7.11.04

Screams heard

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Screams will not be heard, Madeleine Bunting: "The silence from Falluja marks a new and agonising departure in the shape of 21st-century war. The horrifying shift in the last century was how, increasingly, war was waged against civilians: their proportion of the death toll rose from 50% to 90%. It prompted the development of a form of war-reporting, exemplified by Bosnia, which was not about the technology and hardware, but about human suffering, and which fuelled public outrage. No longer. The reporting of Falluja has lapsed back into the military machismo of an earlier age. This war against the defenceless will go unreported."

Well here is another journalist, Rahul Mahajan, that was inside Falloojah during the uprising in April. Also see, Jo Wilding's version of events during that time. And here's Nir Rosen's reporting from Falloojah as well. [thanks Prof. Cole] I will try to put up more related links as I see them. Keep an eye on Dahr Jamail. Here's another piece of his from today. He left Falloojah, apparently, and is back in Baghdad.

I feel a depressive state coming on like a bulldozer. We need to make sure information gets out about the events in Falloojah and elsewhere. I've heard that there is Arab media inside the city. I will try to confirm this...of course, whatever Arab media happens to be inside showing horrible images are going to be painted as anti-Iraqi. I just do not buy this in a scenario where you are essentially destroying an entire town with Shia from the south and Kurds from the north, further alienating the Sunnah while trying to take out a few hundred crazy foreign fundamentalists. Why do we constantly have to take the best of worst options? Well, this proves how bad things have gotten. Also here is one BBC correspondent reporting from Falloojah anonymously. And Kofi Annan's letter.

I'll try to be on top of real information coming out of Falloojah.

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