Unembedded Journalist Offers Alternative View of Iraq Occupation

BOSTON/Dorchester - During the presidential election campaign supporters of U.S. foreign policy endlessly praised the effectiveness of the U.S. troop “surge” in stemming violence and improving conditions in Iraq. Because many reporters have left the country – the corporate press has turned its attention away from the war and towards the unfolding economic crisis in the U.S. - this view goes largely unchallenged. According to independent journalist and author Dahr Jamail Americans need to know that six years of U.S. military occupation have left many Iraqis far worse off than they were prior to the 2003 invasion. “One out of every six Iraqis are displaced from their homes. We have approximately five million people about roughly half of which have fled the country altogether half of which are displaced within Iraq. And in addition to that we have according to an Oxfam International report that came out about a year ago – and this continues to this day – approximately eight million people in dire need of emergency assistance. Which means if they don’t get access to medical attention when necessary food clean water and shelter they’re literally at risk for their lives.” Jamail author of the 2007 book “Beyond the Green Zone ” and one of only a handful of independent and unembedded journalists who have visited Iraq and traveled throughout the country calls the situation "apocalyptic." Earlier this week Jamail visited Boston to speak about the facts he has uncovered; revelations he said which are being ignored or suppressed. Interviewed on the radio on Sunday and addressing more than 100 people at the First Church Unitarian Universalist in Dorchester on Monday Jamail described among other things the rise of former insurgents being paid by the U.S. many millions of dollars in unfulfilled construction contracts while all around cities continue to crumble and most Iraqis live under desperate conditions. Some of these self-styled “gangsters ” as Jamail describes them and their men have been affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Iraq according to military sources. Jamail is currently researching his next book which will focus on the lives of U.S. soldiers and the importance of G.I. resistance to the anti-war movement. The following audio clip comes from Dahr Jamail’s presentation at the UU Church in Dorchester on Monday March 9th. His appearance was sponsored by Dorchester People for Peace Iraq Veterans Against the War Haymarket Books the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences at UMASS Boston and other groups. Dahr Jamail writes for the Inter Press Service Asia Times and reports for several programs on the Pacifica Radio Network. He has been published in The Nation The Guardian and many other publications and websites. His Middle East dispatches can be read on www.dahrjamailiraq.com. His reporting has won awards including the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Award for Journalism the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism and four Project Censored awards. On Sunday morning March 8th Jamail spoke with Marc Stern and David Goodman in the studios of WMBR Cambridge on the program “RADIO with a VIEW.” Web Resources: www.dahrjamailiraq.com www.beyondthegreenzone.org/ Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Newsvine Facebook Google Yahoo Technorati