A blog from Riverbend in Baghdad.....

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
"
There have been demonstrations in Baghdad and other places. There was a large demonstration outside of the Abu Ghraib prison itself. The families of some of the inmates of the prison were out there protesting the detentions and the atrocities… faces streaked with tears of rage and brows furrowed with anxiety. Each and every one of those people was wondering what their loved ones had suffered inside the walls of the hell that makes Guantanamo look like a health spa.

And through all this, Bush gives his repulsive speeches. He makes an appearance on Arabic tv channels looking sheepish and attempting to look sincere, babbling on about how this 'incident' wasn't representative of the American people or even the army, regardless of the fact that it's been going on for so long. He asks Iraqis to not let these pictures reflect on their attitude towards the American people… and yet when the bodies were dragged through the streets of Falloojeh, the American troops took it upon themselves to punish the whole city.

He's claiming it's a "stain on our country's honor"... I think not. The stain on your country's honor, Bush dear, was the one on the infamous blue dress that made headlines while Clinton was in the White House... this isn't a 'stain' this is a catastrophe. Your credibility was gone the moment you stepped into Iraq and couldn't find the WMD... your reputation never existed.

So are the atrocities being committed in Abu Ghraib really not characteristic of the American army? What about the atrocities committed by Americans in Guantanamo? And Afghanistan? I won't bother bringing up the sordid past, let's just focus on the present. It seems that torture and humiliation are common techniques used in countries blessed with the American presence. The most pathetic excuse I heard so far was that the American troops weren't taught the fundamentals of human rights mentioned in the Geneva Convention… Right- morals, values and compassion have to be taught. "

"He's claiming it's a "stain on our country's honor"... I think not. The stain on your country's honor, Bush dear, was the one on the infamous blue dress that made headlines while Clinton was in the White House... this isn't a 'stain' this is a catastrophe. Your credibility was gone the moment you stepped into Iraq and couldn't find the WMD... your reputation never existed."

Her last paragraph says it all:

I sometimes get emails asking me to propose solutions or make suggestions. Fine. Today's lesson: don't rape, don't torture, don't kill and get out while you can- while it still looks like you have a choice... Chaos? Civil war? Bloodshed? We’ll take our chances- just take your Puppets, your tanks, your smart weapons, your dumb politicians, your lies, your empty promises, your rapists, your sadistic torturers and go.

sw

"I beg you to accept that there is no people on earth who would not prefer their own bad government to the good government of an alien power."

Of course, he was speaking to British colonial powers in India. In the present case, there is NO "good government of an alien power."

sw

Is she really in Iraq? Or is she a former Iraqi living in the United States. Is there a way to prove she's actually in Iraq? It bothers me sometimes as I'm reading, some of the things she says would be extremely difficult to know unless you had been living in the US for a number of years. If you look over what's she's saying, it's nothing you couldn't pick up on the internet through research. Just bothers me.

Perhaps I'm too cynical.

but I'm going to assume she 'is',simply because we haven't heard that she 'isn't'. I see her blog linked to quite often on many different sites,and her writings don't support the party line. I'm thinking the repubs must be aware of this blog,and if it were possible to discredit it,they would have done it already. Course I always feel obligated to toss in the disclaimer about how many times I've been wrong in the past...

"If you look over what's she's saying, it's nothing you couldn't pick up on the internet through research."

Read her entry for March 29, "Tales from Abu Ghraib", and tell me that's true.
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2004_03_01_riverbendblog_archive.html

I think, perhaps, some people simply have a hard time accepting that Iraqis can write so well.

A REAL Iraqi could NEVER be sophisticated and erudite... :eyes:

When she first started the blog, I had posted some parts on another board and immediately it was dismissed for the same suspicions (by conservatives at the board LOL). Anyway, shortly after that she posted her history as to how she knows the things she does and her education, etc. It's within the first month if you look at the archives.

I believe she's in Iraq. And she's a wonderful blogger. Those early days when there were bombings she wasn't posting for a few days, or sporadically at best. She came back and explained that there were problems with the electricity...then she got the flu. :(

I read Salaam Pax and he linked to her blog. Her post, especially the ones from last year early on in the invasion, ring with authenticity...she was describing things that only someone actually there could talk about, like going back to her former employer, but having to go with some male relatives because she can no longer walk the streets alone. The way she wrote about the reception she got from people she used to work with leaves me no doubt that she is there.

She was even kind enough to post an satirical email I wrote for her, and let me know it made her smile. (which I consider one of my finest achievements to this day.) :D

yeah, I bet!

Sad