The sanctions were imposed by the "United Nations".

Yes very funnt. But one question, I mean really seriously now, I'm not going to criticise you for trying and failing to make your comment humourous, comedy is really hard and at least you tried. But my question is, are you REALLY that stupid that you think the people around the world are protesting this weekend FOR Saddam? I'm serious.because I've asked a number of people who have made the same sort of comments if that is what they really think and I have yet to receive an intelligent answer. OK, if the world actually operated on a childlike black and white, good guys/bad guys sort of level, if life was a movie or a Marvel comic book, then provided that you totally ignored the following facts,
1) Despite VOLUMES having been written on the subject, I have yet to see a single positive reference to Saddam by anyone on "the left". I mean, people might SAY (like if they are really stupid or just being purposefully naive to prove a "point) that highlighting the hypocricy of the "case" against Iraq, or comparkng Saddam's regime to other, even MORE brutal regimes which the west happily supports etc. is somehow "pro-Saddam", but that's not any reason to beleive it. The only people I have EVER heard praise Saddam, except of course terrorised Iraqis under duress, are the people who are now persecuting him, Rumsfeld (big smiles and handshakes all round), Cheney (thanks Saddam, those construction contracts put my Kids through college) etc.
2) Despite constant attempts by people like you to tell us what our veiwpoint is, and constant attempts by the mass media to somehow link the peace movement to the dictator, (the fact that they have to use such cheap jibes and suggestions just goes to show how little there actually is to say about the subject without sounding like a crazed, jingoistic lunatic or a p[etulant, ignorant child), despite all of this, the Peace movement has been objecting to Saddam's reign, right through the period where he was the west's bestest buddy, the period when strangely enuff, most of the crimes you mention were actually comitted with Western supplied arms and intelligence and Western deception and diplomatic cover to enable them, and we have been totally ignored until of course now, when it is politically expedient to twist and bastardise the facts to justify yet MORE slaughter of innocent IRAQIS.
3)Your veiwpoint as presented here would suggest that this issue is one you feel strongly about. So to extrapolate,I geus we can also assume that you feelstrongly about the suffering of ordinary Iraqis under Saddams heel. In fact, we can probably assume that means that you disaprove, maybe even hate the dictator and you question his motives and his trustworthiness. Of course this is fine and admirable, but it leads us to another huge inconvenient, bitter little fact that you may have a hard time swallowing. You are anti saddam, but not of course anti-Iraq or Iraqis, else why would you care what he does to his people (unless you are cynically just using these examples of his crimes to pointscore in which case you are a hypocrite and worse-lets assume that you are genuine though). If that is the case, then how come people who are suspicious and critical of the current US regime and it's motives are automatically labelled anti-american? You must apply the same standards of morality and logic to others as you do yourself, or else why bother discussing issues at all? And yet, by your logic, calling for the world to stop ignoring the possibility that Iraqis can be freed from their suffering under the heel of Saddam and the US/UK axis, without the need for a brutal and one-sided "war" (perhaps massacre would be more apropeiate) that will undoubtedly kill more of them than Saddam could ever dream of doing on his own, makes people anti American and pro-saddam.

I could go on. The point is that, every arguement I have seen for this war, from the lunatic Hard-Right's brutal honesty ("kick ass, get the gas, who's gonna weep over a bunch of dead Ay-rabs?), to the "cruise missile left" and their only-slightly-less insane "sure, loads of people will die, but after that, the ones that survive will drag themselves out of the rubble, over the mangled bodies of their familly and thank us for saving them from Saddam (and us) and Iraqis will live in a new golden age of peace and prosperity, just like Afghanistan does." and every where inbetween, all rely on ignoring HUGE chunks of information. This "forgetting" of history, context and politics seems to be the only way it can be justified, the moral, legal and logical chasms are just too huge.Instead appeals to base emotions, xenophobia and ignorance seem to be the norm on the right, seemingly the only arrow left in the quiver. The people you are criticizing on the other hand are trying desperately,have been trying for YEARS to get ALL the facts into the spotlight, to end the suffering and opression no matter who is comitting it,regardless of race or political agenda. In order to make the case for war then, one would either have to be:
A) utterly ignorant of the facts and history, either from laziness (in which case, volumes of information about the Region and all its conflicts and players exist. There is noreason to limit oneself to reading only from sources that are garaunteed not to teach you anything new, or present any opinions contrary to your own)or by choice, which seems a huge effort to me, all that self-censoring and "fprgetting" and second geussing...
OR,
B)An extremely cynical liar. In which case, I wish you luck, you'll probably get on just fine.
So, the question is, the author of this peice, which are you?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRESIDENT SADDAM HUSSEIN’S ADDRESS ON THE TWELFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GRAND BATTLE Um Al-Maarik “MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES” IN JANUARY 17-1-2003

Baghdad, Jan 17,2003. INA

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

There are those who, on being told: ‘Your enemy has mustered a great force against you and so fear them,’ they grew more tenacious in their faith and replied: Allah’s help is all -sufficient for us. He is the best Protector’. Thus they earned Allah’s grace and bounty and no harm befell them. For they had striven to please Allah, whose, bounty is infinite. It is Satan that prompts men to fear his followers. But have no fear of them. Fear Me, if you are true believers. Do not grieve for those that quickly renounce their faith. They will not harm Allah in the least. He seeks to give them no share in the hereafter. Their punishment shall be terrible indeed.

God speaks the truth

Great people in Iraq, the land of faith, Jihad, bravery and glory..
Brave members of the gallant armed forces..

Sons of our glorious Arab nation..

Men of goodwill in the world, wherever you are..

From the bright light of dawn, from the ray of sun which has risen after a long absence, from its horizon, from the lids of the eyes which were wounded by heavy tears for people, dear for all of us, who can no more be seen, but who can become visible with the new sun, and from the horizon which God has ordained to be vast, with a new birth and life in whose skies exist green birds and a strong newborn which God has decided to be faithful to its nation, from all this your glorious Revolution and march, a new Iraq, was born. Its faith has been increased and deepened after the Grand Confrontation on the night of 16/17 1991, the grand military phase of the eternal battle of Um Al-Maarik, by the flagrance of the generous blood, suffering and commendable patience.

A new Iraq was born with firm resolution, great power of vision and a heart, which has been increased in strength by a determination for ascent and for overcoming difficulties. It was firm in its love for its nation. Its faith, which God has given it and which the situation and banner was perfumed by generous blood from its sons, has been deepened by a scarifies which God has accepted in compensation for the negligence which took over those who ruled Baghdad, and therefore the foreigners with the horny feet of their horses, found their way towards it. The radiation of its eyes over the nation and humanity has set down, after the water of Tigris was dyed with plentiful blood along with the ink of its books which were filled with science and knowledge, and which were thrown into the water in the year 1258, as a punishment for a history whose soul departed its body and for a civilization whose faith and guards disappeared. Hence, the ravens croaked in it, showing impudence to its eyes through which humanity saw its way to raise in culture after it had played its role and into enlighten those who could see that and accepted from it as a means from God to them as a reward for its faith and fear.

The new Iraq was born on such a view, and was born with it, its rifle in place of the arrow, spear and sword, to be armed so that the ravens could not be so covetous as to venture its palms and the eyes of its children.

A strong, believing and healthy Iraq was born. But the birth, as all other births which came before it in the horizon of humanity and in our nation, was not able to render ineffectual the croak of ravens, nor the hissing of snakes or the crossing of far crocodiles from the seas of their family in order to help the beasts of earth in their attack against the sun, in a desperate hope to obscure its light which radiated from Baghdad or to shed the blood of its people in a fake hope and out of an imagination that the generous blood shed on the soil of Baghdad and on the soil of Iraq could hinder the plants and trees from becoming green, from blossoming and from carrying with its fragrance pollens which might tempt the appetite of butterflies, and thus be able to carry with the news of new faith and resolution, with the dew and tears, a pollen to every tree whose branches and leaves become dry or ceased to give fruits now that the water ceased to reach its roots and was confident that no one could take care of its fruits and guard its plants, trees and growth.

With the new birth, there was Satan and his companion, the lizards of this time, who spit out their fire on the healthy body. But, as the birth of Baghdad was now healthy and proper, blessed by heaven by order of its God, and that its guard were putting their hands on their rifles during the dawn prayer on the day of birth, with great confidence in their breasts, on the night of 16/17 January 1991 and afterwards, Baghdad, in the name of Iraq, kept defending itself along with every faithful valiant and noble woman in defense of the command which God has so decided to their new birth. Their will of determination never bent . They defeated all evil troops of more than thirty states together with those who supported them. The number of the army, which the jihadists in the Iraq army had confronted, mounted to twenty-eight. The state of Iraq stood in the face of the aggression of forty-two countries on the night of 16 / 17 January. The confrontation and the battle lasted for a month and a half with such momentum. Afterwards, the sanctions and aggression continued for thirteen years until the present day. Such was the defence of the Iraqis on that day and the days that followed. Others, in their turn, defended the seeds which they sowed and elevated what they had built, to the point that their fields were mixed with the spacious gardens. Plants covered the land of Iraq reminding of its past when the land of Iraq was described as the land of the black for the multitude of its plants which disappeared from Baghdad, its countryside and towns, until it appeared as if they did not exist before as one sign of its health. It had mixed with the lofty constructions, dear and visible, and was dominated by the high minarets, domes and signs of the houses of worship. And with every exaltation of “Allah is the greatest” on the battlefields, the same gratification rose high in the mosques together with the voices of worship in their places, each in accordance with his own religion and manner. A visitor could tell that he was in Baghdad even though his eyes were shut, in an attempt that a traveler could hardly recognize his feet on the map… Was there a place much better than Baghdad, where religions and racial tolerance together with constructive views being born, on the side and direction of every constructive thing of other views….?

The new birth brought back once again the spirit of Baghdad, and with the birth a stand, a sword, a pen and a banner were born. The call of “Allah is the greatest” blessed the stand, the sword and the pen. The birth whose threats were knitted by the dawn and blessed by the call for prayer, was an impregnable birth to every malicious, perfidious and greedy…It could not deserve, nor could Allah and the people accept for it, but the life chosen for it by its pioneers after they asked the permission of their Lord, the Merciful. The scheming of the attackers backfired in that aggression and in the on-going aggression which they make longer to the present day. Everyone who tries to climb over its wall, be it an aggressor, an insolent, a wicked, a perfidious and an oppressor will fail in his attempt.

Is not this your description and position for the men of Iraq, the believer and loyal jihadists, and for the noble women as well? Or is there anyone who might delude himself into believing to say, after treading down his luck, that Saddam Hussein is speaking about his wishes and not about a description of a condition in which he lives and gets to know, with heart and soul, its comprehensive and detailed nature? By God, this is your description and attitude, or even a reward for your suffering, sacrifices, and patience, o brave men and women.. The evil ravens and evil crocodiles, still foster wickedness and would never cease their communication with their disappointed hopes, despite the fact that their deep wounds and disgrace can not be rubbed out with the passage of time. The lizards which breathed out fire on our lord, Ibrahim (peace be upon him), as is often related by people, still give birth and still assign for every birth the task of breathing out fire, out of their belief that they are capable of burning away, in defiance of God’s will which He chose to be cool and safe.

Hence, with the flying banner, raise high your swords and rifles, oh our dear people, and remind anyone who may still be under a delusion, so that he might not be deluded of your stand in the

( Greatest March ), on the day of the Grand Allegiance and in other attitudes, but if he does so, let your guns waiting in ambush for him, preceded and guided by the radiation and light of your faith necessary for safeguarding your eyes. This is because, if their ravens have a fancy and find no one to deter them, God forbid, then they would peck up the eyes and devour the hearts and brains of faith, virtue and innovation. Hold fast to your banner, the banner of ( Allah is the Greatest )..There is nothing but it that can help motivate the resolution to rise and give to defence its profound connotation.

Say :God is the greatest, oh brothers and sons. Remember the meanings of this great call in accordance with the profundity of your faith, so that its echo, along with your words and support, could be sounded by all towns and rural areas, by mountains and by plains. And with the help of the waters of Tigris and Euphrates and the water of the Gulf, your voice can reach not only every brave man and woman in the land of faith and Jihad, but also every loyal man and woman in the nation, every fair-minded and everyone who has an honorable stance in humanity.

When birth is associated with a stance, a determination, a pen, a sword and a banner, then birth can assume its proper role in our nation, God willing.

When we say that history is tantamount to doctrine, and is remembered by those who inherit it with contemplation, consideration and responsibility, this is because everything right is born with it and from it, and becomes a new and constant history after it gives a new birth with each glory and construction. A firm belief is its safe foundation . It becomes a doctrine carried from the past, still possesses the condition of the true birth when so remembered by its sons with the responsibility of the present, and with the due ambition for the future.

Such was the labour of the past. From its womb it begets a doctrine; new in its spirit, in dress and colour and its special path … And with the new doctrine, a strong flag-post and hand has been born bearing our pride and our guidance to faith: Allahu Akbar, to stand firm in the face of every violent wind, God willing, or evil attempt.

Yes, Allahu Akbar….

Allahu Akbar….

Brothers :

The saying that (history repeats itself)means, among other things, that aspects of the past could be repeated though they assume the colours and names of their stages…They repeat themselves should they be re-analyzed, revived and dissolved into their primary elements and ingredients as to their strength and weakness, ascent and descent, climbing and falling into abyss , good and bad, climbing to peaks and falling into abyss, pursuit of good will and virtue against pursuit of evil and vice, those who hate people and bring harm to them against those who love people and work for their welfare, the destroyers and the constructors and the like in the series of the images and their contrasts, up and down, bad and good.