Iraqis say that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his allies are just as brutal and oppressive as former dictator Saddam Hussein. Iraq Slouches From One Dictator to the Next, Say ResidentsBy Cliff Montgomery – May 19th, 2008Increasing numbers of Iraqis are becoming frustrated with the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, adding that he and his allies are just as brutal and oppressive as former dictator Saddam Hussein.”Al-Maliki is a dictator who must be removed by all means,” said Abdul-Riza Hussein, a Mahdi Army member from Baghdad, to Inter Press Service (IPS), a liberal news wire service.”He is a worse dictator than Saddam; he has killed in less than two years more than Saddam killed in 10 years,” he told IPS last month.Life in Iraq has turned especially sour after the collapsed effort by the American-backed Maliki Government to shatter the Mahdi Army, the militia of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Many Iraqis say that move has only further splintered a country already more dangerous and oppressive than it was under Hussein.According to U.S. military statistics, 2008 has brought a return of numerous bloody battles between American forces and Iraqi militias. Although you’d never know it by listening to the corporate media, U.S.-Iraqi battles spiked from 239 this February, to over 630 in March.Many experts apparently believe that the majority of these attacks on U.S. troops were performed by Sadr’s Mahdi Army.At any rate, the Mahdi Army clearly maintains a strong presence in Baghdad, and wields a controlling hand in Basra as well as numerous other predominantly Shi’ite sections of oil-rich southern Iraq.If you’d care to hear how the Western ideas of freedom and democracy have failed to take root in the country, just ask individuals there about the current political situation. Mahdi Army supporters breathlessly cling to the group no matter what horrors they perform in the name of Islam; but Maliki supporters are no better.”Those who shout loud against Maliki and his legally elected government are all thieves and murderers and must be executed,” declared Hilla resident Aziz Mussawi to IPS.Hilla is a town about 60 miles south of Baghdad. Mussawi fled Hilla in March after the start of violent clashes there between various forces.Anger aside, the essential problem of Iraq perhaps has been best expressed by a Baghdad lawyer.”Over a thousand Iraqis got killed and more than that number wounded just for a game of chess between warlords,” said Mohammad Alwan to IPS.”All of them call for dissolving militias while they keep militias of their own. Most of those in power in the government are militia leaders,” added Alwan.And in such a situation, the only certainty is that violence and civil war will continue.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
How Necessary Laws Are Killed These Days
Lawmakers generally only fight to protect the things they care about – and all too often, that just doesn’t include the lives of most of their constituents.
