Sunday, April 10, 2005
Second Anniversary of Iraq's Liberation
April 9 was the 2nd anniversary of the liberation of Iraq and the government declared it a holiday. In a clear sign of progress towards a free democracy, remnants of the government opposition staged a March in Baghdad without any political repression. Although billed as a "million man march", only a few thousand showed up. Well, that's what happened; but you might not get that impression from reading some of the US 'MainStreamMedia' (MSM). Let's look at two views .
This Dexter Filkins story gets a prominent place in todays NYTimes with a headline that reflects the continued "balance" of the NYT as well as the author's tale that Demonstrators in Iraq Demand That U.S. Leave . As Filkins tells it : "Most protesters were followers of Moktada al-Sadr, the rebel Shiite cleric who has led several armed uprisings against American forces but who has recently begun to take part in democratic politics."
And later in the story : "The demonstration illustrated the ability of Mr. Sadr to mobilize his followers peacefully and capitalize on resentment here caused by the presence of more than 150,000 foreign troops. ...... Last year, Mr. Sadr's armed followers, called the Mahdi Army, were routed by American forces after they rose up in cities across the south. The mauling of his army is believed to be one of the chief factors behind Mr. Sadr's entry into the political mainstream. He now commands one of the largest blocs in the Shiite alliance that makes up the government.
Still, the principal leaders in the Shiite alliance have publicly said that they want American forces to stay."
Golly Gee! How can it be that those leaders, elected by Millions of Iraqis, are so resistant to a few 1000's of supporters of a defeated rebel party. Could it be that they feel that al-Sadr's party is about as close to Iraq's political mainstream as the Socialist Workers party is to America's ?
The NYT story doesn't have much to say about any Iraqi happiness about this date; it seems to be pretty much a dismal view. I wonder if there is another perspective?
Let's start with the view of an Iraqi in the blog, IRAQ THE MODEL , who has this to say in a post called 'The Eid of Liberty' ( the grammer and spelling may not be up to NYT standards, but the reality compensates ) : "I don't think I need to tell you how close is the 9th of April to my heart. And now, after two years happiness is still the same for me; one person among millions who were freed on that great day. .... Some naysayers and losers will say that terror had marked the past two years in Iraq but we the Iraqis believe that terrorism is merely the defeated remnants of evil fed by the other tyrants who got terrified from the fall of their demonic master. They're holding onto a weak thread that will soon be broken no matter how hard they try.
Today we can see the idol of terror shaking and losing balance from the powerful strike Iraqis had given it on the glorious election day; the day when the world stood amazed before the extraordinary bravery of Iraqis defying fear and walking through bullets and bombs to say their word and give terror the purple finger. .....
So today we're offering a last chance to choose between joining the real world and joining Muqtada and Harith Al-Dhari.
Go and chant with them, condemn democracy and march against freedom if you like but don't forget that those thugs represent no one but themselves. They rejected democracy from the beginning and missed the chance of joining the greatest election of our time. .....
Finally, I would like to say it again and say it loud:
Thank you our liberators."
And another Iraqi's view is reported on the PowerLine Blog, Power Line , which also has a good photo of Iraqis marching on the 2nd anniversary of their liberation. The sign in the photo says, in English: "The mass graves are proof enough to find Saddam guilty and hang him." Quoting their Iraqi correspondent, Haider, the blog entry says : " Haider continues:
"Iraqis take to the streets on the second anniversary of the liberation of Baghdad. Iraqi government declared it as national day, the day Iraq was freed from Saddam’s barbaric rule. Many of the banners call for the Trial of Saddam and his gang. Other banners condemn terrorist and terrorism. Al-Sadr (who received no seats in the current parliament, because very few voted for him) is taking this opportunity to call for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq. His request is counter to what the elected government is asking for."
Haider makes a very fundamental point here, one that is absent from all of the MSM stories I've seen on the al-Sadr anti-American demonstrations: Al-Sadr's slate got so few votes in January's election that they didn't get a single seat in the Iraqi parliament. Yet, it seems, their ability to turn out a few tattered demonstrators is enough to garner headlines throughout the U.S. Why?"
A good question. Why ??
This Dexter Filkins story gets a prominent place in todays NYTimes with a headline that reflects the continued "balance" of the NYT as well as the author's tale that Demonstrators in Iraq Demand That U.S. Leave . As Filkins tells it : "Most protesters were followers of Moktada al-Sadr, the rebel Shiite cleric who has led several armed uprisings against American forces but who has recently begun to take part in democratic politics."
And later in the story : "The demonstration illustrated the ability of Mr. Sadr to mobilize his followers peacefully and capitalize on resentment here caused by the presence of more than 150,000 foreign troops. ...... Last year, Mr. Sadr's armed followers, called the Mahdi Army, were routed by American forces after they rose up in cities across the south. The mauling of his army is believed to be one of the chief factors behind Mr. Sadr's entry into the political mainstream. He now commands one of the largest blocs in the Shiite alliance that makes up the government.
Still, the principal leaders in the Shiite alliance have publicly said that they want American forces to stay."
Golly Gee! How can it be that those leaders, elected by Millions of Iraqis, are so resistant to a few 1000's of supporters of a defeated rebel party. Could it be that they feel that al-Sadr's party is about as close to Iraq's political mainstream as the Socialist Workers party is to America's ?
The NYT story doesn't have much to say about any Iraqi happiness about this date; it seems to be pretty much a dismal view. I wonder if there is another perspective?
Let's start with the view of an Iraqi in the blog, IRAQ THE MODEL , who has this to say in a post called 'The Eid of Liberty' ( the grammer and spelling may not be up to NYT standards, but the reality compensates ) : "I don't think I need to tell you how close is the 9th of April to my heart. And now, after two years happiness is still the same for me; one person among millions who were freed on that great day. .... Some naysayers and losers will say that terror had marked the past two years in Iraq but we the Iraqis believe that terrorism is merely the defeated remnants of evil fed by the other tyrants who got terrified from the fall of their demonic master. They're holding onto a weak thread that will soon be broken no matter how hard they try.
Today we can see the idol of terror shaking and losing balance from the powerful strike Iraqis had given it on the glorious election day; the day when the world stood amazed before the extraordinary bravery of Iraqis defying fear and walking through bullets and bombs to say their word and give terror the purple finger. .....
So today we're offering a last chance to choose between joining the real world and joining Muqtada and Harith Al-Dhari.
Go and chant with them, condemn democracy and march against freedom if you like but don't forget that those thugs represent no one but themselves. They rejected democracy from the beginning and missed the chance of joining the greatest election of our time. .....
Finally, I would like to say it again and say it loud:
Thank you our liberators."
And another Iraqi's view is reported on the PowerLine Blog, Power Line , which also has a good photo of Iraqis marching on the 2nd anniversary of their liberation. The sign in the photo says, in English: "The mass graves are proof enough to find Saddam guilty and hang him." Quoting their Iraqi correspondent, Haider, the blog entry says : " Haider continues:
"Iraqis take to the streets on the second anniversary of the liberation of Baghdad. Iraqi government declared it as national day, the day Iraq was freed from Saddam’s barbaric rule. Many of the banners call for the Trial of Saddam and his gang. Other banners condemn terrorist and terrorism. Al-Sadr (who received no seats in the current parliament, because very few voted for him) is taking this opportunity to call for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq. His request is counter to what the elected government is asking for."
Haider makes a very fundamental point here, one that is absent from all of the MSM stories I've seen on the al-Sadr anti-American demonstrations: Al-Sadr's slate got so few votes in January's election that they didn't get a single seat in the Iraqi parliament. Yet, it seems, their ability to turn out a few tattered demonstrators is enough to garner headlines throughout the U.S. Why?"
A good question. Why ??
