April 8, 2011

Eight years ago, many of us awoke to see Saddam Hussein’s statue being torn down in Baghdad. The media ate it up. This was as eventful as the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, George Bush stated. Iraq was free, most pundits wrote or spoke. The U.S. proved its naysayers to be wrong. Baghdad had fallen with a minimal loss of U.S. lives. A democratic Iraq was just over the horizon.

What you saw wasn’t real. Saddam’s statue was not torn down by Iraqis. The event was staged and well-rehearsed by the U.S. military.

Look at the aerial photo of the event. Maybe there were three or four dozen Iraqis. The "crowd" comprised U.S. military personnel and tanks, and about 50 or so journalists who were alerted in the Palestine Hotel, near the venue, to come and witness this historic event. This definitely was no popular action on behalf of the Iraqi people.

It appears that the "experts" who assessed the implications of the statue coming down were all wrong. The U.S. military was not met with a flower-throwing public; almost 5,000 U.S. soldiers, 4,000 U.S. civilian "security" personnel; and hundreds of other foreign nationals have been killed since April 9, 2003. Tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers have been severely wounded since that date. Moe than one and a half million Iraqis have died because of the consequences of the U.S. invasion. There is no democracy in Iraq. There is no government in Iraq. There is no peace in Iraq. It looks like the experts were a little premature in their basking in glory.

April 9 was supposed to be a national holiday in the "new" Iraq. On the first anniversary, Bush had planned to visit Baghdad and lead a huge parade in the area of Saddam’s statue. Something occurred along the way to make Bush change his plans: a fierce resistance.

On April 9 this year, the square will look the same as it has every April 9 since the U.S. invasion. It will be cordoned off and no one will be allowed to enter. This is a long way from having millions of people flood the area.

Two years after the "fall of Baghdad," I received a message from a reader in Canada. We’ll call him Martin. He was a blind Palestinian who suffered from a hearing deficiency as well. Martin had lived in Canada for almost 20 years.

His message floored me. With all that is going on, most have forgotten about April 9, 2003, the day the U.S. calls "the liberation of Iraq." Martin definitely had not forgotten and he spent the day in isolation.

I called him to get permission to run his message and he consented. Then, he told of his sadness that this day is not being commemorated by many Arabs as one of the most disastrous in history.

I mentioned what Hugo Chavez has done in Venezuela in a similar situation. October 12 is a U.S. holiday called "Columbus Day," in which the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Western Hemisphere is celebrated. However, it was the beginning of the demise of Native Americans. It is the most dreaded day of the year for the Natives today. In Venezuela, Chavez has turned the situation around. In 2004, a national holiday was proclaimed in his country called "Indian Liberation Day." I told Martin that someday the Arab world may do the same with April 9.

I ran this piece every year since 2004 and I will repeat it every year until the date of April 9 has turned itself around, much as October 12 has at the hand of Hugo Chavez.

I considered Martin to be a very good and selfless friend. He was financially destitute, but his main goal in life was to continue sending an anti-imperialist message to the Arab world and chastise those Arabs who sold out in the case of Iraq. I last spoke to him about three years ago. He had contracted cancer and told me that he was about to undergo radiation treatment and would be unavailable for a few weeks. I never spoke to him again. After a few months of silence, I called and his telephone had been disconnected. His e-mail address was also defunct. Martin died from the cancer, but in all my years of writing and corresponding with readers, he was the most committed individual I ever had the pleasure of knowing. I was saddened by his death, but I did have the privilege of knowing him for several years. His message that follows will always be with us.

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Hi and hello I am going to send you my feedback on the Anti War Movement. There is not enough fury in me, maybe because I was drinking but I do have the message to forward or to send so stay tuned to my message and it will be up to you to publish it or not, but I would appreciate it if you try to devote the Ninth of April to the Fall of Baghdad. In my case, I can't do much for Iraq and the people of Iraq because of my non-existing resources and my disability but I can devote Saturday April the Ninth for Iraq, I don't receive any phone calls, I don't go on the internet and I stick to my room. I know a day will come when I will celebrate with the People of Iraq when the last invader leaves Iraq. I leave you with my feedback on the Anti War Movement.

I am sending this message to express my solidarity with the People of Iraq, their aspirations and their resistance to the occupation, its outcomes, consequences and outcomes short and long term.

The mounting pressure on the People of Iraq is not new, nor is it limited to the invaders, their stooges, allies and the beneficiaries local and otherwise.

Iraq, the once cradle of civilization and the castle of defiance to the Zionist entity and its supporters was a target of the Coalition of the greedy expansionists; the old and new imperialists in Washington and London This ominous Coalition replaced the Alliance of Baghdad, Nato and Centcom.

As in 1991, the regimes in Washington and London lured and bribed the Arabs this time with the "Road Map." Out of sheer defeat and failure, and in order to maintain some dignity and self-esteem, the Arab regimes supported the invasion even when they denounced it. The Arab countries were open to the invaders' armies, ships, jets and secret services. Even the so-called Palestinian Authority failed the Iraqis who fought along side with the Palestinian Resistance.

On April Ninth, Baghdad fell to the invaders always with the blessing of the Arab regimes and media. Shamelessly and disgracefully, the Arab media played a dirty role in advocating for the invasion.

The fall of Baghdad was a very well-calculated plan; treason, silence and active participation all was translated into an explicit form of hatred with the share of the Arabs never to be forgotten.

After two years, with the Resistance gaining momentum, the so called Anti-War Movement or some of it adopted the position of the American Establishment: we can't abandon the Iraqis; we must "help them build their Nation."

The first question that comes to my mind is, since when does an invader help in nation building? Was the invasion intended to "build" the Nation of Iraq? Those who visited Iraq before the invasion and the sanctions know that Iraq was a nation that was unified, strong and capable to sustain itself against any aggression. Even after 13 years of sanctions, Iraq remained united, strong economically and otherwise. So, the Iraqis are more than capable to build their own nation if left alone. The same applies to the Syrians, the Lebanese the Palestinians and the rest of them.

Then, we ask did the invasion contribute to the well being of the Iraqis? not to the best of my knowledge.

The problem of the Anti-War Movement is it does not have a unified agenda, nor does it fight for one specific goal and when this jargon of "We Can't leave the Iraqis and we must help in building the nation of Iraq" is nothing but a stamp on the invasion and its advocates.

Then we ask is the agenda of the regimes of London and Washington in harmony of that of the Anti-War Movement? if this is the case, I don't think we are a movement at all.

What are the ingredients of building a nation? The Patriot Act, the Homeland Security? the ideology of the Conservative or the Democratic Parties? Is the American Democracy working for the Americans; all the Americans including the Moslems, the Blacks and other communities? These, and more are questions that are yet to be addressed by the so-called Anti-War Movement.

In short, Sirs, Madams and the rest, when you stop the crimes on the streets of your cities, help us build our nations. At that very point come and democratize us. Otherwise, leave us alone.