Marchers break through US roadblocks (Fallujah)

[bemildred]

THOUSANDS of Sunni and Shiite Muslims forced
their way through US military checkpoints
Thursday to ferry food and medical supplies to the
besieged Sunni bastion of Fallujah where US
marines are trying to crush insurgents.

...

The cross-community demonstration of support for
Fallujah had been organized by Baghdad clerics both
Sunni and Shiite amid reports that the death toll in
the town had reached 105 since late Tuesday.

...

In Baghdad, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez,
the US commander of coalition ground forces in
Iraq, faced tough questioning about the mounting
civilian casualties in Fallujah and allegations that
US marines were blocking delivery of humanitarian
aid.

"We are not cutting off humanitarian aid to the
people of Fallujah. We are working multiple
initiatives (for aid delivery) that have to be
coordinated with the commander of the ground," he
said.

News.com.au

[soothsayer]

1. I'm shocked that they weren't fired upon

Jeez, what a mess!

[0007]

3. I think they had been fired upon

This is the silliest most fucked up mess I've ever ever seen.

We are so stupid that it is beyond belief.

[callous taoboy]

2. Thank

our "Uniter in Chief." As one retired general put it last night, more and more Iraqis who were fighting in concert with our troops are now decidedly with the insurgents.

[ConcernedCanuk]

4. Sunnis and Shiites united in the 20's to drive out the British

.
.
.

They haven't forgotten.

I think it cost them around (3,000,000- WRONG, corrected below per DUer educating me) (closer to 10,000) lives to get them out, but they did.

"No Sunnis, no Shiites, yes for Islamic unity," the marchers chanted.

We are Sunni and Shiite brothers and will never sell our country."

This is exactly what the US did NOT want.

Imagine that, losing the war over closing a newspaper - that was the spark,

and Sunnis and Shiites uniting may be the proverbial straw that breaks the proverbial back.

Don't worry, they'll go back to fighting each other, but NOT until the USA is out.

USA had a chance to prove this was really about "freedom", but I think they sorta blew it. ..

BIG TIME~!

[The Magistrate]

5. Casualties In That Rebellion, Sir

Amounted to roughly 10,000 dead among the Iraqis, and about 3,000 dead among the English soldiery, most of it drawn from the Indian Army. Three millions at that time would have amounted to something on the order of a third of the total populace, if recollection serves.

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[ConcernedCanuk]

11. Thanks for correcting me, I'm not sure where I got that idea

.
.
.

What would I ever do without search engines !!
__________________________________________________________________


"Arab losses were estimated at 8,500 KIA while the British and Indian casualties totaled 2,269:55 British and 371 Indian KIA, 100 British and 1,128 Indian WIA, 141 British and 310 Indian MIA and 79 British and 85 Indian POW.

[tom_paine]

9. But it NEVER was about "freedom"

The Busheviks use the word "freedom" EXACTLY as Stalin, Hitler, Marcos, and other Tyrants have to people they wish to enslave.

I got news for you: The Iraqis aren't th only ones the Busheviks want to enslave. Americans, too, and they are actually farther along with it than I ever could have imagined.

[ConcernedCanuk]

12. "never was about freedon" - heck I knew that . .but the Iraqis STILL

.
.
.

gave the Murikkans a chance to prove it, despite their suspicions.

They have no doubts now though.

AND

I got news for YOU.

The Bushevicks and their ilk ALREADY got y'all "enslaved"

- look at your paychecks,

"taxes" - read "Bushco"+Haliburton" et al

should be "healthcare" and "national pension" plan

ya know,

like us silly Canuks got!

. .:dunce: . .

[Betty]

16. bush the "uniter"

united the Sunnis and the Shiites, and the rest of the world ----against US!!!

[tlcandie]

6. Blood Bags of Solidarity.... Iraq Diaries.. Electronic Iraq...

http://electroniciraq.net/news/1442.shtml


Aadamiyah residents loads trucks full of food in front of Abu Hanifa Mosque for Falluja residents under siege by U.S. military.


Doctor outside of Abu Hanifa Mosque taking blood donations for Falluja residents.



Men giving blood for victims of U.S. aggression in Falluja.


<snip>
The energy in this place is coursing through me. Women are crying, the men yelling in solidarity with their embattled countrymen in Falluja. The last sentence Khalil told me flashes to mind, and I believe it while in Abu Hanifa, standing amongst the crowd of shouting men, thrusting their fists into the air over and over.

After this rally, people are pushing their way to the blood bags, and men sit in small groups while doctors jab needles in their arms. Men sit furiously pumping their hands while their blood flows into the bags on the ground.

While I type this the blood of Al-Aadamiyah is trying to make its way into the veins of bleeding Iraqis in Falluja, Ramadi, and elsewhere where it flows throughout Iraq tonight.
<snip>

[m-jean03]

10. Thank you for posting this.

The tragedy is just unbelievable, just so heartbreaking, my heart belongs to these people today and their grief is mine, as it should be that of all Americans.

[underpants]

7. Another chunk of the world W has "united"

way to go f**ko

[tlcandie]

8. Responding to Fallujah...Electronic Iraq .. analysis...

By John Turri is a Ph.D. student in Philosophy at Brown University, and is married to an Iraqi-American. He maintains a blog, Elenchus.

http://electroniciraq.net/news/1443.shtml

<snip>
O'Reilly and Peters are clearly ignorant of the history of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, especially events in and around Fallujah. The U.S. military has been doing much of what they criticize it for not doing. For example, Asia Times Online reported that as early as September 2003 the U.S. military was punishing Fallujan resistance by cutting the town's supply of electrical power. And as for whether the U.S. military has been "reticent going into" Fallujah, or has treated Fallujans with "velvet gloves," one need only recall the incidents of late April 2003, in which members of the 82nd Airborne Division opened fire on protestors, killing 20 and wounding 86; or recall that in September and October of 2003 U.S. forces killed over 20 Fallujan civilians and police officers "in incidents where the victims put up little or no resistance;" or recall Operation Desert Scorpion in June 2003; or recall the "full-blown" operation the U.S. military conducted in Fallujah just five days before the four American security contractors were killed; or recall that the U.S. military has adopted rules of engagement in Iraq which allow troops "to use overwhelming force on any entity considered hostile, even if it does not represent an immediate threat and is near civilians." Velvet gloves, indeed.

As bad as O'Reilly and Peters are, it gets worse. One American contractor working in Iraq advises, "Let's just go in an level the town. Let's tell them to get their women and children out and then go in and level it." "That's exactly what we should do," agreed another. In a letter to the editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune entitled, "Wipe Fallujah off the map," one Al Robinson expresses a similar opinion. Although he recognizes that "there are some innocent people over there," we should "send in the Marines ... to kill or capture every last person in that place and then send in the bombers and level Fallujah." When dealing with "those people," one has to respond with overwhelming violence because violence "is all they know." The only remaining question after reducing Fallujah to rubble is, "Who's next?"

As has been reported over and over, the sort of "overwhelming response" many Americans seem so fond of has been cited by Iraqis themselves as the primary reason why Iraqi communities accept and even actively support armed resistance against U.S. occupation. The more brutal the occupation, the more brutal the resistance-it's that simple. An overwhelming response might satisfy the desire for violent revenge that evidently grips far too many of us. But in the end it would only contribute to the escalating cycle of violence afflicting Iraqis and coalition troops.
<snip>

[Robbien]

13. Working on?

We are not cutting off humanitarian aid to the people of Fallujah. We are working multiple initiatives

They bomb the last remaining hospital, people are injured, and two days later the army is thinking about maybe getting around to the thought of coming up with ideas of ways of getting aid in to the injured. In army time, I wonder how many months that process would take.

[daleo]

14. I am sure the higher ups were not happy about this

"We are not cutting off humanitarian aid to the
people of Fallujah. We are working multiple
initiatives (for aid delivery) that have to be
coordinated with the commander of the ground," he
said."

But they couldn't come up with a response that wouldn't sicken the world. Next time they will find a pretext to prevent this sort of citizen action. This is what the "multiple initiatives" must refer to - perhaps a few airdrops of food, to sweeten the impact of a reinforced roadblock, which will be backed up with deadly force next time. They will say it is to prevent "terrorists" from entering the town. They may even claim "Al-Queda terrorists" if they really get desperate.

[David__77]

15. This is real bravery--that is what serving the people means.

Having no fear of death in the face of guns and bombs in order to help the injured and grieving--that is real heroism!

[leftchick]

17. A Photo of these Brave people...

Iraqis sitting on a truck loaded with medical and food supplies bound for the flashpoint town of Fallujah, pass a burning US convoy attacked in Abu Gharib, on the outskirts of Fallujah. Shiite Muslims backed by cars full of food and medical supplies headed on foot toward Fallujah which has been besieged by US forces.(AFP/Karim Sahib)

18. You guys kick ass

It's so rare to find americans who can actually see through the b.s. and recognize who the oppressed are and who are oppressing them.

[lumpy]

19. That is because most of us here

take time and effort to investigate the events that affect our very lives. A vast amount of Americans use their spare time to amuse themselves by vicariously watching TV programs or other self indulgences and even some simply turn off and try to find life contentment and self-realization. Some people have the capability to do it all and still have time to join the political side of life. I can't blame any of those who choose their personal route. Some people just want to be happy and content and the only way to accomplish that is to turn off, let other people make decisions for them and turn a blind eye to the reality of the horrible things that are caused by greed and the hunger for power, those things that history proves that never seem to change. I understand why many seekers who have tried to make sense of the human condition turn to a quite life of meditation, reflection and belief in the finer aspects of life.

[NeoConsSuck]

20. And the right wing American media BS'ed it's readers once again..

and made it appear that the US military had no such blockade. Taken from the USAToday.com website:

---------
U.S. forces have surrounded the city 35 miles east of Baghdad, but opened the blockade for a convoy carrying food and medicine sent to the beleaguered residents by Sunni clerics in Baghdad.
---------

want proof?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-04-08-iraq_x.htm

[NMDemDist2]

21. are the pics of the burning US convoy how they "broke" thru

geez it's so hard to get any real news over there.

[NashVegas]

22. This is the First Smart Thing Iraqis Have Done

IMO.

Sanchez and everyone else is probably shitting bricks over the idea that a portion of the population has seized onto the notion of non-violent defiance.

[belle]

23. It'd be great if that could last, imagine...