Once upon a time, in another online forum, someone asked me to “say just one positive thing about America,” and I did. Without hesitation, I said that this country has some of the most beautiful natural scenery anywhere on earth. I didn’t get any requests after that.
From time to time, tho’, I do requests to post about different issues and stories. Last night I got one that I felt I had to post about, because I live in a country where the government hasn’t (yet) come knocking on my door to take me away because of something on my blog. I do, however, live in a country which apparently does support governments that do imprison bloggers, like Iraqi blogger Khalid Jarrar, brother of well known Iraqi blogger Raed of Raed in the Middle and son of Iraqi blogger Fazia of A Family in Baghdad.
Another chapter was added to Donald Rumsfeld’s booklet of “Information warfare” yesterday when blogger Khalid Jarrar was picked up by Iraqi Secret Service (Mukhabarat) and taken to an undisclosed location. Jarrar has not been formally charged with a crime, but he is author of a popular blog (Tell me a secret) that provides valuable information to people outside of Iraq who are curious to know the real details of the ongoing crisis.
…The arrest of Jarrar expands Rumsfeld’s information war beyond the conventional parameters of the mainstream press to even minor players whose views are incompatible with the objectives of subjugation and “iron-fisted” American rule. His detention is a clear message to independent journalists whose perspective has not yet been corrupted by the coercive influence of the Pentagon. (Are you listening Dahr Jamail?) It is a signal to one and all that the war on terror has become an open conflagration with both free speech and the truth itself.
The curtains are being pulled over Iraq one blogger at a time, so that the atrocities of the occupier can be perpetrated with complete impunity. When Jarrar was hastily trundled off to prison, we lost a vital set of eyes to chronicle the horrors of Bush’s “preemptive” war and the ensuing suffering of the Iraqi people. Who will fill his shoes?
Khalid writes the blog Tell Me a Secret, which apparently had brought the ire of the Iraqi governmen down upon him for telling secrets it would rather not have publicly told.
I got home yesterday to find that a car-bomb exploded just couple of hours before, about 100 meter away only from our house.
I entered the house and saw the pieces of glass and decorations on the ground…
“Not again!” I told myself.
I checked on the neighbors to see if they all were alright, and then went to the explosion site, in front of one of the most poplar markets in the area, one Iraqi woman died, few injured and many cars were burned, and heaps of broken glass shrapnel on the ground around the site.
“terrorists “….
I told myself…
“Criminal terrorists”.
before the war, I don’t remember having terrorists putting car-bombs in front of local markets.
before the occupation, I don’t even remember that I knew the term car-bomb.
Since last year, a rate of 50-60 attacks per day against the occupation were recorded, and among these 50-60 attacks, a very small minority causes any loses in lives or damages to properties, but chose any day, like the day of this car-bomb, and you will find the occupation forces and the government reporting to the media almost only the attacks that hurt civilians or properties, just as a part of the government’s/occupation’s efforts to discredit resistance, as if resistance is responsible for all terrorism that is taking place in Iraq.
One day terrorism will go away, and by terrorism I mean the occupation, and all it’s tails, and the rest of the terrorists right after.
resistance? Cool
terrorism? NOT cool!
Khalid’s mother recently toured the U.S. calling for a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. So it’s possible his detainment is intended to send a message to his family.
There is an online petition calling for Khalid’s release. Signing it is a good first step, but it would be even better to spread this story further. A blog has been set up to report on Khalid’s detainment. I recommed visiting it and posting about Khalid’s arrest and detainment.
After all, is this the kind of “freedom” we’re supposedly bringing to the people of Iraq? One that doesn’t necessarily include freedom of speech?
(Some links borrowed from MeFi.)
