| October 7, 2005 "Those Are The Sounds Of Peace" by Karen Button, insurgent49 I spoke this morning with a representative from Doctors for Iraq, one of the few humanitarian NGOs still operating in Iraq. He told me, sadly, that the five doctors who have been in the Al Qaim district delivering medical care to the 6,400 refugee families now encamped in the surrounding desert are returning to Baghdad. The reason? They have little to no supplies and in an area where such basics as food and tents are in short supply, feel they can do nothing for these refugees. The US is continuing two major assaults in the Sunni province of Al Anbar, Operation Iron Fist and Operation River Gate, where 2500 American troops are conducting house-to-house searches and aerial strikes, causing thousands to flee their homes once again. In early May of this year US/Iraqi troops laid siege on the same communities of Haditha, Al Qaim, and their surrounding villages, maintaining they were routing out Al-Qaeda. The current assaults take place at the beginning of Ramadan and just two weeks before the constitutional referendum. In rhetoric reminiscent of the assault on Fallujah, in which troops laid siege on the city in order to rout out so-called insurgents and make it safe for the then-upcoming January elections, Coalition forces are justifying current operations by claiming insurgents in western Iraq are attempting to disrupt the upcoming constitutional referendum amid an upsurge in foreign fighters. Iraqi National Assembly speaker Hajim al-Hasani has condemned the military operations, fearing they will discourage voter participation instead. "There must be alternative solutions instead of later talking about low turnout for the referendum, just like what occurred in the elections,'' he said in an interview with Aljazeera. Meanwhile, Col. Stephen Davis, commander of the one of the Marine units participating in the operations, told residents in western Iraq: “Some of you are concerned about the attack helicopters and mortar fire from the base. I will tell you this: those are the sounds of peace." This might come as a shock to the thousands who are now refugees or to the hundreds who’ve lost their houses or family members due to the renewed violence, many of whom have been buried beneath the rubble of their homes or cannot get to the hospitals. "Some people, mostly women and children, have been killed and injured in these areas. We don't know the exact number. "We cannot transfer casualties to Al Qaim hospital as roads are closed and bridges are destroyed," Dr Ammar al-Marsumi, an Iraqi doctor at al-Qaim hospital, told Aljazeera. Just downriver from Col. Davis, the representative from Doctors for Iraq tells me, American snipers in Ramadi have killed ten women and children in the past few days, propelling fears that a new offensive will be launched there as well. These fears are well-founded. In earlier attacks in western Iraq, the government gave warning that operations would commence. This time however, residents had no idea. US military officials stated they didn’t want to give insurgents a heads-up. “If we had provided advance warning in this case it would have given the terrorists an opportunity to run away or further use the citizens as human shields,” Lieutenant Colonel Steven Boylan, a spokesman for the US-led coalition of military forces in Iraq, was quoted as saying. “We were informed in advance before the last offensive against Al-Qaim and were able to prepare ourselves for it, but this one was a surprise to all of us,” said Muhammad Rabia’a,” a 43 year-old man who decided to clear out immediately with six members of his family. “I just took my family and ran from the town to keep them safe, without even knowing where to go,” he told IRIN. Perhaps this man’s retreating footsteps are also “the sounds of peace.” Karen Button is a freelance journalist and peace activist. She can be reached at kbutton@insurgent49.com |
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Reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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