It’s not the Ides Iraqis are wary of in March, but the 20th day. That marks the date in 2003 their lives changed forever. It was of course when America and its allies, its “Coalition of the Willing”, launched the infamous, ‘Operation Iraqi Liberation’.
You may recall the shock and awe of watching a nation blown to pieces LIVE on CNN; not in living colour, but rather transmitted in the eerie iridescence of infrared night vision?
Despite serial declarations to the contrary, the “operation” in Iraq never really was accomplished and fifteen years later the country, with its cities in shambles, millions killed, maimed, or driven into exile is, like fellow invadee Afghanistan, still a chaos; is still at war.
David Swanson is a peace and political justice activist, journalist, radio host, and author whose book titles include: ‘War No More: The Case for Abolition,’ ‘When the World Outlawed War,’ ‘War Is a Lie,’ and ‘The Military Industrial Complex at 50’ among others. He’s director of WorldBeyondWar.org, blogs at Let’s Try Democracy (DavidSwanson.org) and WarIsACrime.org, and hosts the public affairs program, Talk Nation Radio.
David Swanson in the first half.
And; as though tensions between the World’s nuclear titans weren’t taut enough, a bizarre alleged poisoning in Britain has Western fingers pointing again at a Russian conspiracy. Former spy and exile, Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia were discovered collapsed on a Salisbury park bench a week past Sunday last.
Though the pair have not been seen or heard from outside of hospital since, authorities claim they were poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent believed once to be part of the USSR’s chemical arsenal. Now, British prime minister, Theresa May says, “Putin did it!” But what she won’t, or perhaps can’t say is, why.
John Helmer is a Moscow-based journalist and author. His latest article, ‘Fourteen and a Half Certainties in the Case of Sergei Skripal‘ is up now at his website, Dances with Bears.
John Helmer and uncertain certainties in the second half.
And; Victoria-based activist and CFUV Radio broadcaster at-large, Janine Bandcroft will be here at the bottom of the hour with the Left Coast Events Bulletin. But first, David Swanson and the enduring legacy of war in Iraq and beyond.
Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Thursday between 11-Noon Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/