do you all listen to the iraqi's. i do. what stories. here's another

[seabeyond]

What people find particularly frustrating is the fact that while Baghdad seems to be falling apart in so many ways with roads broken and pitted, buildings blasted and burnt out and residential areas often swimming in sewage, the Green Zone is flourishing. The walls surrounding restricted areas housing Americans and Puppets have gotten higher- as if vying with the tallest of date palms for height. The concrete reinforcements and road blocks designed to slow and impede traffic are now a part of everyday scenery- the road, the trees, the shops, the earth, the sky… and the ugly concrete slabs sometimes wound insidiously with barbed wire.

The price of building materials has gone up unbelievably, in spite of the fact that major reconstruction has not yet begun. I assumed it was because so much of the concrete and other building materials was going to reinforce the restricted areas. A friend who recently got involved working with an Iraqi subcontractor who takes projects inside of the Green Zone explained that it was more than that. The Green Zone, he told us, is a city in itself. He came back awed, and more than a little bit upset. He talked of designs and plans being made for everything from the future US Embassy and the housing complex that will surround it, to restaurants, shops, fitness centers, gasoline stations, constant electricity and water- a virtual country inside of a country with its own rules, regulations and government. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Republic of the Green Zone, also known as the Green Republic.

“The Americans won’t be out in less than ten years.” Is how the argument often begins with the friend who has entered the Green Republic. “How can you say that?” Is usually my answer- and I begin to throw around numbers- 2007, 2008 maximum… Could they possibly want to be here longer? Can they afford to be here longer? At this, T. shakes his head- if you could see the bases they are planning to build- if you could see what already has been built- you’d know that they are going to be here for quite a while.

The Green Zone is a source of consternation and aggravation for the typical Iraqi. It makes us anxious because it symbolises the heart of the occupation and if fortifications and barricades are any indicator- the occupation is going to be here for a long time. It is a provocation because no matter how anyone tries to explain or justify it, it is like a slap in the face. It tells us that while we are citizens in our own country, our comings and goings are restricted because portions of the country no longer belong to its people. They belong to the people living in the Green Republic.

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/



this alone has got to cause so much anger. i had a friend tell me a couple police here in town are going to iraq but they arent afraid, they will be in the green zone. i was so pissed, i told him ya, with all the accomodations, yet the people of iraq dont get water and electricity

gosh, we are bad, so bad

[Javaman]

1. Riverbend is a sane voice in a wilderness of insanity.

[peacebuzzard]

2. this is the Voice of Iraq

:kick:

[NJCher]

3. a couple points

First, riverbend says:

The price of building materials has gone up unbelievably, in spite of the fact that major reconstruction has not yet begun.

The cost of building materials is what finally turned my dad, a bush supporter, against him. Now my dad goes around telling anyone who will listen that bush is the worst president ever and he doesn't have a clue about Helen Thomas.

Yes, indeed. He contracts for a lot of construction and when he was told why the cost of materials had increased so dramatically (demand for materials in Iraq), this is what finally turned him against bush.

Second, I wish riverbend could know that what the U.S. government is doing haunts our every moment, or at least some of us. On my own, I live a fairly simple life. But I recently went on vacation to visit friends and family and these people do not live "simple lives." As I sat in their homes--mind you, many of these are single women, living in 4-5000 square foot homes--I thought of people in the Sudan and the people in Iraq. I thought of Iraqis without electricity or air conditioners while one single person air conditioned a huge building all for themselves. It just makes me crazy.

And worst of all, I tried to talk world politics to these people and what did I get? "Yeah, we know there's a problem but it's so complicated we don't understand it." That at least is a step up from my visit a few years ago when they didn't even acknowledge there's a problem.

As far as riverbend's feelings about The Green Zone, I would never be able to rest as long as another country was occupying and stealing the resources of my land.

Oh and did anyone catch the news today about Iraq having to ration oil? All this while Americans drive around in those big hulks known as SUVs.

This situation so cries out for justice. Where will it end?


Cher

edited to change "our government" to the "U.S. government."

Not my government. Ever.

[Zero Division]

4. Holy @#$#!: Entry from Raed's brother about being detained

http://secretsinbaghdad.blogspot.com/2005/07/i-found-myself.html

Fuck....just fuck. I'm not going to sleep well tonight after reading that. :cry:

And the nerve of that fucking neocon sycophant in the comments thread telling him to suck it up and enjoy his "freedom". I hate having to share a country with people like him.

[seabeyond]

5. i read this a couple nights ago and it had stayed with me

but i didnt read the comments. shame on him

[seabeyond]

6. so all that money they cant account for, all that money

spent on reconstruction. we know where it went, and it wasnt to the city outside the city