Occupation Escalation

The Spin and Reality of the Capture of Saddam Hussein

Revolutionary Worker #1224, December 28, 2003, posted at
http://rwor.org

*****

"There was an attitude that was pervasive. It was uppity." - Lt. Col.
Steven Russell, on why his forces entered Tikrit

*****

In the ancient Rome empire, captured kings would be marched through
the imperial capital in chains--before being sent to slavery or
execution. The spectacle was intended to send a message: that the
empire was unbeatable.

Today's modern imperialists have now paraded a confused, disheveled
Saddam Hussein across the TV screens of the world to deliver that
same message. Here is a man who many people feared, and who many
people also saw as a symbol of Iraqi sovereignty--and he now sits
powerless before U.S. guns and cameras.

Even Iraqis who hated his harsh and oppressive rule reportedly felt
humiliated to see the troops of a foreign invader pawing the former
head of their government.

For the spin-doctors of the empire, the capture of Saddam Hussein in
a farmyard bunker was a moment to exploit from every side.

A Spectacle of Lies and Power

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated." - The Borg,
humanity's enemy on Star Trek

"When you take this leader, who is at one time a very popular leader
in this region, and you find him in a hole in the ground, that's a
pretty powerful statement that you're on the wrong team." - General
Richard Myers, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff

In Iraq, U.S. psychological warfare operations have kicked into high
gear. After his capture, rumors were quickly leaked that Saddam
Hussein had been betrayed--by his own clansmen or by some top aide
under U.S. interrogation. U.S. generals said they now had documents
uncovering the secrets of the Iraqi resistance--including the names
of leaders and lists of infiltrators operating within the pro-U.S.
forces. Publicizing such claims, whether they are true or
disinformation, is intended to spread demoralization within the Iraqi
population and resistance.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., this capture is being used to build war
support among an increasingly troubled population. Thanks to typical
American amnesia, millions of people in the U.S. simply don't realize
that Saddam Hussein was once a favored ally of the U.S. government--
one of the many Third World oppressors that the U.S. has found so
useful. This local gangster fell out with the world-class gangsters
in Washington--and the U.S. has demonized him as some special
embodiment of "evil." Now everyone is told (over and over) that "the
world is a better place."

Like a hustler conning people with three-card monty, the White House
tries to distract the crowds: "Uh, forget about those non-existent
weapons of mass destruction. Here--what about that capture of Saddam
in a spider hole?!"

As if the capture of one man now justifies conquering and wrecking a
whole country. And as if Iraq's people will be better off in the
hands of the U.S. military, ferociously hungry corporations, and some
new generation of corrupt and obedient Iraqi puppets.

In a true media frenzy, every American couch potato has been urged to
debate how the captured Saddam should be punished. "Thumbs up? Thumbs
down? Life? Death?"--the torture and execution of captured presidents
of other countries becomes a new "reality TV show" in a modern-day
Rome.

Even so, the spin-doctors are having trouble whipping up real
enthusiasm. Reality disturbs the spin. Many people sense this war is
wrong and wrapped in lies. Even the top officers don't dare predict
easy victory. And in Iraq, many people have pressed on to show their
outrage and resistance.

Bringing Samarra"Up to Speed"

"While Washington and London were still congratulating themselves on
the capture of Saddam Hussein, U.S. troops have shot dead at least 18
Iraqis in the streets of three major cities in the country." - Robert
Fisk, Baghdad, Dec. 17

"A top-secret report prepared for the American military command in
Iraq.argued that seizing Saddam could provoke more attacks by making
the insurgency more acceptable to Sunni Muslims who weren't members
of Saddam's Baath Party elite, according to senior administration
officials who've seen it." - Sudarsan Raghavan and John Walcott Miami
Herald , Dec. 16

"Given the location and circumstances of his capture, it makes it
clear that Saddam was not managing the insurgency, and that he had
very little control or influence. That is significant and disturbing
because it means the insurgents are not fighting for Saddam, they're
fighting against the United States." - Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Vice
Chairman, Senate Intelligence Committee

Across Iraq, the capture of Saddam triggered huge protests against
U.S. occupation. The U.S. authorities responded with extreme
violence. The following accounts come from various bourgeois press
and could not be independently verified by the RW , but they give a
sense of what's been happening since the capture.

On Monday, December 15, anti-occupation protests broke out throughout
central Iraq. U.S. troops reentered the town of Samarra (which they
had shelled only two weeks before). They opened fire into the crowds
and left 11 people dead.

The U.S. command then unleashed "Operation Ivy Blizzard." Over 2,000
U.S. troops surrounded Samarra. Dozens of armored vehicles commanded
the streets while U.S. soldiers went house- to-house. They blew up
the doors off homes with plastic explosives and barged into people's
houses. They screamed "You're dead, you're dead!" as they seized and
beat men at gunpoint. They took at least 86 men away.

"Samarra has been a little bit of a thorn in our side," the commander
said. "This operation is designed to bring them up to speed."

Shooting the People

"Any demonstration against the government or coalition forces will be
fired upon." - U.S.-backed Governor Hussein al- Jaburi in central Iraq

As news of the massacre in Samarra spread, the protests across Iraq
took on a heightened intensity.

In Ramadi, over 700 people dared to take the streets. Videotape shown
around the world shows U.S. soldiers opening fire on the unarmed
crowd--killing at least three people.

In Tikrit, hundreds of schoolgirls took to the streets to protest the
occupation. The pro-U.S. police opened fire over their heads. As the
city seethed, the U.S. authorities paraded 30 U.S. tanks through the
city. This was necessary, their commander Lt. Col. Steven Russell
told reporters, because the people were "uppity."

As the soldiers rolled in, people of Tikrit gathered on the sides of
the road in silent defiance. At one point, U.S. troops jumped out and
took combat positions, threatening the people. A tank cannon pointed
straight at the crowd as a U.S. soldier screamed in English: "Fucking
move!"

The loudspeakers on U.S. armored vehicles played a recording by their
puppet regional governor Hussein al-Jaburi: "Any demonstration
against the government or coalition forces will be fired upon."

In the northern city of Mosul, a thousand students took to the
streets against the U.S. occupation. U.S. troops shot three people.
And a pro-U.S. cop was later shot in a drive-by.

Meanwhile, there were continued armed resistance attacks on the
occupation forces. One report describes 30 attacks on U.S. forces
around Baghdad alone within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government announced they were sending 2,000 more
troops to Iraq and forcing 3,500 troops who are already there to stay
longer -- for the coming operations.


*****

President Bush himself gave a little pep talk to the battered and
terrified U.S. collaborators in Iraq. "All Iraqis who take the side
of freedom have taken the winning side," he said.

A look across the tortured landscape of Iraq shows what
this "freedom" means. Anyone who speaks against the occupation--in
newspapers or sermons--faces immediate arrest and brutal
interrogation. The U.S. has announced that the future government of
Iraq must not be chosen by election, since Iraq's people might very
well choose an anti-occupation government.

Ten thousand Iraqis are held in growing prison camps. Trade unions
are banned. Hundreds of civilians have been shot in raids and
roadblocks.

Demonstrations are declared illegal. Protesters are simply shot. And
whole towns are brutalized for being "uppity."


----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker
Online
http://rwor.org
Write: Box 3486, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: 773-227-4066 Fax: 773-227-4497