This is not some internet cut and paste, but is an actual email I (and others) received today from a former neighbor of mine, who I highly respect. He attended the Saddam Hussein trials this week. Interesting read - worth your time. Barry Greetings, Everyone ~ Iraq has a rich past with numerous ancient historical sites, all of which I can’t visit by venturing out from the security of the Green Zone. I’ve had to settle instead for history-in-the-making: being a part of the nation rebuilding effort here and, yesterday, attending the Saddam war crimes trial. Described below and in the photos / news article attachments are my observations, and some background. This trial is known as the Anfal trial, the second for Saddam Hussein and other varying co-defendants; the verdict on the first trial has been repeatedly postponed. The northeast area of Iraq known as Kurdistan has been warred-over for thousands of years, and the Kurds have been a proud and rebellious people chaffing under any outside governance. Saddam Hussein finally tired of skirmishes with the rebel Kurd Peshmerga militias, and began his own “final solution”, called the Al-Anfal Campaign, in March 1987 through April 1989. For two years Iraq military forces conducted genocide operations throughout Kurdistan, slaughtering 182,000 Kurds, of which 70,000 were in the leveled large city of Qala Dizeh. Whole cities and hundreds of villages, along with their Iraqi citizens (Muslim or not), were exterminated, towns bulldozed, and non-dissident Iraqi Arabs were resettled into those areas to re-populate them. Saddam Hussein during his regime used similar tactics within any non-cooperative Iraq region, including genocide among the “Marsh Arabs” in southern Iraq, reducing their numbers from 400,000 to 40,000. The savagery shown against the Kurds, Marsh Arabs, and for four months from August 1990 to January 1991 during the brief Kuwait invasion, were particularly brutal. On trial with Saddam is the army general who commanded the entire Anfal Campaign, Hussein Rashid Mohammed, now known to all as “Chemical Ali”. The day I attended the trial, October 31, 2006, I listened to the testimony of six eye-witnesses that had been “Anfalized”; this day-long experience will stay with me forever. As a former Federal law enforcement officer, the entire Iraqi Federal prosecution and court experience was interesting, and compounded by the intense security precautions taken. Our court visitor day began with a military convoy “rhino” (armored bus) ride from the Embassy grounds to the trial site, which was the ornate palace of the former Iraqi Secret Police Headquarters. Progressing inside meant passing through three body screenings, with complete full-body electronic scans alone in booths, before entry into the courtroom. We were seated in a raised balcony, wearing interpreter headsets, behind tinted bullet-proof glass with a close view of the entire proceedings; all seven defendants, including Saddam, sat in a railed area only about 30 feet in front of me. On one side in red robes were the prosecutors, on the other side in green robes were the defense attorneys, and behind them sat the civil lawyers that would take up restitution claims by witnesses. The judicial bench seated five judges, a Chief Judge plus four, who questioned witnesses and will decide a verdict without jury. The court proceedings were conducted under a combination of the Egyptian Rule of Law and Sharia (Islamic civil) Law, sworn in with hands on the holy Qu’ran, with no Americans observed in the court room. The proceedings were very dignified, witnesses were allowed to tell their stories without interruption, with the judges asking for testimony clarification at the end. There were no outbursts from Saddam or others during the day; most of the seven defendants including Saddam were attentive and took notes, but two looked bored and read magazines, despite the charges which could result in their death penalty. The six witnesses I heard were physically present during the Anfal attacks. Some were concealed behind a witness stand curtain blocking TV identification to protect them from future killing; all were under death threat. These were simple folk who related horrific experiences; farmers, housewives, and herdsmen attacked by aircraft, armor, and Iraqi soldiers. Several told about their villages being surrounded by troops, they and their entire extended families herded into sealed large rooms for several days without food, water, or toilets, identifications and possessions taken, and interrogated. During that time they were subjected to torture, rapes in front of family members, guttings, beheadings, and then herded at night onto prisoner buses and taken into the desert. There they were lined up along prepared large trenches and machine gunned; these witnesses were merely wounded and feigned death, or escaped in the dark. The mass graves have been confirmed and relatives identified by multi-national forensic teams. Another witness told of waves of aircraft and chemical bombing of her village in a valley while she was tending the farm on a hillside, and returning to her family and neighbors to witness their dying agony from the immediate poisoning. When these survivors went back to their villages and cities at later dates, they were completely leveled, with new settlements being built by Arab strangers. 182,000 Kurds were Anfalized by these and other equally inhuman methods, and the parade of eye witnesses will continue until the judges decide they have enough for a verdict. This was a very grim day for me, and as I've said, one that I’ll remember forever. I have attached to this E-mail several things to complete my notes of this day at the Saddam trial: a news article (amazingly!) already on the Internet when I got back to the Embassy at 6 p.m.; and two photographs (also Internet) of Saddam and the other defendants.. God’s Blessings to you and your families, (name edited)
But Hans Blix and Nursey say hope I mean say that Iraq was better under Saddam. How can this be? :shock:
Stephen Pelletiere, the Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Army War College is adament that Halabja was gassed using a nerve agent which Iraq did not possess - but Iran did - during a battle between Iraqi and Iranian troops around Halabja during the Iran - Iraq war, and that the Kurdish civilians were not the target. Also, he states that: Video: Stephen Pelletiere
On rereading that post, i realise my brief summary was poorly worded, i.e. 'adament'. 'Has good reason to believe' is more accurate.
Barry the letter was appreciated. But you see there is an organized effort with lots of technology, money. Ala MoveOn George Soro's etc. Their sole purpose is to discredit the U.S. and effect election results and policy in the United States. To that end history and events magically change. The ever so willing mindless sheep out there are waiting for the next morsel of anti-Americanism. And to them it's all so very true that conventional wisdom the whole world was aware of as truth is turned on its ear as part of the evil American lie.
Yes...how DARE!?£%^£ i deviate from the holier than thou AMERICAN version of events!! I notice you don't mention how those demonic Iraqis threw baby's from incubators onto the floor anymore...why is that then, i wonder?
Iraq was better under Saddam. Look at how the country is now. How it was before him. To put it into simple terms. It's like all those movies about a team of misfit kids always in trouble. Kind of like the Bad News Bears. They hire a Hardass to whip them into shape. Same thing with Iraq. Sometimes it takes someone ruthless to rule ruthless people.
It is sad how that misconception works You know there is more power and running water to more homes and more schools now than there were before the war?
What no copy paste from a moveon or other left wing rhetoric internet source? Facts are a bitch arn't they?
Uh they just reported they are still having trouble getting anything going in Iraq due to being SHOT at whenever they leave the Green Zone.
Ok Grim so let’s just analyze that statement. What does that mean to you? When "they" said that what was the intended reaction supposed to be? Are you just a wishy washy tool to be used like Nursey? Iraq is better off now than they were before the war started. I'll say it again. There have been proven bogus attempts to inflate the numbers in the amounts of deaths. There are more public services being offered to more people in Iraq than before the war. Plain and simple this is regardless of the fact that there is a huge surge of resistance that will build to a frenzy for the next few days while Terrorists try desperately to use people like yourself to effects of American politics to their liking.
Nice try. I didn't back it up because i didn't need to considering i was responding from an informed position to an outright lie. But just incase anyone else is in any doubt: From the Council on Foreign Relations, a *supposedly* 'non-partisan' American foreign policy thinktank, though really it is full of CIA, ex politicians and media figures. I'm only using it seeing as Joe will accuse any other source of being 'left wing rhetoric'.
U.S. troops should stay longer in Iraq: Talabani By Crispian Balmer PARIS (Reuters) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Thursday U.S. troops should remain in Iraq for up to three more years to give Iraqi authorities more time to build up their own security forces. At the start of a week-long visit to France, Talabani rejected suggestions Iraq had descended into civil war and accused the media of focusing exclusively on negative stories. However, he said "international terrorists" were still concentrating all their efforts in Iraq which meant the country needed outside help to defeat them. "We need time. Not 20 years, but time. I personally can say that two to three years will be enough to build up our forces and say to our American friends 'Bye bye with thanks'," Talabani told a conference organized by the IFRI think-tank. General George Casey, who commands the 140,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq, forecast last week that Iraqis would be able to handle most tasks within 12 to 18 months. Public pressure is building in both the United States and Britain to bring back troops from Iraq. U.S. President George W. Bush's Republicans face possible loss of control of Congress in November 7 elections, with dismay over his Iraq policy a critical factor in voter intentions. However, Talabani gave an upbeat assessment of the situation in Iraq, saying life was relatively normal beyond Baghdad. Continued... © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
The point is, The rebuilding of Iraq is halting all the great companies who where going to rebuild the country are pulling out. They made their profits off our tax money and now are cutting and running. The fucking place is a mess. It's worse now then when went in.
http://news.google.com/news?q=recon...:2006-38,GGLJ:en&pwst=1&sa=X&oi=news&ct=title Read the articals for yourself
