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Title: What You Will Not Hear About Iraq
Source:
GlobalResearch.ca
URL Source: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=20742
Published: Aug 20, 2010
Author: Prof. Adil E. Shamoo
Post Date: 2010-08-24 14:53:51 by Red Jones
Keywords: None
Views: 131
Comments: 7
What You Will Not Hear About Iraq By Prof. Adil E. Shamoo Global Research, August 23, 2010 Foreign Policy In Focus - 2010-08-20 Iraq has between 25 and 50 percent unemployment, a dysfunctional parliament, rampant disease, an epidemic of mental illness, and sprawling slums. The killing of innocent people has become part of daily life. What a havoc the United States has wreaked in Iraq. UN-HABITAT, an agency of the United Nations, recently published a 218-page report entitled State of the World’s Cities, 2010-2011. The report is full of statistics on the status of cities around the world and their demographics. It defines slum dwellers as those living in urban centers without one of the following: durable structures to protect them from climate, sufficient living area, sufficient access to water, access to sanitation facilities, and freedom from eviction. Almost intentionally hidden in these statistics is one shocking fact about urban Iraqi populations. For the past few decades, prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the percentage of the urban population living in slums in Iraq hovered just below 20 percent. Today, that percentage has risen to 53 percent: 11 million of the 19 million total urban dwellers. In the past decade, most countries have made progress toward reducing slum dwellers. But Iraq has gone rapidly and dangerously in the opposite direction. According to the U.S. Census of 2000, 80 percent of the 285 million people living in the United States are urban dwellers. Those living in slums are well below 5 percent. If we translate the Iraqi statistic into the U.S. context, 121 million people in the United States would be living in slums. If the United States had an unemployment rate of 25-50 percent and 121 million people living in slums, riots would ensue, the military would take over, and democracy would evaporate. So why are people in the United States not concerned and saddened by the conditions in Iraq? Because most people in the United States do not know what happened in Iraq and what is happening there now. Our government, including the current administration, looks the other way and perpetuates the myth that life has improved in post-invasion Iraq. Our major news media reinforces this message. I had high hopes that the new administration would tell the truth to its citizens about why we invaded Iraq and what we are doing currently in the country. President Obama promised to move forward and not look to the past. However problematic this refusal to examine on the past — particularly for historians — the president should at least inform the U.S. public of the current conditions in Iraq. How else can we expect our government to formulate appropriate policy? More extensive congressional hearings on Iraq might have allowed us to learn about the myths propagated about Iraq prior to the invasion and the extent of the damage and destruction our invasion brought on Iraq. We would have learned about the tremendous increase in urban poverty and the expansion of city slums. Such facts about the current conditions of Iraq would help U.S. citizens to better understand the impact of the quick U.S. withdraw and what are our moral responsibilities in Iraq should be. Adil E. Shamoo is a senior analyst at Foreign Policy In Focus, and a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He writes on ethics and public policy. He can be reached at: ashamoo@umaryland.edu.
Poster Comment: I had high hopes that the new administration would tell the truth to its citizens even this very smart college professor was deceived by Obama. Such is the nature of human beings. we're all very flawed in reality.
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#1. To: All (#0)
as soon as the US invaded Iraq in 2003 very bad things began to happen to the Iraqis. a great example is the suicide bombings. There is not one single record of a suicide bomber acting in Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion. and then after the invasion it became extremely common happening several times per week for years at a time. killing sometimes 70-80 people or more in one incident and such incidents happening very frequently. They had previously been fairly prosperous. they are destroyed. for anyone who thinks that the US military does not do things that are kept private, away from public knowledge, then you just don't know the US military. Their undercover operations will act like a stealth cat in the night and be kept completely confidential. The US military thinks outside the box. They're willing to engage in and experiment with war-fighting tactics that are not normal. Today Iraqi is in such bad shape that their leaders who wish to act in the Iraqi interest wish to cooperate with the US. And this is true in a country where a few years ago opinion polls were showing sometimes over 90% of them want the US troops to leave.
Revelation 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
I believe that to be true. In whose interest is it to have these bombs go off?, the Sunnis? Shia, religion crazed christians in the military? Israel? The last two seem correct to me.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" for better or for worse, the US military is top of the line. Think of our people in our history. Whatever our people turn their focus and resources to, they generally do extraordinarily well at it. we've really focused on military things over a long period of time with huge resources put into it. Career military officers are constantly studying. We have about 4 or 5 war academies for the military and that doesn't even count the military academies like West Point, Annapolis & Colorado Springs. It has been well over a century since West Point was commonly thought of as the best military academy in the world. We have tons of people who simply think and study and do research on war. These are people who want careers and good retirement checks. The military pays very well. We should be very surprised if they did not come up with techniques & tactics that are completely outside of convention and also very effective. Now in Iraq we lost maybe 10,000 people, something in that range even including mercs. and responsible people will tell you that 1.5 million Iraqis died who otherwise would not have died due to the invasion. the end result is that their nation is hobbled and their leaders are at least publicly asking us to stay. Turiq Aziz who was Saddam's foreign minister said recently that the US should stay and occupy Iraq. our own enemies have come over to our side. we dominate that country. and made it look easy. while people around the world say we lost. We did not lose. The Iraqis lost. www.xeper.org/maquino/nm/MindWar.pdf here is an example of the type of work done by US military officers when they think about war. We have tons of people who do that. They think 'outside the box'. Read it and see.
Revelation 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Didn't you look at who his campaign contributors were? That right there was the elephant in the room, squishing high hopes and dreams truth telling. TIP: When it sounds too good to be true.......it's false. : )
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. ... We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of." Edward Bernays, Father of Public Relations
that quote I put in italics was from the article. I wasn't the one expressing a hope in Obama, the author was.
Revelation 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
lol.......okay. Obama is a smooth talker.
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. ... We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of." Edward Bernays, Father of Public Relations
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one.
#2. To: Red Jones (#1)
There is not one single record of a suicide bomber acting in Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion.
#3. To: tom007 (#2)
#4. To: Red Jones (#0)
I had high hopes that the new administration would tell the truth to its citizens
#5. To: abraxas (#4)
Didn't you look at who his campaign contributors were?
#6. To: Red Jones (#5)
#7. To: Red Jones (#0)
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