"Bush is criminal" mosaic in front of Al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad
A U.S. professional wrestler of all people gave me the title to today’s piece. In 1999, I had a book
called Theater in a Squared Circle published. It was a sociological look at the popular U.S. form of entertainment
we call professional wrestling.
One
of the main people in my book is Wayne Farris. He was a huge name in
the field as The Honky Tonk Man. Farris wore a seedy-looking sequined
outfit and had greasy hair, making him look like a cheap version of an
Elvis Presley lookalike.
During
his career, there was a 15-month period in which The Honky Tonk Man was
the Intercontinental Champion of the World Wrestling Federation. He
wrestled daily all over the world and he was constantly going from
airport to stadiums and back to airports. When his run as champ was
over, Farris returned to the life of a "normal" wrestler, not a
megastar.
During
my first interview with Farris, he gave details about his career,
beginning with his Sunday-night training in an old barn in Tennessee.
Then, when we arrived at the 15-month period in which he was a
superstar, he was vague. I asked him to give more information, and he
told me, "It's all a big haze."
By the way, Farris has a Masters Degree in Education from Tennessee State University and was a schoolteacher
before he entered the ring of professional wrestling.
To
many people, the subject of Iraq from the time of August 2, 1990 until
today has been a big haze. So many things have occurred that it appears
like the world experienced many versions of the ongoing U.S.-Iraq war.
However, it is still one ongoing war that has included many battles and
there is no end in sight.
One part of the big haze that probably has escaped the memory of most people is the last week of the George
Bush I presidency. Incidents of that week were used as a warmup for future belligerence against Iraq.
Bush wanted to leave in place the mechanics to be able to attack Iraq at any time, for no reason other
than bravado, even though the U.S. signed a cease-fire agreement with Iraq in March 1991.
From March 1991 to January 1993, the embargo took hold. Iraqis began to suffer and die. But, there were no
U.S. military attacks against Iraq.
During Bush I’s last week, he decided to change that and set the stage for ongoing military action against
Iraq, under the guise of many names, such as the "no-fly zone," etc.
On January 13, 1993, news broadcasts were interrupted to proclaim that the U.S. was bombing Iraqi anti-aircraft
sites. No one expected this, so the talk was intense about the new operation.
The
Pentagon again showed the world videotape of pinprick air strikes in
which only military targets were hit. However, it did not show the
house in southern Iraq that was blown to bits. When this information
came out, Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams admitted the error.
But, the next day, the same Dick Cheney the U.S. now has as its vice-president, and in 1993 was the Secretary
of Defense, appeared on a CBS news show. He denied the strike and stated:
This is the same kind of gibberish we heard from Saddam Hussein during the course of the war itself. We went
after military targets. We struck only military targets.
Again, the dirty liar Saddam was to blame for U.S. pilots dropping bombs and somehow a house happened to get
in the way.
After
the news bulletin of January 13, many TV stations went to their
national stations and pre-empted local programming. In San Diego,
Channel 10, an ABC affiliate, was broadcasting an entertainment program
called "San Diego Today." The female presenter, upon hearing of the
bombing, said, "It seems he does something like this every two years. I
hear their economy is bad. Maybe that’s why he did it."
Not to be outdone, the male presenter added, "Actually, some countries do this when their economy’s
bad. They start a war."
This is the kind of illogic U.S. citizens had shoved down their throats. Iraq was bombed and media personnel
accuse it of "starting a war." Sadly, the U.S. public bought into this theory.
In
San Diego, the TV cameras went to a sixth grade elementary class
(11-year-olds) and asked the students what they thought of Saddam
Hussein and if he should be assassinated. This was considered hard news
in San Diego: asking 11-year-olds about killing someone.
In the aftermath, the U.S. national press began the anti-Iraq frenzy. One journalist called the Iraqi Ambassador
to the U.N., Nizar Hamdoon, "a fast-talking snake oil salesman." However, in September 1990, the Wall Street Journal called
him, "the best foreign ambassador ever posted to the United States." Hamdoon’s star had fallen quickly.
Then,
on January 17, 1993, the U.S. launched a missile attack against Iraq,
supposedly targeting an alleged nuclear research facility. As with the
previous attack, one missile went astray. It hit the Al-Rashid Hotel in
Baghdad. This hotel was well-known to the world as it housed the few
reporters who remained in Iraq during the hostilities of Desert Storm.
The clerk, a woman who was an admired person by people form all over
the world was killed. The following day, about a half-million people
attended her funeral.
Let’s get back to the missile attack. The U.S. could not deny that the hotel was hit, so it said the
missile was Iraqi, not American. The same allegations of Saddam being a liar were thrown about.
A few minutes after the public denial, an Iraqi soldier emerged from a crater with a missile part in his hand.
On it was written, "Williams International, Jacksonville, Fla. Series 9039. NOOO19-89-c-0204."
Since
there is no city called "Jacksonville, Fla." in Iraq, the U.S. changed
its story and said it was hit by an Iraqi missile. However, the same
U.S. government had previously bragged that its missiles could not be
hit.
One
aspect that emerged from this travesty was the creation of a mosaic
depiction of George Bush that was put in front of the Al-Rashid Hotel.
Every person who entered until April 2003, had to step on Bush’s face.
The inscription read: "Bush Is Criminal."
Up
to January 19, 1993, just one day prior to the inauguration of a new
U.S. president, the media were highlighting Iraq as an issue. One thing
was made absolutely clear: the U.S. public was ready for immediate
resumption of anti-Iraq propaganda.
Clinton
came on board with a free hand to drop bombs on and send missiles to
Iraq when he felt the pressure of other political subjects. During his
presidency, when the heat was being turned up about the economy, or his
affinity for oral sex in the White House, one did not have to be
Nostradamus to know that within a few days, Iraq would be the recipient
of some U.S. military hardware. It worked every time.
This
one-week period of January 1993 may not have represented a massive
military engagement against Iraq. However, its legacy was very damaging
as the stage had been set for any U.S. president to bomb Iraq at any
time with no reason, creating a big haze that still permeates peoples’
minds today.
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