mercredi 9 avril 2003

A false note in triumph Amid anger, jubilation and looting in Baghdad, a Metafilter contributor points us to 'Saddam and the Destruction of Civil Society in Iraq.' It's a 1997 master's grad dissertation in international relations by Nicholas Natteau, which makes for a timely read, particularly Part III on the prospects for change. Today's constantly repeated TV footage of the toppling of Saddam's huge statue in Fardus square will long be remembered as eminently symbolic. Not a woman in sight in the crowd that I noticed, but this is unsurprising. The jarring note came during the initial live coverage, when the Stars and Stripes were briefly placed on the bronze statue before it came down, a moment which caused gasps of disbelief in our newsroom. Abroad, friends reached on the 'phone imagined, as we did, some general sending the order down the line: "Get that flag off it -- now!!" Whether or not that really happened, what a signal to send to an edgy world! Still, this is perhaps a day to ease off on cynicism, since the rejoicing in Baghdad and the relief were so evident. Nevertheless, the war may yet be far from over. There's scarcely time to envisage the consequences, short and long-term, since the end of the beginning has come so swiftly. Tonight, I'm taking a look at an article on the Pentagon spin machine and other columns at Working for Change. And digesting some of the first reactions in the Arab world. 9:15:19 PM  link   your views? [] Excess deaths "A mortality study (...) by the [International Rescue Committee] estimates that since August 1998, when the [Democratic Republic of Congo] war erupted, through November 2002 when the survey was completed, at least 3.3 million people died in excess of what would normally be expected during this time." AFP wrote up this story yesterday, when the report was released by the New York-based IRC, which was first "founded at the request of Albert Einstein to assist opponents of Hitler" and carried out the DRC survey in as much of the vast country as its rapporteurs could reach. The war even made domestic broadcast news in France and Britain this morning, because editors used last week's massacre in Ituri as the "peg" to hang the equally horrific statistics on. [Update: with some embarrassment, the UN has revised the death toll down, not that this makes things any better.] The IRC considers that the "four and a half year war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has taken more lives than any other since World War II" and is probably right, though such comparisons call for caution. zzz In Brussels, the International Federation of Journalists issued a separate call for justice, when it "condemned both sides in the Iraq conflict of 'crimes of war' after a series of attacks on journalists and deaths of media staff". "There is no doubt at all that these attacks could be targeting journalists. If so, they are grave and serious violations of international law," said Aidan White, General Secretary of the IFJ. "The bombing of hotels where journalists are staying and targeting of Arab media are particularly shocking events in a war which is being fought in the name of democracy. Those who are responsible must be brought to justice". Until now, I've kept my mouth shut about these "excess" deaths. It seemed inappropriate to highlight the issue, given my job and the way we saw a friend on AFP's English desk travel more than halfway round the world to attend the funeral of one of the colleagues who lost their lives reporting the war. To mention such private grief here seemed inappropriate, especially when this conflict has brought grief to so many others as well. But when a heavily armoured battle tank fires a shell at the Baghdad hotel where foreign journalists have been staying, allegedly in response to a sniper and grenade attack the journalists deny happened, and when the Al-Jazeera offices are also hit, it's time to ask what the hell's going on. For Chris Allbritton, "Sigh I guess we should chalk this up to a tragic mistake, just one of those things that happen. After all, the journos were there on their own free will. Unlike the citizens of Baghdad, they made the choice to be in the firing line." Christopher has, as his readers know, managed to get back inside Iraq, where late last night he was posting on media freedom and Kurdistan. Perhaps he's right about the "tragic mistake", maybe he isn't. At Alternet, Maria Tomchick reflects on "televised lies" while "young soldiers face a lifetime of asking themselves why." It's been a long time since I've seen shots fired in anger, but with memories brought back now, questions from the comfort of an editorial desk don't seem so futile after all. 11:30:07 AM  link   your views? []

nick b. 2007 do share, don't steal, please credit under artistic licence terms; contributing friends (pix, other work) retain their rights.