SEVEN REASONS WHY IRAQ IS DESCENDING INTO CIVIL WAR
[1] WILLFUL BLINDNESS: THE BUSH NEOCONS CONTINUE TO SEE ONLY WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE IN IRAQ, WHILE IGNORING THE FACTS ON THE GROUND AND IRAQ'S HISTORY.
"Civil War In Iraq: Murtha Told Us So"
By: Arianna Huffington
Source: 2-23-06 HuffingtonPost.com (essay's full text is followed by Reasons
2-7).
I was originally going to title this post "Jack Murtha's Crystal Ball." After
all, he's been saying for weeks that "Iraq is not about terrorism; it's about
civil war" -- and the bloody events of the last two days have proven his
assessment all too true.
But Murtha isn't a soothsayer. He's a truthteller. He wasn't reading the
political tea leaves, he was reading the facts on the ground (and listening to
what his wide range of military sources were telling him).
He was willing to see the inevitable -- unlike far too many of his fellow
Democrats who continue to be blinded by the fear of not appearing strong on
defense, and unlike President Bush who continues to be blinded by his fanatical
belief that we're bringing democracy to Iraq. True, it's Fanatical Belief 4.0,
since the three earlier versions didn't pan out, but it's a fanatical belief
nonetheless.
Mark Twain said: "What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know, it's
what we know for sure that just ain't so."
This describes Bush to a "T." Despite all evidence to the contrary, he knows
for sure that we're bringing democracy to Iraq.
After meeting with his Cabinet today, Bush was asked about "the danger of
civil war in Iraq" but refused to even address the notion, insisting "the Iraqi
people want to live in a democracy."
But try as the president might, there is no way of avoiding it: bombed out
Shiite holy sites, over a hundred Sunnis killed in revenge, including prominent
Sunni clerics, armed Shiite militias in the streets, prisoners dragged from
jail cells and murdered, more than 90 Sunni mosques attacked. Civil war it is.
And our troops are right in the middle of it. Shiite firebrand Muqtada
al-Sadr pointed a rhetorical AK-47 at them, placing some of the blame for the
bombing of the Golden Dome shrine on "occupation forces." Shiite leader Abdul Aziz
al-Hakim also said the U.S. bore some responsibility for the attack. The
Association of Muslim Scholars, a hardline Sunni group, blamed America for the
worsening conditions in Iraq. And all across the country, tens of thousands of
protesters chanted anti-American slogans ("No, no to the occupation!" yelled a
group in Baghdad's Sadr City).
By continuing to put our country in a position where those who hate America
can tag us as the cause of the sectarian death and destruction rolling across
Iraq, the Bush administration has made us less safe here at home and less able
to deal with crises around the world. Not only are our troops being placed in
the crossfire of a brewing civil war, we're giving the terrorists the greatest
recruiting tool they could have dreamed of. As Murtha says, "The war in Iraq
is fueling terrorism, not eliminating it."
He also rightly points out that "the ethnic and religious strife in Iraq has
been going on, not for decades or centuries, but for millennia." For a taste
of this, check out today's New York Times article on the violence, which gives
a historical perspective to the attack on the Golden Dome:
"The site has special meaning because 2 of the 12 imams revered are
buried there: Ali al-Hadi, who died in A.D. 868 and his son, the 11th imam, Hassan
al-Askari. Also, according to legend, the 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, known
as the 'Hidden Imam,' was at the site of the shrine before he disappeared.
"These figures resonate with Iraqi Shiites, whose traditions have long
been shaped by violence with the rival Sunni sect. At an earlier time of rising
tensions, the 10th imam was forced from his home in Medina by the powerful
Sunni caliph in Baghdad and was sent to live in Samarra, where he could be kept
under closer supervision. Both he and his son were believed to have been
poisoned by the caliphate.
"Fearing such persecution, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who was just a child when he
became the 12th imam, was hidden away in a cave, where he held forth through
intermediaries for about 70 years."
Do we really want American lives lost trying to sort out these ancient
hatreds?
Many Democrats who are in favor of withdrawing our troops from Iraq but
afraid of getting out in front on the issue had convinced themselves that after
small gains were made in the formation of a new Iraqi government, Bush, with an
eye on '06, would declare victory and bring the troops home. (I can't even
count the number of Hillary supporters who have defended her Bush-like stance on
Iraq by telling me, "Why get in the way, they're going to pull out anyway?")
So much for that plan. It's pretty hard to declare victory when you have
clerics being kidnapped and murdered while defending their mosques.
The time has come for Democrats to can the excuses and realpolitik
maneuvering, and take the lead on getting our troops out of Iraq.
As I've said before, all they need to do is follow Jack Murtha. Today's
headlines prove him to be a reliable and trustworthy guide.
[Footnote: The author's referring to U.S. Representative Jack Murtha (D-PA),
the hawkish combat veteran who became an outspoken critic of Mr. Bush's Iraq
War.]
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[2] FASCIST TACTICS: GOVERNMENT-SANCTIONED DEATH SQUADS ARE RUNNING AMOK, TARGETING AND MURDERING MEMBERS OF THE MINORITY SUNNI POPULATION.
"Death-Squad 'Democracy' In Iraq"
By: Eric Ruder
URL: http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-ruder240206.htm
Summary: In mid-February, Iraq's Interior Ministry announced that it was
launching an official investigation into reports that death squads targeting Sunni
Muslims are operating from within its own police forces.
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[3] BLOWBACK FROM TORTURE: IRAQIS KNOW THAT US MILITARY TORTURERS HAVE MURDERED 98 MUSLIMS AND MAIMED MANY MORE.
"Human Rights First Report Documents Deaths Of Iraqis And Afghans In US Custody"
By: Tom Carter and Barry Grey
URL: http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-grey240206.htm
Summary: A report issued Wednesday by Human Rights First (HRF) documents the
deaths of 98 people while in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan. The report
gives details of some of the killings, putting names and faces on the victims of
US imperialism. The HRF report, coming on the heels of the newly released Abu
Ghraib photos, provides a devastating exposure of systematic torture, abuse
and murder.
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[4] CRIME IS RAMPANT, AND SECURITY IS NONEXISTENT, BECAUSE MOST IRAQIS ARE UNEMPLOYED AND THE USA'S PROMISED RECONSTRUCTION ISN'T HAPPENING.
"Crime Becomes Another Occupation"
By: Brian Conley and Isam Rashid
URL: http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-conley210206.htm
Summary: Iraqis live amidst the excesses of the occupation, death squads,
shooting and terrorist bombing — but that is not all. They have learnt to live
increasingly with crime that often enters homes without anyone to check it.
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[5] IMF "ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING" MEANS TURNING GLOBAL CAPITALISM'S SCREWS ON DEBT-WRACKED IRAQ WHEN SOCIAL CONDITIONS WERE ALREADY UNBEARABLE.
"IMF Measures Wreak Havoc On Iraqi People"
By: James Cogan
URL: http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-cogan210206.htm
Summary: The disastrous social conditions that exist for the Iraqi people,
after decades of war and nearly three years of US occupation, are being
dramatically worsened as a result of International Monetary Fund (IMF)-dictated
economic restructuring.
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[6] NEWLY-RELEASED IMAGES PROVE THAT US MILITARY'S TORTURE OF IRAQIS WAS WIDESPREAD, REFUTING BUSH'S CLAIMS THAT IT WAS ONLY "A FEW BAD APPLES."
"Eyes Wide Open: New Images Of Americans Torturing Iraqis"
By: Chris Floyd
URL: http://www.countercurrents.org/us-floyd170206.htm
Summary: Salon.com has obtained a cache of torture photos and videos from Abu
Ghraib, along with previously unreleased investigation reports which detail
"a total of 1,325 images of suspected detainee abuse, 93 video files of
suspected detainee abuse, 660 images of adult pornography, 546 images of suspected
dead Iraqi detainees, 29 images of soldiers in simulated sexual acts, 20 images
of a soldier with a Swastika drawn between his eyes, 37 images of Military
Working dogs being used in abuse of detainees and 125 images of questionable
acts."
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[7] NO END IN SIGHT: IRAQIS SEE HARD EVIDENCE THAT THE US WON'T BE LEAVING
IRAQ, BUT WILL BE WIDENING ITS PETRO-STATE CONQUESTS TO INCLUDE THEIR NEIGHBORS.
"Permanent Bases Point To Permanent War"
By: Evan Augustine Peterson III, J.D.
URL: http://www.countercurrents.org/us-peterson170206.htm
Summary: In Mr. Bush's recent "State 0f The Union" address, he claimed that
"US forces will be drawn down as Iraqi forces stand up." However, this claim is
flatly contradicted by the Pentagon's multibillion-dollar expenditures for
the ongoing construction of 106 permanent bases - including six hi-tech
"super-bases" - inside Iraq. Of course, the Iraqis see the Americans building 106
permanent bases, and conclude that the USA will occupy Iraq until their oilfields
have been emptied and they've conquered oil-rich Iran.
