Thanks, msfe, that was a very, very constructive criticism of the the coalition military campaign. And, very, very pro-war against Sad And Insane's regime. Yes, it's hard to figure out another sides brutalities when your own conception of warfare is based on honorable conflict. It's hard to conceive a regime that makes helicopter drops of lit kerosene on its own citizens trying to escape as they did in 1991.
POLL: The repercussions of a US attack on Iraq
- Thread starter candletrader
- Start date
excellent link - thanks max.
apparently he's pretty popular:
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A mysterious Iraqi who calls himself Salam Pax, writing a Web log from the heart of Baghdad, has developed a large Internet following with his wry accounts of daily life in a city under U.S. bombardment.
Salam Pax, a pseudonym crafted from the Arabic and Latin words for peace, came back on line on Monday after a two-day break because of interruptions in Internet access.
The traffic on his Web site, http://dear-raed.blogspot.com, caused the server to go down and Salam's e-mail folder has filled with inquiries about his true identity.
Salam, who writes in English, is the only resident of Iraq known to be filing accounts of the war directly to the Web.
He has spoken against the invasion but clearly has no great love for Iraq's Baathist leaders.
"Freaks. Hurling abuse at the world is the only thing left for them to do," he said last week after media appearances by Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf and Interior Minister Mahmoud Diyab al-Ahmed.
But he does not like seeing his city bombed either. "The only thing I could think of was 'why does this have to happen to Baghdad'. As one of the buildings I really love went up in a huge explosion I was close to tears," he wrote on Saturday.
Salam and his family have been out on reconnaissance missions around the city to inspect the damage and they report the bombing has been accurate but dangerous to civilians.
"Today before noon I went out with my cousin to take a look at the city. Two things. 1) the attacks are precise. 2) they are attacking targets which are just too close to civilian areas in Baghdad," he wrote on Sunday.
On Saturday he reported a rare eyewitness account of Iraqi policemen setting fire to the oil in trenches dug around Baghdad, apparently to confuse the guidance system of bombs.
"My cousine (sic) came and told me he saw police cars standing by one and setting it on fire. Now you can see the columns of smoke all over the city," he wrote.
Salam reports that the streets of Baghdad are busy but few shops are open. Vegetable prices shot up in the first days of the war but by Sunday they had fallen back to normal.
In the first days of the U.S. and British invasion, Salam gave the impression of calm resignation but his tone changed on Sunday when Iraqi resistance surfaced and casualties rose.
"If Um Qasar (the port of Umm Qasr in the south) is so difficult to control what will happen when they get to Baghdad? It will turn uglier and this is very worrying," he wrote.
"People (and I bet "allied forces") were expecting things to be mush (sic) easier. There are no waving masses of people welcoming the Americans nor are they surrendering by the thousands. People are doing what all of us are, sitting in their homes hoping that a bomb doesn't fall on them and keeping their doors shut."
The electricity has gone out in parts of Baghdad and the Bush administration has launched another e-mail blitz on Iraqis, sending him five messages, he reported.
"Three of them are to army personnel and two to the general public. In those they gave us the radio frequencies we are supposed to listen to. They are calling it 'Information Radio'," he said.
Whilst one Iraqi family I am friendly with is ecstatic about the US
having gone in, another Iraqi I know is very anti the US' action.
He says that 'they could have taken Saddam Hussein out another way'.
That of course wasn't possible as otherwise the US would have gladly done so.
What this second Iraqi family is very disturbed about is the fact that they still have family living in Iraq so their objection to the US' invasion is very much motivated by their concern for the safety of their family members.
He basically said that the moment Saddam Hussein disappears fom the scene there will be absolute chaos unless someone is in absolute control.
He says there is so much hatred between the different groups
that (in his opinion) a bloodbath is bound to follow whereby the Muslims and the Christians will turn onto each other whilst the Kurds will start killing the Arabs.
freealways
having gone in, another Iraqi I know is very anti the US' action.
He says that 'they could have taken Saddam Hussein out another way'.
That of course wasn't possible as otherwise the US would have gladly done so.
What this second Iraqi family is very disturbed about is the fact that they still have family living in Iraq so their objection to the US' invasion is very much motivated by their concern for the safety of their family members.
He basically said that the moment Saddam Hussein disappears fom the scene there will be absolute chaos unless someone is in absolute control.
He says there is so much hatred between the different groups
that (in his opinion) a bloodbath is bound to follow whereby the Muslims and the Christians will turn onto each other whilst the Kurds will start killing the Arabs.
freealways
JEDDAH: In an exclusive interview with Arab News on Tuesday, British Member of Parliament George Galloway said he had evidence that one motive for the war on Iraq is the eventual partition of the Mideast.
âHere in the Houses of Parliament there are people who have never set foot in an Arab country openly discussing the partition of Gulf States,â he said in a telephone interview from London.
âThey talk about whether it should be one country, two countries, three countries, even four countries. They openly discuss changing the boundaries of old countries, creating new countries removing this and that leader,â he added.
Speaking about George W Bush, Galloway said that he was unimpressive. However, âthe
âThese people have decided that Arab countries must metamorphose into countries acceptable to the US. That means they must change their way of life, their culture, even their religion. Itâs openly stated in the American media that the Qurâan itself has to be changed, because in it there are concepts of justice and resistance which are completely unacceptable to the new American century.â
Galloway argued that the British people and British soldiers were told that the Iraqis would be garlanding the GIâs who came to âliberateâ them. âOf course, none of that has happened. The Iraqis, even in the south of the country, even the so-called disaffected Shiite population, have resisted.â
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-3-2003_pg4_12
Iraq, may just be the beginning of a greater transformation process to come..
Josh
âHere in the Houses of Parliament there are people who have never set foot in an Arab country openly discussing the partition of Gulf States,â he said in a telephone interview from London.
âThey talk about whether it should be one country, two countries, three countries, even four countries. They openly discuss changing the boundaries of old countries, creating new countries removing this and that leader,â he added.
Speaking about George W Bush, Galloway said that he was unimpressive. However, âthe
âThese people have decided that Arab countries must metamorphose into countries acceptable to the US. That means they must change their way of life, their culture, even their religion. Itâs openly stated in the American media that the Qurâan itself has to be changed, because in it there are concepts of justice and resistance which are completely unacceptable to the new American century.â
Galloway argued that the British people and British soldiers were told that the Iraqis would be garlanding the GIâs who came to âliberateâ them. âOf course, none of that has happened. The Iraqis, even in the south of the country, even the so-called disaffected Shiite population, have resisted.â
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-3-2003_pg4_12
Iraq, may just be the beginning of a greater transformation process to come..
Josh
Quoted from media in Pakistan (real objective)!
That article is riddled with speculation, lies and exaggerations. When did the US say the Quran has to be changed? As if! How in the world would you go about "changing" a book that has been in existence for hundreds of years and is in the hands of millions of Muslims, in libraries, on the net, etc.
That one point proves that the article is an amateurish attempt at propaganda. Maybe they should hire someone who is a bit more advanced. Hey msfe/wild (whatever) I assume you're unemployed, care to give them a call?
That article is riddled with speculation, lies and exaggerations. When did the US say the Quran has to be changed? As if! How in the world would you go about "changing" a book that has been in existence for hundreds of years and is in the hands of millions of Muslims, in libraries, on the net, etc.
That one point proves that the article is an amateurish attempt at propaganda. Maybe they should hire someone who is a bit more advanced. Hey msfe/wild (whatever) I assume you're unemployed, care to give them a call?
read this thread:
http://www.anthonyrobbins.com/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8531
Godspeed to our troops. I hope they return in good shape, and that terrorists are squashed like the cockroaches they are.
kc
http://www.anthonyrobbins.com/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8531
Godspeed to our troops. I hope they return in good shape, and that terrorists are squashed like the cockroaches they are.
kc