Starting in early May 2003, large mass graves have been found in Iraq. Buried in them were Iraqi civilian victims of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath regime. Among these victims were political prisoners and participants in the Shi'ite and Kurdish revolts that were violently quelled in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War. Also found were the remains of women, children and the elderly. According to some estimates, the total number of victims may exceed one million. [1]
Only a few columnists in the Arab world have written about these discoveries. The following are excerpts from some of their articles:
'Many Arabs Sinned against the Iraqi People when they Stood by Its Executioners'
In an article titled "No One Apologizes" in the London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, columnist Ahmed Al-Rab'i wrote : [2] "Dozens of political parties and figures applauded Saddam Hussein and his regime. [They all] defended him because they considered this regime to [be] nationalistic and an enemy of Zionism, and some even used to label this regime 'democratic.' [These people] appeared on [various Arab] satellite channels and on the streets of [Arab] cities fervently defending Saddam Hussein's regime, [until the moment that the] veil was lifted from the unknown, until they saw with their own eyes the hundreds of thousands of families searching for their missing [relatives], the hundreds of secret prisons the doors of which [never] closed, and the thousands buried with their clothes in a barbaric and inhuman way."
"Furthermore, they saw with their own eyes how these opponents of the regime were tied with explosives and blown up by remote control, while their murderers applauded…. We saw none of those who defended Saddam and his regime stand with a shred of courage to apologize to the Iraqis, admit his mistakes, and face the truth."
"Is there not a single man of conscience who might be brought by these sights to… admit he was mistaken, that he was unaware of the truth, that he was a victim of the misleading [Arab] media? Is there no one who will tell the public, [the very public] he led in demonstrations defending Saddam Hussein's regime, that he was wrong? Is it not a disaster when the one who committed the crime of defending Saddam's regime and deceived the people refuses to apologize!?"
"[And he should], first, to save his own face, and second [to save] the honor of the [Arab] nation …"
"Many Arabs sinned… against the Iraqi people when they stood by its executioners, when they underestimated the savagery with which the [Iraqi] regime treated its own people, when they opened up their media to anyone defending this ghoulish regime, and when they refused to treat others' opinions tolerantly. It is about time that some of them stand, with a minimum of self-respect, and apologize to the Iraqis...!"
'We Felt We were Partly Guilty, because Murderers from Our Arab World Perpetrated this Savageness'
In an article titled "But Who Will Apologize," Columnist Rajah Al-Khuri wrote in the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar: [3] "Over half a century has passed since the Third Reich collapsed, and the German people has still not purged itself of the horrible Nazi crimes committed by Adolf Hitler. A few weeks ago, Saddam Hussein's regime crumbled, and there is still not sign that the Arab regime has grasped the heavy weight of Saddam Hussein's horrifying crime…"
"The facts revealed together with the mass grave of 15,000 victims, like all the other mass graves, are a huge mark of shame, not only on the forehead of the deceased Iraqi regime but also on the foreheads of the entire Arab existence and identity and on any one who says 'I am an Arab'… because contemporary Arabism includes [also] tremendous measures of hatred and barbarism..."
"We all saw the film of the execution and murder [of victims by] blowing them up by remote control with explosives stuffed into their pockets. Later, we saw the [executioners] applauding as the victims flew into their air, their limbs torn apart and covered with dust."
"We felt something precious within our human dignity blown up [with these sights]… We felt that we, in some way or another, shared partly in the guilt, because murderers who came from our Arab world perpetrated this kind of savageness."
"[These murderers] had sold [the Arab world] the slogans of nationalism and progressiveness while riding on the back of the ideology of Arabism, which they prostituted... This barbarism, unprecedented in human history, was committed by Arab hands, by hands that found such delight in death and murder that the death squads would send the heads of the victims to Saddam Hussein's two sons in cardboard boxes…"
"These plastic bags in the mass graves contained bullet-riddled skulls, [bodies] wrapped in rags, [tied] in ropes, [or] dressed in worn pieces of clothing… Ropes still tied a mother's bones to her infant's, and a father's to his son…"
"So far, no one heard a single word… not an apology, not an announcement to betray an ounce of shame and disgrace, in light of the daily horrific ignominy done to the image of the Arabs by Saddam Hussein's – whose portraits were raised in the anti-war demonstrations!"
"All these murders, all these excavations that spill over the banks with the decaying bones of the victims, all the shock caused by 'Saddamism,' whose crimes surpass those of Nazism and Stalinism – and the world has not yet read a [single] communiquй expressing regret and apology…!"
"W e do not know what is more important now. Is it to rebuild the bankrupt Arab League or to rebuild the shameful image of Arabism?"
"What is required [now] is an Arab apology to the world for the Saddamic crime, an apology to the dead in their mass grave… an apology to the slaughtered Iraqi people, after there were among us those who tried to prolong this slaughter by defending Saddam, claiming that they were protecting the Iraqi people!"
Halabja is a Minor Episode in the Bloody Game of Saddam's Ba'ath Regime
In "Saddam's Mass Graves," columnist 'Ureib Al-Rintawi wrote in the Jordanian daily Al-Dustour: [4] "With the discovery of mass graves [on the outskirts of] Basra containing… the remains of over 15,000 Iraqis, the story of Halabja seems like a minor episode in the bloody game experienced by the Iraqi people under Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime." [5]
"This regime allocated graves – just as it did for his magnificent presidential palaces – in Iraq's districts and communities, equitably and impartially. [Accordingly], all Iraqis, among them respectable and disreputable members of the Ba'ath party, are among the many victims. These appalling revelations call for a reemphasis of the following facts:"
"For one thing, the dictatorship of the Iraqi Ba'ath dictatorship reached the level of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and next to it the other Arab capitals looked like oases of democracy and human rights..."
"Second, the assumption that change could come from within Iraq was refuted. Under this kind of regime, Iraqis were compelled to contain their suffering and pain for three decades. Change from within became inconceivable …"
"Fourth, to those still immersed in the search for the causes of the swift collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, I say: 'Do not exhaust yourselves searching for conspiracies, intrigues and betrayals. The reasons for this collapse were most shamefully exposed by the mass graves….'"
Characteristics of Official Arab Discourse: The Nothingness of the Individual, and Disparagement of His Liberties, Dignity, and Even his Bones in the Mass Graves
In "Mass Graves Don't Shake Their Consciences," columnist Salem Mashkur wrote in the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar: [6] "Many of those with good intentions say that what is needed now is to turn the page of the Iraqi past, to start a [new] page for the future, and to act to ensure that this page will be different from the previous one in every respect."
"It is impossible to meet this goal until we unlock the past and the elements that led to such a degree of oppression, suppression, and destruction…"
"We must beware of [the possible] recurrence of these factors and tragedies. This requires that first we shed light on the implications of tyranny, dictatorship, and the expropriation of an [entire] country and its subjugation to the interests of a single man and his two sons… to the point where, when foreign forces invaded the country, the Iraqi people stood idle, indifferent to the outcome of everything. All the people wanted was to be rescued from this nightmare..."
"… When I spoke this way at a convention organized by students at the American University in Beirut, my words were not well received by the leader of a Lebanese movement who spoke after me. He described my words as 'more Iraqi whining' and called for turning the page over on the [Saddam] regime and thinking of the future 'because the Arab nation is at risk and is under oppressive conquest' [i.e. American occupation]. He also said, 'As for the mass graves, these exist in any Arab country, and are not unique to Iraq.' As my interlocutor spoke, hundreds of mothers and sons were exhuming their murdered from a mass grave of 15,000 Iraqis, among them a large number of women and children. This grave is only one of dozens… exposed every day…"
"This colleague of ours tried to detract from [the seriousness of] the massacres... This is how the defenders of Saddam's dead regime acted, claiming that Saddam was not the only despot in the Arab world. While the late regime slaughtered its own people for decades, all these 'Jihad warriors' and the various Arab 'fighters,' secular and religious, held their tongues. Some even welcomed this slaughter; others justified their silence [by claiming] it was a foreign conspiracy…!"
"All these arguments [reflect] the… official and general Arab discourse: the negligible nothingness of the individual, and disparagement of his liberties, dignity, and even his bones in the mass graves…
'Only They Who Cry Out Against the Mass Graves… Will Have Their Demand to End the U.S. Presence on Iraqi Soil Respected'
In "Graves… Graves… and a Proposal," columnist Hazem Saghiya wrote in the Arabic-language London daily Al-Hayat: [7]
"It is not the mass graves and Saddam Hussein's regime that are scary. What is scary is those who say, 'Saddam's [regime] is ended, so let's forget about its graves.' [This is] scary mainly because in the shadow of this obliviousness, the Saddam phenomenon and its graves might recur… in Iraq or in any [Arab] country ruled by this culture of 'let's forget'…"
"In 1940, under Stalin's orders, the Soviets executed in the Katin forest 4,000 Polish officers who had been held prisoner. This mass grave became the backbone of national Polish culture [and a key factor] in Polish-Soviet and later Polish-Russian relations."
"Saddam filled the graves with his countrymen, such that it is even harder to forget… [Also] the number of the victims is not simple. The number of those murdered by Saddam… ranges between a million and a million and a half… We now face a schism in Arab culture… Those who want to oppose the U.S. in obliviousness and want to mobilize all efforts to this goal [of resistance]. But even if [all] agree [we should forget] and even if all agree to struggle against [the U.S.] – the road they take will lead to a new Saddam and new graves..."
"Only they who cry out against the mass graves… will have their demand to end the U.S. presence on Iraqi soil respected. Otherwise, how can someone be so eager to liberate Iraq yet show such abhorrence towards the collective death of Iraqis?"
"The one who turns these mass graves into monuments, who dedicates them as a lesson for the future, who seeks to expose the slain, one by one, to expose the life story of each, who restores to them a bit of [their individual] expression and frees them from being [mere] lumps and corpses… it is only his call… to bring about an end to the American occupation that will be trusted..." "To prevent the reappearance of these graves, [we must] discuss why they [came into existence]… and these reasons concern tyrants' domination of the peoples' lives with dogma and slogans..."
You forgot to mention a very important point, the writer is a pro-Kuwaiti guy, and is related to some of the big names in Kuwait who were so pro war and supported the US and gave them all the logistical needs (land etc.).
To clear something up, we're not with Saddam or his regime, we're against him and we're all for libration, but to overthrow Saddam and occupy the land?, what exactly is the difference here eh?
This is inavsion of culture, and occupation of land, we have a swamp over there in Palastine, and we don't want the same thing to happen again.
Oppressing his people?, can you tell me what exactly is the difference between him and the Saudi government?, aren't the Saudis oppressing there people, and personal freedom is even more tight?.. i am a Saudi, and am happy here, but am just trying to get you thinking of the whole thing..
You forgot to mention a very important point, the writer is a pro-Kuwaiti guy, and is related to some of the big names in Kuwait who were so pro war and supported the US and gave them all the logistical needs (land etc.).
Good point about the source. I did not know that, but I do think his general direction was valid. Bottom line is that rather than looking internally - the true jihad, they are forced to block this out by overshadowing it with some other bigger perceived problem. The problem in ME is more closely related to feudalistic autocratic/theocratic regimes and the oppression of their people than in peace and progress.
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To clear something up, we're not with Saddam or his regime, we're against him and we're all for libration, but to overthrow Saddam and occupy the land?, what exactly is the difference here eh?
The difference is absolute and clear. It is an utter falsehood the premise behind your argument. Maybe you don't realize it because you are grasping at easy spoon fed answers? Getting rid of Saddam was good. "Occupation" as you refer to is necessary to execute transition of power. We have already seen the problems associated with a power vacuum, and the US gets blamed for too much force (security), and too little force (security). The risk of things escalating out of control is real. The people are stressed. Feed them one sided propaganda that gives them an infidel enemy to blame things on, and we have a major problem. No one in the arab community is standing up to counter the outrageous and inflamatory rhetoric. People criticize the US for being one sided and suckers for propaganda - try multiplying that one thousand fold and you begin to approach the "information" environment in ME. Add to this that US former allies are holding the line against US. No one is stepping up to say that what has happened is a good thing and better for Iraq. Instead they let ME propagandists and provocateurs rule the day and as things worsen, can say "I told you so." We all have the power to make Iraq a success but it will require work and sacrifice. Those opposing US, including former allies, are less interested in Iraqi welfare than in seeing the US fail - no matter what the cost. The beauty is all they have to do is nothing to help it happen. This is a time for action - or at least words. Many lack the moral fiber even for words...
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This is inavsion of culture, and occupation of land, we have a swamp over there in Palastine, and we don't want the same thing to happen again.
I am convinced, and think its quite obvious, that there are radical groups that will not accept peace ever. They do not want peace with Isreal. They want to destroy Isreal. Their goal is to maintain and escalate the violence so that no solution will be reached. This leaves open the possibility of massive violence that may eventually lead to destruction of Isreal. Any solution that could settle the issue would mean the failure of their dreams.
And please don't start with "invasion" of culture, etc., etc. Its complete hogwash that has been blown out of proportion. Yes a kid from Ohio is different from a kid in Baghdad. Sure. But that kid from Ohio is not trying to rearrange Iraqi culture. US has thrived on an influx of people from all over the world. Those people can live freely and prosper, to a great extent, based upon their god given abilities AND individual motivation. Arab and muslim culture in general has been very tolerant over the centuries so there is nothing that contradicts a kid from Ohio doing his job in Baghdad for 12 months. Naturally he should not break the "law" and rape and pillage and murder.
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Oppressing his people?, can you tell me what exactly is the difference between him and the Saudi government?, aren't the Saudis oppressing there people, and personal freedom is even more tight?.. i am a Saudi, and am happy here, but am just trying to get you thinking of the whole thing..
If Iraq can be resolved reasonably, then you WILL see ripple changes throughout ME. The US is responsible for death and destruction in Iraq. Many people who suffered personally will not forgive US for a long time and they are prime candidates for manipulation by groups that do not want to see stability in Iraq. Continue escalation, where Baghdad kids kill Ohio kids, then Ohio kids kill Baghdad kids, and it will get worse and worse. The US is also ready to help Iraq. Much of our true help can only come once a reasonable level of stability is achieved.
By not supporting stability in Iraq, and both sides of the story, YOU are hurting not only US, but primarily the Iraqis.
Rage- are you a married man yet? Hey, just don't forget- the u.s. has no desire to "occupy" anything. you work here, you know the sentiment of americans. this colonialism rap, really bugs me, because i have yet to see any proof of american colonialism being given. and let's not go back in history, yes, i admit in days of old there are examples. does having troops in Kuwait make us expanionists? or does it mean we live by our treaties? anyway, hope all is well with you-jim
Not married yet Jim, plans are for Feb 2004 if the fiancae doesn't chage her mind .
Help me understand this Charles, why do we have soooooo many problems in Iraq now, why?.. I don't get it, the allies said they had a plan for post-war, but to be honest, i don't think they did and if they did, it's not working.. at all..
Charles, no, we're not in for "you see, i told you..".. BUT, we told the allies that Iraq is not Afghanistan, go to their history and read about Alhajjaj Al-Thaqafee and people like him. Through our history, it's well known that the Iraqi people are very proud, and ruling them is not a walk in the park. It pains everybody in the ME to see those people with no electricity or clean water for days.. it has been months now, and believe it or not, the basic needs were more avilable when Saddam was in power.
Going back to a VERY very important point, we have never approved Saddam's actions, or the way he treated his people, but coming out all of a sudden and saying it's libaration of those people, although the US was the one who provided him with most of his Tech as well as turning a blind eye on the Kurds massacre, then all of a sudden come and give the execuse of librating the people?, there must be something more to it than what meets the eye..
And before you tell me all the ones who plan attacks against the US there are terrorists and such, you simply can't dub someone who's fighting a forein force in his country a terrorist, and this playing of words by the media/government does not cut it anymore, people are not naive anymore. If locals are fighting the foreign force, then there MUST be something wrong, and you need to look for it and fix it. The simple fact is, the allies are the foreign force, the people who attack them are the locals and owners of the land.. do you get where am going with this?
To be frank, there is a more serious issue in the ME than Iraq, that the US should've taken care of before Iraq, Israel/Palastine. To this day, i still ask why did they go all the way to take very extreme measures against Iraq (war), yet, the Palastenian/Israeli conflict is there, and has been there for years and years, and don't tell me that the US can't do anything, yes they can, if they can go all the way to ignoring the UN and invading a country against the will of 90% of the world, then yes they can take less-extreme measures to fix the problem, whatever the solution is..
Rage,
With most of ME supporting Palestine and Hamas, how can there be peace? Hamas will not quit until Israel is no more. The world knows that Israel is there to stay. How can Hamas continue with any hope of changing the situation through genocide? How is even possible to compromise? Frankly I don't see that ever happening.
I also don't believe it is the people of Iraq that are causing the problems but, outside influence from Syria, Jordan, Iran and Saudi. This is the same as in Palestine and is being blown out of proportion by the extremists.
I believe that the more the extremist oppose us, the more likely we will stay longer. Wouldn't it be better to let Iraq build itself so that the coalition would leave sooner?
It seems that the Islamic fundamentalists have never heard of Catch 22.
Help me understand this Charles, why do we have soooooo many problems in Iraq now, why?.. I don't get it, the allies said they had a plan for post-war, but to be honest, i don't think they did and if they did, it's not working.. at all..
First of all, few conflicts follow a pre-choreographed script. The main problems now are security / stability and situation isn't helped by no key players taking a stand against the wave of "evil" US propaganda. I don't think this can be overstated. It has a critical impact on situation. Does the world come out and say "hurrah - Saddam is gone, let's help stabilize and rebuild Iraq", or, " damn the evil US for killing babies and oppressing the Iraqi's? On balance where are we now? I would say most world and especially ME propaganda loves to spin the latter. No one is taking a stand against this.
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the Iraqi people are very proud, and ruling them is not a walk in the park.
BTW - You should be aware that public opinion in US wasn't and isn't against the Iraqi's. There is the sincere view that the US can help in rebuilding and stabilizing situation. That being said, your entire premise seems based on a foregone conclusion. We do not want to "rule them."
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It pains everybody in the ME to see those people with no electricity or clean water for days.. it has been months now, and believe it or not, the basic needs were more avilable when Saddam was in power.
Do you think the US is not capable of rebuilding infrastructure? Who is primarily responsible for continuing destruction? US forces? Of course not. These are provocations by extremists who care not for Iraqi's and are after destabilization and the killing of US troops. They want escalation.
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US was the one who provided him with most of his Tech
Here you are absolutely wrong. This has been spun way out of proportion. Its a soundbite that is readily digested by ME and world public opinion. US/UK combined represented a tiny few percent of military support for Saddam. When Basra was about to be overrun by Iran, we provided satellite recon and military consulting support that was in fact ignored for the most part to the chagrin of our liasion officers. Most economic support was in the form of agricultural loan guarantees to US firms (not Saddam's regime) so that US could participate in lucrative export market.
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as well as turning a blind eye on the Kurds massacre,
Even a drop of support to Saddam after that is unforgiveable. I agree. Gov't bureaucracies are large and fragmented. Some parts were screaming at Saddam, other parts were complying with lobbyists to promote exports, etc. Bottom line is that our policy did change in principle and within a couple of years had gone so far as direct military action.
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then all of a sudden come and give the execuse of librating the people?, there must be something more to it than what meets the eye..
It certainly was not all of a sudden. If you complain that the gap between Halabja and Gulf War I was too long, then the last 12+ years of active opposition leading to his overthrow cannot be considered all of a sudden . If you want to use the "oil" card, go ahead. It is completely unacceptable that a character like Saddam should ever control the faucet that supplies one of the WORLD's most vital resources. Don't try to spin it that we will steal Iraq's oil though.
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And before you tell me all the ones who plan attacks against the US there are terrorists and such, you simply can't dub someone who's fighting a forein force in his country a terrorist, and this playing of words by the media/government does not cut it anymore, people are not naive anymore.
In any violent conflict people get hurt/killed. This radicalizes some people for revenge and opposition. Add to this a completely one sided ME propaganda machine that is in fact supported by default by many western countries, you will have a situation where the average Iraqi thinks the US is there to kill and rape them, steal their oil and give it to Isreal, and colonize their country.
In this environment, you will have various types of extremists who will take advantage of this. Former regime, jihadists, etc. Their goal is violence to invite retaliation, leading to more of the folks in the previous paragraph. Destroying infrastructure is also a great tool that keeps people unhappy, on edge, with a higher chance of radicalizing even more people.
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If locals are fighting the foreign force, then there MUST be something wrong, and you need to look for it and fix it.
Its interesting to note that while you categorize the US as the foreign force invading and oppressing the Iraqis, you seem to put the foreign jihadists and other extremists responsible for destroying infrastructure on the side of the Iraqi's. Therein lies the problem. And its a big one.
In fact, the Iraqi and US interests should be the same on this. Stabilize, rebuild, transition power to some form of representative government, leave the country. Those opposing that strategy should be clearly identified as enemies by everyone and steps taken to curtail their actions and bring them to justice. While this is the truth of the matter, this is not being done. In fact just the opposite continues to happen. The US is condemned for doing the "good" thing of removing Saddam, and the propaganda that shows the US as the enemy of the Iraqi people is not being counterbalanced by anyone.
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Israel/Palastine. ..
I agree. More should be done. Nothing will be accomplished until the Palestinians have a representative government that has the authority to speak for them and shows a clear direct connection between responsibility of people to choose representatives who make decisions that effect them. There is no consensus among the fragmented groups. The Palestinian terrorists have provided an excellent model for the Iraqi extremists. Use violence to provoke retaliation to stop any chance at a solution. Hamas et al do not want a solution with Isreal - they want a world without Isreal. No compromise.
My $0.02 on matter is that either Palestinians elect officials with authority to represent all of them and control provocations, or invite UN to occupy Palestinian territories, negotiate with Isreal in public a fair deal, then implement. This will of course mean brutal liquidation of Hamas and others. I don't think Palestinian extremists want peace.
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