Riverbend compares Iraqi death figures....an Iraqi father mourns his son.

[madfloridian]

I have never been so angry. We invaded another country that was no threat, and now for some reason known only to a few...we have executed their leader. (Yes, I know they said the Iraqis did...but it was our idea...we are boss of them).

Our TV has disintegrated to the point where it is either planning to show this execution, or at the very least boasting of it with much pride.

Riverbend in October reminded us of something important:

The Lancet Study

Let's pretend the 600,000+ number is all wrong and that the minimum is the correct number: nearly 400,000. Is that better? Prior to the war, the Bush administration kept claiming that Saddam killed 300,000 Iraqis over 24 years. After this latest report published in The Lancet, 300,000 is looking quite modest and tame. Congratulations Bush et al.

There is a lot more there.

Riverbend told us about our soldiers playing jazz as they bulldozed trees.

Palms and Punishment

Several orchards in Dhuluaya are being cut down… except it’s not only Dhuluaya… it’s also Ba’aquba, the outskirts of Baghdad and several other areas. The trees are bulldozed and trampled beneath heavy machinery. We see the residents and keepers of these orchards begging the troops to spare the trees, holding up crushed branches, leaves and fruit- not yet ripe- from the ground littered with a green massacre. The faces of the farmers are crushed and amazed at the atrocity. I remember one wrinkled face holding up 4 oranges from the ground, still green (our citrus fruit ripens in the winter) and screaming at the camera- “Is this freedom? Is this democracy?!” And his son, who was about 10, stood there with tears of rage streaming down his cheeks and quietly said, “We want 5 troops dead for each tree they cut down… five troops.” A “terrorist”, perhaps? Or a terrorized child who had to watch his family’s future hacked down in the name of democracy and freedom?

..."For those not interested in reading the article, the first line summarizes it perfectly, “US soldiers driving bulldozers, with jazz blaring from loudspeakers, have uprooted ancient groves of date palms as well as orange and lemon trees in central Iraq as part of a new policy of collective punishment of farmers who do not give information about guerrillas attacking US troops.”

More about the palms and fruit bearing trees.

To Avenge Their Trees, Iraqi Farmers Threaten Resistance

Khudeir Khalil was a simple quiet Iraqi farmer before U.S. forces drove tanks onto his property.

Claiming his lush date and orange groves provide camouflage for resistance fighters, the U.S. occupation forces leveled Khalil's plantations.

But he feels skeptical, wondering "what kind of civilized people are those who are destroying my plants".

"They say resistance fighters could hide in the fields, but I tell you these are my fields and nobody goes into them. There are no attacks around here," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP), as a mob of angry men in traditional Arab white robes nod in support.

However this blog, which has been made into a book, is one of the saddest. I wrote about it before, but tonight it is all so heavy on my heart. I don't understand all of what this father is saying, but I know his heart is breaking.

Goodby, my boy.

This summer he started working on his all-important Baccalaureate exams (the equivalent of high school). All we wanted was for him to pass that hurdle. But that was not to be. All the many forces of darkness on the loose in Iraq today went into an orgy of killing and senseless violence. It was too much for us. I don’t know how many people can fathom the depth of agony of seeing a loved one in eminent danger and not being able to do a thing about it.

Now my little one too has gone away.

Goodbye my boy.

May the Goddesses of Safety, Happiness and Good Fortune blow gently in your sails.

We invaded a country with educated, kind and thoughtful people. It is beyond my ability to comprehend what we have done.

[Auntie Bush]

1. (((((((((((( WE ARE THE ENEMY! )))))))))))))

My heart cries for the US! What have we become? I'm beginning to think I don't love America anymore. How sad is that? :cry:

[madfloridian]

4. Judging by many posts here today, we are in the minority.

Our country has changed so much. Our young people are too easily falling for propaganda. A few here feel the pain like we do...but not very many. Our nation has changed, and many younger people are used to it.

[Nikefutbol254]

9. It can change though...

I just want you to know that I am one of our young people. I'm fifteen and signed up on the DU four days ago. I believe beyond a doubt that nothing is set in stone. If we try hard enough (and I know it sounds like something you'd here on elmo's world) we can save America. I honestly think I can do something about it too. I understand that the world is basically depending on my generation to set it straight again and I think I can help. Okay well enough ego tripping. i'm just saying we can fix it.

[madfloridian]

10. That was a nice post.

I think you are right that many young people are waking up. One reason I retired from teaching was that I saw I could no longer make a real difference...especially in our conservative area. We had to work with a tight script at each grade level.

I don't know what they teach in the high schools now generally, but in our area our school superintendent said they would teach creationism along side evolution, if either was covered. I know our own kids when they graduated were not even aware of the holocaust. One of them called the other day and asked if it were true that we put the Japanese in internment camps during WW II. They never were taught that part of history. They did not want to believe it.

I reminded them there was a private internment camp right now near them in TX for immigrants. They did not believe me so I sent them the link.

I like the sound of your post, it gives me some hope. I live around so many who still support this war that I get discouraged.

[newyawker99]

15. Hi Nikefutbol254!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[ninkasi]

2. The shame is crushing me

You write..."We invaded a country with educated, kind and thoughtful people. It is beyond my ability to comprehend what we have done."
I haven't the ability to understand, either. How could we have let this happen? Yes, I know we were against this whole criminal invasion of another country, one which had not harmed us, and didn't possess the ability to do so.

I have pissed off so many friends since the SCOTUS betrayed us by awarding Bush the presidency, that now, I have fewer than I did when this nightmare began, but it did at least let me know what kind of people they really were. The senseless deaths, the horrific maiming, the utter destruction of another country, is not something I ever considered my country capable of doing.

Now, the murderous cretin is celebrating "his" victory, as if he had actually had the balls to fight for his country himself. We know that he went AWOL from the champagne unit of the Texas National Guard. So he can swagger, and posture, and think himself a mighty hero, when he's just another low life in an expensive suit which STILL doesn't fit right. I hope that there is some way we can prevent the whole Middle East from exploding, just so one miserable, ego driven bully could play at being a war president.

[madfloridian]

5. I have withdrawn from many friends as well.

I simply can not bear their acceptance of the things Bush has done in our name.

One good thing...both Republican sons have come around now. I still have an uncle and brother who will defend Bush forever. They are educated intelligent people with a mindset. We find it hard to be around each other.

[ninkasi]

6. Then you understand

I will be 64 on my next birthday, so at this stage of my life, I should be cherishing my friends even more. One friendship I have had for almost 50 years was ruined last year, when discussing the invasion of Iraq with a woman I considered my sister. She said that the American losses didn't matter because all of the troops were warriors, and that they wanted to die to defend our country.

I tried, to no avail, to let her know that they were not defending us from anything. They were furthering the wishes of Bush, and his cabal. She was adamant that the troops had volunteered, and that they WANTED to die in war. She kept saying, "They are WARRIORS!" I told her that they were not, they were mostly kids who couldn't afford college, and wanted a chance at a career, or an education. They are so young when they enlist, some of them die, without the privilege of being able to order a drink in their state.

We made up after awhile, because she was married to my brother until he died, and she and my niece are all I have of him. She recently invited me to come visit them, and I will, but it pains me that someone I love can be so blind. In her case, it's probably because when she remarried, it was to a man who was worth millions. He adopted my niece, and in addition to inheriting from him, she married a wealthy man herself. I just want a relationship with my niece, and my great-nephews.

I have never been able to understand black and white thinking. To me, the world is clad in many shades of gray, but in the case of the invasion of Iraq, the color is more of a charcoal gray than any other shade. How many fractured families, and friendships, has this invasion cost? As painful as it is for me, it is absolutely nothing compared to the suffering of the innocent Iraqis caught up in Bush's bloodthirsty delusions.

[madfloridian]

7. It got so bad here in our area...

that I had to get off two mailing lists, one for a reunion. I had to quit going to meetings of a group I belong to. I could not take the praise of Bush anymore.

Yes, I understand.

[madfloridian]

3. Previous post:: “Do not kill a woman, a child or an old man. Do not cut a tree”.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/800

In the countryside, small bunches of trees always indicate a farmhouse from a distance. Until about 50 years ago, some people used to hang lanterns at night atop trees to guide strangers to their homes. This acted as a ‘sign’ to where they can find a meal and a place to spend the night. (The ‘sacred’ duration of hospitality used to be three days, during which the guest takes the welcome for granted.)

The tree is so important that to harm it is almost unforgivable.
During the early Islamic military campaigns, a well-known guideline by a leader to his troops going off to far away lands were: “Do not kill a woman, a child or an old man. Do not cut a tree”.

And more from Riverbend in October about the Red Cross.

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2003_10_01_riverbendblog_archive.html#106599843493603927

Wednesday, October 29, 2003

The Red Cross and Terrorism
The Red Cross have started pulling out their personnel. A friend of mine who works with the Red Crescent said that they were going to try to pull out most of their personnel, while trying to continue with what they're doing- humanitarian assistance. When I heard Nada Domani, the head of the ICRC in Iraq, say that they'd begin pulling out their personnel on Tuesday, I wished I could yell out, "Don't abandon us Nada!" But I realize that their first priority is to ensure the safety of their employees.

The Red Cross is especially important at this point because they are the 'link' that is connecting the families of the detainees and the military. When someone suddenly disappears, people go to the Red Cross and after a few grueling days, the missing person can often be tracked down at one of the prison camps or prisons.

And our corporate idiot TV is boasting of executing Saddam. :cry:

[madfloridian]

8. Women of Iraq are suffering.

From Riverbend this summer..

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_riverbendblog_archive.html

"I look at my older clothes- the jeans and t-shirts and colorful skirts- and it’s like I’m studying a wardrobe from another country, another lifetime. There was a time, a couple of years ago, when you could more or less wear what you wanted if you weren’t going to a public place. If you were going to a friends or relatives house, you could wear trousers and a shirt, or jeans, something you wouldn’t ordinarily wear. We don’t do that anymore because there’s always that risk of getting stopped in the car and checked by one militia or another.

There are no laws that say we have to wear a hijab (yet), but there are the men in head-to-toe black and the turbans, the extremists and fanatics who were liberated by the occupation, and at some point, you tire of the defiance. You no longer want to be seen. I feel like the black or white scarf I fling haphazardly on my head as I walk out the door makes me invisible to a certain degree- it’s easier to blend in with the masses shrouded in black. If you’re a female, you don’t want the attention- you don’t want it from Iraqi police, you don’t want it from the black-clad militia man, you don’t want it from the American soldier. You don’t want to be noticed or seen.

...." realized how common it had become only in mid-July when M., a childhood friend, came to say goodbye before leaving the country. She walked into the house, complaining of the heat and the roads, her brother following closely behind. It took me to the end of the visit for the peculiarity of the situation to hit me. She was getting ready to leave before the sun set, and she picked up the beige headscarf folded neatly by her side. As she told me about one of her neighbors being shot, she opened up the scarf with a flourish, set it on her head like a pro, and pinned it snuggly under her chin with the precision of a seasoned hijab-wearer. All this without a mirror- like she had done it a hundred times over… Which would be fine, except that M. is Christian.

If M. can wear one quietly- so can I.

I’ve said goodbye this last month to more people than I can count. Some of the ‘goodbyes’ were hurried and furtive- the sort you say at night to the neighbor who got a death threat and is leaving at the break of dawn, quietly."

[BeFree]

11. kick

[Capn Sunshine]

12. I LOVE Riverbend

She has TWO books of her blogs and her New Years Post on things in Iraq is plaintive and wistful.

Anyone who wants a real human face on the cost of he Iraq blunder, read her books.

[madfloridian]

13. Oh, my, that is so sad. Thanks for the link.

This is pretty powerful stuff, and I missed it.

"Again, I can't help but ask myself why this was all done? What was the point of breaking Iraq so that it was beyond repair? Iran seems to be the only gainer. Their presence in Iraq is so well-established, publicly criticizing a cleric or ayatollah verges on suicide. Has the situation gone so beyond America that it is now irretrievable? Or was this a part of the plan all along? My head aches just posing the questions.

What has me most puzzled right now is: why add fuel to the fire? Sunnis and moderate Shia are being chased out of the larger cities in the south and the capital. Baghdad is being torn apart with Shia leaving Sunni areas and Sunnis leaving Shia areas- some under threat and some in fear of attacks. People are being openly shot at check points or in drive by killings… Many colleges have stopped classes. Thousands of Iraqis no longer send their children to school- it's just not safe.

Why make things worse by insisting on Saddam's execution now? Who gains if they hang Saddam? Iran, naturally, but who else? There is a real fear that this execution will be the final blow that will shatter Iraq. Some Sunni and Shia tribes have threatened to arm their members against the Americans if Saddam is executed. Iraqis in general are watching closely to see what happens next, and quietly preparing for the worst."

Oh, dear God, what have we done. :cry:

[madfloridian]

14. Fallujah.....

Froma a sister site of the blog above, A Glimpse of Iraq. Random thoughts.

Iraqi Letters

"A city of 300,000 – some 200,000 have fled their town… 100,000 civilians are still there.

I can only wonder at the incredible degree of precision those cluster bombs and artillery shells must have to avoid civilian casualties!!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Imagine what the war of liberation of Iraq would have been like had Iraqis really resisted the invasion in March 2003."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"More than 200 American soldiers dead and injured so far in only four days of fighting and 600 hundred Iraqi "insurgents" killed according to the US army. But how many civilians? How many women and children?

Why should anyone care? That's not important in the great fight against terror, is it? A few hundred innocents dead for such high ideals "is peanuts" as Americans would say. Besides, they were given the chance to leave their homes, weren't they?

Something that is worth paying so much for, in Iraqi and American blood, has to be worthwhile! We will have to wait for future events and developments before assessing its true worth. Alas, I fear that the attention span of many people would have been expired by then."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And this one reflects my feelings, what many of us have been saying all along.

"Now, we are entering a new phase: the beginning of the end. America has only two choices left: subdue the whole of the Iraqi people through shear force… or call it quits."

This page is from Iraqi Letters, November 2004.