[list_indonesia] [ppiindia] Eyewitness Falluja: An Iraqi view of the U.S. attack

From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 15:00:04 +0100
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http://www.workers.org/2005/world/falluja-0317/

Eyewitness Falluja: An Iraqi view of the U.S. attack
Published Mar 9, 2005 4:02 PM=20
Mohammad J. Haded was one of the few physicians who remained in Falluja, Ir=
aq, during the November 2004 attack by U.S. troops. The German daily Junge =
Welt published an interview with him on Feb. 26, conducted by R=FCdiger G=
=F6bel. Below are excerpts translated from the German by WW managing editor=
 John Catalinotto.

About 5,000 families--about 25,000 to 30,000 Iraqis--remained during the U.=
S. major offensive in November in Falluja, the rest of the inhabitants havi=
ng fled. Meanwhile some returned. We estimate that about 20 percent of the =
population of Falluja returned.=20

Apartments and houses that were not destroyed directly by U.S. bombs were d=
evastated later. Furniture was smashed into little pieces. Besides, innumer=
able houses were purposefully set on fire. Even schools and hospitals were =
destroyed.

Still today corpses are found under the rubble of destroyed houses. An unkn=
own number of dead people were thrown by the U.S. troops into the Euphrates=
 River. The U.S. Army announced that 1,200 people had been killed. We ourse=
lves pulled out and then buried more than 700 corpses. Beyond that we canno=
t give accurate data.

We have innumerable pictures and also films, on which you can see who was k=
illed in Falluja. I invite everyone to come into our city. I can bring you =
together with children who had to watch their parents being shot by America=
ns. And I will bring you together with men who saw how their children and t=
heir wives were killed.=20

There was and there still is resistance in Iraq and also in Falluja. The re=
sistance against the occupation is legitimate and corresponds to internatio=
nal conventions. It is not, however, by any means legal to bombard civilian=
s. That is permitted neither to the Americans nor to opponents of the occup=
ation.

Many Iraqis are of the opinion that the attacks on civilians are not the re=
sponsibility of the resistance, but that in the long run the Americans and =
the secret services of the neighboring countries are behind them. It is sim=
ilar with Musab al-Zarkawi, with whose existence the Americans justified th=
e attacks on Falluja. Where is al-Zarkawi today? He is a phantom, who manag=
es to show up exactly where he can be used. It doesn't matter if it is in K=
irkuk, Mosul, Tikrit, Samarra, Ramadi, Baghdad or Basra--everywhere, where =
there is resistance, al-Zarkawi manages to emerge where he is useful.

The city hospital lies in the west and is separated by the Euphrates from t=
he city itself. Between seven and eight in the evening [of Nov. 8, 2004, wh=
en the major attack called "Dawn" began--JC], U.S. soldiers encircled and o=
ccupied the 200-bed hospital. At the time about 30 patients were still in t=
he hospital. Although there was no resistance and also no fighters were bei=
ng treated, the physicians and the maintenance personnel, 22 persons, were =
immediately arrested. We were thrown to the ground, bound and later interro=
gated. We were told we would have to vacate the hospital, patients as well =
as the caregivers. Afterwards the hospital was wiped out, even the medical =
instruments were destroyed.

The Americans were inside, looked through everything, and asked us again an=
d again where the terrorists were hiding. If they had found someone there f=
rom the resistance, they would never have released us physicians again.

At the same time as the occupation of the hospital, the bombardment of the =
entire city began. The detonations were to be heard clearly. Even rescue ca=
rs were attacked. First inhabitants tried to bring the wounded with their p=
assenger cars into a hospital. But everything that moved on the roads was f=
ired on.

We finally established a field hospital in the eastern part of Falluja. In =
principle it was no more than an outpatient clinic. We gave the exact locat=
ion of the building to the Americans. Two days later it was bombed, so this=
 emergency station was thus lost. We finally established a second emergency=
-aid clinic, which was actually not functional. We had practically nothing =
there. Water and electricity were turned off, and the telephone no longer w=
orked.=20

The conditions were catastrophic and nevertheless we operated on 25 wounded=
 people there. We had no medicines, however, and the wounds became infected=
. For all practical purposes the patients lay in their death beds. Those wi=
th major injuries were lost. In the surrounding houses we looked for volunt=
eers who helped us with cleaning up and to wash away the blood. My 13-year-=
old son was among the helpers.

After seven days I went to the Amer icans. I asked to be allowed to drive w=
ith a car and a white flag through the roads and to gather the remaining in=
habitants in a mosque. In one hour I had collected about 50 people from the=
ir homes, approxi mately 10 families. Two days later there were 200 Iraqis =
in the mosque. Some told me that American soldiers had purposely fired thei=
r weapons at families, even those holding white flags. Also in the mosque w=
e had set up a small outpatient clinic.=20

Up until today the central hospital is surrounded by U.S. soldiers. Patient=
s must come on foot. Whoever comes by passenger car is fired at.

Some people had stayed in Falluja because they had no relatives in Baghdad =
with whom they could find accommodation. Others were ashamed to be in tents=
 living like refugees. Others would gladly have fled, but had no car. Howev=
er, most of those who remained simply could not imagine that the Americans =
would fight with such a rage. They did not believe that the U.S. soldiers w=
ould bomb and shoot directly at civilians and at whole families. Fighters, =
yes, but unarmed people, women, children, wounded people, old people?

I arranged with the U.S. forces to have a small group of volunteers from th=
e 200 people in the mosque gather the dead bodies from the roads. An outbre=
ak of epide mics was threatened, and the smell of decay was terrible. These=
 volunteers told me later that many women and children as well as old peopl=
e were among the victims.=20

People [in Falluja] hate the Americans-- Americans generally, not only U.S.=
 soldiers. They are occupiers, killers and terrorists. Almost every family =
in Falluja has to mourn a victim; how can you expect any other reaction the=
re?

Even if it doesn't look that way at first sight, in the long run the Americ=
ans lost in Falluja. Which else does it mean when an Empire uses all its po=
wer to attack what is a small city, without any moral scruples? That is the=
 beginning of the end.

Further information: www.iraktribunal.de.=20


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[list_indonesia] [ppiindia] Eyewitness Falluja: An Iraqi view of the U.S. attack

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