US and British occupation of Iraq is regarded as the re-emergence of the old colonialist practices of the western empires in some quarters. The real ambitions underlying the brutal onslaught are still highly questionable - and then there are the blatant lies over weapons of mass destruction originally used to justify the war. There were no great victory marches by the occupiers, nor were they thrown garlands of flowers and greeted in triumph. More US soldiers have died in Iraq since George Bush declared an end to the war on 1 May 2003 prompting the question: Will Iraq turn into a new Vietnam eventually bringing the US to its senses ... or perhaps to its knees?
US policy towards Iraq has always been shaped by the country’s rich oil resources, its strategic location on the Gulf and its regional weight. Iraq ranks only second to Saudi Arabia for its oil resources, and was the world’s second largest oil exporter before the Iraq-Iran war broke out in 1980. The US has always been a key importer of Iraqi oil. Even under the UN sanctions, US companies imported some 750,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Iraq until the end of 2002.
The Bush administration has justified its war against Iraq on three grounds: Saddam Hussein's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, his links to so-called terrorists, and liberating Iraqis from oppression and tyranny. Advocates of war in the US administration claimed that Iraq had continued to develop WMDs, and with Saddam Hussein capable of making them available to organisations such as al-Qaida, it put the US at imminent risk. However, a closer analysis of US behaviour, as well as the thinking of the pro-war camp inside the Bush administration, reveals that the justifications were convenient excuses for mobilising US public opinion. The war on Iraq was planned over several years, promoted by an influential group of neo-conservatives, made possible by the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, and marketed by the right-wing pundits and media.
U.S. October Death Toll in Iraq Hits 70 …The military says the sharp increase in U.S. casualties - 70 so far this month - is tied to Ramadan and a security crackdown that has left American forces more vulnerable to attack in Baghdad and its suburbs. Muslim tenets hold that fighting a foreign occupation force during Islam's holy month puts a believer especially close to God.
Revolution! The power scale is bending, disturbed By bomb laden souls bent against empire. It isn’t terror… it is tragedy. Shakespeare could not have crafted it better. Revolution! Upon the riddled carcass of wars yowl And the slaughter of human cells Upon the somber sands of death, This drama crests inside its fourth act. Revolution! The scene now set with harrowed seraphs Feeling bursts of metal strafe the waning soul, And ending their hallowed harvest Weary of this; our sloping future. Revolution! Man cannot sustain this blast; War penetrating even the angel’s love. The life taker and the giver, entrenched, Bogged down in the black swamp Unable to right their self-same falling; Indistinguishable in their smirking speech And muck ridden paws they murder the other. Revolution! Upon the riddled carcass of wars yowl Of obliteration of human cells On the somber sands of death, This tragedy’s inside its fourth act.
Iraq ranks only second to Saudi Arabia for its oil resources, and was the world’s second largest oil exporter before the Iraq-Iran war broke out in 1980.
The US has always been a key importer of Iraqi oil. Even under the UN sanctions, US companies imported some 750,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Iraq until the end of 2002.
(Flag by Ben Heine)
The Bush administration has justified its war against Iraq on three grounds: Saddam Hussein's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, his links to so-called terrorists, and liberating Iraqis from oppression and tyranny.
Advocates of war in the US administration claimed that Iraq had continued to develop WMDs, and with Saddam Hussein capable of making them available to organisations such as al-Qaida, it put the US at imminent risk.
However, a closer analysis of US behaviour, as well as the thinking of the pro-war camp inside the Bush administration, reveals that the justifications were convenient excuses for mobilising US public opinion.
The war on Iraq was planned over several years, promoted by an influential group of neo-conservatives, made possible by the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, and marketed by the right-wing pundits and media.
(Tottem by Ben Heine)
U.S. October Death Toll in Iraq Hits 70
…The military says the sharp increase in U.S. casualties - 70 so far this month - is tied to Ramadan and a security crackdown that has left American forces more vulnerable to attack in Baghdad and its suburbs. Muslim tenets hold that fighting a foreign occupation force during Islam's holy month puts a believer especially close to God.
Revolution!
The power scale is bending, disturbed
By bomb laden souls bent against empire.
It isn’t terror… it is tragedy.
Shakespeare could not have crafted it better.
Revolution!
Upon the riddled carcass of wars yowl
And the slaughter of human cells
Upon the somber sands of death,
This drama crests inside its fourth act.
Revolution!
The scene now set with harrowed seraphs
Feeling bursts of metal strafe the waning soul,
And ending their hallowed harvest
Weary of this; our sloping future.
Revolution!
Man cannot sustain this blast;
War penetrating even the angel’s love.
The life taker and the giver, entrenched,
Bogged down in the black swamp
Unable to right their self-same falling;
Indistinguishable in their smirking speech
And muck ridden paws they murder the other.
Revolution!
Upon the riddled carcass of wars yowl
Of obliteration of human cells
On the somber sands of death,
This tragedy’s inside its fourth act.
Copyright © 2006 mrp / thepoetryman
Ben Heine - Cartoons