The pro-Israeli propaganda machine has been working overtime today in an attempt to convince the American people that the people of Iraq are happy that their government has been overthrown.
There are some points to consider.
While I don't doubt that there are a few people who disliked the Baathi government — every government has their enemies — I wonder just how many of the people shown by the Jewish press (American media) really are Iraqis that are celebrating and how many of these are actors. Keep in mind that this is a tool that they have used before, as we have seen newspaper articles where they have used the same actors to represent both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides.
Even if all of the stories and videos that the American propagandists are showing are legit, you have to keep in mind that the vast majority of the Iraqi people are not represented. Most of the Iraqi people are not out in the streets celebrating. The vast majority, who haven't yet been killed or injured by the American military strikes, are hiding at home. Most of these people, I would guess, are scared to death at what is going to happen next to their country and to them.
If any of them are really happy, it is probably because they believe that the suffering, imposed by the U.S. and the U.N. through 12 long years of sanctions, might finally be at an end.
Still, consider their sober reality:
The largest ally of their greatest enemy has now invaded and overthown their government.
Over the years, Israel has repeatedly entered and invaded the Palestinian territory and bulldozed their homes. Now, through the United States, Israel is in control.
As one Arab web site put it:
The US, the world's super power, defeats the Third World country of Iraq after pounding it for 12 years through sanctions. Casualties: less than 100 soldiers for US and about 1.5 million Iraqis. Consequences: Total Israeli hegemony over the Middle East, the oil wells are secure, the military industry will be thriving for decades, and the stock markets are ready to take off.
It is a dark day for the Arab world. They haven't been liberated. The repression has just begun.
