MishpishBush compares Iraq to the US Revolution
February 21st 2007 02:03
.. And likens himself to the first president, George Washington.
"With the advantage of hindsight, it is easy to take George Washington's successes for granted. America's path to freedom was long and it was hard and the outcome was never really certain," Bush said.
Commemorating the US holiday of President's Day, Mr Bush visited Mount Vernon, the other George W's home and final resting place.
He then continued to compare the American Revolution to "a new war to defend our liberty and our people and our way of life." No doubt this vaguely points to the US invasion in Iraq.
Bush added that Washington "believed that the freedoms we secured in our Revolution were not meant for Americans alone."
Never mind that there is no way you can compare these two events. To start with the US revolution was a war proclaimed by colonists against their rulers. Last I checked, Iraqis never asked for invasion. Even if his vague comment is not pitched directly at Iraq, it's hard to doubt there's some inference meant.
(Full coverage of Bush's visit to Mount Vernon can be found at the www.nytimes.com)
Baghdad Doctor reveals the truth:
The lead story on ABC Australia's episode of Foreign Correspondent was an amazing story titled "Iraq - Baghdad Doctor". The story was filmed by a Baghdad doctor within the "Green Zone", a story he risked filming as most doctors and hospital staff refused to appear on camera for fear of retribution. As printed from the ABC website Really Long Link :
“I’ve worked as a doctor for five years, all through the invasion. It’s never been so bad and it’s getting worse every day. I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” said the doctor.
Most of the reporting from Baghdad tends to look at the sectarian strife tearing Iraq apart from the perspective of the United States, British or Australian forces. Baghdad Doctor, by contrast provides a gritty, enthralling take on the collapse of Iraqi civil society.
Most of the hospital’s patients are Shiite civilians injured by the bombs of “extreme Sunnis and Al Qaeda.” Even so, at Al Yarmouk hospital Shiite and Sunni muslims work side by side. Medical staff fear being targeted because they treat patients from all sects. Gunshots have been fired in the ER room and doctors have been kidnapped and killed.
In a gruelling scene, a six year old boy is treated for shrapnel injuries he received when a bomb went off while he was playing in the street. With no anaesthetic, doctors make holes in his sides to drain his lungs of blood and then insert tubes meant for adults.
“American companies got millions to repair and equip hospitals like this. The World Health Organisation said some of them did a shocking job – and now nobody knows where all the money went,” the Iraqi doctor/documentary maker commented.
The doctor reveals the psychological difficulties of dealing with the victims of terror and violence.
“One of my emergency patients was a pregnant woman and because surgeons were treating wounded men, it was up to me to choose between saving her life or that of her unborn baby. I killed the baby. That was just one incident that made me question whether I could continue with this job.”
The story finished with the narrating doctor stating that he can't stay anymore, and flees the hospital. One harrowing statement he makes discusses how all Iraqi's have lost close friends and loved ones. The doctor himself has lost several immediate family members and 17 friends.
I'm certainly not stating that the American Revolution wasn't a long bloody war. No doubt the war against terrorism, wherever it takes place, is just as long and bloody. I think there does need to be a war against terrorism, however any comparison between the war against terrorism and the US war for independence is self-defeating given his low approval ratings.
"With the advantage of hindsight, it is easy to take George Washington's successes for granted. America's path to freedom was long and it was hard and the outcome was never really certain," Bush said.
Commemorating the US holiday of President's Day, Mr Bush visited Mount Vernon, the other George W's home and final resting place.
He then continued to compare the American Revolution to "a new war to defend our liberty and our people and our way of life." No doubt this vaguely points to the US invasion in Iraq.
Bush added that Washington "believed that the freedoms we secured in our Revolution were not meant for Americans alone."
Never mind that there is no way you can compare these two events. To start with the US revolution was a war proclaimed by colonists against their rulers. Last I checked, Iraqis never asked for invasion. Even if his vague comment is not pitched directly at Iraq, it's hard to doubt there's some inference meant.
(Full coverage of Bush's visit to Mount Vernon can be found at the www.nytimes.com)
Baghdad Doctor reveals the truth:
The lead story on ABC Australia's episode of Foreign Correspondent was an amazing story titled "Iraq - Baghdad Doctor". The story was filmed by a Baghdad doctor within the "Green Zone", a story he risked filming as most doctors and hospital staff refused to appear on camera for fear of retribution. As printed from the ABC website Really Long Link :
“I’ve worked as a doctor for five years, all through the invasion. It’s never been so bad and it’s getting worse every day. I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” said the doctor.
Most of the reporting from Baghdad tends to look at the sectarian strife tearing Iraq apart from the perspective of the United States, British or Australian forces. Baghdad Doctor, by contrast provides a gritty, enthralling take on the collapse of Iraqi civil society.
Most of the hospital’s patients are Shiite civilians injured by the bombs of “extreme Sunnis and Al Qaeda.” Even so, at Al Yarmouk hospital Shiite and Sunni muslims work side by side. Medical staff fear being targeted because they treat patients from all sects. Gunshots have been fired in the ER room and doctors have been kidnapped and killed.
In a gruelling scene, a six year old boy is treated for shrapnel injuries he received when a bomb went off while he was playing in the street. With no anaesthetic, doctors make holes in his sides to drain his lungs of blood and then insert tubes meant for adults.
“American companies got millions to repair and equip hospitals like this. The World Health Organisation said some of them did a shocking job – and now nobody knows where all the money went,” the Iraqi doctor/documentary maker commented.
The doctor reveals the psychological difficulties of dealing with the victims of terror and violence.
“One of my emergency patients was a pregnant woman and because surgeons were treating wounded men, it was up to me to choose between saving her life or that of her unborn baby. I killed the baby. That was just one incident that made me question whether I could continue with this job.”
The story finished with the narrating doctor stating that he can't stay anymore, and flees the hospital. One harrowing statement he makes discusses how all Iraqi's have lost close friends and loved ones. The doctor himself has lost several immediate family members and 17 friends.
I'm certainly not stating that the American Revolution wasn't a long bloody war. No doubt the war against terrorism, wherever it takes place, is just as long and bloody. I think there does need to be a war against terrorism, however any comparison between the war against terrorism and the US war for independence is self-defeating given his low approval ratings.
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