Iraq in Fragments
"[W]hat lengths men will go in order to carry out, to their extreme limit, the rites of a collective self-worship which fills them with a sense of righteousness and complacent satisfaction in the midst of the most shocking injustices and crimes."
-Love and Living, by Thomas Merton
On Wednesday, March 25, Major General David Perkins of the U.S. military, referring to how often the U.S. military was being attacked in Iraq, told reporters in Baghdad, "Attacks are at their lowest since August 2003." Perkins added, "There were 1,250 attacks a week at the height of the violence; now sometimes there are less than 100 a week."
While his rhetoric made headlines in some U.S. mainstream media outlets, it was little consolation for the families of 28 Iraqis killed in attacks across Iraq the following day. Nor did it bring solace to the relatives of the 27 Iraqis slain in a March 23 suicide attack, or those who survived a bomb attack at a bus terminal in Baghdad on the same day that killed nine Iraqis.
Having recently returned from Iraq, I experienced living in Baghdad where people were dying violent deaths on a daily basis. Nearly every day of the month I spent there saw a car bomb attack somewhere in the capital city. Nearly every day the so-called Green Zone was mortared. Every day there were kidnappings. On good days there were four hours of electricity on the national grid, in a country now into its seventh year of being occupied by the U.S. military, and where there are now over 200,000 private contractors.
Upon returning home, I experienced the disconnect between that reality, lived by roughly 25 million Iraqis, and the surreal experience of living in the United States - where most media pretend the occupation of Iraq is either not happening, or uses the yardstick of decreased U.S. military personnel deaths in Iraq as a measure of success. In the words of Major General Perkins, "If you take a look at military deaths, which is an indicator of violence and lethality out there, U.S. combat deaths are at their lowest levels since the war began six years ago." But it's a less useful metric when one looks at the broader picture inside of Iraq: the ongoing daily slaughter of Iraqis, the near total lack of functional infrastructure, the fact that one in six Iraqis remains displaced from their homes, or that at least 1.2 million Iraqis have died as a result of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of their country.
Seventy-two months of occupation, with over $607 billion spent on the war (by conservative estimates), has resulted in 2.2 million internally displaced Iraqis, 2.7 million refugees, 2,615 professors, scientists, and doctors killed in cold blood, and 338 dead journalists. Over $13 billion was misplaced by the current Iraqi government, and another $400 billion is required to rebuild the Iraqi infrastructure. Unemployment vacillates between 25-70%, depending on the month. There are 24 car bombs per month, 10,000 cases of cholera per year, 4,261 dead U.S. soldiers, and over 70,000 physically or psychologically wounded soldiers.
There 's no normal life in Baghdad. While it's accurate and technically correct to say there is less violence compared to 2006, when between 100 and 300 Iraqis were slaughtered on a daily basis, Iraq resembles a police state more than ever. U.S. patrols consisting of huge, lumbering mine-resistant vehicles rumble down streets congested with traffic. It's impossible to travel longer than five minutes without encountering an Iraqi military or police patrol - usually comprised of pickup trucks full of armed men, horns and/or sirens blaring. Begging women and children wander between cars at every intersection. U.S. military helicopters often rumble overhead, and the roar of fighter jets or transport planes is common. There's no talk of reparations for Iraqis for the death, destruction and chaos caused by the occupation.
Neighborhoods, segregated between Sunni and Shia largely as a result of the so-called "surge" strategy, provide a blatant view of the balkanization of Iraq. Neighborhoods of 300,000 people are completely surrounded by 10-foot high concrete blast walls, rendering normal life impossible. The fear of a resurgence of violence weighs heavy on Iraqis, as the current so-called lull in violence feels tenuous, unstable, and possibly fleeting. Nobody there can predict the future, and to hope for a sustained improvement in any aspect of life feels naive, even dangerous.
The title of the film "Iraq in Fragments" by James Longley, which was nominated for Best Documentary Oscar at the 2007 Academy Awards, best describes Iraq today. The country has been destroyed by decades of U.S. policy that has plagued Iraqis. Looking back only to 1980, we see the U.S. government supporting both Iraq and Iran during their horrible eight-year war. In 1991 we see George H. W. Bush's war against Iraq, and his, Bill Clinton's, and George W. Bush's oversight of 12-and-a-half years of genocidal economic sanctions that killed half a million Iraqi children. Today, under President Barack Obama, what is left of Iraq smolders in ruins, with no real end of the occupation in sight.
All of the recent talk of withdrawal from Iraq is empty rhetoric indeed to most Iraqis, who see the giant "enduring" U.S. military bases spread across their country, or the U.S. "embassy," the size of the Vatican City, in Baghdad. The gulf between the rhetoric of withdrawal and the reality on the ground spans the distance between Iraq and the United States, while the reality is pressed in the face of the Iraqi people each day the occupation continues.
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By Samson, at Apr 19, 2009 14:11 PM
Since Helen's comment is written in a style that looks very much like the output of PR firms, it got me wondering a bit about what sort of 'contracting; she does. The distortions of the English language by the US military in recent years has tended to associate the term 'contractor' with roles I would call 'mercenaries'. But, there are lots of other types of 'contractors', and some of them involve professional PR work. Found this little item from Aug, 2008. (http://blogs.bnet.com/pr/?p=285)
"Got some extra time on your schedule? The U.S. Army is looking for a PR contractor to provide “information operations” support to the military in Iraq.
According to PRWeek:
Work for the account involves a wide range of communications activities, including monitoring and analyzing Arabic and Western media; spokesperson training; and development and dissemination of TV, radio, newsprint, and Internet “information” products, according to the RFP, originally issued by the Department of the Army’s Joint Contracting Command in late July.
The minimum amount for the one-year contract, with two, one-year options to renew, is set at $250,000, and the maximum amount is $300 million."
Note that the contract calls for both the 'monitoring of Western media', and also for the 'development and dissemination' of 'Internet "information" products. Hmmm, I wonder if that's what this comment is ... an 'Internet "information" product"?
Now, I have no idea who "Helen" is, or why she posted this. I do know it smells more like a professional PR piece, with ready references to USA Today articles. I know when I'm writing in comments, I don't always go to the research on the fly to look up stuff like that. But her piece seems to have a lot of official facts and figures close at hand. Part of why it just seems like a professional PR piece to me, and which got me wondering a bit about where it came from.
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Who do I believe?
By Samson, at Apr 19, 2009 13:35 PM
Hmmm, who do I believe? An ex-military 'contractor' who does business in Iraq working apparently for contractors hired by the US government. This is the only comment she's ever posted to ZNet, so apparently she signed on just to say this. No history on Znet that makes anyone think there is any committment to causes like peace and justice.
Or, do I believe an independent journalist who's been reporting from Baghdad ever since soon after the war? I have a long record of reading Dahr Jamail's comments from Baghdad, and have never found it to be untruthful.
Maybe we should go back and read the entire history of the last 6 years of so of what government sources like Helen have been telling us about Iraq, and also the entire history of what Mr. Jamail has been telling us about Iraq? If we went back and did all that reading, who do you think we would feel has been more truthful over time.
I saw another sign today of what seems to be a deliberate campaign of mis-information about Iraq. This came from the AP ...
"Suspected militants shelled Baghdad's protected Green Zone on Saturday in the first such bombardment in more than three months."
Really, Mr. Jamail says its nearly a daily occurence. On my blog (commondebate@blogspot.com), I point out that every source in the AP article is a government source, and all but one is anonymous.
Which means, both Helen and the AP are helping to illustrate Mr. Jamail's main point. That there is a huge gulf between what we think we know here about what's going on in Baghdad versus what he saw while he was really there. If all of us could travel to Baghdad, we'd each know this personally. That what the Helen's of this world are saying is very, very different from what we'd see and feel if we were there. Since I can't travel there personally, I have to be very thankful to Mr. Jahail for his doing so and for the many excellent reports he's sent back to us over the years.
Well, I hope whichever contracting form that 'Helen' works for paid ZNet some money to be able to post their propaganda here.
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By Toney, Helen at Apr 17, 2009 23:54 PM
This is an interesting perspective of things. While it is all quite eye-opening when looking at the situation in numbers…lives lost, money lost, etc. I would like to provide you with a little of my view and experiences, if I may. I have been in Baghdad working as a contractor for sometime.
First to address the bad rap contractors get. It is too bad we are looked upon as the scourge of this operation. There are a lot of us that work long hard hours here and earn every dime we make. There are and have been a lot that have given their lives in the name of their country as well. Most of us are prior military and with that carry a strong love of country. As we have recently learned, contractors, much like our fine uniformed personnel, have been experiencing difficulties returning home after time in this war zone (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-contractors17-2009apr17,0,7219501,full.story).
Most would agree that the lies we were fed as justification for invading this country has made this all a very bitter pill to swallow. We should have never strayed from our initial and main objective in Afghanistan. But we did and now we need to finish what we started.
The Iraqi people have been through hell and back. Their daily loss of life is a sad situation. But if we looked at statistics in the US we may find it to me surprising similar. According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, the number of Murder and non-negligent manslaughters that occurred in 2007 (2008 figures have not been finalized) was 15,707. That would equate to 43 per day. By population of groups over 250,000 the rate was 11.9. The biggest and noticeable difference is the method in which these murders occur. Fortunately, so far in the US murderous criminals have not taken on the practice of using IEDs, nor has there been an interest in martyrdom resulting in suicide bombings.
As for the displaced, in the US there are conflicting reports about the number of homeless, but the latest report, according to an October 2008 USA Today article, in January 2007 there were 671,888 people living on the streets or in shelters.
And to say, “There’s no normal life in Baghdad” is truly doing a disservice to the Iraqis that are working very hard to bring their nation back together after the horrific years of living under Saddam Hussein and the violence since the US invasion. Just this past week there was a flower festival in Baghdad that drew participants from other Middle Eastern countries as well as India, etc. Just recently there was also a book fair in Baghdad, and an art fair in Basrah. So to make such a definitive remark such as that is irresponsible. Additionally, not sure which month you spent here, but the Iraqi people are enjoying much more than 4 hours of electricity. The improvements they have seen in electrical services are much greater than those they had during the days of Saddam.
Look, there is no doubt the US has been a manipulative political player for many years in Iraq. From our steady flow of weapon supply to both sides of the Iran/Iraq war, our continued presence and military operations in Iraq following the Gulf War; as we enforced sanctions and no-fly zones, and up to our current status. If you want to figure up the spending involved as far as Iraq is concerned, let’s take it back a couple of decades! Then let’s take a look at all the other spending we do on foreign aid and reassess it all.
Just last month I was on a plane flying from Baghdad to Dubai. Due to a dust storm, our flight was delayed about 5 hours. I had the great pleasure of meeting and talking with two Iraqi men. One was a business man that worked for a software/computer logistics company, the other a civil engineer. Both were on their way to Dubai for business. The businessman expressed his happiness with the progress that was being made and was feeling fortunate to able to be a part of the advancement of the Iraqi people, as it has helped him with a career. The civil engineer had been busy building bridges and water purification plants. He told he was thankful to George Bush for removing Saddam. He said the ensuing violence following his removal was ultimately worth the peace and security they are now beginning to experience. However, on the contrary, last November I did meet an Iraqi man that did not like that Saddam had been removed, because, in his words, “It allowed Islam to come into the country.” Just like with any mass population there are going to be varying opinions.
The fact is that sometimes things get worse before they get better. I think we need to stop laying blame and pointing fingers and do what we can to give the Iraqi people a hand up and get them through this with all the support we can.
And know that your bravery for traveling to Iraq is most appreciated. It is good to get a view from the other side of things, but we must remember that there is a big picture out here.
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Now, you come yo wrong place
By Nikonov, Alla at Apr 18, 2009 12:34 PM
We hear DO NOT think that criminal war against Afghanistan is somehow better than the same dirty colonial one against Iraq.
So, please, spare us your fairy tales about Iraqis greatful to Bush do destroy their country and so on. Save them for capitalist media.
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Re: Now, you come yo wrong place
By Nikonov, Alla at Apr 18, 2009 12:35 PM
Sorry for misspellings, but the message is the same - Yanky go home (and pay reparations)
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Re: Your comment
By Andrews, John at Apr 18, 2009 14:35 PM
Helen
You are obviously seeing a completely different Iraq to that seen by Dahr Jamail. Do you get many car bombs and suicide bombers in the USA? Do you get outside the Green Zone much?
I am troubled by your comment:
"We should have never strayed from our initial and main objective in Afghanistan. But we did and now we need to finish what we started"
Please can you tell me what right the USA / NATO have to be in Afghanistan? Did the Afghan government invite them in? How do you propose to "finish what we started"? Neither the British nor the Russians managed it but then again they are not the good ol US of A are they? As stupid as they were, both the British and Russians had enough sense not to expand the war zone into Pakistan - the current US administration has managed to link the two countries seamlessly. In saying that, it was the British who created the boundary between what was then India and Afghanistan - the Durrand Line; the trouble is that the Pushtun tribes living either side of the boundary did not realize that the mighty British had created two seperate countries. So perhaps there is logic in President Obama's thinking after all.
From your point of view, the good news is that there will be plenty of work for Bechtel, Halliburton, Xe etc when Pakistan unravels and become Dante's Hell. You should be able to get top dollar for that assignment and it should follow on immediately after Iraq. Job creation US style - enjoy if your conscience allows it.
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Re: Re: Your comment
By Samson, at Apr 19, 2009 13:53 PM
And just what was supposedly our main objective in Afghanistan? To attack the bases that Al-Qaida had there, if I remember correctly. We accomplished that years ago.
But, we also decided to overthrow the government and prop up our own government in its place. BTW, we probably are officially invited into Afghanistan by the current government these days, but that's only because its our government and it couldn't exist without US aid and protection.
The 'mission' we are on today in Afghanistan is very different from the 'initial and main objective' that was accomplished within months of the original attack. The big problem is that the 'mission' we are on today makes no sense what-so-ever Iraq I kinda-sorta understood. At least in terms of the thinking of a typical James Bond villan who would feel that killing a million people and destroying a nation in order to control the oil would make some sort of twisted and evil sort of sense. But Afghanistan? Why the heck are we in Afghanistan? If Al-Qaida ever set up another camp, then some missiles and special forces could take care of it. Why do we need to be doing nation-building in Afghanistan?
This is the propaganda line that Obama and the Democrats discovered must poll well in the US. That we should be fighting 'the right war' in Afghanistan. Of course, its all based on the media manipulation of opinion that what we are doing in Afghanistan today bears any relation at all with our original mission there after 9-11.
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