One Year On: Iraq Still In Chaos- Report
Exactly one year ago, the toppling of the famous statue of now-imprisoned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein made the headlines and TV news coverage worldwide.
April 9, 2003 witnessed the fall of Baghdad to the U.S.-led occupation forces, the ousting of Saddam along with the Iraqi Baathist regime in what Washington dubbed “Iraq Freedom Operation”.
Friday, April 9, 2004 witnessed U.S. occupation forces using a ladder to remove posters of Shiite scholar Moqtada al-Sadr that were affixed to a sculpture symbolizing a “new Iraq”, erected on the plinth where Saddam's statue once stood in a Baghdad square.
The same day this year also witnessed U.S.-led occupation forces met by a revolution all through the occupied state, with Shiites and Sunnis bridging gaps and unified, insisting to “expel the occupiers”.
World media extensively covered the out-of-control situation all over Iraq, with Qatar-based al-Jazeera dedicating most of its air time to live coverage from Fallujah, where it exclusively airs some horrific scenes of bombardment by U.S. F16 fighter jets and helicopters of densely-populated residential areas in the western Baghdad town, seen as the bastion of Iraqi resistance.
British and U.S. papers also gave prominent coverage – with varying degrees – to the situation in Iraq on the first anniversary of Baghdad fall.
Anti-war Independent daily ran a heading entitled “Iraq, one year on” on its front-page online edition, under which its Baghdad correspondent Patrick Cockburn wrote: “Now Iraq is a country where people fear to venture on to the streets. Whether you are a foreign contractor, a Muslim attending prayers or a journalist, this is a land of ever-present danger”.
Click here for Cockburn’s Iraq anniversary story…
Robert Fisk, the famous anti-war Independent writer also weighed in, running a strong article headed: “Iraqis do not want us”.
Fisk started his article saying: “A war founded on illusions, lies and right-wing ideology was bound to founder in blood and fire. Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. He was in contact with al-Qaeda, he was involved with the crimes against humanity of 11 September. The people of Iraq would greet us with flowers and music. There would be a democracy”.
The Guardian also made Iraq its headline saying: “U.S. battles for control of Iraq”, under which the paper gave a news-coverage of the burning situation where clashes were reported almost everywhere across Iraq.
Also, the British daily ran an article entitled, “A coalition showing signs of fracture”, in which it said: “To the dismay of U.S. central command, Japanese and South Korean forces have retreated to their compounds after coming under fire, while Ukrainian and Kazakh forces have been driven out of the town of Kut by Shia (Shiite) fighters.”
Click here for the Guardian’s article…
U.S. papers also weighed in giving Iraq prominent coverage, with the New York Timessaying – on its online edition front-page – (Fighting Continues to rage across Iraq) and (Signs That Shiites and Sunnis Are Joining to Battle Americans).
The article focused on the growing cooperation between Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis with a common goal: Killing Americans.
The same extent of coverage applied also to the Washington Post, with a slight change of focus, as the tense situation in Fallujah figured higher in its coverage.
The Post also focused on U.S. Secretary of State Collin Powell’s assessment of the situation in Iraq as 'Disquieting'.