or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
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"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
November 18, 2006
When Will This Nightmare End?
Imad Khadduri, the Iraqi physicist who escaped to Canada in 1998 and did everything he could to expose the Bush administration's lies before the invasion, writes from Amman:
Yesterday, I received an Email from a friend citing a very touching obituary for a young Iraqi boy by the name of Ali who died of leukemia in his family’s self imposed exile in Jordan. It was written by one of his teachers and published in Al Rai newspaper.I wrote back to my friend to express my sympathy and told him that I wonder how many Iraqi Alis are dying without a word said about them. I did not know then that only few hours later I would have my Ali to mourn.
Ali is the nephew of my wife...But he was much more than that to me. He was like my own son who kept my company for eight years in Baghdad when my own sons were away. He was indeed a son, a friend, assistant and a delight to be with...He was great in dealing with children and loved so much my granddaughter Mariam who in return loved him and wanted him to be around as much as she wanted her parents...
Ali was killed in Baghdad on Thursday, November 7 by the Americans or their protégés, the national guards who were manning a close check point...
Does anybody doubt that there isn’t a home in Iraq now which is not suffering the loss or injury of a loved one? When will this nightmare end? When will we regain our country and see the back of this occupation?
The rest is here.
For a few of Khadduri's pre-war writings, see "Iraq's Nuclear Non-Capability" (November 21, 2002) and "The Nuclear Bomb Hoax" (February 7, 2003).
Posted at November 18, 2006 05:44 PM | TrackBackAs I recall a British military spokesman was asked during the 'Shock and Awe' phase of the war what he would tell a mother whose child had been killed by our bombs. He said something along the lines of "Buck up. It will have been worth it. You'll see."
Funny thing is, 4 years into the war those Iraqis still don't seem to get it. Must be that moon-god religion of theirs has blinded them to our virtue.
Good empires don't get where they are without being good at doing the civilian portion of things such decreasing infant mortality rates and spreading first-class civil service. As such they can have been seen to be a great but necessary evil for spreading certain ideas and practices. The United States isn't even an Empire now...it disgraces Empire.
Posted by: En Ming Hee at November 18, 2006 09:45 PMIt wasn't a "military spokesman", it was Geoff Hoon, then Secretary of State for Defence. And he is still a cabinet minister.
Posted by: Alex at November 19, 2006 07:13 AM
