Apologies to all if this blog has already been posted.
Joe Carr, an activist with Christian Peacemaking Teams, has been blogging from Iraq, and it's definitely worth a read. He has a first-hand account of his trip to Fallujah (as well as photographs of the total destruction) that is absolutely chilling. Here's an excerpt:
"US troops, Iraqi military, and Iraqi police have an overwhelming presence in the city. 16,000 Fallujan police lost their jobs after the US attacks and were replaced by Shiite from the South. The US intentionally sends Shiite to patrol Sunni strongholds to breed resentment and abuse, and it works. I’ve never seen such dirty looks directed at the passing forces; I guess in most places people get somewhat used to the occupier, but in Fallujah, the hate is still very alive. Soldiers shoot anyone who drives too close to their convoys, which makes driving anywhere in this small city incredibly dangerous. It is very easy to accidentally turn a corner and find yourself in the midst of a convoy. The hospital said that around 1-2 people a week die from the indiscriminate fire of US and Shiite occupation forces."
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"Meeting a Sunni cleric was the highlight of the trip. He was a young, passionate man and a quite eloquent speaker. He told us about some of the horrors he’d witnessed. During the first invasion, several families near his Mosque took cover in a home. US troops used megaphones to order them all out into the street while carrying a white flag. They complied, but when they all got out, the soldiers opened fire into the group and killed five. He said one boy had run to his mother who’d been shot, and Americans shot the child in the head. He said he saw a US commander cry as this happened, “but what good were his tears?” he asked, “he didn’t do anything to stop it.”
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"While meeting with the cleric, a man told us some of his horror stories. “The Americans shot and killed my 15-year-old daughter” he said, “was she a terrorist?” He said the US military denied killing her and refused to give him even minimal compensation. The US gave him only half the compensation for his house that they destroyed. “With all respect to you,” he said, “I hate Americans, they killed my family. My children cannot play in the street, they shot and killed my sister-in-law while she was washing clothes, and my other brother’s hands and feet were blown off.” He apologized for interrupting, but said that he had to tell us because he’s in so much pain."
http://www.lovinrevolution.org/reports_iraq.htm
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