[Marxism] US "get out vote" drive in Samarra: armored vehicles, house searches

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>From GISpecial 3A29   Thomas F Barton [ThomasFBarton@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]


Jan 28, 2005 By Ibon Villelabeitia, SAMARRA, Iraq (Reuters)



A rumbling column of U.S. Bradley fighting vehicles grinds to a stop in
a rebellious Iraqi neighborhood of scarred houses and mud streets.



Heavily-armed troops jump out and begin searching homes as loudspeakers
blast in Arabic: "On Sunday you should go out to out.  Vote to give
freedom to Iraq.  Vote to save Iraq."  A soldier hands out fliers to a
group of untidy children.



Suddenly, the whistle of a grenade pierces the air and a loud explosion
shakes the ground.  The soldiers fire back before returning to their
armored vehicles and the convoy speeds away.



Two days before the vote, Samarra, a city north of Baghdad, looks more
like a war zone than a place getting ready for elections.



Apache helicopter gunships thunder over mosques and the city's ancient
spiral minaret. Miles of barbed wire seal off garbage-strewn streets.  A
car bomb on Thursday killed an Iraqi soldier and two civilians near an
Iraqi army patrol.



There are no campaign posters in this city of 200,000 people, and
several election officials have resigned after receiving death threats.
Only U.S. forces, venturing out of their frequently-mortared bases, make
an attempt to get the vote out, putting up posters with general
information about the polls, passing out leaflets and broadcasting
messages.



"We hang posters around the city telling people how important it is for
them to vote but they rip them up as soon as we turn our backs," said
Staff Sgt. Russ Spike from Akron, Ohio.



He was among a group of soldiers who recently went on a patrol to
encourage Samarra residents to vote.



As 30-tonBradley vehicles pointed their 25 mm cannons down alleyways,
Spike cranked up the volume of the loudspeakers on his Humvee.  He has a
list of taped messages with titles such as "Election news," "Freedom to
vote" and "Love and family."



The noise drew a handful of nervous Iraqis out of their homes. Children
stared in awe at the Americans, many of whom wore wrap-around sunglasses
and chewed tobacco.



Ibrahim, a 54-year-old teacher, said U.S. forces used heavy-handed
tactics to put down the insurgency.



"We suffered with Saddam. Now we suffer with the Americans. They come to
our neighborhoods with their Bradleys and they want us to love them.
Just for standing here they can kill me."



No sooner had he finished talking than a rocket-propelled grenade,
apparently aimed at the Humvee mounted with the loudspeakers, exploded
nearby.



"Let's get out of here.  This place is no good," Spike said as he jumped
back into his vehicle.  [Right.  Out of there.  All the way home.  Right
now.  Not another day, not another dime, not another life.    Iraqis
will not have a foreign Imperial occupier ruling their country,
especially an asshole like Bush.  They will never stop fighting for
their freedom.  They are right to do so.  Time for soldiers to come
home.  The enemy is running the government in Washington DC, not in
Iraq.]




_______________________________________________
Marxism mailing list
Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism