"Fear is Transmuting Into Anger" - Rahul Mahajan Reports on Resistance in Iraq
Rahul Mahajan Reports on Resistance in Iraq
Tuesday, April 13th, 2004
We speak with author and antiwar activist Rahul Mahajan in Baghdad who was one of the only western reporters in Fallujah during the U.S. siege. He says: "The United States has completely lost control, and even the mildest of people are now absolutely enraged at what is being done in Fallujah, and want the United States out...anyone that didn't have a gun today could pick up a gun tomorrow." [includes rush transcript]
The situation in Iraq is dire. At least 60 U.S. troops have been killed over the past week, the highest number of the war, including the week of the invasion. Many more have been wounded. There are no reliable estimates of the number of Iraqi dead, but at least 800 have been reported killed in the last week alone - the actual number is likely much higher.
The top U.S. commander in the Middle East General John Abizaid is asking for the equivalent of two more combat brigades, or as many as 10,000 troops to keep American forces in Iraq at around 135,000.
Reports coming out of Fallujah indicate a massacre of some 600 Iraqis, including many women and children, at the hands of U.S. troops. Meanwhile, 3,000 US troops are massing around Najaf and US military commanders are talking about invading the city and capturing or killing Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Kidnappings are now rampant throughout the country. 9 Americans, including 2 soldiers are being held hostage in Iraq and six employees of Halliburton are missing. Three Russians and five Ukranians who were taken hostage yesterday were released earlier today. The three Japanese civilians taken last week remain hostages. Danish NGOs are leaving, and it seems likely that most civilian aid workers will now flee the country, setting back reconstruction immeasurably.
Meanwhile, at a press conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, President Bush responded to reporters' questions on the situation in Iraq.
President Bush, Press Briefing, April 12, 2004.
Rahul Mahajan, author of "Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond" (Seven Stories). He is running a new blog called Empire Notes at empirenotes.org. He has a Ph.D. in particle physics.
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