Liar,
Liar...
By Baghdad Burning
01 October, 2004
Baghdad Burning
I was
channel-surfing yesterday evening- trying to find something interesting
to watch. I flipped vaguely to Al-Arabia and Bush's inane smile suddenly
flashed across the screen. Now, normally, as soon as I see his face,
I instantly change channels and try to find something that doesn't make
me quite as angry. This time, I stopped to watch as Allawi's pudgy person
came into view. It's always quite a scene- Bush with one of the alledged
leaders of the New Iraq.
I prepared myself
for several minutes of nausea as Bush began speaking. He irritates me
like no one else can. Imagine long nails across a chalk board, Styrofoam
being rubbed in hands, shrieking babies, barking dogs, grinding teeth,
dripping faucets, honking horns ? all together, all at once ? and you
will imagine the impact his voice has on my ears.
I sat listening,
trying not to focus too much on his face, but rather on the garbage
he was reiterating for at least the thousandth time since the war. I
don't usually talk back to the television, but I really can't help myself
when Bush is onscreen. I sit there talking back to him- calling him
a liar, calling him an idiot, wondering how exactly he got so far and
how they're allowing him to run for re-election. E. sat next to me on
the couch, peeved, "Why are we even watching this?!" He made
a jump for the remote control (which I clutch to shake at the television
to emphasize particular points)- a brief struggle ensued and Riverbend
came out victorious.
You know things
are really going downhill in Iraq, when the Bush speech-writers have
to recycle his old speeches. Listening to him yesterday, one might think
he was simply copying and pasting bits and pieces from the older stuff.
My favorite part was when he claimed, "Electricity has been restored
above pre-war levels..." Even E. had to laugh at that one. A few
days ago, most of Baghdad was in the dark for over 24 hours and lately,
on our better days, we get about 12 hours of electricity. Bush got it
wrong (or Allawi explained it to incorrectly)- the electricity is drastically
less than pre-war levels, but the electricity BILL is way above pre-war
levels. Congratulations Iraqis on THAT!! Our electricity bill was painful
last month. Before the war, Iraqis might pay an average of around 5,000
Iraqi Dinars a month for electricity (the equivalent back then of $2.50)
- summer or winter. Now, it's quite common to get bills above 70,000
Iraqi Dinars... for half-time electricity.
After Bush finished
his piece about the glamorous changes in Iraq, Allawi got his turn.
I can't seem to decide what is worse- when Bush speaks in the name of
Iraqi people, or when Allawi does. Yesterday's speech was particularly
embarrassing. He stood there groveling in front of the congress- thanking
them for the war, the occupation and the thousands of Iraqi lives lost...
and he did it all on behalf of the Iraqi people. It was infuriating
and for maybe the hundredth time this year, I felt rage. Yet another
exile thanking the Bush administration for the catastrophe we're trying
to cope with. Our politicians are outside of the country 90% of the
time (by the way, if anyone has any news of our president Ghazi Ajeel
Al Yawir, do let us know- where was he last seen or heard?), the security
situation is a joke, the press are shutting down and pulling out and
our beloved exiles are painting rosey pictures for the American public-
you know- so everyone who voted for Bush can sleep at night.
Allawi actually
said "thank you" nine times. Nine times. It really should
have been more- at least double that number of Iraqis died yesterday...
and about five times that number the day before. Looking back on the
last month alone, over 350 Iraqis have been killed either by American
air strikes, fighting, or bombs... only 9 thank yous?
The elections are
already a standard joke. There's talk of holding elections only in certain
places where it will be 'safe' to hold them. One wonders what exactly
comprises 'safe' in Iraq today. Does 'safe' mean the provinces that
are seeing fewer attacks on American troops? Or does 'safe' mean the
areas where the abduction of foreigners isn't occurring? Or could 'safe'
mean the areas that *won't* vote for an Islamic republic and *will*
vote for Allawi? Who will be allowed to choose these places? Right now,
Baghdad is quite unsafe. We see daily abductions, killings, bombings
and Al-Sadr City, slums of Baghdad, see air strikes... will they hold
elections in Baghdad? Imagine, Bush being allowed to hold elections
in 'safe' areas- like Texas and Florida.
The hostage situations
are terrible. Everyone is wondering and conjecturing about the Italian
hostages. Are they really dead? Is it possible? Seeing the family of
the British hostage on TV is quite painful. I wonder if they'll forever
hate Iraqis after this. I saw the plea the made on CNN, asking the abductors
to be merciful. Dozens of Iraqis are abducted daily and no one really
knows who is behind it. Some blame it on certain Islamic groups, others
on certain political groups- like Chalabi's, for example. It's hardly
shocking, considering our own PM, Allawi, was, by his own admission,
responsible for bombings and assassinations inside of Iraq- there is
some interesting information here.