corrente

From the remarkable "riverbend" at Baghdad Burning. She refers to it as an "abridged" edition of the President's speech last Sunday night, which she was able to watch on TV in Baghdad:

“Friends, Americans, Countrymen, lend me your ears… lend me your sons and daughters, lend me your tax dollars… so we can wage war in the name of American national security (people worldwide are willing to die for it)… so I can cover up my incompetence in failing to protect you… so I can add to the Bush and Cheney family coffers at your expense and the expense of the Iraqi people. I don’t know what I’m doing, but if you spend enough money, you’ll want to believe that I do."

Pretty damn good, huh? Like she was reading our minds, right?

"river," (which is how she signs her posts) does a longer "fisking" on the President's text, despite the difficulty she had watching the broadcast in more than snippets. This young woman, like, apparantly millions around the world, doesn't like our Dubya.

I listened for as long as I could tolerate his inane features and grating voice, then turned off the television. Then turned it back on. Then turned the channel. Then turned it back. Then almost threw a cushion at the screen. Then thought better and decided he wasn’t worth it. Is it possible that someone like that is practically running the world? Is it possible he might see another term in the White House? God forbid…

From her lips to....our iron determination to do whatever it takes consistent with demoracy not to let that happen.

In every post, an illuminating specificity is brought to bear on how this occupation is felt by Iraqis on the ground. Riverbend doesn't speak for all Iraqis of course, but she has a writer's eye for what the connections are between words and actualities, events and the people they happen to. In this post she connects Bush's enumeration of the number or "raids" carried out around the world with the tragic results for one Iraqi family of a "raid" carried out by coalition forces, no doubt, for the most defensible of reasons.

From supporters of the Bush doctrine at work in Iraq we often hear the question, well, what's your answer, and even harsh critics of the occupation are quick to state they're not talking about any kind of immediate withdrawal of US troops. Riverbend doesn't shrink from answering the question of what needs to get done, and soon:

Everyone is asking, ‘What should be done?’. Pull out the American troops. Take them home. Bring in UN peace-keeping troops under the Security Council- not led by America.

Let real Iraqis be involved in governing Iraq. Let Iraqis who actually have *families* living in Iraq be involved in governing their country. Let Iraqis who have something to lose govern the country. They aren’t being given a chance. As long as any Iraqi isn’t affiliated with one of the political groups on the Governing Council, no one bothers to listen.

We have thousands of competent, intelligent, innovative people who are eager to move forward but it’s impossible under these circumstances. There’s no security, there’s no work and there’s no incentive. AND THERE’S NO ONE WHO WILL LISTEN.

Why won't they listen? Why isn't this a welcome message?