6.15.2005
With the rejection of the EU constitution and the whole G8 hulabaloo taking place this June, it seems that, albeit post-election, Tony Blair and his fellow compadres are finally runninng from Iraq. The international momentum has been moved very forcefully away from the ongoing chaos in Iraq. the spotlight over the last few days has been on the obscenity of seven men being able to sign off over $50Billion in debts of poor countries and perhaps rightly so. however any of us who open our newspaper probably glance over the bottom corner of the international pages detailing the latest horrific acts taking place in the post-war Iraqi state.
Today we had
1. 23 Civilians Killed
2. 5 Iraqi Soldiers Killed
3. 2 American Soldiers Killed
4. In excess of 150 People injured in CAr Bombings
5. The bodies of 24 Iraqi Men killed in an ambush moved to Baghdad
In anyones language that kind of activity is nothing short of slaughter. It is slaughter that is carried out in the name of securing peace and stability in the middle east and preventing terrorism that could cause so much harm to the west. it doesnt seem to be going all according to plan unfortunately. Of course this is a great opportunity for the equally unhelpful naysayers and handbaggers to say i told you so. Yes we all know that over 2Million people marched in London in opposition to the war, the thing is were there and now what can we do?
What i am trying to highlight is that the modern mass media have engendered in us a frightfully short attenton span, because iraq is a travesty it gets airtime, because it has been so for two years it gets less time at the top of the agenda in newsrooms.
People in Iraq are being wantonly killed and injured in some of the worst violence since the fall of Saddam. The bad planning of the US and the obvious lack of authority held by the UK in decision making is not serving anyones interest especially ours. the longer this goes on and the longer it seems like the west is allowing people to die, the more resentment builds against us.
there is now a real and genuine need for the forces of the Coallition of the Futile to remove themselves from the excrement into which they ahve dropped themselves. this war is bankrupting a state that can ill afford to go further into the red. this war is a geopolitical risk in more ways than securing oil supplies. the iraqi regime needs to be propped up by other actors from the middle east. Women and other sectors of our society need the support of the west in making reform and revolution in both Iraq and possibly Iran long lasting and exemplary for hte middle east. Islamic states need to be allowed to develop alongside the western image of the nation state. this is not to condone the tyranny of some rulers but to say that the position of the US would be best served by securing a stable state reflective of the make up of its culture and society. The US has failed to force iraqis into peace and now have created miles of bandit country and no-go areas. the redevelopment of this state lies in the hands of all international members. we must call the US to account for the way it has mishandled the lives of 100,00 iraqi civilians and how it has presided over so much bloodshed.
I am genuinely angry over how the coallition have let the rot set in in Iraq and it is spreading out from its hubs of Baghdad and Falluja.
Alternatives are not climbdowns but acceptance that theirs is not the best way. another way is possible and we need to explore these options. In the meantime i am sure that Iraqis will keep dying unnecessarily while we focus on the moderate measure focussed on by the G8 and the EU. The international agenda cannot lose sight of another failure of western imperialism. We are slowly turing the world back into the Feudal states of the middle-ages.
This game of ping pong with the international agenda is a callous manipulation of the peoples attention in order to shift focus from such a disaster.
Red Rover
Red Rover
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