38811d65-8518-4f87-9b83-a95df40496a1.jpgWhile there is almost complete silence in the conventional American media, millions of people in Iraq and Gaza are living in the middle of a nightmare.

Conditions in Gaza are disastrous – the siege means that essential items – food, medicine, fuel, and basic building supplies — are scarcely anywhere to be had. “Tsunamis of sewage” are just one desperate result. And now that the UN has had to halt food relief shipments due to the Israeli blockade of fuel, over 1.1 million are facing starvation. Even the World Bank is reporting that these conditions are caused by Israeli blockades.

It’s even harder to learn what conditions are like in Sadr City, which is still under a siege by US and Green Zone forces. Air strikes by US forces continue daily – the AP has “raw video” of one such strike in the past week but we don’t hear about this "air surge" in our media – except when there’s a report touting our high tech capabilities. Take a look at this second piece of AP “raw video.” It was apparently supplied by the DoD and is identified as examples of how:

U.S. pilots flying missions over Iraq are using highly advanced infrared cameras that allow them to easily target individual vehicles and fighters from altitudes of over 15,000 feet.

I don’t know about you, but watching the videos makes it mighty clear, these are not “surgical strikes” but devastating bombings that destroy much more than “individual vehicles and fighters”

Along with no notice of these sieges, there is also no coverage of the actions taken to speak out for the welfare of the citizens of Sadr City and of Gaza. As Badger at Missing Links reports from an Al Aswat Iraq report:

A group of over 50 parliamentarians staged a sit-in in Sadr City to demand the lifting of the siege on that city, and the attacks on it. They said if normality isn’t restored they will do the same again on Monday. Voices of Iraq takes the trouble to point out that the group included not only Sadrist members of parliament, but also two members representing Sunni groups, the IAF and the Dialogue Front, along with one representing the (remains of the) United Iraqi Alliance.

This afternoon, the NYT noticed the sit-in but ignored missed the central demand for an end to the siege – surprising eh? and they certainly did not report on the US force reaction which we learn in a report from Aswat al-Iraq thanks to GorillasGuides:

Aswat al-Iraq quote the MP from the Sadrist bloc Maha Adel as saying in a telephone conversation with their reporter that:

“U.S. aircraft and armoured vehicles launched a reckless attack against Sadr City”

that the American attack had been “vicious” and that they had seen a person killed by sniper fire.

This week, on May 1, members of the Longshoreman’s union, the ILWU, are also taking action. They are calling for a shut down of all ports on the West Coast – and they are calling for us to support and join them:

At the start of the Iraq War in 2003, many working people were opposed to the invasion. Now the overwhelming majority want to end the war and withdraw troops. Yet, both major political parties continue to fund the war.

Marches and demonstrations have not been able to stop the war. The Longshore Union (ILWU) will stop work for 8 hours in every port on the West Coast on May 1st. This action shows that working people have the power to stop the war.

Don’t work on May 1st — MAKE MAYDAY A "NO PEACE, NO WORK HOLIDAY"!

*Stop the war!
*Withdraw the troops now!
*No scapegoating immigrant workers for the economic crisis!
*Health care for all!
*Funding for schools and housing!
*Defend civil liberties and workers’ rights!

MAKE MAYDAY A "NO PEACE, NO WORK HOLIDAY"!

On May Day True Majority, US Action, Americans United, Cities for Peace are delivering copies of the Responsible Plan to over 150 congressional offices with a cover letter demanding they only fund redeployment with timelines – you can support efforts in your own location by checking in here: True Majority.

As Congress moves towards once again funding the occupation with another supplemental, the members of the Out of Iraq caucus also need our help. Make sure you watch Jane’s interview with Lynn Woolsey here and then let your representatives know that you support the Out of Iraq caucus and expect them to too – and send an email or note to the caucus letting them know we support their efforts to stop this medieval occupation.

In Israel, Gush Shalom has been trying to draw attention to the devastation of the siege of Gaza and they have asked for our help. The coalition of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists who recently joined together to bring a convoy carrying 7 tons of relief supplies to the families suffering under the siege, have a joint petition they are circulating – and a support petition for those of us outside Palestine and Israel to sign:

The escalation in and around the Gaza Strip is causing terrible suffering to people – to men, women, elderly and children, Palestinian as well as Israeli civilians. The military offensive conducted by the Israeli armed forces has so far caused hundreds of Palestinian casualties; many of them were unarmed civilians. The siege and economic blockade have reduced most of the Gaza Strip’s population to abject poverty, devastated its economy, and caused the death of critically ill patients, denied access to vital treatment. The Palestinian attacks on Sderot have severely traumatized its population, far beyond the physical casualties caused among them.

This is not a conflict between two equal forces. The most powerful army in the Middle East, backed by the world’s single remaining super-power, is daily using tanks, fighter planes, helicopters and gunships against the lightly-armed militias and overcrowded population of a small area whose people have lived under occupation and in poverty long before the present siege.

Yet the individuals caught in the fighting are all suffering – on both sides of the fighting, among both peoples. The pain of living in daily fear, of being wounded and mutilated for life, of grieving for the loss of loved ones, is the same pain – whether one’s country be oppressed or oppressor, occupied or occupier, rich or poor, powerful or powerless.

The petition’s words about Gaza could equally apply to our actions in Sadr City:

The siege of Gaza and the collective punishment of its population are totally unacceptable. It is a medieval form of war which is in utter contradiction to the present norms of human rights and international law – which Israel, as an occupying power, is bound to respect.

We too must stand with the people brutalized by the actions of our government. The ILWU, True Majority and the Out of Iraq caucus are doing just that. Let’s find ways that we can join them.

Related posts:

  1. PA Pres. Abbas to “Step Down”; Was Suppressing Goldstone Worth It?
  2. You Can’t Chew Meat Unless You Have Some Teeth – Jerusalem Evictions Continue
  3. Gaza – Some Things Never Change
  4. Nobel: It’s Not the Achievements Themselves, It’s the Destination
  5. Israel Defiant – Words or Deeds Mr. President?