Look at what we are destroying

[DoYouEverWonder]

What is happening in Iraq today is 100% our fault. We have destroyed centuries of art and culture in just 3 years. All in the name of George Bush's god.















All I can say, is god forgive us, we know not what we do.

[Coexist]

1. k & r

war is hell.

[MadMaddie]

10. Especially if you are waging against the wrong country!

[northamericancitizen]

2. Incredibly sad. And for what purpose... Nomitated

[fooj]

3. Ltlle Lord Pissypants only prays to ONE GOD...$$$$$$$$$$$$$!

Rat bastard!

Peace.

[swimboy]

4. Recommended

although I hang my head in shame.

[shoelace414]

5. This is what Bush is destroying

[Lorien]

11. Taking it ALL into account, your image would be:

[Karenina]

26. It's a *family tradition

[Avalux]

6. Gotta spread that freedum, he he....he he......

If I believed in the antichrist, Bush would be it.

[acmavm]

14. I do. bush** is to the Anti-Christ like Igor was to Dr. Frankenstein.

.

[mdmc]

7. thanks for the pics

:kick:

[datadiva]

8. This is not my fault

I didn't vote for the bastard. Just so damn sad. Ruination. :cry:

[anarch]

31. I know how you feel, but try telling that to the rest of the world.

We, the American people, will be held accountable, despite the fact that most of us are victims of these criminals, not accessories to their crimes. Try asking some of the "innocent" German civilians who lay in the path of the advancing Red Army in 1945 about the kind of amnesty we might expect from our nation's more overt victims, even though we didn't vote for the war criminals.

[EuroObserver]

53. Please continue explaining to the world

about the "two Americas".

And point out that, at least, you are still free to talk about it.

[Initech]

9. W aint praying to any god other than the almighty dollar.

:nuke:

[babylonsister]

12. I well remember the outrage when the Buddhas were blown up

by the Taliban. What's our excuse, and who will forgive us?

[Lorien]

13. Destroying a people by destroying their history and culture

no different than what the Taliban was doing. :grr:

Very sad.

[Inuca]

16. No, it's worse!

Because difficult as it may be to understand and accept from the outside, the Taliban were part of that culture, much as I dislike what they stand for and the destruction they left behind. The image of those Buddha statues blowing up.... shudder... :cry:

[Lorien]

23. Sorry, but your post doesn't make sense

The Taliban destroyed religious monuments that were Buddhist, not Muslim. BushCo (full of self proclaimed "Christians") destroys religious monuments/ places of worship by creating civil war, and destroyed many Mosques during the initial "shock and awe" phase of the invasion. Either way, such destruction shows complete contempt for other people/ cultures and their history.

[Inuca]

34. Sorry, I did not put it very clearly...

...I agree with all the points you make. I was simply stating that they carried the destruction in their own country, not much of a consolation, I know. Also, abhorrent as it is, they did it for something they probably truly believed in, something that was truly offensive to their beliefs (sculpted human images, see the recent craziness about the famous cartoons). I am not trying to defend the Taliban or their actions, far from it, it is just that on a scale of abhorrent destructive things to do, I think that they rank slightly higher, that's all.

[shance]

27. I would agree. The Taliban is not a group of wealthy, privileged

individuals who are profitting, promoting and continuing mass killings, mass destruction of families, cities, history, culture, dreams, hopes, mental, physical and spiritual growth all for their lies and their own satisfaction. They have no conviction except to continue to grab any and everything that does not belong to them so they can have power over everyone else.

The Taliban, from what I can see, is merely trying to survive, amidst everything that has been stolen from them. Their extremism toward women is horrific and sad, and I would say it is a result from the years of oppression and abuse from they have endured by those that have profitted off the war and destruction in those parts. With that said I don't have the full history of the Taliban by any means. But this seems to be part of the problem.

[Inuca]

15. Thanks for understanding

Helps to see that there are other out there that feel the pain of the irreplaceable loss of culture and history this horrible war has brought about. You brought tears to my eyes, and reminded me of the historian I heard on NPR shortly after the invasion, he was describing the plight of the archaeological museum in Baghdad and his voice was breaking.

What is represented in the last picture? It looks stunning.

[DoYouEverWonder]

18. The inside of these mosques are/were some of the most stunning

places I've ever seen. They are just so incredibly beautiful.

[leftchick]

21. Thank you DYEW

all we will have left are the photos.... :cry:

[Inuca]

37. Please, tell me

that these are just generic pictures of Iraqi mosques, not of the mosque(s?) that was/were actually destroyed. Does anybody how much destruction actually took place as of yet, both in Samara and elsewhere?

[leftchick]

42. here are some after photos...

:(

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x488840

[malaise]

17. It is too sad

and I have my doubts about who bombed it - those Brits in Arab outfit set off signals a while back and all Bushco and poodle want is chaos.

[90-percent]

25. Now hold on there, varmint

Don't be such a gloomy Gus. Donald Rumsfeld told us spreading democracy can be messy. You got to break a few eggs to make an ommlet.

And if the Iraqi's were smart, they would've turned these "mosque's" or whatever they're called, into oil ministries and then the USA would have kept them in pristine condition for the next 1,000 years! No mad civil war bombers would have gotten within three miles of such sacred temples without getting his very own scud missle down his mouth at 2000 miles an hour.

So, as you can plainly see, it's their own fault these buildings were neutralized.

:sarcasm:

-85% Jimmy

[malaise]

36. Wish I could laugh but

I've had it with these Bushco goons and their allies wherever. How dare they destroy a civilization thousands of years older than their own. I hate the fuggers. No sarcasm.

[leftchick]

19. Another photo of the Shrine.... K&R

I love this photo and I fucking hate what bushco** has done. :cry:

[The_Casual_Observer]

20. Those places were old and should have been torn down long ago

to make way for strip malls and amusement parks. :sarcasm:

[anarch]

22. millenia

not just centuries, but thousands of years' worth of culture and art. It should be considered something akin to a crime against humanity, but differentiated from all the other crimes against humanity that these monsters have perpetrated. :(

[Inuca]

35. Not akin

It IS a crime against humanity. We all pass sooner or later, that's what some few of us leave behind. It goes beyond beautiful... it's our common human legacy imprinted in stone and brick and color. ANd it goes beyond words, at least for me...

[Az_lefty]

24. This is totally blowing up in our face...

and there ain't shit we can do about it now. We need to get our people the hell out of there now!

[DoYouEverWonder]

30. This is exactly what BushCo wants

the PNAC plan is to destabilize the middle east, sit back let everyone kill themselves, and then come back in a few years and clean up the mess.

It's BushCo in their last throes and they've just gone into overdrive.

[Double T]

28. If Gore had been rightfully seated as president, ALL of these.......

beautiful and irreplaceable structures, culture and history would be unscathed. The senseless destructions are certainly crimes against humanity. How much destruction can one individual create?

[Lars39]

29. I don't know about the rest of you, but I grew up poring over

pictures like these in National Geographic. Absolutely gorgeous architecture and adornments. Gone.
And the blood shed. Horrible. :cry:

[WinkyDink]

44. I love ancient history. Totalitarians hate it.

That's why "We're in a post-9/11 world" is their theme. No history, no past; just the "reality" of Bushco.
Destroy buildings; hide public documents away; corrupt the free press; allow major cities to drown; kill people; lie.

We are being run (not "governed") by the criminally insane.

[eppur_se_muova]

45. True. They don't like people to know it hasn't "always been this way".

Soviet used this approach. So did Chinese emporers. Many tried to destroy all records of previous rulers, so history would begin with them. A few scholars died under torture rather than reveal where records were kept. Without that sacrifice, much of Chinese history would have been lost. And of course Chinese Communists destroyed huge numbers of ancient records.

The proud tradition continues.

[Benhurst]

32. Recommended. NT

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

33. "...We have destroyed centuries of art and culture in just 3 years"

...And as serious and sad as that is, it is among the least serious of the horrific war crimes we have committed there. If some portion of our national soul is ever to be recovered there MUST be war crimes trials for what we have done in Iraq.

[bloom]

38. We haven't destroyed the spiral yet, have we?

I couldn't find a site that had a compendium of what we have destroyed. It's hard to keep track.



http://www.atlastours.net/iraq/samarra.html



Atlas tours. Tours no more.

[DoYouEverWonder]

41. No, I don't think so

The pictures are just what I was able to grab on a quick image search. Unfortunately there are not a lot of good pictures out there of most of these mosques and inside pictures are even harder to find.

[LibDemAlways]

39. There are millions of culturally ignorant Americans who

couldn't find Iraq on a map much less have any appreciation for its rich history and contributions to civilzation. I never once studied the Middle East in school, and I'm confident I'm typical. Also, schools today are so determined to teach the standardized test material, that there is simply no time for any discussion of current events - or tying any curriculum to global issues.

My 7th grader attends a "blue ribbon school" that fails miserably to tie the past to the present. The kids learned about "ancient Babylon" with no reference to present day Iraq.

It's the ignorance and apathy of the American people coupled with evil neocon imperialism that has allowed this to happen.

[Batgirl]

40. long ago in a lecture hall far far away

I remember in art history class, that so many of the treasures we studied didn't exist any more. Sometimes there were photos, or old drawings, or just descriptions, of ancient temples and other great works. True, a lot of these things had disappeared because of natural disasters or the simple passage of time, but there was that extra level of regret and frustration to hear of those that were destroyed because of some cataclysmic human conflict. I was so young and naively thought that kind of thing could never happen again because we had all these disastrous examples. This heritage belongs to all of us and goes way beyond religion or ethnicity, how infuriating to see it being murdered.

[lostnfound]

43. Not 100%. Maybe 80% or 90%.

But who is going to quibble...

[slipslidingaway]

46. Thanks for the great pictures. You might be interested in some of

the pictures of Iran on this site.

http://iranchamber.com/

[DoYouEverWonder]

48. Thank you for the link

What a lovely website.

Unfortunately, if Bush & Condi get their way, we will be off to destroy Iran's culture too.

[slipslidingaway]

54. Here is one of my favorites.

http://iranchamber.com/cities/esfahan/esfahan.php

[katinmn]

47. Iraq Freedom Congress statement on the bombing of holy sites

No to deepening the sectarian hatred policy…
let’s stand against sectarian war

An armed sectarian group has bombed one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam in Iraq, sparking furious protests. Another, similar group in Baghdad attacked at least five Sunni mosques and burned many vehicles belonging to the ministry of interior in reprisal raids, with disturbances reported in other cities.

Following these incidents, a climate of fear and tension has dominated the country, drawing worries in the faces of the people who are afraid of a war of retaliation erupting between Shiite and Sunni followers.

The carnage in Iraq today, caused by sectarian gangs, follows from the occupation policies that created and imposed ethnic and sectarian division on the Iraqi people through a governing council and a sectarian constitution, ending up with the current appointed government.

Imposing the sectarian policy of division, killing people based on their religious and ethnic identities, and attacking their mosques and churches are all part of the sectarian gangs’ strategy to create a situation in which they will be able to dictate the country’s laws and exercise uncontrolled power. The strategy of spreading anarchy and destabilizing the current fragile situation is designed to ignite civil war. And the occupying troops are the main reason standing behind these situations.

Iraqi People…

The Iraq Freedom Congress condemns the attack on the holy places of any sect or religion. It warns Iraqis not to be drawn into the sectarian conflict. Such conflict is not in the interest of the people. Innocents will pay a heavy price, serving the sectarian gangs’ goals. The Iraq Freedom Congress believes that prosperity, safety and freedom will not prevail unless the occupation is ended and a non-ethnic, non-religious state is established.

The Iraq Freedom Congress calls on the Iraqi people to join its ranks, bare its flags, and declare… Not Shiite Identity… Not Sunni Identity … ours is the Human Identity.

Iraq Freedom Congress
February 22, 2006

[Wilms]

49. K&R n/t

[Peter Frank]

50. The saddest part is that this is being done in the name of...

...(insert rationale here)

[eppur_se_muova]

51. ...and update frequently as needed. flipflopflapflupflepfloop... nt

[_testify_]

52. I think you meant to say, "all in the name of George Bush's GOLD"

cuz what we're doing doesn't have anything to do with God, that's for sure.