It was indeed an unusual scene. In a besieged and devastated Iraqi town, amid pools of blood and dead and wounded bodies, an old Iraqi man emerged from the ruins of his house to shout at the media.
“Bush is a liar; Saddam is a liar and Arab countries are all liars. We are the only ones who pay for their lies,” the poor man shouted over and over in frustration and despair.
Those words from a desperate and helpless Iraqi summarized everything. They embodied the depth of a tragedy that has befallen the Iraqi people and how they view what is happening to their country. These simple but genuine words that are free of rich ornamentation and exaggeration are the best illustration of the conditions the Iraqis find themselves in these days.
This is indeed a war of liars. One side calls itself people of principles and values who insist on imposing those same principles and values by force upon the Iraqis. The other side is a corrupt junta, claiming victory after victory while manipulating and deceiving its own people as it insists on clinging to power even if it means the elimination of the entire population.
Demonstrations have been held in many Arab cities with the participants marching from one street to another, without having any influence on the course of events. There were fiery political statements and calls for ending the pointless and needlessly destructive war. It seems every one was lying while no one dared to do anything meaningful and it begins to seem that nobody will do anything at all in future.
The Iraqi people are paying the price for all the lies and fabrications made by their rulers, their failed nation and the so-called proponents of freedom, democracy and human rights. They remain the weakest link in this chain after being reduced to the status of orphans standing and begging at the door of the wicked. Some of the wicked may show some mercy and tap on their shoulders while saying a few nice words but none will go so far as to offer them a hot meal. What they receive will ultimately be at the expense of what is left of their dignity.
The Iraqi people must know who killed them. They should stop saying they will defend with their blood whomever rules them. What they need to defend is their homeland. This people have experienced enough tragedies — both at the hands of their rulers and at the hands of those who came from distant lands claiming to liberate them.
Arab News From the Local Press 14 April 2003
