Iraq: Struggle goes on! (by Latuff)

 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/12/388465.html

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7156399.stm

 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/365D6394-054A-447D-BF1F-6022879334E6.htm

 http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1221/iraq.html

 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/CF9127C7-318B-4E2B-A6E9-194CE38AC100.htm?FRAMELESS=true&NRNODEGUID=%7bCF9127C7-318B-4E2B-A6E9-194CE38AC100%7d

 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9979E02C-1E53-42AB-9A38-5AF6ABE0462D.htm?FRAMELESS=true&NRNODEGUID=%7b9979E02C-1E53-42AB-9A38-5AF6ABE0462D%7d

 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B3F603E5-D99B-4D90-B351-3F4E38C3537D.htm?FRAMELESS=true&NRNODEGUID=%7bB3F603E5-D99B-4D90-B351-3F4E38C3537D%7d


How sad do you have to be to romanticise hell on earth?

but not that smart.
I don't actually know Latuf, but from his work, I can't draw any deep political message, only charicatures of people killing one another, he seems to very much idealise violent resistance, which is fine, but not by itself. Without some sort of message, that puts it in some context, it's almost meaningless.
Quite a lot of his work actually offends me, not because I disagree with it, but because it's so simplistic. like this picture, what does it mean??? that resistance will continue in Iraq in the next year? great! but so will the occupation, so what?is this resistance going to drive the occuppyng forces out? of course not! it doesn't matter how you show it, the fact is that there are plenty more Iraqis going to die because of the armed resistance than American soliders, and is that what we're after? more America deaths than Iraqi anyway? Sure resistance is noble by itself, but it also gives a pretext for the occupation to continue. the resistance in Iraq isn't an intelegent campaign to drive the invaders out, it's mostly a show of desperation. It's purpose seems to be to propatuate this war. who gains from a suicide bomb on an army target? is it the American government?Yes!is it the Iraqi Government?yes! is religious leaders?yes! is it the general Iraqi population? no! The only victims of this are the people that die, their families, and everyone who will still die from propatuating this, from this "tit for tat".
It will not liberate Iraq simply because no matter how hard you try, you cannot match the American firepower, and you presuade no one to take the troops out this way, if anything, you strengthen the resolve of our leaders to stay there!

So Latuf... I agree with you, this occupation, and all other occupations must end, why don't you spend some time thinking about what you are trying to say instead of making hundrads of meaningless paintings (which are still very good). maybe a comic book, maybe some story line, maybe a picture about the oil law, I don't know, but this kind of thing seems pointless to me. You have to stop portraying the soliders as "evil" and instead show that it's the system that is. People hate to hear this, but almost every solider, be it Iraq, Afgahnistan, Palestine or where ever, would rather be home. Be it through a fault of their own (British and American), or through militaristic upbringing and compulsive service (Israeli) they are victims too.
Even though some of these soliders are responsible for horrible attrocities, these people would never have done it in thier own home, what we must oppose is the machine that sends them there, not the soliders who "follow orders" because not everyone has a conscience to follow, some find it easier to follow orders instead, with the honest belief that following those will be "the right thing to do". and just to point this out, this mentality, of blindly following orders is also the foundation of the armed resistance, in a different world, those who fight for Iraqi liberation, could be fighting against it, American soliders and Iraqi "insurgents" follow the same mentality.