Perhaps
Junior should have listened to dad.. Well spotted by Iraq
Body Count for this pertinent quote from TIME
Magazine March 2, 1998: |
Echoes of the past“Our
armies do not come in your cities and lands as conquerors or
enemies, but as liberators… I am commanded to invite you
to participate in the management of your own civil affairs.” |
Nation in chaos
Meanwhile, summer arrived with temperatures soaring to as high as
140F, and regularly above 120. The national grid was in ruins with
most Iraqis only getting a few hours of electricity a day at best.
People swelter, while watching myriad American companies go about their
multi-billion dollar reconstruction contracts, which seemingly have
little affect on the average Iraqi. With more oil than anywhere on
Earth, bar Saudi Arabia and Russia, getting petrol for your car now
takes up whole mornings in queues. Where is the oil money going, Iraqis
wonder with good reason? It emerges later as the US envoy is about
to depart having ‘handed over sovreignty’ that as much
as $20bn in oil revenues is unaccounted for. The great swindle manifests.
The whole country descends into chaos. Murders are reported at all time highs, yet reporters are barred access from the morgues. British journalist Robert Fisk, who writes for the Independent, reports that up to 1,000 Iraqis are dying each week — though no records are kept, on purpose.
Women are particularly vulnerable and, as in Afghanistan, many remain cooped up at home for weeks on end for fear of rape. Traditionally, the close-knit family nature of Iraqis sees them travelling all over the nation for family get togethers. This is no longer possible as the US virtually gives up securing the roads from insurgent attacks.
Living in denial
The American rulers though live in a distorted reality, around one of Saddam’s palaces in a heavily fortified area of Baghdad dubbed the Green Zone where McDonald’s and KFC abound and reality takes a backseat. The men slurp back beers and the women wear scantily clad clothing in the Zone, further infuriating this Muslim country.
The average GI will never win medals for intelligence and their crass behaviour in Iraq is a product of their dumb upbringing. The US Army arrived with only 70 Arabic translators and barely 1,300 soldiers could speak a smattering of the local language. This leads to confusion at checkpoints and ultimately unnecessary deaths.
