[Mb-civic] The gates of hell are open in Iraq AND message from Fallujah

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

Here are two messages from Iraq--one from an Iraqi and the second from an 
American who recently spent two weeks in the destroyed (by Americans) city 
of Fallujah.  Read to understand why the best and needed approach to our 
current situation (in my opinion) is immediate withdrawl of all U.S. troops 
from Iraq.....


The Guardian - 1 April 2005
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1449864,00.html

The gates of hell are open in Iraq

The occupation and new US threats could spark neighbouring uprisings

By Jawad al-Khalisi

The US-British occupation of Iraq is poisoning all political
processes in my country and across the Middle East. The elections
held under the control of the occupying forces in January were
neither free nor fair. Instead of being a step towards solving
Iraq's problems, they have been used to prolong foreign rule over
the Iraqi people.

Only when the occupiers withdraw from the country can Iraq take the
first secure steps towards peace and stability. Once a strict
timetable for withdrawal is set, Iraq's political forces could
freely agree and set in motion a process of genuinely free and fair
democratic elections, a permanent constitution, and a programme that
meets the demands of all the Iraqi people.

The occupying powers are now following a policy of divide and rule,
encouraging sectarian and ethnic divisions and imposing them on all
the institutions they have created.

Incidents such as the recent kidnapping of an Italian journalist,
released only to be received by a hail of bullets from the US
liberators, have fuelled widespread suspicions in Iraq as to who is
in fact responsible for many of the terrorist acts - kidnappings,
assassinations, and indiscriminate bombing and killing -that are
engulfing the whole of Iraq. These have coincided with a cover-up of
significant military operations being conducted against the
occupation forces across the country.

Not one of the terrorist crimes has been solved and not a single
perpetrator put on trial. After each major terrorist crime, the
arrest of perpetrators is proclaimed, using names and personalities
spread by the US- controlled media. This media effort - which also
seeks to bury the news of the destruction of entire towns, brutal
night raids, kidnappings, curfews, and the detention and torture of
thousands of prisoners - is overseen by the information department
of the US forces, who earned the US defence secretary's special
thanks during his visit to Iraq.

These crimes are a taste of the hell created by the US project in
the Middle East. And now this hell is beginning to be visited on
Lebanon, opening the prospect of endless wars of unimaginable
consequences.

Syria is now withdrawing its forces from Lebanon and laying the
responsibility of what happens next squarely on the other side. But
what will happen next? Will the Lebanese resistance (led by
Hizbullah) be disarmed? And if it refuses to surrender its weapons,
how will it be disarmed? Will it be by landing new occupation forces
in the country?

This was tried in the early 80s and led to the defeat of the US and
the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. This could occur again, but on a
wider scale across the whole region, which can no longer tolerate
this endless US pressure, regarded by the peoples of the area as the
implementation of Israeli demands.

Efforts must be directed at resolving the problems of the
Palestinian people, who Israel refuses to allow to return to their
lands, despite UN resolutions and all precepts of right and justice.
The Palestinian problem cannot be resolved with exhibitionist
gatherings such as Tony Blair's recent London conference. The big
powers - particularly Britain, which helped create the problem in
the first place - have a moral responsibility to resolve it.

In the same way, the Iraq crisis cannot be resolved by patching up a
detested occupation with fraudulent elections and sectarian and
ethnic caucuses supported by the occupiers. The only solution is the
immediate withdrawal of occupation forces - or as a minimum, a
strict internationally guaranteed timetable for withdrawal. Talk
about freedom and democracy is seen as an endlessly repeated sham by
our peoples because these words are being uttered by the very powers
that have stood behind the corrupt dictatorial regimes. The US today
is still the ally and backer of many such tyrannical regimes in our
region and elsewhere.

We do not believe that the aggressive US stance towards Syria and
Iran is intended to uphold freedom and democracy either, but to get
rid of states that are refusing to go along with US and Israeli
plans for the region. Today, Syria is being held to account in
Lebanon because it is refusing to back the occupation of Iraq, and
Iran is facing threats over its nuclear programme because the US is
worried about its role in relation to Iraq and its rejection of the
status quo in Palestine.

Public opinion in the occupying countries, such as the US and
Britain, needs to understand that the continuation of this unjust
and dangerous situation will create the conditions for a new and
more general uprising which threatens truly to open the gates of
hell in the region and beyond.

[Ayatollah Jawad al-Khalisi is secretary general of the Iraqi
National Foundation Congress, an alliance of secular and religious
organisations covering all religious and ethnic groups in Iraq.]


-----


Information Clearing House - Mar 30, 2005
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8407.htm

Two Weeks In Falluja

They see absolutely no justification for this war and were constantly
asking me to explain how the American people can support these acts
against a civilian population. For the first time in my life, I was
ashamed to be an American.

By Mark Manning

03/30/05 "ICH"  - - I got back from Iraq a few weeks ago where I
stayed inside the city of Falluja and lived with the refugees of that city
for over two weeks. I decided to go there because it seems to be the heart
of the trouble in Iraq and the place to see if any sense or peace can be
found. I had also heard that the city had 250,000 citizens in it who were
told to leave when my government attacked, yet there had been no stories
of their situation in our media. As an American, I felt responsible for
this and decided to take a look myself.

On February 10th 2005 I flew into Iraq and drove to the city of
Falluja. For over two weeks I was a resident and a refugee of Falluja and
I am honored and privileged for that experience. They hosted me in their
homes, and cared for me because they believed that I was there to listen
to them and to honestly bring home their stories to the American people. I
came to Falluja without military escort or armed protection in any way. I
think because of this they thought I was crazy, but they honored what they
thought was courage and they trusted me. Trust means everything there and
they look deep into your eyes as they decide who you are. I lived with
them and listened to their stories. They told me they do not trust
American journalists to accurately tell the story of Iraq. They believe
that the American public does not know what is really happening there, and
that if they did they would feel differently about the war. They feel that
the American people are their brothers and sisters and they are asking
them for help. They wanted me to tell you their story.

The horrors of war have been brought to the people of Falluja. The
people there say the city had 500,000 people in it, not the 250,000
quoted by our media. The refugees told me that they were given one week
notice to leave the city. After three days, they were told they could no
longer drive out, they had to walk. No camps were established for them and
no refugee location was given. There was no planning by the American
government for the people, no food, no shelter and no water. They were
just told to leave or be killed. Anyone who stayed in the city after one
week would be considered a terrorist and would be killed.

For five months these people have been living in any location they
could find, nothing was established for them in the surrounding areas of
the Falluja countryside. They are living in tents in the mud, schools,
abandoned chicken coups, burned out buildings, cars and other buildings
that people were not using or where others have made room for them. The
weather is bad, with much rain and it is very cold. When they were told to
leave the city, it was summer and they were not dressed for this cold and
many could not carry out their clothes. Some lucky children are going to
school in tents and all the classes have been shortened to 2 hours per
day. Food is short and they are eating what the farmers grow and the
surrounding community can spare. Again, even after five months they have
received no outside aid from either the American government or the new
Iraqi government.

The city itself has been devastated. Most houses have been seriously
damaged, with about 65% of them totally destroyed. Evidence of depleted
uranium (DU) shells is everywhere. This leaves radioactive contamination
behind which has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. (See note1). Unexploded
ordinance is a common sight. Many residents who were there speak of
chemical weapons, napalm, cluster bombs and phosphorous used by the
Americans. These are all illegal weapons and considered war crimes by the
international community. Many of the houses were fired, meaning that the
troops burned them down after searching them. Many houses with white flags
and markings stating "Family Here" were destroyed.

Some families who had nowhere to go stayed in the city during the
fighting and have paid dearly. I interviewed many people who were there
and their stories will live forever in my mind. Here are some samples:

- A mother whose son was killed by DU shells. He was in his bed
sleeping when the shells came through the walls.

- A father who at 65 years of age was shot during a raid of his house,
whose son was arrested during that raid and has not been seen since (he
states that his son was not a fighter.)

- A 17 year old girl who hid under her bed with her 13 year old
brother during a raid of her house and witnessed her father, her
cousin, and her two sisters 18 and 19 years old, all shot to death. She
hid for three more days with the dead bodies of her family and then they
returned and shot her and her brother after finding them under the bed.
Her brother died. She survived and told me her story.

- A Family of ten who lived through all the fighting. The kids were 3, 4,
5, 7, 8, 10 and 12. They were a mess. These kids will never be ok. Their
faces were marked with open and oozing sores and they were exhibiting
serious signs of emotional damage.

There is presently very little medical aid available to the residents and
refugees, and again, no aid has been provided to the refugees in the
surrounding area. The medical centers in the city have been destroyed and
have not been rebuilt. The main hospital has been reopened, but to get
there you have to walk, as the ambulances are still being shot by the
Americans and the Iraqi National Guard. The doctors have been beaten and
their lives have been threatened by the Iraqi National Guard. These are
the security forces that the Americans are training. The new government
has warned them not to talk to any journalists about the conditions in
Falluja. They understand this threat to be very real and a direct threat
on their lives and the lives of their families.

To walk to the hospital you must go through checkpoints, sometimes
through fighting, and only at certain daylight hours. The checkpoints are
manned by the Iraqi National Guards and they are very hostile to the
residents of Falluja. When we were at the hospital, an old man died of a
heart attack because he was not allowed through the checkpoint. A woman
gave birth in the ambulance because they would not let the ambulance back
to the hospital after 5 pm and instead turned it away with her in labor.

We delivered by hand the medical aid provided by some of you to the
hospital in Falluja. Me and one Iraqi woman, WE were the international
medical aid to Falluja. We carried these boxes one at a time through the
checkpoints, across the bridge and into the hospital. They would not let
us drive in, we had to walk these boxes in. We did it every day for a
week, one box at a time.

All of the people I talked to had messages to the American people.
They said: "We did not attack you! We have done nothing to the
Americans. Why have you done this to us?"

These are the people who hosted me, fed me, and worried about my
safety. They took care of me and I will never forget their generosity,
compassion and grace. They want peace with America and they want the
fighting to stop. They feel they are the ones being attacked and that the
Americans are the terrorists. They see absolutely no justification for
this war and were constantly asking me to explain how the American people
can support these acts against a civilian population. For the first time
in my life, I was ashamed to be an American.

There are so many more stories to tell you and I will be making a film
about it all. But for now, what I want you to know is that I spent two
weeks in the heart of the beast. The place where our government and media
said is the heart of the resistance, terrorists and Saddam Loyalists, and
guess what; the place is full of people. People like you and me. Kids are
everywhere. The average Fallujan family has 10 people in it. That means
about 8 kids. 500,000 people in the city, you do the math. That is a lot
of kids.

There are fighters in Falluja. That is a fact. But they are surrounded by
some 490,000 innocent people. As a country, we have decided the damage to
the innocents is worth the end result, whatever that may be. These people
are being shattered by this very serious situation that they have no
control over. They are the innocent victims of this war.

I cannot tell you what to do. This is a story of just one area in
Iraq. These stories are all over the area we call the Sunni Triangle. But
I was there and lived with these people and they taught me about love,
forgiveness, truth and compassion. They, after all that has happened to
them, still have the ability to differentiate between the acts of an enemy
and the people of a nation. They cry out to us to save them from the
ignorance that has brought this destruction on them. They have suffered 33
times 9/11. Over 100, 000 Iraqis have died at the hands of the American
invasion (note 2) and still they say that they have nothing against the
American people. This is grace. I learned from these people how to find
peace. By deeply listening to my "enemy" I have found that the real enemy
is ignorance and fear and acting from that place of weakness.

I will never forget the people of Falluja. Thank you for listening to
them.

www.conceptionmedia.net

Notes:

1. http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/du.htm ,
http://www.sundayherald.com/32522

2. http://progressivetrail.org/articles/041029Cole.shtml



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