The day of revenge!!
Robert Fisk writes, “ I'll hazard a guess right now.

The journalistic resources being laid down in the region are enormous. Once the invasion starts, they will lose their freedom to write what they want. There will be censorship. We shall see many of the British and American journalists back to their old trick of playing toy soldiers, dressing themselves up in military costumes for their nightly theatrical performances on television. Here's a few guesses about our coverage of the war to come….. Within hours, they will enter the city of Basra, to be greeted by its Shia Muslim inhabitants as liberators. US and British troops will be given roses and pelted with rice – a traditional Arab greeting – as they drive "victoriously" through the streets. The first news pictures of the war will warm the hearts of Messrs Bush and Blair... But in Baghdad, reporters will be covering the bombing raids that are killing civilians by the score and then by the hundred. These journalists, as usual, will be accused of giving "comfort to the enemy while British troops are fighting for their lives".

By now, in Basra and other "liberated" cities south of the capital, Iraqis are taking their fearful revenge on Saddam Hussein's Baath party officials. Men are hanged from lamp-posts. Much television footage of these scenes will have to be cut to sanitize the extent of the violence.Bush and Blair will appear on television to speak of their great "victories".

But as they are boasting, the real story will begin to be told: the break-up of Iraqi society, the return of thousands of Basra refugees from Iran, many of them with guns, all refusing to live under western occupation. In the north, Kurdish guerrillas will try to enter Kirkuk, where they will kill or "ethnically cleanse" many of the city's Arab inhabitants. Across Iraq, the invading armies will witness terrible scenes of revenge, which can no longer be kept off television screens. The collapse of the Iraqi nation is now under way...Of course, the Americans and British just might get into Baghdad in three days for their roses and rice water. That's what the British did in 1917. And from there, it was all downhill…

I think this is the most predictable situation in Iraq during War. Unfortunately, the hope for democratic Iraq is a desirable idea rather than an achievable goal. It seems that many people are preparing to take their revenge on the Baathis. Many who have lost their young sons, their fathers and families…in these years.


Link via Pedram Moallemian
(posted by Iman)

Posted:Tuesday, March 18, 2003 |