Yeah, we'll be out of there in not time....

I guess the "transfer of power" is going smoothly...or not.

Actually, 50% quitting is a pretty low, considering that 70+% quit back in April.

How many people live in Iraq? I find it hard to believe that they couldn't find 1,000 men who wanted the job.

Well, I think congratulations are in order for George W. Bush and company. After all, the withdrawal of labour due to unsatisfactory working conditions is as strong a sign as you could wish for to indicate that these people are becoming thoroughly 'Westernised'...

You must get dizzy spinning like that.

It was a joke. Perhaps I should have used a .

You are so right!







"To arab media:This is not resistance."

There might've been another 10 000 or so supporting the U.S. if they hadn't been killed in an unjust invasion based on lies, y'know.

This does not excuse the Bush administration by any stretch of the imagination.

Nobody would have been allowed in the first place.

That doesn't justify attacking countries under false pretenses.

That doesn't justify dismissing people who just attained their freedom.

They have freedom? I guess that means US soldiers don't kill civilians or conduct house raids that would be illegal in this country? And that they have decided to live with US occupation, that they voted on this?

Yes they do.

Obviously not to you though, since you've never lived under an oppresive 3rd world fascist dictatorship. Ah, wait a minute ... you probably think you do.

What's your definition of freedom, exactly? Because mine involves self-determination.

Not living in a fascist dicatorship, and at the very least have the realistic hope for a better future. Being able to express myself without the fear of being imprisioned or tortured, etc.

That's a facetious argument. And who is to say things really are better? They might be better RIGHT NOW (and marginally - it wasn't like the majority of Iraqis were in danger of being tortured to death last year, but more of them DID have lights and water last year) but who knows who we will put in charge of that country later?

Even still - the Iraqis are under a NEW oppressive military regime. Just because it's american faces doesn't make it better. There's no gradation of being free.

Do you think freedom of speech exists in Iraq? The US has already placed restrictions on Iraqi media.

I repeat, only somebody who has never lived under a repressive regime would say that. In their imaginations, the US army is an evil imperialistic force no better than the Nazis.

In reality, given the choice, most opressed people will chose a US marine over a "human shield" any day of the year.

Except for the growing resistance in Iraq. Read the new Time.

Protests against the Coalition and the interim government are allowed. Heck, they are even restrictions on the media here too, true, not to the extent as over there.

The question is not, is there absolute US type freedom of speech, but is there a relatively huge change in the freedoms (of speech or otherwise) between the current situation or before. The answer is , of course.

So if I pulled you out of the showers at Auschwitz it would be ok if I put you in a forced labor camp because it was better than your prior situation?

You make it sound like pre-war Iraq was a blood-soaked hell hole, where groups of Iraqi jack-booted thugs yanked civilians off the street at random so Saddam would have something to do in the evenings.

I read that Iraq was a reasonably peaceful and prosperous before the war. - Certainly not at American or British levels, but a far sight better than the shortage-ridden bomb crater infested Terrorist haven it is now. And things seem to steadily be getting worse.

How many civilians have been killed in the cross fire this week?

I see, so no significant improvements in freedom of speech now that Saddam is gone. That's nice to know.

I'm doing no such thing. A few supporters doesn't excuse Bush. Whether they live in Calgary, La Jolla or Tikrit makes no difference to me.

Iraq was invaded under false pretenses and against treaties the invaders had signed previously. Nothing can change that.

Would you take a job that entailed putting your life, and the lives of your family, in mortal danger for a few measly dollars?

The above is certainly true, however it is worth noting that more people died in Berlin after the cessation of hostilities on May 8th 1945 than prior to that date.

In fact, throughout history – high mortality rates have been fairly commonplace in post-war environments.

Of course, the problem we see in Iraq (and to some extent Afghanistan also) is that the death toll, instead of decreasing over time as is usually the case, appears to be remaining fairly constant. There may indeed have been some limited increase in mortality statistics over the last few months.

I’m quite sure this rather worrying actuality is causing certain people in the White House to occasionally grasp their heads in frustration; however I suspect that they won’t be reaching to press the panic button just yet as the news from Iraq isn’t exclusively bad.

Electricity, water and gas supplies are well on the way to being fully restored (if a touch behind schedule); a native currency is full deployment, and with the recent news that a substantial number of Iraqi people are returning to their pre-war jobs, there is strong evidence to suggest that the process of economic recovery is underway. And of course this is precisely what the Allies desire, after all: who on earth wants to risk their neck planting bombs when you could be earning money?

Personally, I’m of the opinion that we should allow the Iraq situation to develop for another six months before declaring the whole campaign a success or failure. The sheer amount of damage sustained by the Iraqi infrastructure during the bombing campaign pretty much meant that (much to George W. Bush’s advisors chagrin) it would be impossible to transform the country into some quasi-Western democracy overnight.

Of course, if the US and UK forces continue to be assailed by substantial numbers of hostile elements well into say … late 2004 then clearly – drastic action needs to be taken, and I would not rule out the extreme measure of decamping the entire occupational force.