27 posts tagged “iraq”
How Americans vote will influence whether we see a timed end to the war in Iraq, if we form an international consensus to tackle climate change, how we deal with the situation in Iran and North Korea, and whether we finally prioritise the fight to end global poverty. This global ad echoes the voices and concerns of the billions outside the US who can't vote.
Yesterday was the first day I visited Vox in about 3 weeks. In the two years since I have been blogging I have never been away from a blogsite for so long. Never has the desire to post anything left me until 3 weeks ago.
It is true that I have been exceedingly busy, but that is not the reason I haven’t been here, the truth is I just couldn’t face Vox. I couldn’t face blogging. The desire to come here left me over night on the night of the 14/03/08. That is when the straw broke the camels back for me and blogging.
I was listening and watching the Winter Soldier commentary. I wasn’t shocked by the returned service men and women’s stories; I was expecting them to be as devastating as they were. That was the problem, there was no surprise. Five years ago the US and the Coalition of the Willing went to war with Iraq and I was totally opposed to the war, not because I am a pacifist because in reality I am not. I was opposed because I knew the war was based on poor information and there was no real justification for going to war with Iraq. I also knew what the consequences would be if we did go to war, a long drawn out occupation, many killed and injured on both sides and the risk that the world would become an even more hostile place. I wish I was wrong, I had hoped when the statue of Saddam Hussein fell that just maybe I was wrong, but I wasn’t. It didn’t matter that I was against the war for what I believe to be the right reasons, it didn’t matter that I spoke out against the war, the war still happened and I was powerless to do anything about it. In reality I am just as powerless today. Even with all of that death and destruction, people still want to plough on and cause more death and destruction. My faith in humanity left me three weeks ago. But like I said the Winter Soldier commentary was just the straw that broke the camels back, my faith in humanity was already well and truly on the slide before the 14/03/08, I had just been trying hard to fight it.
Unless I say what I need to say now there is no way that I will be able to blog again. I need to say what I have to say so that I can move on. Yes I know very melodramatic.
I live by a very simple principle, I try and treat others how I would like to be treated and I expect people to treat others and myself with compassion and respect. As long as a person is not hurting others or me with their actions then I am okay with that. I don’t care what your race is, what your gender is, what your skin colour is, what your sexuality is, what your culture is, what your religion is, what your education is and any other label that can be applied to some one, as long as you treat others well, then I will be in your corner. However, I don’t take much crap from anyone these days, treat me unfairly and I won’t hang around for too long and take more of your crap and I certainly won't happily and silently watch on as you inflict your crap on others.
Yes this is leading some where, I have said I have lost my faith in humanity, well it isn’t just humanity I have lost my faith in, the biggest loss of faith for me is in organised religion. You know religion that self professed bastion of humanity, compassion, love, truth and well apparently all that is supposed to be good in the world, yes good as distinct from evil. Oh yes there some members of organised religion who seem to display those good traits, my own grandmother was certainly one of those saintly figures.
To all who belong to an organised religion I am not criticising you, like I said if you treat others well and don’t use your religion to kick others in the guts, well you have got my respect and support. But as for me, I am jumping off the religious bandwagon because it is not for me; I have lost my faith in religion. Way too many hypocrites, way too many people using their religion to knock people around and way too many people hiding behind their religion instead of using their brain and thinking for themselves. It is not okay to oppress others just because you believe your holy book or your spiritual advisor seems to indicate that it is okay. In case you missed that last bit I shall repeat it again, your religion does NOT give you the right to oppress people, or to dictate your beliefs onto others. If people are not hurting you or others then leave them alone, mind your own business. Stop spreading hatred and intolerance and hiding behind your religion, hatred and intolerance of people who are not hurting anyone is WRONG!
So just to make it absolutely clear I am no longer associated with any organised religion. I want to be free to express my own views, to have my own opinions, to be free to think for myself and not be answerable to religious thought police who seem to be around every corner. I know what is right and what is wrong and I am grown up enough to think for myself.
So now that I
have said what I needed to say, I can now move on and deal with this planet and
the people on it. Luckily there are enough good people out there to restore my
faith in humanity and they come from all walks of life and some prefer to
belong to a religion and some like me don’t.
Anyway here is some great music which basically sums up how I feel.
wear my heart on my sleeve,
I'm not afraid to say what i mean,
Mean what i say.
I set myself up, let myself down,
I may be a fool to spread it around.
But i just wanna let you know,
Sometimes i find it so hard not to show,
So i sigh and i let my feelings go.
I wear my heart on my sleeve,
Don't count the cost,
If i can't live in love then surely i've lost.
You tend to get burned, tend to get bruised,
But it's my life whatever i choose.
Oh, i just wanna let you know,
Sometimes i, i find it so hard not to show,
So i sigh and i let my feelings go.
I wear my heart on my sleeve.
You tend to get burned, tend to get bruised,
But it's my life whatever i choose.
Oh, i just wanna let you know,
'Cause sometimes i find it so hard not to show,
So i sigh, but, baby, you're not alone.
GALLAGHER AND LYLE - HEART ON MY SLEEVE
When I was young, it seemed that life was so
wonderful,
A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they’d be singing so happily,
Joyfully, playfully watching me.
But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible,
Logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
Clinical, intellectual, cynical.
There are times when all the worlds asleep,
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man.
Wont you please, please tell me what weve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am.
Liberal, fanatical, criminal.
Won’t you sign up your name, wed like to feel you’re
Acceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegetable!
At night, when all the worlds asleep,
The questions run so deep
For such a simple man.
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am.
SUPERTRAMP - THE LOGICAL SONG
.
Poor thing she is as crazy as me.
Information taken from the Iraq Veterans Against the War website:
Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan will feature testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground.
The four-day event will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support.
When: Thursday March 13 to Sunday March 16
Attendance at Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan is not open to the general public because of limited space at the event site. Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and Gold Star Families Speak Out will attend the panels at Winter Soldier.
To bring the testimonies to the general public and GIs all over the world we have made it possible to watch the live broadcasts online and on television, and to listen online and the radio. You can find out more about how to watch or listen here. To find a local Winter Soldier screening event or to submit a screening event go to our events map.
.
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The name Winter Soldier comes from a quote from Thomas Paine, the revolutionary who rallied George Washington’s troops at Valley Forge, saying:
“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
Paine was trying to keep Washington’s army from deserting in the face of a bitter winter and mounting defeats at the hands of the British. Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War say the same type of courage is needed to confront the evils unleashed by the U.S. occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. (Source)
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I wish all involved the very best. I know that what they have to say will not be welcomed by some. There will be many who reject their credentials and call them 'fake soldiers'. These men and women have a right to be heard and they are due the same support as all who have served their country in a time of war. Are these men and women not brave for speaking out against what they believe is wrong - of course they are. It is far braver to stand up for what you believe is right than to follow the majority who maybe wrong.
Means supporting all of the troops, even if what they say is not want you want to hear.
This story is neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war... All Quiet on the Western Front. A novel by Erich Maria Remarque about WWI.
In what has been described as one of the most remarkable stories of the entire Iraq war, a reporter from the Army Times has given perhaps the first inside account of how an Army unit committed mutiny and refused to carry out orders in Iraq.
The incident occurred in Adhamiya, a district in northeastern Baghdad, where soldiers in the 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, were stationed. The 2nd Platoon had lost many men since deploying to Iraq eleven months before. After an IED attack killed five more members of Charlie 1-26, members of 2nd Platoon gathered for a meeting and determined they could no longer function professionally. Several platoon members were afraid their anger could set loose a massacre. They decided to stage a revolt against their commanders that they viewed as a life-or-death act of defiance.
Kelly Kennedy of the Army Times, who was embedded with Charlie Company has written an incredible four part series titled “Blood Brothers”. It is an in depths look at the day to day experiences, horrors, frustrations of a company of soldiers deployed in Iraq. The series also briefly looks at the problems faced by soldiers when they return from Iraq.
Although it is a lengthy series including video interviews and photo galleries, I would definitely recommend this series to anyone interested in the war in Iraq.
Blood Brothers
The complete saga
Part 1: To Adhamiya and back
Part 2: ‘I’ve seen enough. I’ve done enough.’
Part 3: ‘Not us. We’re not going.’
Part 4: Picking up the pieces
Extras
Getting the pain out in the open
Leadership in the midst of loss
Building a life after escaping death
See photo galleries and video of Charlie 1-26
Another
interesting series I came across a while ago and didn’t have the time to post
it was the story of America’s pin up marine, “The Marlboro Marine”. From American hero of Fallouja to a virtually
forgotten man back home.
The Marlboro Marine: Two Lives Blurred Together by a photo. - Nov 2007
Battles After the War: Photo Gallery
Rescue operation aims to save a wounded warrior - Nov 2007
A searing snapshot into the soul - May 2006
Marine Whose Photo Lit Up Imaginations Keeps His Cool - Nov 2004
Iconic Marine Is at Home but Not at Ease - May 2006
It seems to me that some people forget that “Supporting the Troops” should continue long after the car bumper sticker fades. Also support shouldn’t be conditional on a returned soldier’s political point of view towards the war, the socio-economic background from which they came or whether they come back glorified heroes and/or broken men and women.
A familiar story is of young men without very good job prospects joining the armed forces to make a difference, to be some one their fellow citizens and their government will be proud of, only to find that once they return they are just forgotten pieces of meat. They also go to Iraq with good intentions, to make a difference but the reality is very different, as this excerpt from Blood Brothers shows.
“The surviving platoon members comforted each other that their friends died looking out for their brothers. They told each other they would have done the same. They cried and beat their fists into walls. They knelt in the sand and bent their heads and tried to convince themselves Iraq was worth it.
But that was hard because they no longer believed they were fighting for Iraq. They had, once, a long time ago. Before they had seen the Iraqi bodies with their heads dipped in acid, before the children tossed grenades at them.”
It is no surprise that morale is down as they don’t know what they are fighting for or even who their real enemies are. The statistics indicating the Iraqi feelings towards the American presence is not optimistic either. In a poll conducted in August 2007 Click here for full report with charts and questionnaire.
79% of Iraqis oppose the presence of coalition forces in the country.
80 % of Iraqis disapprove of the way U.S. and other coalition forces have performed in Iraq.
57% of Iraqis now call attacks on coalition forces “acceptable.” Acceptability of attacks on U.S. forces also varies by locale, peaking at 100% in Anbar, 69% in Kirkuk city and 60% in Baghdad, compared with 38% in Basra and just 3% in the northern Kurdish provinces.
WITHDRAWAL – 47% now say the United States and other coalition forces should leave Iraq immediately, while 34% say U.S. forces should remain until security is restored.
We also seem to forget that these “Brave Warriors” are in fact mortal men and women who will in the majority of cases carry a heavy burden when and if they return home. They will most likely be physically and/or psychologically wounded. Highlighting the heavy burden these veterans carry is the high rate of suicide amongst veterans. In 2005 the suicide rate among the American general population was 8.9 per 100,000, the level among veterans was between 18.7 and 20.8 per 100,000. That figure rose to 22.9 to 31.9 suicides per 100,000 among veterans aged 20 to 24 - almost four times the non-veteran average for the age group.
It takes a lot of courage to go out time after time on a patrol wondering if you or your mates will come back and it is a great feeling when you are a fresh young combatant to be called a “Brave Warrior”, a term which seems to be bandied about quite a lot by the ‘patriots’ among us. But that term very soon becomes a yoke around a soldier’s neck when the symptoms of PTSD begin to surface, for to admit one has PTSD is to admit that they are not the “Brave Warrior” everyone expects them to be, and seeking help becomes a form of shame and a sign of weakness in their eyes and possibly the perceived eyes of those around them and that of their proud nation. They are not weak, they are just human and need as much support as they can get. The fact is that many of these soldiers are barely out of school and are being placed into situations where they could never have imagined the horror and terror they would encounter.
In WWI and WWII there were definite and clear objectives and it was a priority to bring the troops home as soon as possible. But this war in Iraq is not like those wars and when the troops on the ground cannot see a clear objective and they cannot see an end in sight to this war, then I think there is a problem.
He knows they had his back, and he said Spc. Ross McGinnis proved it when he gave up his life by throwing himself on a grenade to save four friends.
“We all say, ‘I don’t know what I would have done,’” he said. “But every single one was willing to die for somebody else.”
That makes it all the harder to come back and feel like the war will never be won.
“I don’t think it’s ever going to end,” he said. “For every one we kill, three more are going to pop up. We can defeat each network, but they’ll just go somewhere else. We used to make fun of the soldiers in Baghdad when we were in Fallujah and Samarra. Then it was Ramadi. Now it’s Baghdad. It’s almost like we’re chasing our tails.” For a time, he said, soldiers will make an area better, but the Iraqi people “don’t keep it better.”
It should also be remembered it is not just the combat troops who pay the price for war, so to do the families who belong to these men and women, as does the wider society either directly or indirectly through the financial cut backs in welfare, health, education and other areas caused by the financial cost of war. Obviously we should not forget the innocent victims in the combat zones.
In my opinion war should ALWAYS be a last resort because in reality there are no victors in war, but way too many wounded souls on all sides.
There is no glory in war.
Edited 27/12/07 11.40am AEST
Produced by GlobalFreePress.com
Music by James Blunt
There
are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
Tears drying on their face.
He has been here.
Brothers lie in shallow graves.
Fathers lost without a trace.
A nation blind to their disgrace,
Since he's been here.
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
Houses burnt beyond repair.
The smell of death is in the air.
A woman weeping in despair says,
He has been here.
Tracer lighting up the sky.
It's another families' turn to die.
A child afraid to even cry out says,
He has been here.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
But no one asks the question why,
He has been here.
Old men kneel and accept their fate.
Wives and daughters cut and raped.
A generation drenched in hate.
Yes, he has been here.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness. 2006
"CHRISTMAS IN FALLUJAH"
Inspired By Soldiers' Letters From Iraq
Proceeds From "Christmas In Fallujah" To Benefit Homes For Our Troops
Billy Joel, the quintessential American singer, songwriter, composer and performer, has passed along his latest composition, "Christmas In Fallujah," to the emerging young artist Cass Dillon. Dillon's electrifying rendition of the song -- produced by Tommy Byrnes and Jay Baumgardner and recorded with members of Billy's ensemble -- will be available for purchase exclusively on the iTunes Store beginning Tuesday, December 4.
Net proceeds from "Christmas in Fallujah" will be donated to Homes For Our Troops, a nonprofit organization that builds specially adapted homes for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe disabilities. Billy Joel is an avid supporter of Homes For Our Troops. For more information, please go to: www.homesforourtroops.org
Billy wrote "Christmas In Fallujah" earlier this year as a response to letters he's received from soldiers in Iraq, men and women who've found solace, inspiration and comfort in his songs. A powerful and poignant depiction of the emotional realities on the ground in Iraq, "Christmas In Fallujah" is a song from the heart and a cry of the spirit, a gut-wrenching indictment of the insanity of war which echoes the human side of the conflict, military and civilian alike.
"I didn't feel I was the person to sing this song," said Billy of the decision to work with the up-and-coming Cass Dillon, 21. "I thought it should be somebody young, about a soldier's age. I wanted to help somebody else's career. I've had plenty of hits. I've had plenty of airplay. I've had my time in the sun. I think it's time for somebody else, maybe, to benefit from my own experience."
Cass Dillon came to Billy Joel's attention through Tommy Byrnes, a guitarist in Billy's band and a musical consultant for the "Movin' Out" Broadway musical. Byrnes and Stefano DiBenedetto, of the OCD Music Group, had discovered Cass performing an acoustic set at the Drama Cafe in Baldwin, New York. (Cass Dillon, like Billy Joel, is a native Long Islander.) Byrnes produced Cass's first demo recordings and one night, nearly two years ago, brought the demos, and Cass, over to Billy's for a listening session over some incredible fish tacos Cass says he'll never forget.
This year, when Tommy and Billy got to talking about who might be right for "Christmas In Fallujah," Cass Dillon's name rose to the top of the list. So Billy and Tommy flew Cass Dillon to San Francisco where, by fate and divine coincidence, they recorded "Christmas In Fallujah" on Veteran's Day 2007. The wide and immediate reach of iTunes made it the perfect venue for the release of "Christmas In Fallujah."
For singer-songwriter Cass Dillon, whose first CD was a copy of Billy Joel's "Greatest Hits," the chance to launch his own career with a new song of Billy Joel's is a dream come true. "I feel so honored and blessed to have this opportunity," Dillon said. "When someone of that stature, with that history of great songs behind him with such a huge catalog asks you to sing something he's written, there's nothing you can do but be completely honored to perform."
i'm a 25 years old dentist i live in iraq (Baghdad) i was born and raised here but unfortunately i'm thinking that the iraqis are going to extinct so i made this blog wishing that i can make a difference or even share my greif with the whole world and give them an idea about what's happening here from the point of view of a civilian living in the war zone not from the politicians nor people who gets their benefits from the conditions.
In this video I used a song called "The new country" for a very popular Iraqi singer who is Husam AlRasam, it's not a new song, and it was released when I started blogging.
This song is very popular between Iraqis, I can say that more than 80% of Iraqis have it either on their mobile phones or computers.There is something strange in this song, whenever I hear it I twitch although I've heard it countless times, believe me in Arabic it's much more effective, because the emotions were lost in translation, but I think the images compensates for that loss.
There is one thing that I want to make it clear, you will notice in the video the name Khansa`, she is a well known Arabic historic character and a poet, her brother died in a battle and she was blind from crying him, then in AlQadesia battle her four sons died too.
I'd like to dedicate this video to all the innocent Iraqis who died for a
reason or no reason at all, to all the Iraqis who had to leave their country or
home, to all real Iraqis who had to suffer from the situation, for everyone who
loves his country, to all the innocent men in the world who died for no mistake
they have done and to anyone who cares for the human race.
- Mohammed
After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the United Nations (backed strongly by the US and UK) imposed harsh sanctions on Iraq that lasted for 10 years (1991-2001); the harsh restrictions on imports of everything, including access to key medicines, resulted in over a million deaths, more than half a million of which were women and children. That's more deaths than the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan and 9/11 combined.
The purpose was regime change, but it never came. The overwhelming majority of those killed were the poor, elderly, women and children.Empirically, sanctions overwhelmingly punish the poor, the destitute. While the sanctions were in place, the richest people in control of the resources (Saddam Hussein et al.) still had everything they wanted: food, cars, mansions, access to the best medicines, etc.
Award-winning journalist John Pilger has documented the reality of UN harsh sanctions in this hard-hitting film.
I have to say that after watching this documentary I have never been so ashamed at being someone who lives in the Western world. If the Iraqis hate us, then they have a right to hate us and that was even before the current occupation occurred.
We all have Iraqi blood on our hands due to the actions of our governments. I am so glad that I have never approved of the current occupation of Iraq and I will not agree to a pre-meditated attack on Iran. I still accept that I have blood on my hands because of the actions of our governments, but at least I know that I have condemned the action and at least spoken out against the actions of our governments - that I am thankful for. If I was an Iraqi I would find it very difficult to respect the Western world.
I cannot put into words what we have done to these people, all I can do is ask that you watch the documentary for yourself. I will say this though. How dare you the US and UK Governments demand that Saddam Hussein get rid of Iraq's WMD, when you disgraceful people used missiles, bombs and bullets laced with depleted uranium in them during the Gulf War and then left the fragments of those radioactive missiles behind.
Your radioactive bombing raids have caused previously rare cancers in Iraqi children at an alarming rate and an enormous increase in the rate of childhood leukaemia. Your economic sanctions prevented a regular supply of absolutely necessary drugs to treat these cancers and you also prevented adequate analgesic drugs to be imported into Iraq. If that is not bad enough, your economic sanctions prevented the necessary equipment required to decontaminate the areas that you bombed with radioactive missiles, and due to the very nature of the desert environment i.e. sand and dust, these radioactive particles have now been spread enormous distances throughout the whole area.
More information about this is in the documentary and also at CounterPunch.
What I have just mentioned is only the tip of the iceberg as far as describing our disgraceful actions, see the documentary for more despicable acts by our Western governments in our name. The Western World promotes itself as a beacon of light for all other nations to look up to, a shining light that is supposed to represent all that is good in the world. What a shame that we cannot live up to our own standards of decency. How hypocritical we are and you people wonder why 'they' hate us.
My opinion of our disgraceful treatment of these people is not up for debate, it is how I feel and in my eyes nothing justifies what we have done - NOTHING!
The direct link to Google Videos is: Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq
If you are like me and have trouble downloading from Google here is another link:
Windows Media
If you have a slow download speed go to this link and use the RealPlayer
Unfortunately things haven't really improved much since the US led occupation and it seems things are actually worse.
Suffer the Children
Number of children dying higher than when the country was under sanctions.
By Hind al-Safar in Baghdad (ICR No. 237, 16-Nov-07)
Child mortality in Iraq has spiralled because of the tense security situation, deteriorating health services and lack of medical supplies, say experts.
According to a report released in May 2007 by aid agency Save the Children, “Iraq’s child mortality rate has increased by a staggering 150 per cent since 1990, more than any other country.”The report, entitled State of the World’s Mothers 2007, said that some 122,000 Iraqi children - the equivalent of one in eight - died in 2005, before reaching their fifth birthday. More than half of the deaths were among newborn babies in their first month of life.
“Even before the latest war, Iraqi mothers and children were facing a grave humanitarian crisis caused by years of repression, conflict and external sanctions,” said the report.
“Since 2003, electricity shortages, insufficient clean water, deteriorating health services and soaring inflation have worsened already difficult living conditions.”
The study listed pneumonia and diarrhoea as major killers of children in Iraq, together accounting for over 30 per cent of child deaths.
“Conservative estimates place increases in infant mortality following the 2003 invasion of Iraq at 37 per cent,” it said.
In the capital of Baghdad, there are four paediatric hospitals and three gynaecological hospitals, as well as individual children’s wards in other medical institutions.
The city’s central paediatric hospital is in the capital’s Islam neighbourhood - a volatile area which is hard for families and medical staff to reach.
The hospitals fall short in providing quality care because they do not have enough medical supplies or staff - who, in many cases, have fled to other countries.
Experts draw parallels between the dire state of Iraq’s health care system today and the way it was when the country was under sanctions during the 1990s, when there was a similar limited supply of drugs and other medical resources.
The UN Security Council imposed economic sanctions against Iraq in 1990, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and these continued until 2003.
In 2000, the UN children’s agency UNICEF published a survey which showed the mortality rate among Iraqi children under five had more than doubled in the government-controlled south and centre of Iraq during the sanctions.
At the time, Anupama Rao Singh, a senior UNICEF official, said in an interview with Reuters that around half a million children under the age of five had died in Iraq since the international embargo was imposed.
“In absolute terms, we estimate that perhaps about half a million children under five years of age have died, who ordinarily would not have died had the decline in mortality that was prevalent over the 70s and the 80s continued through the 90s,” she said.
Mohammed Zahraw, a paediatrician with the ministry of health’s inspector-general’s office, said that similar threats to children’s health exist today – and that these are compounded by the lack of security which now prevails in Iraq.
"In the past [infant deaths] were caused by the economic sanctions and the lack of medicine and medical supplies. The same problem exists now, in addition to the deteriorating security situation. This is particularly true in Baghdad, where it’s difficult to access hospitals," he said.
Fahima Salman, the head of the inspector-general’s monitoring force, said the primary reason for high infant mortality in Iraq is a lack of drugs and medical supplies.
The inspector-general’s office at the health ministry is tasked with inspecting hospitals and reports back to the ministry on the sanitation, performances and needs of health facilities.
Salman said that poor security and a lack of transport meant that it was hard to transfer drugs and supplies to hospitals and clinics. This means that families of patients usually buy basic medicine, such as antibiotics and hydrocortisone, on the black market and bring the medicine to the hospital or clinic.
"We, as the inspector general's office, visit health facilities to determine the level of shortages and note the difficulties,” said Salman. “We try to provide what we can…but we still face major challenges."
Sometimes, drug deliveries fail to reach the ministry of health’s warehouses, and go missing en route.
Amal Abdul-Amir, a paediatrician at the Yarmook Teaching Hospital in Baghdad’s Karkh area, said that infants were also dying because paediatricians and gynaecologists had fled the country in droves, resulting in a lack of skilled staff.
“People are turning to midwives who do not necessarily have experience with births or emergency cases,” she explained. “This is causing the number of infant mortalities to rise."
In hospitals throughout the country, it is not uncommon to hear the wails of grieving mothers, such as 30-year-old Zaineb Mohammed, whose two-month-old baby died after she failed to get him to hospital in time.
She told IWPR that en route to the hospital in the impoverished Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, her family was repeatedly stopped at roadblocks and checkpoints erected to combat security problems there.
The delays caused the child’s condition to worsen and when they finally arrived there weren’t paediatric specialists to treat her.
Mohammed has vowed not to have another child. "I don’t think that I can bear to lose another baby to the poor health and public services in Iraq," she said.
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This Saturday is the Australian Federal Election, hopefully the correct party will be voted in and hopefully our Aussie troops will be coming home and will be leaving these Iraqi people in peace. Then it will be time to help rebuild their country from a far without hindrance or interference. I suggest you lobby your own government and bring your own troops home.
While cruising YouTube today I came across a video which caught my attention and it is on YouTube under possibly two different users. The videos are:
ATROCITIES,TESTIMONY OF A FORMER US ARMY RANGER IN IRAQ
TESTIMONY
OF A FORMER US ARMY RANGER Part-1/2
Very damning stuff about US soldiers in Iraq. But his whole story is a lie. In fact he has recently been released from prison because as well as his lies, he also tried to claim false Veterans Affairs benefits. Jesse has apologised for his actions and now realises how serious his allegations were and the potentially dangerous consequences of his actions to others, including those currently serving in the armed forces.
How did I discover that his story is a lie? Well it took quite a bit of investigation, but I eventually uncovered the truth - I Googled his name, yes it was that simple. I did have an advantage though which others before me didn't have, when Jesse first came out with his allegations there wasn't any concrete evidence to the contrary.
This sort of action does not help anyone. Jesse has and is paying for what he did and I am sure he will be paying for it for quite some time yet.
Lakewood man wishes he could take back lies
What makes me angry at the moment is that there at two YouTube users who know that Jesse's story is fake and they are still airing it at YouTube and genuine caring people who are against the war are being sucked in. I tried leaving comments but they were blocked, so I have reported them and I hope others do the same and these videos get banned. There is another YouTube user who is trying to make people aware that Jesse's story is fake.
I am sure there are many soldiers with tragic stories to be told, but this is not one of them.
Whether we are for this war or against it - It is the truth that must always be told.
A 3-minute slideshow of ordinary arabs over a soundtrack of media branding them as terrorists.
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