Hey, kiddies, here's a story about a guy who got to stay in an Iraqi prison for fourteen whole years because he sold a roll of film. These prisons are one of the many important Iraqi institutions the war tourists human shields are protecting. Great job, guys! What he went through makes Gitmo look like a Club Med resort. He has a wish for the antiwar protesters:
“I am surprised to hear of all the anti-war demonstrations in the West,” he said. “I wish that the demonstrators could spend just 24 hours in the place I have come from and see the reality of Iraq.
“Fourteen lost years of my life. Nothing but bread for food — darkness, filth, beatings, torture, killings, bitterness and humiliation. I wish they could experience it for just 24 hours.”
Ah, he's just a little emotional. He'll get over it when he realizes that War is Not the Answer. (Don't think about the awful stories of beatings and torture. It's not as bad as, say, an artist in the States getting turned down for an NEA grant. Just think of pleasant things; go to the happy place. Ommmmm....)
(Via Wog Blog.)
Posted by Andrea Harris at February 25, 2003 02:09 AMMore of these stories will be expressed once Saddam is smashed.
The U.N Security Council will be humiliated and the French discredited.
But they will not learn. They never have and never will.
Posted by: bleeding brain at February 25, 2003 at 04:28 AMHe'll get over it when he realizes that War is Not the Answer.
I forgot...what was the question that War isn't the answer to?
Posted by: David Perron at February 25, 2003 at 04:41 AMI'm not sure of the point of this post. Are you saying that we should invade Iraq because it has a brutal prison system? Is this a criterion for invasion? Should we invade any and all countries that have a brutal, repressive system? I would love to if we could do it, but can we spread ourselves that thin? Would we not endanger our country if we did that? Is war the only answer?
Posted by: Horatio at February 25, 2003 at 01:02 PMHoratio – I’m not sure of the point of your comment. Are you saying that we should leave Saddam in power, despite the fact that he has a brutal prison system, has already killed thousands of his own people and will kill thousands more?
Are you saying that this is the only reason Saddam should be removed from power? Should we rely on inspections and agreements to curb his development of nuclear weapons, the way we did in North Korea? Would we not endanger our country if we did that?
If we leave Saddam in power, and he develops nuclear weapons and he kills many more people, will the anti-war movement take responsibility for the results of their actions?
Posted by: mary at February 25, 2003 at 01:12 PMMuch as I don't like liberal trolls, I do feel that taking out every badguy in the world would spread us thin (I believe this in spite of that fact that Horatio does to). That does not mean we shouldn't get Saddam. We can't fix all the world's problems but we CAN fix some of them, and we should.
Posted by: James P at February 25, 2003 at 09:34 PM"These prisons are one of the many important Iraqi institutions the war tourists human shields are protecting." - but since they are, as you imply, full of people who in a civil society would not be in prison and don't deserve to be in prison (and even if they did...) then maybe they are indeed worth protecting or not bombing after all. Unless these smart missiles are so darn smart they can identify prison guards (especially the really sadistic ones) and not kill the inmates. Now that would be impressive.
Which reminds me of a comment someone left on a messageboard some time ago, wondering out loud whether it was possible to invent a nuke so precise it could be used to kill just 5 or 6 people in a room instead of a whole city. Heh.
Posted by: Steven Chapman at February 25, 2003 at 09:43 PMWell yes. I was just using that as an example of the distastefulness of the entire totalitarian apparatus in that country, which is what the "human shields" will really be protecting, not the innocent civilians. In fact, I rather doubt any prisons are going to be deliberate targets, and I'll bet that's occurred to Saddam too. "Now, where can I hide my weapons from those pesky inspectors; they are getting suspicious about the diaper factory. Ah! I know!"
Posted by: Andrea Harris at February 25, 2003 at 10:42 PM