When i wrote that line i was thinking of a very powerful article i had read in which an Iraqi talked about being in Iraq in 1991, part of or near the uprisings, waiting for the Americans to come and help them, and the tragedies at the hands of Saddam which came later. Unfortunately, i was unable to find the piece again, and i admit i did have misgivings about letting such a statement stand without any citations backing it up.
I have still been unable to find that piece, but i offer up the general knowledge about the Kurdish uprisings in 1991 as backing as well as the following more specific testimonials.
Having reached Nasiriyah in their 1991 uprising, the Iraqis were abandoned by the allied forces, leaving them in Saddam's merciless hands, resulting in a quarter of a million Iraqis being slaughtered. -a young Iraqi exile in the Observer (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,925817,00.html)
Those who oppose the war say "It should be left to the Iraqi people to overthrow Saddam Hussein, if that is what they want." But this argument ignores the fact that over half a million Iraqis have given up their lives attempting to overthrow Saddam and his regime. More than 200,000 Iraqis were slaughtered in the 1991 uprising trying to do just that. At least 100,000 Iraqis have been executed or tortured to death in Iraqi prisons attempting to do just that. No less than 200,000 Iraqi Kurds have been killed, in the infamous Anfal operation and other operations in northern Iraq, trying to do just that. The Iraqi people cannot overthrow the regime on their own, so to oppose regime change in Iraq is only to lock the Iraqi people in Saddam's box. an excerpt from a powerful article by a young Iraqi (http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-2-73-486.jsp)
"We've been waiting for you for 10 years. What took you so long?’ said an Iraqi man who, along with more than 500 others, surrendered near the Rumaila oil fields. Many had written such phrases as ‘U.S.A. O.K.’ on their arms or hands. Some even tried to kiss the hands of the nervous young Marines guarding them.” -Newsday, 3-24-03 (found here (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/903551/posts))
"You just arrived," he [Ajami Saadoun Khlis, whose son and brother were executed under the Saddam regime] said. "You're late. What took you so long? God help you become victorious. I want to say hello to Bush, to shake his hand. We came out of the grave." -from a Guardian story (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,919642,00.html)
no subject
I have still been unable to find that piece, but i offer up the general knowledge about the Kurdish uprisings in 1991 as backing as well as the following more specific testimonials.
Having reached Nasiriyah in their 1991 uprising, the Iraqis were abandoned by the allied forces, leaving them in Saddam's merciless hands, resulting in a quarter of a million Iraqis being slaughtered.
-a young Iraqi exile in the Observer (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,925817,00.html)
Those who oppose the war say "It should be left to the Iraqi people to overthrow Saddam Hussein, if that is what they want." But this argument ignores the fact that over half a million Iraqis have given up their lives attempting to overthrow Saddam and his regime. More than 200,000 Iraqis were slaughtered in the 1991 uprising trying to do just that. At least 100,000 Iraqis have been executed or tortured to death in Iraqi prisons attempting to do just that. No less than 200,000 Iraqi Kurds have been killed, in the infamous Anfal operation and other operations in northern Iraq, trying to do just that. The Iraqi people cannot overthrow the regime on their own, so to oppose regime change in Iraq is only to lock the Iraqi people in Saddam's box.
an excerpt from a powerful article by a young Iraqi (http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-2-73-486.jsp)
"We've been waiting for you for 10 years. What took you so long?’ said an Iraqi man who, along with more than 500 others, surrendered near the Rumaila oil fields. Many had written such phrases as ‘U.S.A. O.K.’ on their arms or hands. Some even tried to kiss the hands of the nervous young Marines guarding them.”
-Newsday, 3-24-03 (found here (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/903551/posts))
"You just arrived," he [Ajami Saadoun Khlis, whose son and brother were executed under the Saddam regime] said. "You're late. What took you so long? God help you become victorious. I want to say hello to Bush, to shake his hand. We came out of the grave."
-from a Guardian story (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,919642,00.html)