Melville Cooke A tell yu dem lie
A tell yu dem lie
Tell yu dem lie
- Mutabaruka
THINGS HAVE been progressing so wonderfully in Iraq that I was unwilling to comment on the matter and put a 'goat mout' on the situation. You know, like somebody commenting that they have never had a toothache in their life and then finding out a month later that their wisdom teeth need to be removed.
The resignation (in more ways than one) of David Kay and the subsequent enquiries announced by the American and British governments have moved me to break the silence of quite a few weeks, however, because this is simply too good to pass up.
Let's get this straight. Since David Kay has said that he has not only not found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but does not expect there are or were any there, the respective governments will be probing how come they received bad intelligence. (By the way, if you think using 'President' and 'George Bush' in the same breath is jarring, then try combining 'intelligence' with 'George Bush').
WAR ON A WHIM
They will not be probing how they flayed their respective countries, especially the US, into war on a whim and an unspoken promise that they would not suffer significant casualties.
On top of that, the results of the US probe will not be available until after the Presidential election. And I thought the PNP was the master of managing enquiries.
No matter how it is 'sexed up' (I would think 13 letters back in the alphabet would be more appropriate), as the British press likes to put the reports of intelligence reports being altered to suit the agenda of the latest white boys who want to rule the planet, a lie is a lie is a lie.
When it was said that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that could be launched against the US in 45 minutes, it was an out and out lie. Hell, it seems he was 45 years away from getting anything off the ground, literally and figuratively.
One must, however, credit Colin Powell and crew for foresight, ensuring that a threat that might materialise after they are dead, by an enemy who would also be dead, was neutralised at the minimal cost of a couple thousand Iraqi civilian lives (for the record, I care not about US casualties). Now that is a pre-emptive strike on a pre-emptive thought.
The legitimisation of mass murder, for that is what the assault on Iraq is, follows a pre-ordained pattern. Find an enemy, accuse him or her of something, scare the bejesus out of your own population (colour-coded terror alerts are a pretty nice tool here), go to 'liberate' the population the person presides over (and their oil, as well, naturally) and let the bloodbath begin.
It all ran true to script, up to May 1. Then that son of a Bush put his goat mouth on things and declared major combat in Iraq over. Then things started going my way.
The resistance found that Bradley fighting vehicles could be set on fire by roadside bombs. They found that rocket-propelled grenades can bring down helicopters. They found that nobody was going to help them but themselves. They found that a donkey cart makes a pretty cool tool.
And yes, they found out that if you are going to die (to misquote Claude McKay) 'let it not be like hogs, alone, but you might as well take a couple with you'.
TRANSITION
We have witnessed the incredibly ironic sight of Iraqi Shiites marching to demand elections, instead of the United States installing the puppets it wants in a transition that would turn out to be permanent. And we have seen the surge of triumph over the capture of Saddam Hussein turn to the ash of suicide bombs.
When George Bush was chortling over the capture of Saddam (who has dropped out of the news like how Janet Jackson's breast popped out at the camera), it was another incredibly dumb moment in the life of a very dumb man.
Saddam, at least, is out of his hole. Bush has just started to dig his, even though he mistakes his grave as the foundation for a monument to his achievements.
And that, I believe, brings me up to date on Iraq.
We fight for equal rights and justice
Not for cornmeal
-Sizzla Kolonji
Melville Cooke is a freelance writer.
