The Insider
The failed occupation of Iraq
Wed Aug 11, 2004 15:43
64.140.158.46

The failed occupation of Iraq

A TV station ban, 160,000 foreign troops, trumped up charges: is this the
free society Iraqis were promised?

They are falling like skittles in a bowling alley. One by one, the
arguments for the 2003 invasion of Iraq keep tumbling. First to go was the
big one. War was necessary because Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
It turned out there were none. Next was the insistent promise that a
US-led conquest of Baghdad would end completely and forever human rights
abuses committed in hell-holes such as Abu Ghraib jail. Except we saw the
pictures and realised that abuses had continued even in Abu Ghraib
itself - albeit under new management.

The last week has sent one more Iraqi ninepin wobbling. It is the hope on
which Tony Blair has had to rest his case for war, the hope that Iraq is
on its way to becoming a unique entity in the Arab world: an open,
democratic society. There may be no WMD and the occupation may be a mess,
Blair seems to say, but Iraq will be a democracy - and that alone will
make all the pain and bloodshed worthwhile.

Now this justification is looking as shaky as the others. Of course, Iraq
wasn't built in a day - and rooting a democracy in soil dried and hardened
by decades of dictatorship will be no easy, instant task. The most one can
expect are gradual, baby steps in the right direction. But even those are
not coming.

Bit by bit, the intellectual foundations of this war are crumbling to
dust. No WMD; no outright end to human rights abuses; no democratic
breakthrough. Even the most basic facts of the war are now in dispute -
including the continued American-British attempt to pretend it's over. The
showdown in Najaf, with civilians urged by American troops to flee
yesterday as if in preparation for a bloody climax, is proof of that. The
trouble in Basra and the struggle for control of the oilfields confirms it
further. What the last week proves is a bleak truth: this war is not
over - and nor has it achieved any but the baldest of its stated aims.

Please read the whole article:
[ http://www.theinsider.org/mailing/article.asp?id=0553 ]

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1. Bush book: Chapter -24-
Arab state, which happened to be Iraq. Later, there would be time to crush and dismember India ... The military machine that attacked Iraq was in the process of shrinking by more than
http://www.apfn.org/bush/bush24.htm

2. THE REAL REASON WE ARE AT WAR!
boost from SADDAM HUSSEIN. Iraq says that from now on, it wants ... to about 82 cents. Iraq says it will no longer accept ... reparations payments that Iraq is making for damage it
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/iraq_reason.htm

3. Iraqis Tortured and abused "Sadistic Style" By US Personnel Part 2
of arguments for the Iraq war," said Rashid Khalidi, director of the ... changed my mind. In Iraq we still have no freedom or ... detention centres in Iraq between March and November 2003
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/POW2.htm

4. The Death of Dr. David Kelly
deals devastating blow to Iraq arms hunt Martin Bright Sunday July 20 ... mass destruction in Iraq and had contacted former UN ... adviser to the Iraq Survey Group, the body set
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/dkelly.htm

5. IRAQGATE
equipment to flow to Iraq, in the face of explicit warnings ... United States and Iraq would serve our long-term ... deepened relationship with Iraq." President Bush's policy, writes Baker
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/iraqgate.htm

6. Iraqis Being Abused by US Personnel
announced 17 soldiers in Iraq, including a brigadier general, had been removed ... court martial in Iraq -- and possible prison time. full ... We went into Iraq to stop things like this
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/POW.htm

7. The War On Iraq
THE ATTACK ON IRAQ WHY IS THE FLAG DISPLAYED "IN DISTRESS" ... Iraq? Yes No Until Iraq become stable I don't know This is ... to impose regime on Iraq http://www.apfn.org/apfn/plans.htm
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/Iraq_war.htm

8. Iraqis Tortured and Abused by US Personnel Part 5
7, 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq. A Pattern of Abuse? For two years ... deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq. Three of those captives died while ... abusing prisoners in Iraq. In fact, one prisoner, Mon
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/POW5.htm

9. Is the War Against Iraq "Legal?"
Is the war against Iraq legal? March 19, 2003 Researched by, Harmon L. Taylor" holmes221@earthlink.net What distinguishes a legal war from an illegal war? Ultimately, the opinion
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/iraq.htm

10. THE GREATEST BANK ROBBERY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD
www.apfn.org/APFN/IRAQ.HTM Suddenly, the government of the ... ONE COUNTRY MISSING: IRAQ DOES THE UNITED NATIONS HAVE ... SEARCH WORLD BANK: IRAQ
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/iraq_bank.htm

11. Iraqis Tortured and Abused by US Personnel Part 1
announced 17 soldiers in Iraq, including a brigadier general, had been removed ... court martial in Iraq -- and possible prison time. full ... We went into Iraq to stop things like this
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/prisoners_Of_War.htm

12. This White House Scandal Finally Tips the Scale! Part 8
the case for invading Iraq. Here is the inside story of ... for war against Iraq funneled faulty information up the ... into intelligence on Iraq, not from the congressional intelligence
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/leakgate8.htm

13. FAKED WMD REPORT CAUSED WAR IN IRAQ
CAUSED WAR IN IRAQ February 07, 2003 No 10 ... in copying Iraq dossier Downing Street ... html ========================================================== Brits' Iraq report was cut
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/Iraq_report.htm

14. Behind the Scenes of the Iraq War
Behind the Scenes of the Iraq War rainesco Behind the Scenes of the Iraq War Fri Apr 18 16:03:12 2003 208.152.73 ... Behind the Scenes of the Iraq War 04/17/2003 13:47 The plan for
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/iraq_scene.htm

15. "The Oklahoma City Bombing and The Politics of Terror" 5
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq may have been involved in both ... Oklahoma City bombings: Iraq was furious with America last ... operations considered by Iraq, but not carried out at
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/hoffman5.htm

16. Iraqis Tortured and Abused By US Personnel Part 6
13, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq The Scandal's Growing Stain Abuses by U.S. soldiers in Iraq shock the world and roil the Bush ... U.S. troops in Iraq, it seems evident that the damage goes
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/POW6.htm

17. Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski Met Israeli Interrogator in Iraq
Israeli Interrogator in Iraq Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski Fmr. ... com/scvhistory/signal/iraq/sg070404.htm "Newsmaker of the ... Police Brigade in Iraq. The following interview (rt: 2
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/Karpinski.htm

18. The Wrong Camouflage On U.S. Troops In Iraq
on U.S. Troops in Iraq The Wrong Camouflage on U.S. Troops in Iraq By Pat Choate 03-25-03 -World Exclusive- I ... He opposes the war in Iraq, but now that combat has begun, he strongly
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/iraq_troops.htm

19. Operation 911 Coup and Coverup Update
OPERATION 911 COUP AND COVERUP UPDATE APFN apfn@apfn.org OPERATION 911 COUP AND COVERUP UPDATE Mon Apr 8 15:50:28 2002 68.3.132.0 OPERATION 911 COUP AND COVERUP UPDATE PASS IT AROUND
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/WTC_update.htm

20. WINDS - The Bombing of Iraq - Weapons of Mass Destruction
from the sky, bombing Iraq with their weapons of mass destruction while ... of mass destruction on Iraq killing whomever may be in the way ... to return to Iraq last month to provoke a
http://www.apfn.org/THEWINDS/arc_editorials/war/bomb_iraq12-98.html