic Iraq?
Hardly. No one with any knowledge of the history and culture of the country believes that aim is – or ever was – achievable, in any way. Only ignorant numbskulls like Bush and Rumsfeld figured there was some way to unite 24 million people of starkly different backgrounds in a peaceful democracy in the Western tradition. Those who did know but had other agendas, like Chalabi and Wolfowitz, simply fed these numbskulls that simplistic line to get their own covert outcomes.
What else can now be done? Bomb the recalcitrants into submission?
Sure. Moqtada al-Sadr, the revolting leader of a Shi’ite break-away group, currently has a very small following. The moderates, who still control millions of Shi’ites, know very well that government is theirs for the taking in a democracy. Only a civil war could stop them. Until now, the big threat of that was from the Sunni minority.
Enter the Americans. Blasting their way into a Shi’ite mosque and killing those inside, even rebellious fanatics, is certainly no way to foster stability amongst the majority Shi’ites, who will now be forced to choose who is “them” and who is “us”. Bush and Rumsfeld need to learn – fast – that guided weapons and helicopter gunships will never win hearts and minds.
What else? Stay in Iraq, but stand back and hope that people are reasonable? Like the Iraqis are going to resort to reason and peace, when all the invaders have achieved so far has been at the barrel of a gun or bought using a bag of greenbacks. Regrettably, America has lost its ability to lead by example, because its example is ignorance, unilateralism, stubbornness, force, and violence.
This is a no-win situation. Like Vietnam, there is no alternative but to “cut and run”. And just like Vietnam, it will take decades for both Iraq and the United States to recover. So be it. At least next time, the people of America just might stand up to the next generation of ignorant numbskulls when they call for war.
But when that happens, look up. The sky will be filled with pink pigs.
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Peter Funnell in Canberra
What is happening now in Iraq is far more dangerous than the short conventional war that overthrew Saddam’s regime. The place is going off like a firecracker. Coordinated attacks in lots of places. Seems they caught the marines with their pants down around their ankles, which is unusual. Then, we need to remember, the majority of the US troops are now reservists or national guard (not sure if this is true of marines). I really wonder at the quality of the US troops.
There is only one solution available to the US – to escalate the fighting and engage with the Iraqi militias – but that’s not easy with irregular forces who must be enjoying a high level of local support. But the US is likely to see this as the only hope they have to assert control and achieve some form of law and order�. They have nothing else at their disposal and at the moment, they are a risk every minute of every day. Doesn’t exactly make for clear thinking.
If it happens it will be awful. I can’t see Bush agreeing to withdraw, just as the US did not in Vietnam. This is worse than Vietnam.
This is the price of war. An illegal war. A war based on falsehood. A war that has brought a frightening level of slaughter, injury, poverty and radicalism to Iraq. Why shouldn’t we label Bush, Blair and Howard war criminals?