December 11, 2003
IF ONLY IT WERE EASY, THEY'D HELP:
Iraqis for the "Occupation" (Dr. Walid Phares, December 11, 2003, FrontPageMagazine.com)
[T]wo others ironies were also hanging over Baghdad last night. One was the link between President Bush's drive to push for democracy in Iraq and the region, and the other was the silence of those who were supposed to drive that wagon around the world. Observers drew my attention to the fact that yesterday's march came after another smaller one, which took place the day after the U.S. President visited their city. They also noted that many of the banners were pasted from Bush's speeches to the Arab world last month. I was invited to make a link. Eventually I saw it. The workers, women and students in Iraq didn't mention the name of the Presidential visitor, but they heavily quoted his words. What's the message here? You can read it on the mushrooming underground websites in the region. People want freedom and democracy, even at the hands of aliens (what the Left calls "occupation" and the Iraqis call "liberation").This leads us to the second irony. While the underdogs are barking freely in the streets of Baghdad, challenging the Ba'athist shadows and the jihadist terrorists, human rights and democracy groups in the West lack the courage to come to the rescue of their fellow progressive forces in the Middle East. As a group of Iraqi students told me, "Isn't it terrible to see that Western elites came here to demonstrate in support of Saddam against the Coalition, and when we took the streets to demonstrate against the Saddam war crimes, they didn't show up?"
Yesterday was a benchmark in Iraq. Maybe a small step in the long journey toward human dignity, but all genuine marches for freedom are of eternal value.
Can't remember which talking head said it, but someone on NPR the other day opined that the French, Germans, etc. were right not to participate in Iraqi peace-keeping and reconstruction because it's dangerous and their soldiers might be killed. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 11, 2003 9:48 AM
"[H]uman rights and democracy groups in the West lack the courage to come to the rescue of their fellow progressive forces in the Middle East."
Sorry, that's not quite accurate. Should be:
"[H]uman rights and democracy groups in the West actively support mass murdering, tyrannical forces in the Middle East, Africa, and Korea."
Though I understand the author's dilemma, viz. the truth sucks.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at December 11, 2003 10:00 AMSo when do we see the "Where are they now?" pieces on the so-called human shields who went to Iraq in the belief that their presence would prevent it's liberation? What exactly have they ~moved on~ to now?
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at December 11, 2003 11:03 AMMr. Ortega;
Perhaps they should answer this call, but that might be dangerous.
Orrin
NPR may have said it, but so did our beloved Chretien (1 more day!), when stating he was completely unpreturbed by Canada's exclusion. Say what you will about our Jean, he is consistent in his cowardice.
This article comes on the same day Human Rights Watch in New York expressed opposition to the Iraqi war crimes tribunal on the basis of a lack of international participation and concerns about "revenge" (?). I recall the London Telegraph writing a long article on how Iraqi opposition groups were completely excluded from anti-war protest planning activities in London last winter, with the coniviance of a lot of so-called moderate, liberal politians.
The Left will do anything to exclude Iraqis from governing in post-war Iraq. So would the UN. But, then, hasn't the Left always?
AOG: Moving link. Thanks.
Posted by: Peter B at December 11, 2003 1:45 PMNPR! But of course!
Posted by: genecis at December 13, 2003 10:49 PM