by Riverbend
from her blog Baghdad Burning
Riverbend is an Iraqi living in Baghdad. Juan Cole of Informed Comment has this to say about Riverbend, “the young woman computer systems analyst in Baghdad, Riverbend, who is in her views closer to the Iraqi opinion polls, especially with regard to Sunni Arabs, but who is not being feted in Washington, DC.

The sky has been overcast these last few days. It’s a smoggy, grayish combination of dust, smoke and humidity. I guess it has matched the general mood in many ways- somewhat dark and heavy.

I’ve been very worried about Falloojeh. So worried, in fact, that I find it hard to sleep at night, wondering how the situation will unfold in that troubled area. Things are bad in Baghdad, but they are far worse in Falloojeh. Refugees have been flowing out of the area for weeks now. They’ve been trying to find havens in Baghdad and the surrounding regions.

Elderly man killed in crossfire, Najaf - photo by Kael Alford

For months on end, seven independent photographers and filmmakers have worked exclusively in Iraq documenting US troops and Iraqi civilians, resistance fighters and child laborers, imprisoned women and incarcerated youths. Using varied media and narrative styles ranging from photojournalism to first person narratives, cinema verite and found photography, Iraq Uncensored photographers present insights and subtleties beyond what daily news reporting can provide.

Together they will present rare windows on Iraq, the land that cradled what we now call civilization.

Sheila Provencher
Christian Peacemaker Teams
1 November 2004

When I returned to Baghdad yesterday, Um Yousif* and her husband — both Iraqi Christians who have lived here their entire lives — gave me a cake. Chocolate, with white-flowered frosting blobs and green lettering. “Wellcom to Baghdad,” it read.

“We’re sorry that the baker spelled the word wrong,” smiled Um Yousif. “But at least it is a big WELL.”

Unfortunately, things are far from well. Um Yousif does not leave her house, not even to buy groceries. Fear of violence or kidnapping reigns. “I do not think it will get better, even after our elections,” she said. “It will only change when the Americans leave. So many people just cannot bear that the American army is here. If they leave, there is no one left to fight. It could get better within months.”

She paused. “But my heart feels for the American soldiers and their families. So many killed. They are human beings. We are all human beings.”

Vets Demand End to Occupation

By MIKE FERNER

Boston.

As military veterans wrangle over whom to support for president, one veterans’ organization has fired a shot across the bow of whoever will occupy the White House next year.

Over 400 Veterans for Peace (VFP) members gathered last weekend in Boston for the organization’s annual convention, hearing from Daniel Ellsberg, historian Howard Zinn, former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, members of Military Families Speak Out, and the newly-formed Iraq Veterans Against the War. They also passed a resolution in the form of a memo titled “To White House Occupant After Jan. 20, 2005,” demanding

“[T]hat the next U.S. president announce, within 10 days of taking office, that he will withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq within 60 days, and that if this 10-day period following the inauguration passes without a publicly-announced decision to withdraw all troops from Iraq within 60 days, Veterans for Peace chapters around the nation will begin a campaign including, but not limited to, petitions calling for the impeachment of the president.”

By Angela Garcia

Will there be a draft or not?

The short and simple answer, yes. It already exists. The draft is a permanent part of the US constitution. The only thing that is required for it to be active is for Congress to authorize induction and allocate money. The Military Selective Service Act will never expire. Induction ended after Vietnam but in 1980, Jimmy Carter revitalized the SSS (Selective Service System)¹ after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

During Bush’s campaign, he promised that there would be no new draft. He doesn’t need one. The Army’s “stop loss orders,” also known as the “back door draft,” prohibits a soldier from retiring or quitting when they complete their required assignment. The all-volunteer army is under massive distress. Donald Rumsfeld stated, “The United States has “inadequate total numbers” of troops.”²

For the first time since 1994, the Army National Guard has not met their recruiting goals³. They are now trying to motivate soldiers to re-enlist in the combat zones by offering them tax-free incentives and bonus pay. They also are transferring Air Force soldiers into the Army.⁴

Why are recruiters having a tough time? It is harder for them to lie. They are finding it challenging to deceive young potential recruits. Young people are not so gullible. The recruiter will down play war but would-be-enlistees are not stupid; they are seeing through all of the recruiter’s deception.