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Fallujah — from the other side From greenleft.org.au, November 10, 2004
This site is being regularly updated. Please refresh page for latest links. Open letter to the governments of the
US, Britain, Australia and all others supporting the illegal occupation
of iraq — “Do you feel proud of yourselves? Are you satisfied
now? Not content with committing war crimes reported to have left 100,000
Iraqi people dead, you have decided to ‘escalate’.” [full
article] US forces crack down on opponents of Fallujah
attack — US-led troops stormed a Sunni Muslim mosque in Baghdad
on Thursday and arrested its radical preacher who has urged Iraqi forces
not to fight alongside Americans attacking the rebel city of Falluja.
[full
article] Hong Kong protest against war planned
— Progressive Legislative Councillor Leung Kwok Hung, nicknamed
Long Hair, and the Committee for Peace Not War are organising a November
14 protest in Hong Kong against the attack on Fallujah. Sylvia Hale: “A barbaric and illegal
war” — “At this very moment the invading armies of
the United States of America are bombing the Iraqi city of Falluja into
annihilation, and hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent Iraqis are being
killed.” [full
article] Socialist Alliance statement: Stop the
attack on Fallujah! Troops out now! — The 10,000-strong Coalition
attack on Falluja, the Sunni city renown for its resistance to the US
occupation, is barbaric and unnecessary. The Howard government is complicit
in the atrocities taking place in Falluja now. Socialist Alliance calls
on the ALP opposition not to junk its troops out policy. To do so would
also implicate it in this war crime against humanity. [full
article] Red Cross: Fallujah refugee situation
dire — Thousands of Iraqis who fled fighting in Fallujah have
been without enough food and water for days, the International Committee
of the Red Cross has said. “There are thousands of elderly, women
and children who need aid, including water, food, medical care and shelter,”
Red Cross spokesman Ahmad al-Raoui said. “They must be allowed to
return home as soon as possible.” [full
article] Aljazeera: Mosques bombed as fighting
rages in Falluja — Almost half of the mosques in the Iraqi town
of Falluja have been destroyed, with US warplanes launching air strikes
and fierce fighting on the ground continuing. [full
article] Scott Ritter: Squeezing jello in Iraq — Far from facing off in a decisive battle against the resistance
fighters, it seems the more Americans squeeze Falluja, the more the violence
explodes elsewhere. It is exercises in futility, akin to squeezing jello.
The more you try to get a grasp on the problem, the more it slips through
your fingers. [full article]
Philippine protests against US assault on Fallujah planned — Stop the Fallujah massacre! US troops out of Iraq! Protest November 10, 10am. March to US embassy. Sponsored by socialist labor centre BMP, Sanlakas, Peace Camp and Iraq Solidarity and others. Baghdad Burning blog: Rule of Iraq Assassins Must End — “We're all worried about the situation in Falloojeh and surrounding regions. We've ceased worrying about the explosions in Baghdad and are now concerned with the people who have left their homes and valuables and are living off of the charity of others… Dozens of civilians have died these last few days in Ramadi, Falloojeh, and Samarra. We are hearing about complete families being killed under the rain of bombs being dropped by American forces. The phone lines in those areas seem to be cut off. We've been trying to call some relatives in Ramadi for the last two days, but it's next to impossible. We keep getting that dreadful busy tone and there's just no real way of knowing what is going on in there. There is talk of the use of cluster bombs and other forbidden weaponry.” [full article] Media release: Australian Muslim outrage at barbaric and inhuman genocide against the people of Fallujah — “Pounding a city with overwhelming firepower is neither civilised nor an act that would bring sympathy to the US-led Coalition”, said Keysar Trad, a representative of the Australian Muslim community. [full article] Brian Dominick: CNN Cheers Fallujah Invasion (Live) — Gotta love that liberal media… CNN anchor Carol Lin just narrated some shocking footage provided to the cable network (stills here) by the US military or an embedded pool camera. It shows what she said are Iraqi special forces and US troops storming Fallujah's main hospital and taking control of it. She said it is “important to take over this hospital so that the doctors can treat any war casualties unimpeded without any pressure from insurgents to, uh…” — and at this point she shook her head back and forth in a dismissive gesture — “spout anti-American propaganda like ‘Americans are killing civilians,’ et cetera.” That's an exact transcription. [full article] Brian Dominick: U.S. Declares War on Fallujah Medical Workers Dahr Jamail: Outrage in Baghdad — Yesterday martial law was enacted across Iraq (excluding the Kurdish controlled north), but today Allawi laid out six steps for implementing his "security law," which entails a 6pm curfew imposed on Falluja, all highways closed except for emergencies and government vehicles, General Institutions to be closed, a ban of all weapons in Falluja, the Iraqi borders with Syria and Jordan to be closed except for food trucks and vehicles carrying other necessary goods, and the closing of Baghdad International Airport for 48 hours. This is what freedom and democracy look like in liberated Iraq today. Reaction in Baghdad? “I am used to laws and I know how they function,” said Abu Mohammed, a lawyer here speaking at a mosque, “The first priority is that who makes the law should be legally authorized. Here in Baghdad, the martial law is genocide against the resistance in Iraq who are against the invasion.” [full article] The terrible cost of the first siege of Fallujah — The Iraq Body Count project has produced a special section on its website dedicated to an assessment of the terrible toll of the last attempt by the US military to reoccupy the city, in April. An IBC press release states: “Today the Iraq Body Count (IBC) website has published its analysis of the civilian dealth toll in the April 2004 siege of Falluja. This analysis leads to the conclusion that betweeen 572 and 616 of the approximately 800 reported deaths were of civilians, with over 300 of these being women and children.” British anti-war protests — Britain's Stop the War Coalition and anti-war collectives have organised protests in more than 30 cities and towns. Scottish Indymedia reports that four people were arrested in Edinburgh on November 8 for after they used red paint to “blood stain” the steps of the US consulate and spray painted the building with anti-war slogans (a picture is posted here). A list of some of the protests and activities being organised by the British anti-war movement over the next month can be found here. Jo Wilding: An Open Letter to British Troops Serving in Iraq — The US has asked the British government to send you north to free up forces for another offensive against Falluja. I’m writing to ask you to refuse any orders to deploy to Baghdad or other areas currently under US control. I was an ambulance volunteer in Falluja during the April siege. I went because my friend Salam, a doctor, said US troops were stopping medical supplies getting in, cut off water, food, electricity and had closed down the main hospital and controlled the road to the smaller one with snipers. [full report] Troops in the Iraqi puppet army desert — The Mercury News reports that, according to the US military, “at least 200 Iraqi soldiers had deserted their posts in the U.S.-led offensive on Al-Fallujah”. [full report] “Watching tragedy engulf my city” — I am surrounded by thick black smoke and the smell of burning oil. There was a big explosion a few minutes ago and now I can hear gunfire. A US armoured vehicle has been parked on the street outside my house in the centre of the city. From my window, I can see US soldiers moving around on foot near it… My neighbours — a woman and her children — came to see me yesterday. They asked me to tell the world what is happening here. I look at the devastation around me and ask — why? [full report] Aljazeera: “Scores of civilians” killed in Falluja — Muhammad Abbud said he watched his nine-year-old son bleed to death at their Falluja home, unable to take him to hospital as fighting raged in the streets and bombs rained down on the Iraqi city… “My son got shrapnel in his stomach when our house was hit at dawn, but we couldn't take him for treatment,” said Abbud, a teacher. “We buried him in the garden because it was too dangerous to go out. We did not know how long the fighting would last.” Residents say scores of civilians have been killed or wounded in 24 hours of fighting since US-led forces pushed deep into the city on Monday evening. [full report] Crushing Fallujah Will Not End the Iraq War — CounterPunch's Patrick Cockburn argues: “There is no doubt that the US can recapture Fallujah, if only by blowing most of it up. But this is unlikely to have much of an effect on the guerrilla war in central and northern Iraq which continues to escalate. It is still unclear how far the rebels will stand and fight against the massed firepower of the marines and the US air force. They know they are far more effective in launching pin-prick attacks with roadside bombs and suicide bombers.” [full article] British Guardian: Medicines and food scarce for trapped civilians — Iraqis still living in the city of Falluja said yesterday that conditions were deteriorating, with no electricity, food shortages and limited medical aid for the wounded. “The situation in Falluja is a tragedy,” one resident, who gave his name as Ismail, told the Guardian by telephone. “People cannot reach the clinics or the hospital and there are many wounded people. Most people are staying inside their houses. The fighting is heavy.” [full article] US anti-war movement responds to attack on Fallujah — Only a week after Bush's election victory, the US anti-war movement has organised a string of protests against the bloody assault on Fallujah. United for Peace and Justice are organising for a protest in Washington DC on November 16, the day that the US Congress goes back into session. The group's call for action explains: “The U.S. assault on Falluja is a catastrophic action that will result in horrific and unnecessary bloodshed, fuel anger and resentment against the U.S., and swell the ranks of terrorist groups rather than eradicating terrorism. We need to raise our voices in opposition to this attack, insist that the U.S. return to peace negotiations, and call for our troops to be brought home now.” International A.N.S.W.E.R. is also organising emergency protests against the reinvasion of Fallujah. According to a statement issued in response to the attack, “After carrying out days of air strikes over Fallujah, late Sunday night and early Monday morning U.S. troops entered the western part of the city, seizing the hospital and two bridges - hoping to close off any possible escape from their planned slaughter. At the hospital the U.S. soldiers blasted open doors and dragged out patients, doctors, nurses and hospital employees who were forced into the halls and onto the floors as U.S. soldiers tied their hands behind their backs. It is acknowledged that the goal of the U.S. in seizing the hospital is to silence the medical staff from telling the world about the death and casualty rate of the people of Fallujah as a result of the U.S. attack.” IRAQ: US plans another Fallujah bloodbath — Green Left Weekly's Doug Lorimer reports on the plans for the Fallujah massacre after the US presidential election. Arundhati Roy: Why we should support Iraqi resistance — Green Left Weekly report on the attacks on Arundhati Roy for her support for Iraqis' resistance to the US-led occupation of their country. Emergency protests against the massacres
in Fallujah |
