November 13, 2005
It was just over a year ago - November 7, 2004 - when I wrote Pray for Falluja.
U.S. troops had cordoned off the city preparing for an all out attack.
How many were left in the city? How many escaped? How many died? A year
later, the numbers are still not available. Falluja had been ordered to
turn over al-Zarqawi. However, it was reported that he was not in the
city, and there was a strong possibility he had never been. With no
Zarqawi to turn over, the bombs dropped, mortars raged, all of Falluja
declared a kill zone.
It had been reported before the invasion of Falluja that it was a
city of 500,000. It was then decreased to 300,000; then to 250,000. It
was reported that all but 50-60,000 had left the city.(see Shifting Realities in Fallujah).
It was reported at that time that the U.S. was using prohibited weapons
in Falluja (and elsewhere). Those reports were denied by the U.S.
military.
In June of 2005,
it was revealed that the U.S. had indeed used a "napalm-like" substance
in Iraq. In fact, the British House of Commons demanded a full
statement, and demanded to know why this information had been withheld.
Now, the use of napalm (or its siblings) and white phosphorus are
back in the news. Largely due to a film "Fallujah, the hidden massacre"
by Sigfrido Ranucci. This film is available on line. You may download
it in WMV format or as a bittorrent
file. The film is illuminating in a variety of regards, but it seems to
clearly document the use of both chemical weapons and white phosphorus
against the remaining population of Fallujah.
The only people still denying the use of these weapons is the U.S. military.
There was a media blackout of the invasion of Falluja - typical of
most engagements since the original "shock and awe" invasion of Iraq.
There have been consistent reports of the use of prohibited weapons and
attacks on civilian populations. The response from the U.S. is also
monotonously the same - only insurgents are killed (with a few
accidents), the incident is under investigation, we don't use
prohibited weapons. LIES!
Over and over again we hear lies: from the original case for war, to
the pursuit of that war, to the use of torture and violations of the
Geneva conventions, to the use of prohibited weapons. How many lies
must we hear to know that everything is a lie?
I am a citizen of the United States. The government acts in my name,
if not with my permission. The blood and lies stain me, and every
citizen of the United States. Today, the atrocities and the lies
continue - in our names. How long can this be allowed to continue?
Will it continue until the United States gets the Iraq it wants with
Chalabi at the helm and permanent U.S. bases to launch on the Middle
East and Southern Asia? Will it continue for the launching of yet
another regime change, followed by another, followed by another until
all the land lies in ruin and chaos? How many lies and how many dead?
Even as I write this Bush denies torture is a policy while Cheney
pressures Congress to allow secret facilities that utilize torture to
be written into law. Is this the democracy we bring? Is this really
what we want the government to do in our name?
As questions slowly bubble to the surface about events that were
available up to four years ago, we hear them as if they just were
discovered yesterday. Bush claims that the "new" information is
creating a "revisionist history" of the knowledge going into the
invasion of Iraq. What a claim from an administration that consistently
revises history. The only problem is that the information we have is not new. The story of Fallujah is only one example of that.
It is easy for some to quibble about agendas and the necessities of
war. It is easy for the corporate media to not cover or to disinform.
It is easy to keep the question marks hanging and the news blackouts in
place. It is being perfected into a fine art in Iraq. Do you think that
art would not be practiced in the United States.
Recommended Reading
Fallujah:The Flame of Atrocity by Chris Floyd of Empire Burlesque.
US Army Admits Use of White Phosphorus as Weapon at the Daily Kos.
US Forces 'Used Chemical Weapons' During Assault on City of Fallujah, Popham, Independent, 11/09/05
BBC and Fallujah: War Crimes and Media Lies Media coverup on the use of White Phosphorous bombs. Zamparini, CRG, 11/10/05.
Iraq: Italian TV Alleges U.S. Used Chemical Weapons in Fallujah. AKI, 11/13/05.
