While reading some news from the Middle East, BBC NEWS and a few others including Iraqi news, I ran across more and more articles about the repression women have faced SINCE the US ocupation that wasn’t there before.
In Afghanistan, the focus was to rid them of the Taliban, freeing up Afghanistan to operate democratically and reduce the amount of repression of women in the country. Oh, and to rightfully kick the turbans off of those who terrorized America.
Since the key focus and majority of coalition troops were moved to Iraq, everthing done has slowly been reverted, more and more Talibam rule now than ever before and Kandahar is just a breeding ground for terrorism.
But what about Iraq? There are lots of troops in Iraq, but AlQaeda has now taken over there by amassing all the former (much smaller) radical groups into one large, organized terror group. But what about the people of Iraq who are supposed to be saved by this change in government and millitary control?
[i]”The police in Basra claim that as many as 15 women a month are murdered for breaching Islamic dress codes. Iraqi women claim that [b]over the past five years[/b] they have lost their freedom of movement, the right to dress as they please and their legal standing.” [/i]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/04/2008_19_wed.shtml
Whereas before the invasion they were repressed somewhat, but still apparently happy and leading normal lives (as were most Iraqi’s, despite what SOME news has reported from time to time) it seems that they have been forced to follow a more traditional Muslim lifestyle of repression now and have lost many of the freedoms they once had.
So what is REALLY being done in Iraq, other than years of rather senseless fighting and deaths with no resolve and no gains in sight?
If the Iraqi’s that were once on the side of democracy are now turning against the USA and UK, if the insurgents are growning in number and still laughing at ‘the infidels’ while killing them, how is it that things are getting better?
How is it that the powers that be never saw this coming to begin with?
Did they know it would be endless?
Why is it that the ONLY time the US has ever started a war, it happens to be in a country where the US was cut off from importing their oil and stands to gain great benefit in silencing a 2000 year old conflict?
[i]IF[/i] the US was to win this one tomorrow and all the oil flows freely to America, will the US government then turn their nose up at the idea of being more resourceful because they are not FORCED to be anymore, until years down the road when that well dries up too and they invade someone else for THIER oil?
If Canada stopped sending oil to the US, would there be another US vs Canadian war? Well I think it would be the US vs the world at that point, Canada has many allies and very few foes, even in the Middle East.