Jamada al-Thani 25, 1425/ August 12, 2004 #81
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROTEST THE ASSAULT ON NAJAF
Jamaat al-Muslimeen
Press release
P.O. Box 10881
Baltimore, MD
"We urge
U.S.
military withdrawal from Najaf. The U.S. must leave the Shia community to
manage its own affairs. Shia Muslims have the right to take sanctuary in
their own places of worship. INTERNATIONAL LAW and ISLAMIC LAW DO NOT
PERMIT MILITARY SIEGE OF PLACES OF WORSHIP.
"A worldwide assault on Islamic places of worship has been underway. The
Israelis
destroyed 132 mosques in occupied
Palestine
during the last 10 plus years.
India
destroyed Babari masjid and numerous mosques and Shrines in
Kashmir.
Hundreds of mosques in
Iraq
have been desecrated by U.S. forces , dozens destroyed, and now we have
a major Islamic shrine and graveyard in Najaf under siege."
-----------------------------------------
LATEST NEWS:
IRAQ:
August 12: U.S forces have launched an all out assault on the Shi'ite
holy city of Najaf. Tanks, helicopter gunships and jet planes, F-16s,
are being used to crush the lightly armed Mehdi army. The Sayyed,
Moqtada al-Sadr, has taken refuge in the mosque of Imam Ali.
[Moqteda Al-Sadr has appealed to Islamic authorities around world to
intervene and stop the American assault on Najaf.]
AFGHANISTAN:
August 10: According to the prestigious
Pakistani
daily,
Nawa-e-Waqt,
the Taliban shot down a U.S. military helicopter near Kandahar,
killing all abroad. A rocket was used to down the copter.The U.S. has
not commented on the attack.
[August 12. The U.S. admitted the loss of the helicopter, listing one
soldier killed, 14 wounded, but added that it was owing to "non-hostile"
causes.]
-----------------------------------------------------
[ Courtesy: Malaika Kambon ] [From: Sis. Hamdiyyeh Fatima]
Message from famous "Red Indian" leader, Leonard Peltier in U.S. Prison
Greetings From All Tribes Reservation in Leavensworth, Kansas. Eh!
I thought I should start with a little humor but in reality there isn't
much to laugh at around here.
On a more serious side, I sincerely want to thank all of you for your
continued support throughout these past years.
I also want to apologize for not having a representative at the last
Commemoration gathering, although in reality all
of you represent me in one way or another; for we are one people; one heart,
one commitment, one cause. We must continue our struggle together to make
a better future for our children and our children's children - the future
generations. I have good days and bad days here, but I have always felt
it an honor to belong to the OGLALA community.
A number of legal things have been happening regarding my case. Some of
them look very positive, however, I am
sure the opposition will go to whatever lengths necessary to prevent me
from regaining my freedom. As with the Arlo Looking Cloud testimony, it
is plain to see that they can coerce witnesses to say anything they want
them to say.
Always, always remember that it is they who brought the violence to us,
not us to them. We were right to stand up for
our people then and it is right to stand up for our people now.
I know some of you were too young to know the bitterness of those times but
those of you who remember, definitely know the people involved did the
right thing and were within our treaty and constitutional rights as well
as within our spiritual rights.
When you dance for the people, dance one for me. When you sing for the
people, sing one for me. You are always in my prayers, my thoughts, and
my heart.
Yours in the Spirit of Crazy Horse, always and. in all ways.
Leonard Peltier
-----------------------------------------------------------
Movie Review
Fahrenheit 911
- A Critical Review
Much truth in it but ONE GAPING HOLE: Israel not Mentioned
By Nadrat Siddique, Maryland
Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 911, exhibits all the strengths and
weaknesses of the liberal left. Moore, an outspoken opponent of the U.S.
war on Iraq, brilliantly titles the film after science fiction writer Ray
Bradbury's
Fahrenheit 451.
In the original sci-fi novel, it is the job of
the firemen, who work for the authoritarian police state, to burn books.
The temperature at which the book burning is achieved is 451 F. Moore's
analogy here seems to be that the conditions under which unprovoked
and-under international law-illegal war by a superpower on an
independent, sovereign nation is achieved is when an incident such as
9-11
has occurred, or been permitted to occur.
Moore appropriately begins the film by reminding viewers of the conditions
under which the "President" of the U.S. assumed office, focusing on the
disenfranchisement of Black voters in several Florida counties. For
readers of the NT Forum who have been following the reactionary role of
Fox News in the railroading and blackballing of Muslim leaders and causes,
Fahrenheit reveals an interesting point about Fox: With the polls still
open on Election Day 2000, and all the major television stations
broadcasting that Gore was well ahead in the Florida race, suddenly and
gratuitously, the Fox News Channel announced that Bush had won that state.
The other stations, embarrassed at their perceived mistake, quickly
followed suit, retracting their original broadcasts and announced the
putative
Bush
win-a win so dubious that the case eventually resulted in
dozens of Congressional Hearings and ultimately wound up in the Supreme
Court. But on Election Day, the announcement by
Fox News
of Bush's win
might well have influenced results at the polls; more importantly it
raised questions of whether Fox reported or fabricated the news. (For
more on Fox News, see the critical documentary
Outfoxed
now playing in
selected area theaters and available on video soon.)
In Fahrenheit 911, Moore uses humor to cover an otherwise heart-wrenching
story: the story of a president who covers his own ineptitude in
neglecting the national security interests of the country prior to 911 by
going to war to destroy an innocent and defenseless Iraqi nation. Off
over 500 members of the U.S. Congress, only one has a son or daughter in
the armed forces in Iraq, says Moore, who in the movie is shown somewhat
comically accosting these fast-retreating legislators before the cameras,
audaciously requesting them to volunteer a son or a daughter to fight for
freedom and democracy in Iraq. He rents an ice cream truck and drives
around Capital Hill reading the Patriot Act over the loud speakers of the
truck as a service to Congress members, who have signed away the First
Amendment Rights of the people, with scarcely a glance at the text of the
draconian bill they have signed.
Fahrenheit has the integrity to show extensive footage from un-embedded
journalists: Iraqi children screaming with pain from napalm wounds, trucks
laden down with civilian corpses, and the terror experienced by Iraqi
women during house-to-house searches by U.S. soldiers. Moore's interviews
with U.S. soldiers revealed the diversity of attitudes among these young
men and women. One young black marine, a Muslim, said he preferred jail
to being returned to Iraq to fight other people of color, who had done
nothing to him. Another, a bespectacled Caucasian youth, reported that
once the adrenaline was pumping, and the right music was playing in the
tank or humvee, he would shoot up the enemy without qualm, preferably to
the tune of "The roof is on fire..."
In a profoundly personal touch, Moore juxtaposes the bombed out areas in
Iraq with scenes from his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Footage of Flint's
slums with their rampant unemployment and ramshackle housing shows a
striking resemblance to parts of Iraq. Ironically, this desperately poor
U.S. town, and many others like it, is prime recruiting area for the U.S.
military. Here, says Moore, the children of poor Blacks and Whites, who
have few employment options, and often view the military as a means of
paying for college, are picked up for military service-to go and kill the
children of poor Iraqis.
In contrast with his clarity on the inhumanity of the war, Moore seems
confused about the driving force to go to war. Through various
interviews, Moore brings up the point that plans to attack Iraq were
clearly laid out well before September 11. Perhaps the first quarter of
the film amply emphasizes Bush's ineptitude, inaction, and his vacation
panacea-when the going gets rough, the Prez goes on vacation. And Moore
cuts poor Bush no breaks for going on one vacation after another early in
his administration. In one scene, Bush appears in a Florida kindergarten
classroom (actual footage) reading a children's book with the class as
part of a photo-op. As he sits in the classroom, an aid enters to inform
him that the first plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. The
Commander-In-Chief remains exactly where he is in the kindergarten, calmly
reading the kiddy book, with a slightly moronic look on his face. Moore's
voice over explains that perhaps Bush's inaction stems from the fact that
no secret service members are around to suggest an appropriate response to
the President. It is clear from this and numerous other scenes that Moore
might not put money on Bush's intellectual ability.
Someone more focused, agenda-driven, and amoral even than Bush had to come
up with a plan to attack Iraq--in defiance of the Security Council, the
U.N. General Assembly, the EU, and NATO; in contempt of traditional U.S.
allies France and
Germany;
and in utter disregard for worldwide protests.
And that someone had to be determined enough to persevere with the plan,
even if no WMDs were found; even if the U.S. image and alliances
throughout the world were tarnished; even if it meant years of U.S.
occupation of Iraq, at costs threatening to bring down the U.S. economy;
and even if it meant heightened hatred for U.S. imperial policies and
increased risk of terrorist attacks on the U.S. itself. Yet the
illustrious film-maker offers no suggestions as to the masterminds of such
a well thought out scheme. Perhaps in consideration of his career as a
Hollywood film-maker, Moore carefully sidesteps scrutiny of the political
allegiances of the men formulating policy for the Bush Administration:
Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Perle, or any of the other
AIPAC
affiliated-Neocons
to whom Bush routinely reports. Interestingly, Wolfowitz and Perle,
despite their vociferous and unabashed push to attack Iraq, barely appear
in the film. Instead, Administration mouth pieces--Rice, Powell, and
George Dubya himself-are shown repeatedly throughout the film. They are
like puppets with unseen puppeteers.
The film spends considerable time exploring links between the "Saudi"
royal family and the Bush family, and the fact that numerous Saudis were
permitted unencumbered exit from the U.S. immediately after 9-11, when
all other flights were grounded. Moore hints that perhaps these Saudis
ought to have been detained and interrogated before they were sent on
their merry way. He mentions joint investments by the Bush family and
members of the Bin Laden family, intimating that the Bin Laden family
might not be as estranged from Osama as previously believed, and that
this, too, is cause for inquiry. Shockingly, the otherwise politically
shrewd Moore seems almost completely unaware of the servile role of Saudi
Arabia, and the subservience of its military, intelligence and judiciary
to U.S. interests. Without the use of Saudi airspace and intelligence
sharing, the "success" of both Gulf Wars, might have been in question.
But no Saudi sits on the President's cabinet or in his closed circle of
advisors which formulate U.S. foreign policy. Several self-described
Israeli citizens, however, do sit on these boards, determining the
allocation of U.S. taxpayers money. In his preoccupation with the Saudi
royals' imaged role in 9-11 and his complete inattention to the very real
Zionist
role in the Iraq War, Moore misses the boat on who is the
policymaker and who is the obsequious executor.
Sadly, the release of Fahrenheit 911 in the heat of the election summer
and well after the decimation of the Iraqi population, leads one to wonder
if Moore may be a dupe to the Other War Party-the Democrats.
-------------------------------------------
US training for Pakistan generals sought.
Wolfowitz, Jewish Hawk, Loves Musharraf
[Courtesy
Al-Jazeerah]
[Excerpt]
Wednesday 11 August 2004, 8:41 Makka Time, 5:41 GMT
Wolfowitz: If we don't train them, extremists will
A top Pentagon official has said he favours training Pakistani officers in
US military academies as a way of increasing Washington's influence over
the country's armed forces.
Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the House Armed Services
Committee on Tuesday that failure to train Pakistan officers could mean
"pushing them into the one alternative, which is the Islamic extremists".
"It's not as though if we leave them alone, nobody else will go out to
recruit them," he added.
"I think one of our problems in Pakistan today is that for too long we
deprived ourselves of one of the most important instruments of influence
in a country where the military is one of the most important institutions."
The deputy defence secretary also called President Pervez Musharraf -
who came to power in a military coup in 1999 - "a friend of the US",
adding that "no leader has taken greater risks, or faces more daunting
challenges from within and without".
---------------------------------------------
US bombing of Kut kills 72 civilians
[Courtesy: Al-Jazeerah] [Excerpted]
Thursday 12 August 2004, 9:06 Makka Time, 6:06 GMT
Clashes between Al-Sadr's men and Iraqi police are continuing
Heavy US bombardment of Kut has killed 72 people and wounded 148, one day
after clashes between police and Shia fighters in the southern Iraqi city,
a Health Ministry official said.
The official Falah al-Dirmani said the casualties were taken to hospitals
in the city, 170 km southeast of Baghdad.
US planes started bombing the al-Shakia district, in southern Kut after 3am
(2300 GMT Wednesday) on Thursday, said Kut hospital director, Khadir Fadal
Arar.
Many of the dead and wounded were women and children, he added.
The bombardment followed a day of fierce clashes between Iraqi police and
fighters of the Al-Mahdi army loyal to Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, in
which at least two national guardsmen and three policemen were wounded.
Office flattened
The office of al-Sadr's movement in Kut was flattened in the bombing, said
his supporter, Shaikh Muhammad Yihyiah.
Al-Mahdi fighters blocked streets
of Kut and the governor's office
"Our office has been destroyed because it was in the same district,
fortunately there were was no one in the office that's why we have no
casualties. Perhaps they thought it would be full of fighters," he said.
On Wednesday, Iraqi police and security forces were locked in clashes with
fighters who attacked Kut's city hall, police stations and national guard
barracks, said a statement from the Polish-led occupation force in the area.
The occupation force said people on both sides were killed and wounded, but
did not specify a casualty toll.
Streets blocked
Al-Mahdi Army fighters had blocked off streets and besieged the governor's
office in the eastern part of the town, armed with Kalashnikovs and
rocket-propelled grenades, as US planes flew overhead.
---------------------------------------
[An Australian journalist reports sexual humiliation of peaceful Afghan
{Pashtun} elders and villagers by U.S marines. Read Chinua Achebe's famous
book THINGS FALL APART to understand why White racists humiliate elders.
What was true in
Africa
a hundred years back is true in Afghanistan today.]
[Reported on Al Jazeerah TV.]
US abuses in Afghanistan alleged
By Lawrence Smallman
Wednesday 11 August 2004, 16:21 Makka Time, 13:21 GMT
The US military has pledged to have the matter investigated
United States marines have humiliated and sexually abused villagers in
central Afghanistan, an Australian journalist says.
Carmela Baranowska travelled to the remote Oruzgan province and filmed the
testimony of 35 Pashtun villagers from Passau who were held in detention
for up to five days this June.
Back in Sydney, the SBS reporter detailed events in a documentary aired for
the first time on Wednesday and sent her evidence to the US army.
In the programme, Baranowska says US Marines used the tactic of sexual
humiliation similar to that reported at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Fingered and beaten
One of numerous examples, 27-year-old Afghani villager Wali Muhammad
described in detail his alleged abuse by a group of 20 US soldiers.
"They fingered us, beat us and humiliated us," he says in the report.
"There were youngsters as well. They took off my clothes ... . Fingering
the anus is against
Islam.
"They were all laughing and mocking. When they took me a second time they
stripped me again. Yes, they took our picture."
The abuse has had a devastating effect on the village.
An older resident described how he had had to wipe off a "wetness" from his
backside after he had stood naked, spreadeagled and face to the wall.
Baranowska explained the consequences of the abuse. "The Pashtuns in the
Mirabad valley live in a tight-knit and culturally traditional society. The
effect of removing all the men from the village has shamed them very
publicly.
"With just women, children and US soldiers in the village in addition to
their sexual humiliation, they have completely lost face in the community.
'It is if we were dead. We have no honour' one of the villagers told me."
Some of the villagers had even fled their homes for Pakistan through shame.
US military response
A US Central Command spokeswoman, Susan Meisner, has confirmed that 35 men
from Passau were detained on 23 June and that an investigation into the
alleged abuse would be made.
"Now that we are aware of these allegations, the commander of Combined Joint
Task Force 76 has directed an inquiry into the matter.
"Our policies do not authorise photographing detainees in the nude
"but we do photograph detainees' faces and other distinguishing marks,
such as scars," Meisner wrote in an email response to the documentary.
Initial suspicions
Baranowska described how she had originally been embedded with the
US marines and was totally unaware of similar cases that she found in
other villages. "I only saw what they wanted me to see," she said.
The documentary shows a US
officer hitting his own soldiers
But her suspicions arose after she obtained an independent translation
of an interrogation by a local tribal leader who is cooperating with US
forces, Jan Muhammad.
"He was ostensibly questioning villagers looking for Taliban sympathisers.
He detained one for two days basically to show he was making progress.
Once I had the transcript translated, it was clear this man was being
detained for no purpose whatsoever," Baranowska said.
After her experiences in the remote province, the film-maker said she had
become suspicious everytime a shooting was blamed on the Taliban. She said,
"The place is so remote, there are no independent observers, checks or
balances "anyone can get away with anything."
Excerpts from the documentary can be viewed online at
www.sbs.com.au/dateline.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
click here to email
a link to this
article
2004-08-14 Sat 08:35ct