Sunday, August 24, 2014

Editorial: The Nouri Press

For so many years now, various US outlets have refused to call Iraq's chief thug and prime minister Nouri al-Maliki out (pictured below from 2009).


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Now that US President Barack Obama has, they're eager to join the chorus.

But while they call out Nouri now, they continue to espouse his beliefs.

Take the ridiculous New York Times which published Ben Hubbard's "Response to Attack Reflects Iraq's Sectarian Divide" -- an article that didn't resemble reporting but did resemble Nouri's pronouncements.  The Sunnis, Hubbard informed readers, were being unreasonable for asking that things like the bombing of Falluja's residential neighborhoods stop -- that the Baghdad government stop bombing homes in Falluja.

How is that unreasonable?

Is is established law that you 'terrorists' or 'fighters' or whatever you call them being in a city or town does not give you a right to bomb or attack civilians in the town.

Doing so is collective punishment.

The New York Times, if you're paying attention, is now on the side against international law, it's now embracing collective punishment which is legally defined as a War Crime.

For years, US outlets covered for Nouri al-Maliki and ignored calling out his crimes.  Now as they rebuke him, they continue to insist on embracing the thuggish behavior.


It is past time for the US peace movement to find its voice and demand that the bombing of civilian neighborhoods in Falluja cease.

If it doesn't happen and doesn't happen loudly before Nouri steps down (hopefully in about two weeks), the bombings will continue under the next Iraqi prime minister.






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For a detailed response to Hubbard's ridiculous article, see "I Hate The War" at The Common Ills.