Let's get the real facts about Iraq

Most Americans don't have a clue about what's really going on in Iraq because of the ruling elite-controlled media that supports the current administration and who are all too willing to tow the party line and run their blatant propaganda. The mainstream media are falling down on their jobs woefully, and, as a result, our democracy is in danger of totally crumbling. A free press is crucial to a free society.

But there are ways to find out what's really going on and to connect with the people who are living this U.S.-created nightmare. One of those ways is to seek out "alternative" news sources, such as those listed on the left side of the page. Another is to read the "blogs" being written by Iraquis inside the country.

If we really want to know what hell our government has created for innocent Iraquis, then let's get the inside story, shall we, Dorothy? An Iraqui, code-named River, writes this entry on June 21 to her blog, Baghdad Burning:

We spent some of yesterday and a good portion of today washing clothes, rinsing them and speculating on how our ancestors fared without washing machines and water pumps.

The electrical situation differs from area to area. On some days, the electricity schedule is two hours of electricity, and then four hours of no electricity. On other days, it’s four hours of electricity to four or six hours of no electricity. The problem is that the last couple of weeks, we don’t have electricity in the mornings for some reason. Our local generator is off until almost 11 am, and the house generator allows for ceiling fans (or “pankas”), the refrigerator, television and a few other appliances. Air conditioners cannot be turned on and the heat is oppressive by 8 am these days.

Detentions and assassinations, along with intermittent electricity, have also been contributing to sleepless nights. We’re hearing about raids in many areas in the Karkh half of Baghdad in particular. On the television the talk about ‘terrorists’ being arrested, but there are dozens of people being rounded up for no particular reason. Almost every Iraqi family can give the name of a friend or relative who is in one of the many American prisons for no particular reason. They aren’t allowed to see lawyers or have visitors and stories of torture have become commonplace. Both Sunni and Shia clerics who are in opposition to the occupation are particularly prone to attacks by “Liwa il Theeb” or the special Iraqi forces Wolf Brigade. They are often tortured during interrogation and some of them are found dead.

There were also several explosions and road blocks today. It took the cousin an hour to get to work, which was only twenty minutes away before the war. Now, he has to navigate between closed streets, check points, and those delightful concrete barriers rising up everywhere. It is especially difficult to be caught in traffic and that happens a lot lately. Baghdad has been cut up into sections and several of them may be found to be off limits immediately after an explosion or before a Puppet meeting. The least pleasant situation is to be caught in mid-day traffic, on a crowded road, in the heat - waiting for the next bomb to go off.

What people find particularly frustrating is the fact that while Baghdad seems to be falling apart in so many ways with roads broken and pitted, buildings blasted and burnt out and residential areas often swimming in sewage, the Green Zone is flourishing. The walls surrounding restricted areas housing Americans and Puppets have gotten higher- as if vying with the tallest of date palms for height. The concrete reinforcements and road blocks designed to slow and impede traffic are now a part of everyday scenery- the road, the trees, the shops, the earth, the sky…and the ugly concrete slabs sometimes wound insidiously with barbed wire.

The price of building materials has gone up unbelievably, in spite of the fact that major reconstruction has not yet begun. I assumed it was because so much of the concrete and other building materials was going to reinforce the restricted areas. A friend who recently got involved working with an Iraqi subcontractor who takes projects inside of the Green Zone explained that it was more than that. The Green Zone, he told us, is a city in itself. He came back awed, and more than a little bit upset. He talked of designs and plans being made for everything from the future US Embassy and the housing complex that will surround it, to restaurants, shops, fitness centers, gasoline stations, constant electricity and water- a virtual country inside of a country with its own rules, regulations and government. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Republic of the Green Zone, also known as the Green Republic.

“The Americans won’t be out in less than ten years.” Is how the argument often begins with the friend who has entered the Green Republic. “How can you say that?” Is usually my answer- and I begin to throw around numbers- 2007, 2008 maximum… Could they possibly want to be here longer? Can they afford to be here longer? At this, T. shakes his head- if you could see the bases they are planning to build- if you could see what already has been built- you’d know that they are going to be here for quite a while.

The Green Zone is a source of consternation and aggravation for the typical Iraqi. It makes us anxious because it symbolises the heart of the occupation and if fortifications and barricades are any indicator- the occupation is going to be here for a long time. It is a provocation because no matter how anyone tries to explain or justify it, it is like a slap in the face. It tells us that while we are citizens in our own country, our comings and goings are restricted because portions of the country no longer belong to its people. They belong to the people living in the Green Republic.

I don't know about you, but as a tax-paying American citizen, I am completely disgusted, outraged and dismayed by our government's behavior. In fact, I feel sick after reading this.

First, they lie to us about the reasons for war, then they bomb the crap out of Iraq's infrastructure and its citizens. When the citizens of Iraq resist this blatant occupation, our government and the media label these patriots and resistance fighters as "terrorists" and "insurgents" in an attempt to demonize them. While all of this is going on and in secrecy behind high walls, the U.S. is quietly building a "Green Zone" city full of luxury, from which we can only presume they will continue to occupy the country for years to come. Hel-lo, just what planet did you say we are on, Neo?

I don't doubt for a minute that Iraqis do see the Green Zone as a "slap in the face." Wouldn't you if you were in their shoes? Wouldn't you become a resistance fighter if our country was invaded with the intent to occupy and conquer? Isn't that what fighting for one's country is all about? Isn't that true patriotism? It's not about sending our troops to fight a fake war for fake reasons with a false sense of patriotism that we're fighting to defend our freedoms, but with the real intent to occupy a country as a conqueror. I don't believe this is what most Americans believe they stand for, regardless of the supposed majority support for this murderous administration.

Innocent Iraqis are being thrown in detention centers, living with intermittent electricity and water, enduring road blocks and checkpoints, not to mention the daily fear of losing their lives, while coalition forces inside the Green Zone live like kings. I might add that innocent Palestinians have been enduring the same sort of treatment from Israel for years now, all with U.S. support.

But, then again, perhaps, my fellow Americans don't really care. Perhaps, they are too wrapped up in their daily struggle to make ends meet, or too busy playing with their latest techno toy, or simply too vegged out in front of the television. Perhaps, they believe that this administration's actions aren't going to affect them, but I fear that we are like sheep being led to the slaughter. This is going to cause a backlash. If not now, soon.