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The Things that Keep us Here: from Caoimhe in Baghdad
 international |
anti-war / imperialism |
opinion/analysis
 Tuesday August 19, 2003 17:43 by caoimhe butterly - voices in the wilderness masasa73 at hotmail dot com baghdad 0019143602686
vitw
overview of situation in baghdad THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE
by Caoimhe Butterly in Baghdad
Anwar Adel Khardom points to her heavily pregnant,shrapnel-sprayed stomach as she fluctuates between composure and frantic, inconsolable grief- what sort of life will this child be born into? Her thirteen year old daughter Hadil, frail arms bruised and scarred with shrapnel,head bandaged with white gauze,remains wide-eyed and observant,fanning her mother with a woven fan as the heat of an oppressive,airless day reaches it's midday climax.The room is crowded with relatives and friends who drink the bitter coffee and cry and keen in memory of Anwar's husband,Adel,her 18-year old son Haider,17-year old daughter Ola,and 8-year old daughter Mervat-all shot dead by U.S.soldiers seven days before. How could they,why did they do it-they must of known we were a family-how could they kill my babies? -Anwar asks continually as she holds a picture of her beautiful,smiling children-immortalised on the black banners hung on the outside walls of her family home,each of their names with shaheed(martyr) scripted next to it,proclaiming the family's tragedy to the hushed street outside.
The car that carried Anwar's family into a line of fire that pumped more than twenty bullets through the windshield and chassis into the warm living flesh,vital organs and skulls of her husband and children remains outside.The seats and headrests were ripped apart by bullets and remain covered in faded,darkened bloodstains.Hadils blood-stained handprints on the outside of the car are the same colour,left there as she groped her way out of the car that held dead Ola and Haider and dying Adel and Mervat,trying to follow her mother as Anwar ran towards the house they had just come from,screaming for help.
No help came,at 9:30 p.m. on August 7 in Hyatt al Tunis,a residential neighborhood in Baghdad.U.S. soldiers continued to shoot so erratically at anyone attempting to help the wounded,that they proceeded to injure at least five other civilians and two of their own soldiers, as other troops stationed in a military base stationed at the end of the street joined in. Ground troops from the First Brigade,First Armoured Division proceeded to fire round after round into the darkened street ,shattering the quiet of a summer night and destroying the remnants of tolerance held by that,and many other communities,towards an occupational presence whose benign veneer grows thinner by the day.
When the up to twenty minutes of constant shooting stopped,three civilians were dead and more wounded. Saef A.,a 21-year old university student,who drove in a car with two friends down the same road into the path of U.S. occupational forces(who were in the process of raiding and searching a local store,and ,having been subjected to the standard continual diet of mis-information and racism,suitably terrified enough to view all Iraqis as potential or actual enemies)was shot repeatedly and then-as his two friends,both wounded,leapt out of the car,witnesses report seeing a soldier approaching the car,point a gun with a grenade-launcher attached at the still-living Saef,and shoot,causing the car,and Saef’s body to be engulfed in flames.
Adel Abdul Kareem and his 8-year old daughter,Mervat were taken from the scene,still living,by a U.S. military ambulance,at ten p.m.They were not delivered to nearby Medical City Hospital until 11 p.m.,shortly after which they both died from their injuries and heavy blood loss.Ali Hussein Ali,18 years old and Abbas Shamarwi,19 years,the wounded occupants of Saef’s car were-according to witnesses-beaten by U.S. soldiers,hand-cuffed,had hoods put over their heads,taken into military custody and detained for two days at a nearby military base.They were then disappeared for over a week.Abbas is now been held in administrative detention at the Airport prison,Ali’s whereabouts are still unknown.Anwar’s remaining daughter Hadil,was grabbed by a female soldier as she stumbled away from the car.She was shaken violently by the soldier,who then-Hadil testifies-pulled Hadil’s gold earrings from her ears and pocketed them,before Hadil ran away back to her grandmother’s house,alone,bleeding from her own wounds and covered with the blood of her dead brother and sisters.
The August 7 killing of six civilians is not an isolated event – excessive use of force by Occupation forces,breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, live ammunition being used as a form of crowd control, and civilians killed at checkpoints has become a regularity, as those responsible are not brought to justice, and a growing sense of unaccountability reigns. What distinguishes the shooting on the 7th, is more the horrific nature of all of the deaths and the terrible loss that they have left Anwar and Hadil, in particular, struggling to deal with. Distinctive,too,is the blatancy in which a high-level cover-up is being orchestrated.The causes of death on the death certificates of all of those killed have been left blank.The Forensics doctors of two hospitals are rumoured to have come under pressure from the U.S.army.The doctors are not available for comment.Neither are officials from the Occupational Administration.The only people in the U.S, army who have commented on the incident have lied.We interviewed Captain John Mostellar,commanding officer of the military base where the soldiers responsible for perpetuating the killings are thought to be stationed.Dismissive of the incident,Mostellar claimed that an internal investigation had taken place,which would not be made public.His seniors are denying knowledge of the investigation.We were directed by Mostellar to visit official army spokespeople at the airport prison,and promised that official co-ordination would take place to ensure the meeting took place.Upon arrival we were not allowed past the front gate.One eye-witness at the scene claims that Mostellar,whom he had met the week before at the military base,was present while the raid on the shop took place and present during the subsequent killings.Iraqi police officers stationed at the First Brigade’s base,who had contact with Ali and Abbas while they were detained believe that they were disappeared because they witnessed too much.”They don’t want the true story known-the soldiers are to blame for the deaths”stated one policeman.
The families of those killed have decided,with support and endorsement from Voices In the Wilderness,Occupation Watch and Belfast-based law firm Madden and Finucane,to launch a call and campaign demanding justice.Tomorrow Anwar and Hadil,Abu Saef and others along with representatives from the groups participating in the campaign,will hold a press conference to demand an independent,international,transparent,public investigation into the killings,and others like them.The families are apprehensive,though determined.So are we.As volunteers with Voices,as solidarity activists on the ground we have become increasingly more critical of the hostile and violent nature of this occupation,which can only elicit a response of growing hostility and violence.Our response to the escalating violence is to support the growing civil society currents of grassroots organizing and non-violent resistance,and we too are being subtly targeted and intimidated.
In our accompianment of communities at risk,through months of endless meetings,discussion,debate with human rights groups,trade unions,students,religious groups,Marxists,artists,the unemployed,neighbours,friends and foes,we are trying to make the connections and forge essential links of support between social justice groups outside and a growing movement within Iraq, to break the isolation and heighten the security of the growing voices of dissent here.This support is being viewed as a threat by those in whose interests it serves to promote prolonged chaos,instability and violence.We have been participating daily with the Union of the Unemployed in Iraq for the past nineteen days in colourful,creative,powerful sit-ins outside Bremmer’s H.Q. and actions such as marches and teach-ins.The union is demanding jobs or,in their absence emergency social security benefits of 100 dollars a month per family.U.S. soldiers have arrested,detained,brutalized and intimidated over 70 of the union members,including the Union’s leadership,calling them thieves and demanding the immediate suspension of the protest.A participant in the sit-ins,the founder of the Iraqi Womens’Freedom Organisation,Yanar Mohammud is continually verbally abused by soldiers for her presence.Yanar,an incredibly brave,articulate returned exile has spearheaded a campaign to challenge the legitimacy of honour killings and to highlight the soaring increase,post-war,of abduction and rape.She shares office space,in a squatted bank,with theWorkers’ Communist Party,who broadcast daily community pirate radio.In negotiations with a subordinate of Bremmer’s,high-ranking U.S.officials tried to convince her and other Union representatives that we are Israeli spies and provocateurs who “do not really care about the welfare of Iraqis.” When this failed to convince another official claimed that we were undercover journalists trying to provoke “violence” and “disorderly behaviour”in order to gain an exclusive story.Following the unsuccessful attempts at smearing us,as we continued to participate in the sit-ins,-which we believe received more media coverage and were kept a little bit safer with internationals present-we were threatened with arrest and deportation.One soldier stuck a gun to a friend’s chest,threatening “accidents do happen in this part of the world.”
We are slowly,gradually walking beside men and women who are speaking truth to power and we are being made aware of the risks.The threat of an occupying presence of total impunity as well as a backdrop of escalating,senseless,unpredictable violent crime is forcing us to examine our own fears and vulnerability.A member of our household was shot in the back of the head,probably mistaken for a soldier,another volunteer attacked and robbed.I was nearly abducted at gun-point,but managed to escape.Another friend ,a journalist,was killed last night.We hear of gang rapes and horrible violations every day.Our sleep,as is that of five million other people is punctuated by the sounds of unexplained gunfire and explosions.The fear in Baghdad is corrosive and tangible-one can literally breath it in -as a society struggles through a period of extreme terror and uncertainty.I am,perhaps for the first time in my life,deeply afraid.There is seldom refuge for vulnerable human flesh here,now.I have confronted death so many times now,of friends,of those around me,in Zimbabwe,in Latin America,in Jenin,that I do not fear it.I am afraid,however of a senseless death, a stray or intended bullet.I want desperately-as do most human beings-to live,to love,to continue to struggle,to resist the policies and practices that deny so many people the right to live with dignity.
The killing goes on-the assaults are numerous. It is not only the bullets and boots and racism of the occupation but the continual reminders that U.S. foreign policy will not respect the sanctity of Iraqi life, human rights, sovereignty and genuine self-determination anymore now than they have in the past. The assault of poverty and unemployment – the over 60% of Iraqis currently unemployed, the vital monthly rations being half of what families received before the war. The assault of a complete lack of security and material well-being. A day without electricity constitutes a state of emergency in the U.S. Families sweltering for almost five months in 120 degree temperatures, confined to spend long airless, breathless, nights in the confines of their homes – kept there by curfews and fear – does not. The assault on freedom of speech and expression – the seeming lack of awareness within the Occupational Administration that Iraqis do not need newspapers to incite them to violence – that witnessing, daily, the increasing brutality of this occupation is provocation enough . The assault on the living memories of Iraqis – that the victims of an in incredibly brutal dictatorship are not given the time or space to process, to examine what allows a or any Saddam to consolidate power.No time to examine, to record their narratives – nor time to heal, before being plunged – collectively – into another chapter of uncertainty and insecurity.
As counter-balance to the continuing assault on Iraq, civil society and activism currents are emerging and evolving and gaining cohesion and sophistication. This is what keeps me here.I fluctuate between fear and a crystal clarity that there is no other place I should be now.That witnessing and accompanying, and supporting the emergence of a non-violent resistance movement here is vital. That love, compassion, commitment and rage – for Anwar and every other brother and sister like her – will keep me here.
That a front-line is never an easy but sometimes necessary place to inhabit.
Caoimhe Butterly is an Irish human rights activist in Baghdad with Voices In the Wilderness.For more information about the Relatives and Friends for Justice Campaign,or about the Union of the Unemployed’s continued sit-in protest,please contact her or Ewa Jaciewicz on :(mobile)001-914-360-2686
Or, masasa73@hotmail.com
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Comments (22 of 22)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22I found this whole article interesting as at no stage was it mentioned about the many US soldiers and other nationality soldiers who have been killed by the dissident Iraqis. I also must call into light the inaccuracies stated in the article. You state that a soldier with a grenade launcher on his gun pointed it at Saef, pulled the trigger at close range and then flames exploded. No Grenade launchers fire incendiary rounds, they have not even been invented properly yet. Also no soldier in their right mind would fire a grenade launcher weapon at close range, they are never meant to be used at close range. I am not saying it didn't happen I am just saying that the eye-witness accounts seem to be very inaccurate.
It also paints the soldiers as completely bloodless individuals who seem to not have one conscience between any of em. They rob gold earrings from people, of course they do, because in the middle of a fire fight or certainly immediately after one the first thing any soldier thinks of is to rob anyone nearby!
The fact that this is posted on a day when over 15 people are murdered by a suicide truck bomb on the UN compound in Baghdad, just goes to show what is happening over there. I am certainly not saying that every American is acting responsibly over there, but you really should give some respect to the soldiers, they are in a situation you are not. I am sure alot of their actions over there are questionable and very immoral, but they are certainly NOT blood thirsty savages.
Maybe when you go blaming soldiers you should also go blaming the palestinians who blew up a bus today in Israel MURDERING children and women and men on the way home, during a cease fire. Soldiers don't always act appropriately, but at least they never intentionally go into an area with the intnetion of killing as many civilians as they want. No matter what you people think or claim you know, they do not intentionally murder civilians, it happens and it shouldn't but give em some respect!
According to Dr. Binoche:
"Soldiers don't always act appropriately, but at least they never intentionally go into an area with the intention of killing as many civilians as they want. No matter what you people think or claim you know, they do not intentionally murder civilians, it happens and it shouldn't but give em some respect!"
But Tom Paulin sez:
'they [the Paratroopers] were thugs sent in by public school boys to kill innocent Irish people. They were rotten racist bastards!'
http://education.guardian.co.uk/academicexperts/story/0,1392,636894,00.html
yum yum yum .....
These self righteous glory-hunters really piss me off. They're serving no purpose out there whatsoever and are providing cover for terrorists to enter the country under the pretence of being part of the ISM.
I wish she and all her do-gooder friends fall under a bulldozer. Die martyr!
Very well written, informative and genuine. You are one hell of a brave person. It sounds terrifying, but thanks for sending the news, it is much appreciated.
Drbinoche: this is a first person account, it's not intended to be a socio-political analysis of the middle east. You can begrudge away with your "what about's" all you want, it doesn't take away from the credibility of the account at all. What about the martians? this account doesn't mention them either. It mentions Caoimhe's experiences and they contain extremely valuable knowledge for anybody who wants to understand what's going on in Iraq at the moment.
WARNING: SEANIN IS A TROLL. He/She/They post(s) comments to indymedia to try to get a rise out of people and waste their time. DO NOT RESPOND. DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.
I found the stuff about the self-organisation of ordinary Iraqi especially interesting as too often they are simply portrayed as helpless victims of the occupation caught in the crossfire. The suppression of the unemployed union by the occupation forces is revealing of the real agenda of the US state.
You are a brave and dedicated ambassador and witness for Ireland.
Thank you.
I undertsand Drbinoche concerns but as Chekov pointed out its not a socio-political analysis. The eye-witness account can at least give a sense of the confusion and fear 'on the ground'. Id Like to know more about the assistance provided to the local groups and if more can be more done from this end. What is it that the groups require that we could provide.
I normally don't post comment's to Caoimhe's stuff cos she's hardly reading indymedia.ie if she's in Baghdad.
This is an excellent report, and Caoimhe and the other volunteers have to share in some of the same risks as the Iraqi people in order to witness it and report it.
I couldn't agree more with the reference to the media. The US one night blackout was given huge coverage, more than it deserved, while deaths in Iraq are hardly reported unless it is an attack on non-Iraqis. UN workers and US/UK troops deaths get reported in all the papers and on television.
Why are Iraqi families of little interest to RTE as it sucks in our license fee and pours out selective news, mimicking the likes of Sky and Faux News.
Hopefully Caoimhe and the others will get through this safely and bear valuable witness and help to the Iraqi people.
From our end here we should be doing something too, and not just the occassional march and demo.
to quote Brendan O'Connor's recent remarks, Bertie is a "fucking prick" and he should not be enjoying himself and his over-paid position when he is in fact a war criminal.
Do we have to wait until Sept 27th to demand justice in this country?
We're still hosting the US military at Shannon.
Sunday 07:00 a military jet carrying high ranking US officials passed through Shannon. It was a C-20 from the VR-1 Starlifter squadron.
Hercs still come through here. troops and cargo still come through here.
This government still grants export licenses for arms exports to the US, UK, Israel, and Turkey and we're even helping the Indonesians in their repression in Aceh.
While brave people like Caoimhe, Mary Kelly, Tom Hyland etc go out to the front lines, the rest of us in relative safety should be still fighting the puppet masters in our own country.
Caoimhe and the others are great people and if they do tell the Iraqi people that the Irish people have not forgotten them and that we sympathise should she not also be able to honestly say that we're stuggling for them too?
Caoimhe's bravery and reports which found their way from the middle east to europe were one of the principle inspirations for the idea of a Bagdad indymedia. Costs of internet access have stablised and there are now six distinct collectives reporting from Bagdad, despite the continuing conflict which has we must remember claimed the lives of journalists, civilians, soldiers and most lately the U.N. special envoy who had interestingly said before his death:
``It is traumatic. It must be one of the most humiliating periods in their history. Who would like to see their country occupied? I would not like to see foreign tanks in Copacabana,'' [he told the Brazilian newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo in an interview published Monday].
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4486.htm
Caoimhe Butterly has been awarded a Time honour most involved in Iraq on a daily basis require some level of "acceptability" to Western security interests at this time:
http://www.almuajaha.com/newswire/display_any/590
This was always a consideration of such extension of collectives to include a Bagdad centre.
interview with Caoimhe syndicated in USA:
http://www.almuajaha.com/newswire/display_any/495
The last post from Caoimhe was linked without her consent being sought through various British collectives and attracted many anti-pacifist comments from both the USA and UK.
read:
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?id=47045
Caoimhe has interestingly not chosen to associate herself with Bagdad IMC the name now used by Al Muajaha.com which was founded by association between journalists and activists in Bagdad and members of Bristol indymedia. At a time of revitalising of links between many imc collectives in both the US and UK with emergent imc collectives in many smaller countries.
Al Muajaha has survived the interim period between Bush's end of the US/K war to the present conflict. It has gone offline for a period of 27 hours close to the beginning, for "spring cleaning".
Saleem Caoimhe!
Dr Binoche " Soldiers don't always act appropriately, but at least they never intentionally go into an area with the intnetion [sic] of killing as many civilians as they want. No matter what you people think or claim you know, they do not intentionally murder civilians, it happens and it shouldn't but give em some respect! "
Have you ever heard of Mi-Lai? Halabja?Srebernica? Sabra and Shatila? Sharpeville?Is Liberia a figment of our imagination? Does the word Rwanda ring a bell? I suppose in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the crew of the bomber only intended to take out military targets!
I am just dumbfounded.
Thanks Caoimhe for your very real and human reporting. Keep it up.
Respect.
Salam
Ali
The fact is that this report pretends to be factual and it isn't. It serves your prejudices "checkov" (where's kirk and spock) to believe that the US soldiers are robbing pathetic trinkets out of Iraqi ears and using incredible undeveloped weapons.
Rather than attcking Binoche you should listen to him he doesn't have an axe whereas you do (as the rubbish you spouted about liberia - the closest you've been is Uhura's nickers- demonstrates) and you'll overlook Ciara's because it is the same tedious axe.
Let the american's have their client state, what do you care, who cares whether it is a client state, an islamic democracy or a bourgeois democracy it won't be based on workers councils so what do you care.
If you are an Anarchist rather than a fucking bleeding heart liberal you will know that state oppression is to be encouraged, that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
As for the Saeef family anyone with a car is probably the equivalent of a middle manager , let them and their nits burn.
The post is a pack of lies and stuck up Caoimhe is a disgrace to this country justifying her holidays with this holy mary schtick.
Blondie won't get shot but she does get to feel virtuous, stick her in the transporter and don't let her come back.
AJ
WARNING: SEANIN/ADRENALIN JUNKIE IS A TROLL. He/She/They post(s) comments to indymedia to try to get a rise out of people and waste their time. DO NOT RESPOND. DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.
"Have you ever heard of Mi-Lai?"
Yes I have, I also know that you are now branding a countries entire armed forces by the actions of a bunch of soldiers in a hostile environment.
"Halabja?"
Yes, but I am surprised anyone brought it up, it has nothing to do with US forces and therefore its not as evil as anything else on this planet.
Also that was carried out by Saddam Hussein and his wonderful government and we all know how he feels about human life.
"Srebernica?"
See above, just change the names and dates and it fits!
"Does the word Rwanda ring a bell?"
You are gonna class the actions in africa with the US armed forces or the actions of other countries armed forces in the same category. Please be a bit less rude, Rwanda was just massacres after massacres, and it was barely carried out by a countries armed forces or official military.
"I suppose in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the crew of the bomber only intended to take out military targets!" Of course not, but are you saying to me that you would have rather had the war carried on for another 6-12 months with the inevitable civilian deaths that that would have curtailed!!!
Don't get me wrong I approve of what Caoimhe is doing and fair fucks to her for having the balls for doing it. I have more respect for her than most of the other anti-war protestors I meet as she is willing to put her feet on the ground, but I also do not think she is completely unbiased and therefore her reports should certainly not be treated as gold.
Also pointing out her awards and stuff like that does nothing. Adolf Hitler was Times man of the year in 1939, and look at what he did. A persons achievements have no bearing on their POV or their ability to be biased or not!
"they never intentionally go into an area with the intention of killing as many civilians as they want. No matter what you people think or claim you know, they do not intentionally murder civilians"
">Have you ever heard of Mi-Lai?
Yes I have"
You flatly contradict yourself. You don't apologise or try to clarify. You go on to change the subject again and claim that other people are saying something that they never have. You're not capable of conducting an argument. You've got one point and you're going to make it come what may. We've heard it before, even occasionaly from people who aren't so thick and can write ten sentences without contradicting themselves. So do us a favour and tell it someplace where the audience is as thick as you are.
well he does have a point actually and a very important one. You should be critical of everything you read no matter who you think is writing it. that article could have been written by me for all you know. Many situations can be construed in different ways by different people. dont accept every word (especially those written on an open-publish news wire) as the truth. The level of anonymity of this newswire sometimes alarms me.
Sure he has a point, but I'd call it a bloody obvious one, rather than a good one. Anybody who doesn't read everything on indy with a sceptical mind is going to fall for a lot of rubbish.
On the other hand, this is quite obviously from Caoimhe and I tend to think that she is a very reliable source. Maybe she might not be the best person in the world at identifying particular types of firearms, but that is a mere detail of this story. As far as I know she has no hidden agenda, she is not in the pay of anybody, she is not under orders from any leader, she is genuinely interested in justice and she relates what she sees. I don't think that there is any evidence to suggest that she makes up incidents like this, beyond the flag waving brigade who sling mud at anybody who doesn't stand up and salute whenever Bush says that black is white.
Drbinoche is trying to undermine her credibility, pure and simple, with a load of 'what abouts'. To be honest if Caoimhe was writing that the US were defending the womens' movement against the fundies, I'd believe her. Just calling her a lier, as some people are doing without any evidence ('solidiers wouldn't do that' is counter-factual prejudice by the way _not_ evidence) shows them up to be so close minded as to have no interest in knowledge and will only accept information that helps with the flag waving.
maybe it seems obvious to you but it doesnt seem like it would be that way for others using this newswire.
myself I do believe its from caoimhe but I have no proof for that whatsoever - i dont know caoimhe. If you say one inconsistency in her report is a mere 'detail' then the same can be said for every word that has been written. Why brush off one 'detail' and not another?
Eye witness accounts can often be as reliable as accounts from defectors. they have to be taken up in a particular way. as Im sure you know yourself events at one end of a march can be very different from that at the other. Two 'eyewitnesses' can recount two very different versions of events - so which one do you believe(its usually the one you want to believe).
Many do question the merit of her presence there. Not just people like seanin but if you dont question the value of her being there than your a little naieve. Some regard it as a self serving action, some regard it as deeply heroic and brave. Personally I need to see consequences of her being there. whether it be providing emotional, economic, legal or logistical support to groups/individuals on the ground.
while i welcome her reports and commend her actions I remember that she only has two eyes and two ears....
I just saw Caoimhe selling highly enriched uranium to the Iraqis and to the palestinians. They are obviously gonna use it for making nuclear weapons.
You see by me saying this you will immediately point out how ludicrous that is and how obviously insane/naive I am, but it also serves a purpose.
None of you were there when I 'saw' it, so technically you cannot disprove me seeing it therefore it is a possibility, no matter how far fetched and unlikely it is still a possibility. Now you see where I am coming from, I was not there when Caoimhe 'saw' the things she typed of, and therefore I would be foolish and naive to take her on her own words. I mean its odd how the anti-war people would believe someone whole-heartedly just because they believe in her cause and yet at the same time when the US/UK were harping on about the nukes in Iraq, they asked for unbelievable amounts of evidence. In other words you will take someone at their word if they share the same common enemy or belief are yourself, but if they differ at all, you require evidence. Seems a bit stupid to me.
I know Caoimhe didn't seel weapons to the Iraqis or the palestinians, [well I don't know for a fact, but I would highly doubt if she did or is] but I am not gonna take her for her word, she wants people to believe her posts and believe that the US are killing indiscriminantly and robbing little girls, then provide photographic evidence, otherwise it is all hear say and conjecture.
These people have such ludicrous double standards. They're mostly hypocrites, with the odd genuine misguided fool wandering about.
I think in this case though many have seen Caoimhe speak. They have seen evidence of her previous actions and have thus developed a trust in her. Whereas the US/UK have on many occasions lied and blatantly continue to do so. They have been proven to have lied and distorted the truth on a number of issues.
Also the implications of Caoimhes words are far less damaging than those of the US/UK lies. The consequence of Bush/Blair lies amount to thousands of innocent lives being lost. You are foolish and naive if you think we shouldnt expect the most thorough proof and evidence to back up any warmongering.
We are already seeing the string of lies that was spun to dupe some people into believing that this war was both necessary and just. It baffles me how you could even now question the necessity of proof and thorough investigation.
This is totally off the subject and I'm sure no-one will read this post but, I am at a loss to see how you equate the US/UK occupation of Iraq with the Black and Tan operation here. The Black and Tan where ordered to instill fear and create terror in the Irish people. They were not checked on this because no-one was watching and the were doing what they were told.
To many busy-bodies these days for that to go on. And thank god for that says I