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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/" eudora="autourl">http://www.guardian.co.uk</a>
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No one is taken in by the US lies<br>
The graves of Falluja show the reality of Iraq's occupation<br>
Rana Kabbani<br>
Tuesday November 23 2004<br>
The Guardian<br><br>
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In an ideal world, the US-appointed interim prime minister of Iraq,<br>
Ayad Allawi, would find himself answerable for his craven obeisance to<br>
his American overlords, instead of using this week's Sharm el-Sheikh<br>
conference as an excuse to condemn those who are fighting back against<br>
occupation.<br><br>
A year and a half ago, CIA wings wafted him and his ilk back to<br>
long-suffering Baghdad, the ancient capital of a resilient Arab<br>
people, who had somehow survived two devastating wars, 13 years of<br>
history's most punitive sanctions, the all-consuming degradations of<br>
life under a totalitarian regime, the destruction and occupation of<br>
their country by a motley crew of US soldiers, British tag-alongs, "a<br>
coalition of the coerced and the bribed" - to use John Kerry's once<br>
radical phrase - and the harpies and carpetbaggers in the form of<br>
American private contractors, corporate swine, exiled Iraqi<br>
fraudsters, and professional torturers. Iraqis watched helplessly as<br>
their country's infrastructure was destroyed - electricity, sewerage,<br>
houses, hospitals, schools, libraries, bridges, roads - and as their<br>
national treasures were allowed to be looted, and their natural<br>
resources robbed.<br><br>
Now they are bankrupt, riven with preventable disease, chafing under<br>
emergency laws and watching as respectable political figures are<br>
roughed up and arrested for their party's stance on the methods of the<br>
occupation. There has been a regression to Saddamite tactics - one<br>
Islamist politician's daughter and grandchildren were reported to have<br>
been arrested when he could not be found. Press freedom is muzzled,<br>
and directives are issued to the media to follow the<br>
interim-government line on Falluja, or else. But the graves of Falluja<br>
speak for themselves: "Ya Allawi, ya jaban. Ya 'ameel al-Amercaan.<br>
Sheel idak, sheel idak. Hatha shaabak mai reedak!"<br><br>
This rousing chant, in Iraqi vernacular, which calls on Allawi to make<br>
himself scarce for being a coward and an American agent, is being<br>
chanted throughout the cities of Iraq in furious demonstrations.<br>
Al-Jazeera showed one of these last week, which may explain why Allawi<br>
scurried over to the more supine al-Arabiyya satellite station (which<br>
most Arabs sneer at, although not quite as hard as they do at<br>
al-Hurra, the Pentagon-financed and controlled propaganda station).<br>
There he denounced al-Jazeera yet again, having already closed down<br>
its offices more than three months ago, and harassed and insulted<br>
their journalists.<br><br>
In this, he was merely following in the footsteps of his American<br>
taskmasters, who sought to blow al-Jazeera off the face of the earth,<br>
first in Kabul, then in Baghdad, for allowing Arabs to see what the<br>
US was up to. What with embedded journalists giving us asinine reports<br>
on all other stations, using marine-corps terms as though there were<br>
no others ever taught them, and with Tony Blair forbidding anyone to<br>
parody Bush, al-Jazeera has become more necessary than ever, simply<br>
because it lets Arabs speak their minds freely, with eye-witness<br>
reports of the most uncensored and unpackaged sort.<br><br>
The fighting feminism on its For Women Only programme puts<br>
institutionalised western feminism to shame. All that manufactured<br>
outrage over the burka, which rose to a climax precisely as bombs fell<br>
on Afghanistan; where are the cries of outrage now, when Iraqi women<br>
are being incarcerated and raped in US dungeons, where tens of<br>
thousands of their menfolk are also being held; when they are being<br>
starved, denied drinking-water, bombed, buried alive in the rubble of<br>
their homes, maimed and killed? It will prove to be America's dirtiest<br>
war by far, and the one that destroys forever its sense of purpose<br>
and pride.<br><br>
Three million people had to die in south-east Asia before that<br>
arrogant American imperial misadventure ended. How many now?<br><br>
In this newspaper, Allawi's deputy prime minister called Falluja a<br>
necessary exercise, to root out "Saddam loyalists and foreign<br>
fighters", parroting Donald Rumsfeld's pathetic line that all the<br>
"terrorists" come from across the border, or are "dead-enders" from<br>
Ba'athist days. But the only deadly dead-ender is someone who could<br>
mendaciously argue thus.<br><br>
All Iraqis watch as their homes and mosques are desecrated by soldiers<br>
who shoot injured men in the stomach in pre-emptive lunacy that<br>
mirrors that of their leader. They and a billion Muslims watched as<br>
Americans forbade families from burying their dead, and allowed stray<br>
dogs to gnaw the corpses of pregnant women and toddlers on the mean<br>
streets of what was once Falluja, during Id al-Fitr, Islam's Holy<br>
Feast. No one is taken in by the lies and arrogance and greed of this<br>
racist war.<br><br>
Iraq is an occupied country, with a proud and stubborn people, who<br>
will never cease fighting till they are finally rid of their<br>
unspeakable latter-day oppressors.<br><br>
· Rana Kabbani is a writer and broadcaster <br><br>
Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited<br><br>
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