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The Guardian
"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” While, for George Bush, the war against Iraq represented the modern version of “Cry ‘Havoc!’, and let slip the dogs of war”, as this ironic editorial from The Guardian shows, the decision by the USA administration to take Shakespeare to entertain and edify the occupation forces in Iraq may yet turn out to prove the rule, “That in the captain’s but a choleric word, which in the soldier is flat blasphemy.”
The Telegraph, India
UN secretary-general Kofi Annan criticised today the new USA draft resolution on Iraq for making few significant changes as France, Russia and Germany submitted amendments to speed up Iraqi self-rule.
Dave Lindorff
Say the U.S. was occupying Syria, and needed some help with the occupation?some troops who might help to put the occupied Syrians at ease. Would we invite in neighbouring Israeli troops to help us? Unlikely you say? Or let’s try Poland. Say we were occupying Poland and wanted some help there. Would we invite German troops in?
World Crisis Web
News is just reaching the world of a new and brutal collective punishment practice adopted by the “liberating” forces in Iraq. Late last month, in the relatively quiet rural centre of the country, the conspicuous sound of jazz music from loudspeakers could be heard, as sunglasses-clad USA solders uprooted ancient groves of date palms, as well as orange and lemon orchards, belonging to the farming communities there. The tactic was part of a policy of collective punishment for farmers who fail to co-operate with the invaders by giving information about opposition activities in their area.
Islam Online
The Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr ended his Friday sermon yesterday by declaring that he is to set up a rival government, and to call independent elections open to all Iraqis, in contravention of USA plans for the country. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 Shiites, many armed, marched alongside the coffins of the two men killed in a recent shooting by USA troops. They raised their fists, roaring: “There is no God but Allah. America is the enemy of Allah”.
Michael Jansen
Washington’s freshly minted plans for Iraq are fragmenting as soon as they begin to take shape. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan torpedoed the Bush administration’s draft resolution before it was tabled at the Security Council. Annan said he could not send UN staff - who has been withdrawn - back into Iraq unless the world body is in charge of reconstruction and the restoration of Iraqi rule.
Suzanne Goldenberg
While seemingly intent on obliterating the symbols of Saddam, the Coalition Provisional Authority shows little compunction in rehabilitating the real instruments of his brutal control. After months of chaos and confusion, it appears that the CPA has come around to the view that it cannot rule effectively without the security and intelligence services.
Brian Whitaker
An ultra-Zionist Israeli settler has joined forces with the nephew of the Iraqi leader Ahmad Chalabi to promote investment in Iraq. The venture - which has excellent connections with the Pentagon and the new Iraqi government - is the first joint Israeli-Iraqi business project publicly documented since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Dima Tareq Tahboub
When my husband decided to go to Baghdad, he knew that I would protest. He told me that I was exaggerating the risks; that there was nothing to be afraid of because he was a reporter, an objective witness, neither on this nor that side, and because of that was protected by world protocol. He bid us farewell, apologising for having been so busy. He promised to make it up to me and our daughter, Fatimah, when he returned.
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