“When I say that I am a Jew, I affirm the following ...”
by Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
in I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl
edited by Judea and Ruth Pearl
1. The only sound my God utters is alef – the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which has no sound, the sound of nothing. The Hebew word for “I”, anochi, begins with alef.
2. My God is not visible; my God is not invisible. My God looks like Nothing. There is Nothing to see.
3. The Name of my God is made from the root letters of the Hebrew verb to be, which are themselves vowels. It probably meant something like The One who brings into being all that is. It is the sound of Nothing – only breathing.
4. One day each week I try to pretend that the universe is done, finished, that it (and I) need nothing more to be complete.
5. My parents are the instruments God used to bring me into being. Through trying to understand and listen to them, I begin to comprehend myself.
6. Life in all its forms is sacred; in the face of each creature I see my Creator.
7. The relationship I share with my life-partner is sacred and ultimate. She is my Only One.
8. You are other than me and your things are extensions of who you are. I may not appropriate your things for myself; they are yours.
9. I respect society’s mechanisms for resolving disputes; I renounce perjury.
10. To the extent that I can rejoice in and want nothing more than what I already have, I begin to resemble my God who has, wants, and is Nothing.
2004-05-25
UN: Sex for Food in DR Congo
By Cahal Milmo
25 May 2004
The Independent (UK)
Teenage rape victims fleeing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being sexually exploited by the United Nations peace-keeping troops sent to the stop their suffering. ...
Read the rest of this repulsive story here. Thanks, again, to K-Lo at The Corner.
25 May 2004
The Independent (UK)
Teenage rape victims fleeing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being sexually exploited by the United Nations peace-keeping troops sent to the stop their suffering. ...
Read the rest of this repulsive story here. Thanks, again, to K-Lo at The Corner.
Letter to the New York Times: President Bush's Speech
There may be grounds to criticize President Bush's speech (and his policies), but insufficient multilateralism is not one of them. Military assistance from more countries would be helpful, but the imprimatur of the United Nations is not, and should not be, an end in itself. The UN is not the utopian "government of mankind" that liberals like to imagine it to be; it is a corrupt, reactionary, and profoundly anti-democratic organization. The UN's emerging role in Sudan is a step in the right direction, but many more such steps will be needed to establish the UN's credibility as a force for good. Iraq cannot afford to wait.
And who decided that the situation in Iraq had become "disastrous"? That does not sound like the assessment of a US Marine officer currently serving in Iraq, who states:
"The enemy is confused right now. He goes to bed convinced he is going to win because he watches the Al Jazeera and then the US media and believes that we are a weak willed people who can be terrorized and who have a penchant for self-loathing. Then, he wakes up and he comes across a coalition check point and he sees a young Soldier or Marine who stands there like a rock and exudes strength and conviction."
Nor does the Times' gloomy picture of Iraq accord easily with the latest post from Omar, who relates:
"I wanted to share with you some of the opinions of Iraqis about their daily lives that I read on the bbc. arabic.com There were more than many comments and about 70% of them were positive. Here are some examples:
What happens these days in Iraq is a natural process as a result from the transfer from dictatorship to democracy.
Ali Ahmed-Baghdad.
I'm an Iraqi citizen and I want to thank president GWB from all my heart for the great service he's done to the Iraqi people by freeing us from one of the worst tyrants in history. ...
Kamal-Adhamya-Baghdad. ...
I had to leave Iraq because I didn't want to be one of Saddam's slaves. After so many years, I'm back to my country and I saw that people are not as nervous as they used to be. I saw hope in their eyes despite the security problems. All I have to say to our Arab brothers is,"We are practicing democracy. You keep enjoying dictatorship"
Ilham Hussain-Baghdad"
Should the President admit he made mistakes? Well, as your own William Safire wrote some weeks ago, that would be a nice gesture from all parties concerned. I'd really like to hear the press admit that it was wrong to oppose the liberation of Iraq - but I'm not holding my breath for that to happen.
As one who served with the Marines in the first Iraq war, I am immensely pleased that our forces are now finishing the job and helping the Iraqi people build a better future. It would be nice to get a little support from the media.
And who decided that the situation in Iraq had become "disastrous"? That does not sound like the assessment of a US Marine officer currently serving in Iraq, who states:
"The enemy is confused right now. He goes to bed convinced he is going to win because he watches the Al Jazeera and then the US media and believes that we are a weak willed people who can be terrorized and who have a penchant for self-loathing. Then, he wakes up and he comes across a coalition check point and he sees a young Soldier or Marine who stands there like a rock and exudes strength and conviction."
Nor does the Times' gloomy picture of Iraq accord easily with the latest post from Omar, who relates:
"I wanted to share with you some of the opinions of Iraqis about their daily lives that I read on the bbc. arabic.com There were more than many comments and about 70% of them were positive. Here are some examples:
What happens these days in Iraq is a natural process as a result from the transfer from dictatorship to democracy.
Ali Ahmed-Baghdad.
I'm an Iraqi citizen and I want to thank president GWB from all my heart for the great service he's done to the Iraqi people by freeing us from one of the worst tyrants in history. ...
Kamal-Adhamya-Baghdad. ...
I had to leave Iraq because I didn't want to be one of Saddam's slaves. After so many years, I'm back to my country and I saw that people are not as nervous as they used to be. I saw hope in their eyes despite the security problems. All I have to say to our Arab brothers is,"We are practicing democracy. You keep enjoying dictatorship"
Ilham Hussain-Baghdad"
Should the President admit he made mistakes? Well, as your own William Safire wrote some weeks ago, that would be a nice gesture from all parties concerned. I'd really like to hear the press admit that it was wrong to oppose the liberation of Iraq - but I'm not holding my breath for that to happen.
As one who served with the Marines in the first Iraq war, I am immensely pleased that our forces are now finishing the job and helping the Iraqi people build a better future. It would be nice to get a little support from the media.
Letter to the New York Times: Editorial Policy
Dear Mr. Feyer:
I read your essay on the role of the Letters Editor with some interest. Please allow me a few brief comments.
You note that "liberal opinion seems to dominate", at least in readers' perceptions. Remember that there's a "chicken/egg" factor at work as well: readers who see the NYT as having a "liberal bias" will be less likely to read it.
Also, the issues of today's complex world do not always reduce to a "liberal/conservative" paradigm. I'm a lifelong liberal, and - like Sen. Lieberman, the editors of The New Republic, and NYT's own Thomas Friedman - I have strongly supported the Iraq liberation. At the same time, I find that listening to conservative voices often broadens my understanding immensely - which is why I regularly read Safire, Brooks, and the National Review. And don't assume that all who support Bush's policies in the Mideast are "conservatives" and therefore (for example) oppose gay marriage, because that's simply not true.
I cringe when I hear complaints of the media's "liberal bias" because I know these complaints are partly justified - and at the same time, the "liberalism" of the media is too often a corruption of true liberalism (which was supposed to have something to do with freedom) and is instead merely an irrational anti-government vendetta.
I get most of my information from the internet nowadays, partly, as you've said, because we live in a fast-changing world. But it is also a matter of credibility. I have little reason to listen to a New York -based editor's interpretation of the supposedly "disastrous" course of events in Iraq when I can get much more detailed and relevant information from Iraqis like Zeyad and Omar. While they are sometimes critical of certain aspects of US policy, their attitude is: "This is a good thing. Let's make it work." I don't get a similar impression from the press.
There are also a few anti-American blogs like Riverbend and Salam Pax (although Salam is no longer as anti-American as he used to be). These have generated discussion and debate on sites like "Up A River" and "Cry Me A Riverbend II". If you spend some time here, you will see that most Americans genuinely want to help Iraq and are receptive to constructive criticism of Government policies - but we are also able to distinguish that from anti-American propaganda.
So these are some of the reasons why I get most of my information from the internet rather than the traditional press. And by the way, your article came to my attention through my fellow blogger Jane.
(By the way, the perceived hostility of the press to the struggle for freedom is not a product of the imagination of disguntled neocons. There has been very harsh criticism of the Western press from the Iraqi sites mentioned above, as well as the Iranian dissident website and many other international sources.)
Thank you for taking the time to read this message. I do keep a blog of my own, but I am a fan of print media and I believe that fine newspapers like the Times can continue to be relevant in today's world. But in order to retain their audience, they must demonstrate that they are in touch with the world.
Asher Abrams
Portland, Oregon
I read your essay on the role of the Letters Editor with some interest. Please allow me a few brief comments.
You note that "liberal opinion seems to dominate", at least in readers' perceptions. Remember that there's a "chicken/egg" factor at work as well: readers who see the NYT as having a "liberal bias" will be less likely to read it.
Also, the issues of today's complex world do not always reduce to a "liberal/conservative" paradigm. I'm a lifelong liberal, and - like Sen. Lieberman, the editors of The New Republic, and NYT's own Thomas Friedman - I have strongly supported the Iraq liberation. At the same time, I find that listening to conservative voices often broadens my understanding immensely - which is why I regularly read Safire, Brooks, and the National Review. And don't assume that all who support Bush's policies in the Mideast are "conservatives" and therefore (for example) oppose gay marriage, because that's simply not true.
I cringe when I hear complaints of the media's "liberal bias" because I know these complaints are partly justified - and at the same time, the "liberalism" of the media is too often a corruption of true liberalism (which was supposed to have something to do with freedom) and is instead merely an irrational anti-government vendetta.
I get most of my information from the internet nowadays, partly, as you've said, because we live in a fast-changing world. But it is also a matter of credibility. I have little reason to listen to a New York -based editor's interpretation of the supposedly "disastrous" course of events in Iraq when I can get much more detailed and relevant information from Iraqis like Zeyad and Omar. While they are sometimes critical of certain aspects of US policy, their attitude is: "This is a good thing. Let's make it work." I don't get a similar impression from the press.
There are also a few anti-American blogs like Riverbend and Salam Pax (although Salam is no longer as anti-American as he used to be). These have generated discussion and debate on sites like "Up A River" and "Cry Me A Riverbend II". If you spend some time here, you will see that most Americans genuinely want to help Iraq and are receptive to constructive criticism of Government policies - but we are also able to distinguish that from anti-American propaganda.
So these are some of the reasons why I get most of my information from the internet rather than the traditional press. And by the way, your article came to my attention through my fellow blogger Jane.
(By the way, the perceived hostility of the press to the struggle for freedom is not a product of the imagination of disguntled neocons. There has been very harsh criticism of the Western press from the Iraqi sites mentioned above, as well as the Iranian dissident website and many other international sources.)
Thank you for taking the time to read this message. I do keep a blog of my own, but I am a fan of print media and I believe that fine newspapers like the Times can continue to be relevant in today's world. But in order to retain their audience, they must demonstrate that they are in touch with the world.
Asher Abrams
Portland, Oregon
Best of Blogdad
BEST OF BLOGDAD: OUR EYES IN IRAQ
from Iraq the Model, November 2003
on the media:
"To be honest, I won’t say that the media are lying but they are telling only one side of the truth.
This side usually reflects the attitude of the funding source of that particular station or journal towards the events in Iraq.
So I’ll try to show you the naked truth about daily life in Iraq.
And I will try to show you the difference between pre. And post. Liberation Iraq.
I will put it in some form of a series, discussing one aspect of life in each post.
Let’s talk first about security and order in Iraq, as this is a major point of concern.
Some TV channels try to show our streets like battlefields, actually they are not. the streets are relatively safe and one can walk in the streets with no fear greater than the one he feels if he was in any other country. People go to work regularly, stores and restaurants are open even to a late hour in the night. crime levels in Iraq according to IP reports are declining and they’re now much lower than they were In April or May this year.
The main point that satisfies me is that I no longer fear the risk of death penalty because of something I said.
Do you imagine that someone could get tortured and executed just because he laughed at a joke about Saddam or the Baath ?
Statistics from the reports of the red-cross and the IP state that approximately 1570 Iraqis were killed in violent accidents in Baghdad during the first 5 months following the liberation.
Some would say, well , this is sad. This is a large number of casualties. And this is true.
But if you take any 5 months during the reign of Saddam you will find that the number will reach to an average of 30 000 kills in Baghdad alone , I don’t want to bother you with math.work but if someone thinks that I’m lying then I can show you the whole calculation steps.
On health care:
I promised to tell you about different aspects of life in Iraq before and after the liberation, so today I'll be writing about another aspect (HEALTH CARE)
To those who think that conditions in Iraq nowadays are worse than they were under Saddan's regime, here are some notes involving the Medicare in Iraq before and after the war based on the events and facts I had witnessed during my 5 year service in the medical field before and after the war:-
1-before the war there was a system called "self financing" that was applied in almost all the hospitals and health centers. As one may imagine that the term must mean that each hospital should be responsible and independent in its financial affairs, actually what it meant was a much different formula.
Each hospital charged high prices for medications and medical services as compared to the average income of the Iraqis at that time, but this is not the major problem, as this system is used in many countries, the problem was that 20 % of these funds were taken to cover the defect in the military budget and 40 % were taken back to the treasury (Saddam's pocket) and this was the regular and officially documented system.
The remaining 40 % were supposed to cover the expenses of the hospital and to pay for the medical staff and other employees.
Today, the (self financing) system no longer works in pediatric hospitals( children under the age of 12 are treated without charging any fees). For older patients, however the system still works but after a 50 % discount of the prices and the funds no longer related to the salaries of the staff.
The whole money goes back to the treasury and the whole needs of the hospital is provided by the treasury, taking in consideration the 6-10 folds rise in the salaries of most employees and with the exchange value of the Iraqi Dinar to the Dollar being 1: 2000 which is very close to that before the war you can see the benefit for both the patients and the health workers, the former paying less and the latter getting more.
2- the most important change is that most of the emergency medications were provided in an amount that was far from being adequate. I used to go to the hospital for my night calls and the pharmacist comes and gives me the list of the remaining drugs, and I find that it contained only a single diazepam injection, three or four ampicilline injections with a few syrups and some times a single injection of hydrocortisone. This was not the case always, but this was the usual condition with very few exceptions.
I had to turn into a magician or a warlock to treat all the patients who come to the hospital, the no. of whom was by no way small knowing that it was the major hospital in al -Kut , one of the 18 Iraqi governorates in which over a 100 thousand people live.
The similar condition applied for most hospitals in Iraq with few exceptions.
Most of the chemotherapeutics used for treating malignant tumors were not available in hospitals and they were sold in the black market with prices reaching a 100 $ for the single injection (a fortune for most Iraqis at that time) forcing some families to sell their cars, furniture and sometimes their houses to keep the faint flame of life in their loved ones' hearts.
Today almost all of the emergency medications are available in all the hospitals and in more than a sufficient amount.
Almost all the chemotherapeutics are available for free for all age groups in most of the major Iraqi hospitals.
3- every one or two months we (the junior doctors) were forced to spend a week or two in Saddam's fedayeen camps and the so-called al-Quds(Jerusalem)army camps to supervise their (Dobermans’) health.
I recall when of my colleagues didn't show for 1 day, a military police unit was sent to his house where he was dragged (still in his pajamas) to the camp, he was told to choose between wearing a military uniform, holding a rifle to guard a spot for 24 hours, and spending 3 days in jail.
4- The police protection was near to nil. When a patient dies due to the lack of drugs or any other natural cause his shocked relatives would find no one but the poor doctor in duty to throw all their anger and frustration on, a phenomena mounted in numerous cases to the use of fists and boots and sometimes knives.
Today the junior doctors are free as all Iraqis are and no one compels them to do anything beyond their legal and moral responsibilities. The military service has become voluntary and even started to gain some appeal, after it was considered for along time as hell on earth for most Iraqis.
In every hospital there's a full FPS(facility protection service) unit to keep order and peace and to protect all the hospital employees.
5- The salaries of dentists rose from approximately 5 $(no, there are no missing digits!) to about 120 $ and those of the junior doctors and nurses from approximately 20 $ (again, no missing digits) to 120-180 $.
I know it's still a very low figure, but it's a good step forwards, putting in mind that most of the prices are still the same, with imported goods getting cheaper and local goods rising about 1.5 - 2 times the price before the war, and we were promised a big raise with the beginning of the next year. Besides we're not in a hurry, as we know that our country is passing through a very difficult economic distress, with all the huge debts, their interests and the money needed for reconstruction which demands some sacrifice and patience on our side.
And in case the GC do not fulfill their promises, well, we're not afraid any more and we will demonstrate, protest and keep the pressure until we get what we deserve.
There are no more torture rooms, no more mass graves and we will make sure that it remains so.
from Iraq the Model, November 2003
on the media:
"To be honest, I won’t say that the media are lying but they are telling only one side of the truth.
This side usually reflects the attitude of the funding source of that particular station or journal towards the events in Iraq.
So I’ll try to show you the naked truth about daily life in Iraq.
And I will try to show you the difference between pre. And post. Liberation Iraq.
I will put it in some form of a series, discussing one aspect of life in each post.
Let’s talk first about security and order in Iraq, as this is a major point of concern.
Some TV channels try to show our streets like battlefields, actually they are not. the streets are relatively safe and one can walk in the streets with no fear greater than the one he feels if he was in any other country. People go to work regularly, stores and restaurants are open even to a late hour in the night. crime levels in Iraq according to IP reports are declining and they’re now much lower than they were In April or May this year.
The main point that satisfies me is that I no longer fear the risk of death penalty because of something I said.
Do you imagine that someone could get tortured and executed just because he laughed at a joke about Saddam or the Baath ?
Statistics from the reports of the red-cross and the IP state that approximately 1570 Iraqis were killed in violent accidents in Baghdad during the first 5 months following the liberation.
Some would say, well , this is sad. This is a large number of casualties. And this is true.
But if you take any 5 months during the reign of Saddam you will find that the number will reach to an average of 30 000 kills in Baghdad alone , I don’t want to bother you with math.work but if someone thinks that I’m lying then I can show you the whole calculation steps.
On health care:
I promised to tell you about different aspects of life in Iraq before and after the liberation, so today I'll be writing about another aspect (HEALTH CARE)
To those who think that conditions in Iraq nowadays are worse than they were under Saddan's regime, here are some notes involving the Medicare in Iraq before and after the war based on the events and facts I had witnessed during my 5 year service in the medical field before and after the war:-
1-before the war there was a system called "self financing" that was applied in almost all the hospitals and health centers. As one may imagine that the term must mean that each hospital should be responsible and independent in its financial affairs, actually what it meant was a much different formula.
Each hospital charged high prices for medications and medical services as compared to the average income of the Iraqis at that time, but this is not the major problem, as this system is used in many countries, the problem was that 20 % of these funds were taken to cover the defect in the military budget and 40 % were taken back to the treasury (Saddam's pocket) and this was the regular and officially documented system.
The remaining 40 % were supposed to cover the expenses of the hospital and to pay for the medical staff and other employees.
Today, the (self financing) system no longer works in pediatric hospitals( children under the age of 12 are treated without charging any fees). For older patients, however the system still works but after a 50 % discount of the prices and the funds no longer related to the salaries of the staff.
The whole money goes back to the treasury and the whole needs of the hospital is provided by the treasury, taking in consideration the 6-10 folds rise in the salaries of most employees and with the exchange value of the Iraqi Dinar to the Dollar being 1: 2000 which is very close to that before the war you can see the benefit for both the patients and the health workers, the former paying less and the latter getting more.
2- the most important change is that most of the emergency medications were provided in an amount that was far from being adequate. I used to go to the hospital for my night calls and the pharmacist comes and gives me the list of the remaining drugs, and I find that it contained only a single diazepam injection, three or four ampicilline injections with a few syrups and some times a single injection of hydrocortisone. This was not the case always, but this was the usual condition with very few exceptions.
I had to turn into a magician or a warlock to treat all the patients who come to the hospital, the no. of whom was by no way small knowing that it was the major hospital in al -Kut , one of the 18 Iraqi governorates in which over a 100 thousand people live.
The similar condition applied for most hospitals in Iraq with few exceptions.
Most of the chemotherapeutics used for treating malignant tumors were not available in hospitals and they were sold in the black market with prices reaching a 100 $ for the single injection (a fortune for most Iraqis at that time) forcing some families to sell their cars, furniture and sometimes their houses to keep the faint flame of life in their loved ones' hearts.
Today almost all of the emergency medications are available in all the hospitals and in more than a sufficient amount.
Almost all the chemotherapeutics are available for free for all age groups in most of the major Iraqi hospitals.
3- every one or two months we (the junior doctors) were forced to spend a week or two in Saddam's fedayeen camps and the so-called al-Quds(Jerusalem)army camps to supervise their (Dobermans’) health.
I recall when of my colleagues didn't show for 1 day, a military police unit was sent to his house where he was dragged (still in his pajamas) to the camp, he was told to choose between wearing a military uniform, holding a rifle to guard a spot for 24 hours, and spending 3 days in jail.
4- The police protection was near to nil. When a patient dies due to the lack of drugs or any other natural cause his shocked relatives would find no one but the poor doctor in duty to throw all their anger and frustration on, a phenomena mounted in numerous cases to the use of fists and boots and sometimes knives.
Today the junior doctors are free as all Iraqis are and no one compels them to do anything beyond their legal and moral responsibilities. The military service has become voluntary and even started to gain some appeal, after it was considered for along time as hell on earth for most Iraqis.
In every hospital there's a full FPS(facility protection service) unit to keep order and peace and to protect all the hospital employees.
5- The salaries of dentists rose from approximately 5 $(no, there are no missing digits!) to about 120 $ and those of the junior doctors and nurses from approximately 20 $ (again, no missing digits) to 120-180 $.
I know it's still a very low figure, but it's a good step forwards, putting in mind that most of the prices are still the same, with imported goods getting cheaper and local goods rising about 1.5 - 2 times the price before the war, and we were promised a big raise with the beginning of the next year. Besides we're not in a hurry, as we know that our country is passing through a very difficult economic distress, with all the huge debts, their interests and the money needed for reconstruction which demands some sacrifice and patience on our side.
And in case the GC do not fulfill their promises, well, we're not afraid any more and we will demonstrate, protest and keep the pressure until we get what we deserve.
There are no more torture rooms, no more mass graves and we will make sure that it remains so.
The Iraqi Holocaust
THE IRAQI HOLOCAUST: AL-DUJAIL
by Dr. Firas M. Yaqub
posted on Iraq the Model
-"Al-Dujaile is my home town, I always looked at it as god's heaven on earth, it's about 60 kilometers to the north of Baghdad, on the bank of al Ishaki river (a branch of Tigris), inhabited by few thousands, most of whom are farmers, our village is well known by its date palms and grapes, a fascinating nature that takes your breath away, its people are related by strong tribal relations that keep them as one large family.
- Date: 7/8/1982, Saddam decides to visit the village, the Ba’ath party in the region prepared the people to make a big reception, they took us out of the schools(I was 7 years old). They made us line in a row on both sides of the road to wave for him and cheer his name. It never occurred to me that it would be my last day in the childhood world. I was forced to skip that period of my life with such cruelty that I can not explain.
-17 of the finest young men in the village had decided to put an end to the tyrant's life at that day, they had the courage to face him, we didn't know about their intention.
The brave men set an ambush among the palm trees, they couldn't tell which car was his, there were dozens of cars, all identical in model and color.
-The attack starts, the brave young men open fire from their simple weapons, some of the body guards get killed, others wounded, the tyrant get panicked, imagine that (Saddam is afraid) the man who enjoyed terrorizing people lives a moment of fear with all its details, he was so close to death this time.
8 of the attackers were killed, the rest fled out of the country.
(Woe to the sinners) who dared to make him scared, you should fear his revenge, you should learn the lesson so that it won't happen again, you should bow more and more and fear more and more, you should be scared to death so that you don't dare even to think of harming him; the shadow of god on earth.
-The answer was fast, one hour after the escape of the tyrant, we had to face his anger, I heard the sound of helicopters over our heads wreaking their vengeance upon our small village, backed later with shovels that leveled the trees with the ground, the order was clear(the terror should be great) so that the others would learn.
I ran away to my home into my mothers' lap, my younger brother and sisters gathered around me, I realized something huge has happened and anticipated the eminent evil. it didn't take long for the security to get to our house, we were taken to the unknown, me, my mother(who was 4 months pregnant), my sisters Einas(5 years), Zeina(3 years)and my brother Mohammed(1 year).
-The first station in our long journey was Al-Hakimiyah prison that belongs to the intelligence, I found hundreds of my village people, old, young, men, women and children, we were 480 there. Out of whom 80 were relatives of mine.
It was enough to say the word Hakimiyah for any Iraqi to be completely paralyzed(the one who gets in is a missing-the one who gets out is reborn-this was what we used to say about this prison, the walls of which tell thousands of horror stories that you refuse to believe.
I was too young to know why we were treated like that, but I sure knew the meaning of being scared to death. The sound of foot steps that stops by the door was enough for every one to freeze, as after that the door would be opened, a name of one of the men would be announced and he would be dragged to the interrogation room to return few hours later unconscious, covered by blood, wrapped in a blanket, and would be thrown on us.
The women and children had their share, and this is what saw: extraction of nails and teeth, electric shocks, whipping with lashes, using razors to tear the skin into shreds, my aunt was left hanging from the roof after her clothes had been wrapped of her in front of her brothers to force them to talk. Do you know how much pain we suffered? Can you imagine? I doubt it.
We stayed at Al-Hakimiyah for one month, the space was too small for all of us to sleep, some of us had to stay on their feet so that the others could sleep.
-After that we were transferred to Abu-Ghraib prison, where we met the men for the last time, after that, the 143 men separated from us and then transferred to another place, as for the rest of us, we were kept in Abu-Ghraib prison for six months, during that time, the day for my mother to deliver her baby came, she had complications and they didn't take her to the hospital until it was too late, the baby died. my mother never if it was a boy or a girl.
In the prison, 4 people died, my grandfather(Yousif Ya'koob), my uncles wife(Noofa Hasan), the old man(Abdul Wahab Ja'far) and his wife (Sabreya), after that we were transferred to a camp in the desert, near the Iraqi-Saudi borders, 400 kilometers south-west to Baghdad(Leeah camp).
We spent four years there.
Four years in hell, we were isolated from the world, all we could do is stay alive and pray for the men whom their destiny was unknown to us.
We were released in 1986, only for another journey of pain and suffering. We had to start a new life as all our properties were confiscated and we still don’t know anything about the men.
The other good people in our village helped us, offered us jobs in their lands and a place to stay in. I had to work -with my little brother and sisters- to earn our living and to continue with our study. Farming is too hard a job for children of our age, but we had already passed that stage.
It’s hard to explain what life is when you're a suspect with the eyes of security agents following you, stifling your breath, making your life even harder and harder, we had to give them all the pennies we could save to get some information about the missing ones, and they always promised us good news, and that our beloved ones were alive and being treated well. we didn't believe that, but what is life without hope!?
-Sixteen years later...October/2002. I finished medical school and started to practice my job as a doctor in Baghdad. The same year, Saddam suffers a hard time, the USA and the allies tighten the circle around him, he decides to set all prisoners free, including the political. That was what he said, the fact; he released only the murderers and the thieves.
Our cries lost their way trying to find our relatives among the thousands of faces, each time they reassure us that there would be another group to be released the next day, but all our efforts were in vain, we had no one but god to pray to and seek his help to show us the way.
Date: 4/9/2003, I can’t believe it, the tyrant falls, is it a dream?
Does it mean no more fear, no more terror, and no more death? We jumped into the streets wreaking our vengeance on his pictures and statues that surrounded the village he raped in a dark night.
The towns and villages expelled him and expelled his name……..WE WERE SAVED.
I took a deep breath, the air had the scent of freedom, nothing can be more beautiful, it’s difficult to describe, but we were overwhelmed by happiness, with only one distress: where had our beloved ones gone?
We started to search the security departments in Baghdad,- like thousands of Iraqis- looking for a trace, I didn’t take a long time, we found what we were looking for. The documents of the crime, I read with tears in my eyes; the presidency order dated: 7 /23 /1985, signed by the tyrant, ordering the execution of 143 men from Al-Dujaile, the youngest one (Najeeb Abd Kadim) 11 years old. Among these, 35 were relatives of mine.
God bless your souls martyrs, may you have peace in heaven, if it wasn’t your courage and blood we wouldn’t be proud.
This is the story behind these photos, my friend. It’s time they have a decent funeral. We haven’t found their remains yet, but they will always remain in our hearts”
My friend surprised me saying” we don’t regret what happened, and yesterday, when the nine remaining heroes returned to Iraq, we met them with flowers, as the heroes of all the Iraqis, and we will never blame them, as they’re the ones who kept our chins up
by Dr. Firas M. Yaqub
posted on Iraq the Model
-"Al-Dujaile is my home town, I always looked at it as god's heaven on earth, it's about 60 kilometers to the north of Baghdad, on the bank of al Ishaki river (a branch of Tigris), inhabited by few thousands, most of whom are farmers, our village is well known by its date palms and grapes, a fascinating nature that takes your breath away, its people are related by strong tribal relations that keep them as one large family.
- Date: 7/8/1982, Saddam decides to visit the village, the Ba’ath party in the region prepared the people to make a big reception, they took us out of the schools(I was 7 years old). They made us line in a row on both sides of the road to wave for him and cheer his name. It never occurred to me that it would be my last day in the childhood world. I was forced to skip that period of my life with such cruelty that I can not explain.
-17 of the finest young men in the village had decided to put an end to the tyrant's life at that day, they had the courage to face him, we didn't know about their intention.
The brave men set an ambush among the palm trees, they couldn't tell which car was his, there were dozens of cars, all identical in model and color.
-The attack starts, the brave young men open fire from their simple weapons, some of the body guards get killed, others wounded, the tyrant get panicked, imagine that (Saddam is afraid) the man who enjoyed terrorizing people lives a moment of fear with all its details, he was so close to death this time.
8 of the attackers were killed, the rest fled out of the country.
(Woe to the sinners) who dared to make him scared, you should fear his revenge, you should learn the lesson so that it won't happen again, you should bow more and more and fear more and more, you should be scared to death so that you don't dare even to think of harming him; the shadow of god on earth.
-The answer was fast, one hour after the escape of the tyrant, we had to face his anger, I heard the sound of helicopters over our heads wreaking their vengeance upon our small village, backed later with shovels that leveled the trees with the ground, the order was clear(the terror should be great) so that the others would learn.
I ran away to my home into my mothers' lap, my younger brother and sisters gathered around me, I realized something huge has happened and anticipated the eminent evil. it didn't take long for the security to get to our house, we were taken to the unknown, me, my mother(who was 4 months pregnant), my sisters Einas(5 years), Zeina(3 years)and my brother Mohammed(1 year).
-The first station in our long journey was Al-Hakimiyah prison that belongs to the intelligence, I found hundreds of my village people, old, young, men, women and children, we were 480 there. Out of whom 80 were relatives of mine.
It was enough to say the word Hakimiyah for any Iraqi to be completely paralyzed(the one who gets in is a missing-the one who gets out is reborn-this was what we used to say about this prison, the walls of which tell thousands of horror stories that you refuse to believe.
I was too young to know why we were treated like that, but I sure knew the meaning of being scared to death. The sound of foot steps that stops by the door was enough for every one to freeze, as after that the door would be opened, a name of one of the men would be announced and he would be dragged to the interrogation room to return few hours later unconscious, covered by blood, wrapped in a blanket, and would be thrown on us.
The women and children had their share, and this is what saw: extraction of nails and teeth, electric shocks, whipping with lashes, using razors to tear the skin into shreds, my aunt was left hanging from the roof after her clothes had been wrapped of her in front of her brothers to force them to talk. Do you know how much pain we suffered? Can you imagine? I doubt it.
We stayed at Al-Hakimiyah for one month, the space was too small for all of us to sleep, some of us had to stay on their feet so that the others could sleep.
-After that we were transferred to Abu-Ghraib prison, where we met the men for the last time, after that, the 143 men separated from us and then transferred to another place, as for the rest of us, we were kept in Abu-Ghraib prison for six months, during that time, the day for my mother to deliver her baby came, she had complications and they didn't take her to the hospital until it was too late, the baby died. my mother never if it was a boy or a girl.
In the prison, 4 people died, my grandfather(Yousif Ya'koob), my uncles wife(Noofa Hasan), the old man(Abdul Wahab Ja'far) and his wife (Sabreya), after that we were transferred to a camp in the desert, near the Iraqi-Saudi borders, 400 kilometers south-west to Baghdad(Leeah camp).
We spent four years there.
Four years in hell, we were isolated from the world, all we could do is stay alive and pray for the men whom their destiny was unknown to us.
We were released in 1986, only for another journey of pain and suffering. We had to start a new life as all our properties were confiscated and we still don’t know anything about the men.
The other good people in our village helped us, offered us jobs in their lands and a place to stay in. I had to work -with my little brother and sisters- to earn our living and to continue with our study. Farming is too hard a job for children of our age, but we had already passed that stage.
It’s hard to explain what life is when you're a suspect with the eyes of security agents following you, stifling your breath, making your life even harder and harder, we had to give them all the pennies we could save to get some information about the missing ones, and they always promised us good news, and that our beloved ones were alive and being treated well. we didn't believe that, but what is life without hope!?
-Sixteen years later...October/2002. I finished medical school and started to practice my job as a doctor in Baghdad. The same year, Saddam suffers a hard time, the USA and the allies tighten the circle around him, he decides to set all prisoners free, including the political. That was what he said, the fact; he released only the murderers and the thieves.
Our cries lost their way trying to find our relatives among the thousands of faces, each time they reassure us that there would be another group to be released the next day, but all our efforts were in vain, we had no one but god to pray to and seek his help to show us the way.
Date: 4/9/2003, I can’t believe it, the tyrant falls, is it a dream?
Does it mean no more fear, no more terror, and no more death? We jumped into the streets wreaking our vengeance on his pictures and statues that surrounded the village he raped in a dark night.
The towns and villages expelled him and expelled his name……..WE WERE SAVED.
I took a deep breath, the air had the scent of freedom, nothing can be more beautiful, it’s difficult to describe, but we were overwhelmed by happiness, with only one distress: where had our beloved ones gone?
We started to search the security departments in Baghdad,- like thousands of Iraqis- looking for a trace, I didn’t take a long time, we found what we were looking for. The documents of the crime, I read with tears in my eyes; the presidency order dated: 7 /23 /1985, signed by the tyrant, ordering the execution of 143 men from Al-Dujaile, the youngest one (Najeeb Abd Kadim) 11 years old. Among these, 35 were relatives of mine.
God bless your souls martyrs, may you have peace in heaven, if it wasn’t your courage and blood we wouldn’t be proud.
This is the story behind these photos, my friend. It’s time they have a decent funeral. We haven’t found their remains yet, but they will always remain in our hearts”
My friend surprised me saying” we don’t regret what happened, and yesterday, when the nine remaining heroes returned to Iraq, we met them with flowers, as the heroes of all the Iraqis, and we will never blame them, as they’re the ones who kept our chins up
The Iraqi Holocaust
THE IRAQI HOLOCAUST: DENIAL
“In his last dark meditation, just before taking his own life, Primo Levi wrote of the people who have survived unfathomable acts of cruelty:
Almost all the survivors [of the Holocaust], orally or in their written memoirs, remember a dream which frequently recurred during the nights of imprisonment, vaied in its detail but uniform in its substance: they had returned home an with passion and relief were describing their past sufferings, addressing themselves to a loved one, and were not believed, indeed were not even listened to. In the most typical (and cruellest) form, the interlocutor turned and left in silence.
If cruelty is individual, then silence is collective. It arises from the actions of many individuals working, consciously or unconsciously, as a group. Breaking with silence as a way of dealing with the legacy of cruelty is thus itself necessarily a collective act. While the cruelties described ... were going on, the Arab intellectuals who could have made a difference if they had put their minds to it were silent.”
- Kanan Makiya, Cruelty and Silence
“In his last dark meditation, just before taking his own life, Primo Levi wrote of the people who have survived unfathomable acts of cruelty:
Almost all the survivors [of the Holocaust], orally or in their written memoirs, remember a dream which frequently recurred during the nights of imprisonment, vaied in its detail but uniform in its substance: they had returned home an with passion and relief were describing their past sufferings, addressing themselves to a loved one, and were not believed, indeed were not even listened to. In the most typical (and cruellest) form, the interlocutor turned and left in silence.
If cruelty is individual, then silence is collective. It arises from the actions of many individuals working, consciously or unconsciously, as a group. Breaking with silence as a way of dealing with the legacy of cruelty is thus itself necessarily a collective act. While the cruelties described ... were going on, the Arab intellectuals who could have made a difference if they had put their minds to it were silent.”
- Kanan Makiya, Cruelty and Silence
Bush Speech "Less Than Expectations" - GC Members
This AP article reports that GC members were unimpressed by President Bush's speech on the future of Iraq:
"We found it less than our expectations," Iraqi Governing Council president Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer (search) told reporters after a gathering to discuss the resolution.
Council member Ahmad Chalabi (search) went further, saying the draft resolution "will fail the test for Iraqi sovereignty."
Iraq's defense minister, Ali Allawi (search), said he expects Iraq's security forces to be ready to replace foreign soldiers within a year.
"The timing of a presence of a multinational force, it is a question of months rather than years," Allawi said in London at a news conference with British Defense Minister Geoff Hoon. "The multinational force will need to be replaced by an indigenous force, an Iraqi force, in the course of a year."
He said an Iraqi security force should be in place "by and large" before national elections set for January. ...
Read the whole thing at the link.
"We found it less than our expectations," Iraqi Governing Council president Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer (search) told reporters after a gathering to discuss the resolution.
Council member Ahmad Chalabi (search) went further, saying the draft resolution "will fail the test for Iraqi sovereignty."
Iraq's defense minister, Ali Allawi (search), said he expects Iraq's security forces to be ready to replace foreign soldiers within a year.
"The timing of a presence of a multinational force, it is a question of months rather than years," Allawi said in London at a news conference with British Defense Minister Geoff Hoon. "The multinational force will need to be replaced by an indigenous force, an Iraqi force, in the course of a year."
He said an Iraqi security force should be in place "by and large" before national elections set for January. ...
Read the whole thing at the link.
The Secret Watchers - Portland (Oregon) Tribune
This story appeared in the Portland Tribune in 2002 and is particularly relevant today. While the agency involved was the Portland Police Bureau, rather than any Federal organization, it's a sobering reminder of how power can be abused. (One amusing sidenote: a "suspicious" young woman whose photograph appeared in the secret files - her offense was supporting the grape boycott in 1968 - was none other than Vera Katz ... by now the mayor of Portland!)
Mayfield Link - Portland Tribune
A very fine twice-weekly local newspaper, the Portland Tribune covers the Mayfield story here. In 2002, the Tribune exposed the excesses of a clandestine surveillance program by the Portland Police Bureau in an award-winning series of articles.
"Why didn't somebody do something?"
THE IRAQI HOLOCAUST
The Question
My mother grew up in the 1930s and '40s, and she could always remember watching the newsreels that came out after WWII. The pictures of the death camps, and the emaciated prisoner, and the stacked bodies, and the crematoriums. She would ask aloud, "If we knew all of that was going on, why didn't we stop Hitler sooner? Why didn't somebody do something?"
We had Hitler. In our own day, in our own time, in our own generation, we had Hitler. We had Saddam Hussein. And somebody "did something": President Bush, despite strong opposition at home and abroad, overthrew the Ba'athist Reich in Iraq and captured Saddam and his henchmen.
Had the "peace movement" had its way, Saddam would still be filling those mass graves. People would still be dying slow and horrible deaths in torture chambers, women and men would still be traumatized for life by sadistic rapes and disfigurements. And yet these things have ended in Iraq, precisely because of the war that the "peace" activists so strenuously opposed.
And even now, some people are unmoved by three hundred thousand bodies in mass graves. These are the same people who would have cared nothing about dead and dying Jews in concentration camps sixty years ago. I don't get it. Do they not see Arabs and Jews as human?
The Question
My mother grew up in the 1930s and '40s, and she could always remember watching the newsreels that came out after WWII. The pictures of the death camps, and the emaciated prisoner, and the stacked bodies, and the crematoriums. She would ask aloud, "If we knew all of that was going on, why didn't we stop Hitler sooner? Why didn't somebody do something?"
We had Hitler. In our own day, in our own time, in our own generation, we had Hitler. We had Saddam Hussein. And somebody "did something": President Bush, despite strong opposition at home and abroad, overthrew the Ba'athist Reich in Iraq and captured Saddam and his henchmen.
Had the "peace movement" had its way, Saddam would still be filling those mass graves. People would still be dying slow and horrible deaths in torture chambers, women and men would still be traumatized for life by sadistic rapes and disfigurements. And yet these things have ended in Iraq, precisely because of the war that the "peace" activists so strenuously opposed.
And even now, some people are unmoved by three hundred thousand bodies in mass graves. These are the same people who would have cared nothing about dead and dying Jews in concentration camps sixty years ago. I don't get it. Do they not see Arabs and Jews as human?
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