Iraq

Bringing Freedom to Iraq

This entry was posted in bush Constitution Iraq War on Terrorism on by

Just how soon might we expect the bushies to bring home their latest version of freedom?

US commanders and Iraqi leaders have declared their intention to make Fallujah a “model city,” where they can maintain the security that has eluded them elsewhere.
Which apparently requires stuff like this:
Under the plans, troops would funnel Fallujans to so-called citizen processing centers on the outskirts of the city to compile a database of their identities through DNA testing and retina scans. Residents would receive badges displaying their home addresses that they must wear at all times. Buses would ferry them into the city, where cars, the deadliest tool of suicide bombers, would be banned.
……
One idea that has stirred debate among Marine officers would require all men to work, for pay, in military-style battalions. Depending on their skills, they would be assigned jobs in construction, waterworks, or rubble-clearing platoons.
And, it is convenient to try to place the blame somewhere else:
To accomplish those goals, they think they will have to use coercive measures allowed under martial law imposed last month by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
“It’s the Iraqi interim government that’s coming up with all these ideas,” Major General Richard Natonski, who commanded the Fallujah assault and oversees its reconstruction, said of the plans for identity badges and work brigades.
If these are really Allawi’s ideas then why is the US supporting someone so obviously opposed to basic principles of freedom? It seems to me that representatives of the land of the free should just say no to this kind of crap.
Via Scott.

It Won’t Change My Vote

This entry was posted in Election 2004 Iraq on by

Nope, nothing is going to change my vote now. The ballot is marked, sealed, and headed to the elections office via the USPS.
Those of you who have not voted yet might ponder just how many explosive attacks, be it car bombs, suicide belts, roadside bombs, etc., can be accomplished if you have 380 tons of high powered explosives at your disposal.
Shouldn’t someone have been fired long ago?
Via Matthew Gross.

Iraq: All is Well

This entry was posted in bush Iraq US Foreign Policy War on Terrorism on by

bush and allawi have been telling the US public and the United Nations that the effort in Iraq is progressing. What does this look like in real life?
Well, in some areas of Iraq it may appear to be what they say. In others, it is something dramatically different. Since both the administration and the media fail to give us full disclosure of both the good and the bad a little visualization exercise might be helpful. To assist, Juan Cole has provided a script with some interesting transpositions:

What would America look like if it were in Iraq’s current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number.
Read it all. You might quibble with the different comparisons but it does help one visualize an environment that is not conducive to normal living.
An election and implementing some alleged version of democracy will fix all, right? Kevin Drum pretty well sums up what that means:
That’s not much more than a mockery of democracy, but unfortunately I can’t really complain too loudly. Roughly speaking, it would be as if Democrats and Republicans agreed to team up and decide in advance who was going to win each district in elections for the House, thus preventing any real choice. Which, of course, is pretty much exactly how it works these days, with both sides collaborating in gerrymandering schemes designed primarily to protect each other’s incumbents.
In other words, Sistani is getting a democracy considered state-of-the-art by his occupiers. What more does he want?
Yes, Iraq will get democracy as envisioned by an administration that is watching the so called reagan victory over the evil empire implode with nary a whimper of opposition.
Is bush a little envious of putin……?