Tuesday, June 24, 2003

"We Are A Better Country Than This"

So says Jeanne d'Arc at Body And Soul in reaction to a disturbing story about an Iraqi father pleading for medical treatment for his three children, burned from a fire set off by a bag of explosives left over from the war, being refused by two US Army doctors.

The good news is that we know about this horror because Sgt. David J. Borell, who called for medical help for the children, was so outraged by the callousness of the response that he couldn't hide it.

The incident came to light after an AP photographer took a picture of Borell being comforted by a colleague after the doctors refused to care for the children. When Borell's wife, Rachelle Douglas-Borell, saw the photo, she contacted AP with a copy of a letter he sent her describing what happened.

This is not about two bad army doctors; it's not about the US Army being a bad institution.

I can't improve on Jeanne's formulation of what it's about:

There are very good people in our military. And what they are being asked to do is shameful...We are a better country than this.

What they are being asked to do is also becoming increasingly impossible. For the British, too. Steve Gilliard explains at Daily Kos

Six British soldiers killed, eight wounded in Iraq

This is the largest loss of life in a single attack since "major combat" ended.

These attacks took place in the Shia heartland, unlikely places for Baath Party loyalists to hang about, causing trouble.

The British have been quietly smug about how they've been getting on with the locals, despite the occasional protest at their headquarters. Now it's clear that the resistance expects to take their war beyond the Sunni belt.

(edit)

CENTCOM would do well to admit that opposition in Iraq comes from many different factions, not just those pining for Saddam. Iraqis have neither forgotten nor forgiven our 1991 betrayal of the Shia or British colonialism enforced with poison gas.

(edit)

The Coalition Protection Authority lives in an isolated fantasy land where they think the free market cures all. The one thing which could send Iraqis into a rage is an attempt to denationalize the oil industry. Nationalization is widely seen as the one thing the Baath party got right and to undo is could spread resistance across the country as few things could.

Read this post, too, and you'll understand why Steve is becoming indispensable to a full understanding of post-war Iraq.

Linking to a series of articles published on the same day, he's able to give us a telling snapshot of the complex and tragic terrain of this occupation.

War by other means: the "reconstruction" of Iraq

....these articles, all running today, give a picture of absolute ineptitude now taking place in Iraq. While there was some effort to depict the war as a three week affair, the reality is that the enemy has changed shape and form and is still more than willing to engage Americans.

In the meanwhile, civil life is turning into a nightmare for the average Iraqi. No electricity, no secruity, random, violent encounters with Americans. Saddam may be gone and the police may not take you for a beating, but the environment of instabity and growing rage poses an ongoing danger to American troops.

The American viceroy, Paul Bremer, why mince words, was told directly at a World Economic Forum meeting in Jordan that the US needs to form an Iraqi government, not a hand selected council to advise on running the country.

But it's the picture of the US soldiers holding the bayonets to fend off the former Iraqi soldiers which has left people wondering about our policies in Iraq.

Read the whole thing, including the linked articles. We are a better country than this.