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Siah
08-11-04, 16:44
Falluja: The 'Frontlines of Empire'

By Mike Whitney
Al-Jazeerah, November 8, 2004

Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind...And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so.

How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar." -William Shakespeare
“You see, I’ve built up capital…and now I intend to spend it.” George Bush.

The siege of Falluja has begun with the all-too-familiar drumbeat from the
establishment press, only the language has been slightly modified to
accommodate the new situation on the ground. The overall purpose remains the
same. The press is expected to reinforce the rationale for conflict by
invoking carefully crafted euphemisms minted by public relations teams
working in synch with the Pentagon. Keep that in mind when sound-bytes like
“terrorist safe house” or “insurgent stronghold” appear in the morning
paper. They are the precursors of aggression. The American public is more
apt to accept the “necessity” of using overwhelming force when it is
concealed behind catchy buzzwords or war mongering jargon. This is how a
murderous attack on a civilian population is sold as a “humanitarian
intervention” or, even worse, as liberation.

Are there WMD’s in Falluja?

Is Saddam holed up in Falluja?

Do the people of Falluja represent a clear and present danger to the
national security of the US or a tangible threat to its people?

Then what possible excuse is there to relentlessly bomb the city, cut off
food and water, ban access to the city’s only hospital, fire on ambulances,
precipitate a mass exodus of 300,000 people, and wreak death and havoc on an
entire urban population. The siege is simply a muscle-flexing exercise
intended to send a message to Iraqi liberation movement that Washington will
not be deterred from subjugating the entire country. The message is clear;
resist and you will die.

An article by Ghali Hassan states that, “The US took over the main
hospital and converted it to a military hospital. In other words, the people of
Fallujah no longer have a hospital to treat injured men, women and children.
The US Occupation forces are currently preventing men of age 14-60 years
from leaving the city... US forces are also preventing journalists from entering the city to report on the ongoing massacre of innocent civilians…The BBC reports that the US strikes on the centre of Fallujah have completely destroyed the Nazzal Emergency Hospital in the centre of the city;” another, in a long list of war crimes.

Condemnation of the impending conflict has been widespread. Global justice
activist and author Arundhati Roy urged people to "become the Iraqi
resistance". She said activists and resistance movements "need to understand
that Iraq is engaging in the frontlines of empire and we have to throw our
weight behind the Iraqi resistance".

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also added his voice to the fray,
expressing his anxiety over the military build up around Falluja: “I wish to
express to you my particular concern about the safety and protection of
civilians. Fighting is likely to take place mostly in densely populated
urban areas, with an obvious risk of civilian casualties.”

Muslim clerics, members of the new Iraqi Council and Muqtada al Sadr have
all criticized the siege, most of them threatening to withdraw support for
the upcoming elections if the Marines take the city by force.
Prominent Saudi religious scholars have “called on Iraqis to support
fighters battling US led forces, saying fighting the presence of foreign
troops is a duty and a right.” (Al Jazeera TV).

“In an open letter addressed to the Iraqi people and posted on the
internet on Saturday, 26 Saudi scholars and religious preachers stressed
that armed attacks launched by Iraqi groups on US troops and their allies in
Iraq were "legitimate" resistance… Fighting the occupiers is a duty for all
those who are able.” (Al Jazeera TV).

All of these pleas, plus the overwhelming disapproval of the
international community, have been callously dismissed by the Bush
Administration. The massive assault on Falluja is being used to set an
example to people of the entire region. As neo conservative spokesman Frank
Gaffney recently opined, the goal is the ''reduction in detail (destruction)
of Fallujah and other safe havens utilised by freedom's enemies in Iraq''.
There’s no chance that the operation will be deterred by cautionary appeals
from either individuals or the world body.

Falluja has taken on a meaning that far exceeds whatever transpires in the
battle. It has become an Iraqi Alamo; the definitive symbol of Muslim
resistance to the Bush onslaught. The significance of the invasion is
greatly enhanced by already knowing the final outcome. The world’s only
superpower will crush the resistance, destroying anything in its path and
laying large swaths of the city to waste; that much is certain. This
understanding increases the stature of those who are bravely fighting within
the city; fighting for their country, homes and families against the most
prodigious military machine ever assembled. It is David against Goliath,
only David has no sling.

Many dominoes had to fall before the world’s attention became focused on
this moderately populated enclave east of Baghdad. The Congress had to be
coerced to surrender their war-making authority to the President. The anti
war movement had to be swept away like yesterday’s news. Even the UN was
casually ignored as the impotent, prevaricating “debating society” it is;
abstaining from its traditional role of facilitating American hostilities.
This all paved the way for the ultimate confrontation in Falluja, the first
roadblock for the Bush tsunami. Townsfolk, ex-military and foreign fighters
will have to assume the task that should have been the work of institutions
and massive civil disobedience. We all share some responsibility in the
violence that is now inevitable.

As always, the media has draped itself in the stars and stripes preparing
for the carnage. The coverage is usually little more than provocative
anecdotes about suspected terrorists that may or may not be in Falluja at
all. Why should it matter to the media? Reporters aren’t social workers.
Their job is simply to build the case for aggression by inventing demons
that have to be vanquished by the crusading American forces. This explains
why the words hardly leave Rumsfeld’s mouth before they are transmitted
verbatim across all the major news outlets as the unvarnished truth. If
Rumsfeld says that Abu Musab al Zarqawi is in Falluja; then Zarqawi is in
Falluja, period. (al Zarqawi has provided the convenient pretext for the
siege) Independent media who dare to veer from this corporate narrative are
either exiled from Iraq (as was the case with Al Jazeera TV) or car bombed in
Baghdad like Al Arabia news was just last week. There is only room for one
story line of events taking place in Iraq, and that is the tale of selfless,
Christian forces bringing democracy to the unwashed Muslim masses. This
accounting is faithfully conveyed on TV’s in the US on a daily basis.
America’s benevolence is never seriously in doubt.

Ironically, Reuters is reporting that rebel leaders of the Falluja
Mujahideen Shura (council) composed of insurgent leaders, tribal chiefs and
Sunni Muslim clerics are encouraging journalists to “embed” with them during
the confrontation. "All media will be allowed into Falluja to witness the
crusade against Islam and see the real face of America. U.S. media will not
be excluded.” This offer is not expected to influence the predictable
“one-sided” reporting from the war zone nor is it clear whether it will
affect the anticipated “news blackout”.

As the battle of Falluja unfolds we shouldn’t expect to see the suffering
of the Iraqi people or the brutality of their oppressors. Those channels of
information will be conscientiously foreclosed and replaced with “embedded”
reporters whose job is to detail the valiant struggle of US marines subduing
the native population. When the media merges with the military even a
bloodbath can look like heroism.

Arundhati Roy was right; Falluja is the “frontlines of empire” and our
sympathies should be with its victims.

GroteWolf
08-11-04, 17:54
Wat in Fallujah gebeurt is heel erg.

Siah
08-11-04, 18:58
daar/om



Assault on besieged Falluja under way
by



Thousands of families have fled in anticipation of an attack

US forces have struck a railway station inside Falluja with small arms and tank machinegun fire as fighting raged in the besieged Iraqi city.

US warplanes staged ferocious strikes on targets in Falluja after interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi gave US-led forces the go-ahead for a full-scale attack on city on Monday afternoon.

Aircraft struck about eight times in 20 minutes, sending huge plumes of smoke billowing up from the north-west of the city, where US-led forces are about to launch an offensive.

Medical sources told Aljazeera that 12 people had been killed and double that number injured during clashes between fighters and US forces.

Abu Bakr al-Dulaimi, an Iraqi journalist, told Aljazeera the clashes were the most violent the city has witnessed since April 2003.

"US tanks, armoured vehicles, F16 and C130 fighters are taking part in the attack on Falluja," al-Dulaimi said.

"Violent clashes are now going on in the western areas of the city. US forces are backed by tanks and helicopters", he added.

"Clashes have also erupted in Julan neighbourhood. Resistance in these areas is fierce," he said. "The city's defenders are responding to the US attacks with everything at their disposal."

US forces hit

According to the journalist, the clashes also spread to the western parts of the city including al-Jisrain area. US F16 fighters also bombed sites in northeast Falluja.

Fighters caused some damage to the advancing US forces hitting two tanks in the north western area of Saqlawiya and seven oil tankers in Qarma in the northeast.

"An unmanned aircraft was downed in central Falluja and a US military vehicle was burnt behind the new bridge," said al-Dulaimi.

Falluja's Shura (consultation) Mujahidin Council called for international intervention to halt the assault. It also called on the resistance fighters in other Iraqi cities to come to Falluja's aid.

Earlier on Monday, US marines seized control of land around the hospital on the western edge of the city, witnesses said.

Allawi said he had given US and Iraqi forces the green light to clear the rebel-held city of Falluja of "terrorists".

Sealed off

The US army closed all roads leading to the besieged city after Iraq's interim government declared a state of emergency throughout the country excluding Kurdish areas, sources told Aljazeera.

Nearly 20,000 US and Iraqi soldiers and marines are camped around the city awaiting orders to move in.

The US military says 1000 to 6000 fighters - Saddam Hussein supporters and foreign fighters led by al-Qaida ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - are holed up in Falluja's alleyways and on rooftops.

Peace talks between the interim government and Falluja have fallen through several times, most recently last month when Allawi threatened another attack if residents did not surrender al-Zarqawi and other suspected al-Qaida linked fighters.

But residents of Falluja say neither al-Zarqawi nor members of al-Qaida are in the city.

Aljazeera + Agencies

Siah
08-11-04, 20:06
http://www.maroc.nl/photopost/data/3049/28887s98-med.jpg

Siah
09-11-04, 12:40
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