I'm cowed and I;m in darkest Devon.

Started with shock and awe and we are back to where we came in.
Pointless.

Iraq, one could say, has become a contaminated cocktail of regional neighbours' ideological and geo-strategic aspirations; a battleground between the Sunni Arab world and Shia Iran.

More like a battleground between US imperialism and Iran.

We must be thankful that the surge worked - Heaven knows how many more might have been killed otherwise.

We should all be so grateful that Tony Blair and George Bush have made Iraq such a safe and democratic country.

So far only 250,000 Iraqis have been killed since the 2003 invasion. So that's alright then, isn't it?

@fieldproducer

Leave the hyperbole out please. Iraqi deaths are estimated to be much less than what u suggest and closer to the 100k mark - didn't Saddam kill many more than this? I thought so.

harmic123

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## Iraqi deaths ..closer to the 100k mark - ##

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I prefer Bush's 30K . Who would have thought the guy was a comic genius?

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B

What a pity sanctions were allowed to go on so long. What a pity that more and more people had to live under a vicious totalitarian regime as long as they did. There are clearly a lot of very damaged murderous people in Iraq. The day before
this attack a bomb went off in a primary school killing 7 small children and wounding 42 more.

Only a really stupid sick person would do that. There is no political or tribal or economic excuse. That is just psychopathy and pre existed "us". My sympathies
to Iraq. There are ways of building in psychological resilience. I hope they are being employed. It will be a long time before those psychologically damaged under Saddam and damaged by sanctions get past it.

http://www.usembassy.it/file2002_10/alia/a2100906.htm

"We are here because of our common wounds and common aspirations, which is to see our country free from the repression of Saddam Hussein and his regime. Iraq under Saddam's regime has become a land of hopelessness, sadness, and fear. A country where people are ethnically cleansed ... rape is systematic . . . congenital malformation, birth defects, infertility, cancer and various disorders are the results of Saddam's gassing of his own people ... the killing and torturing of husbands in front of their wives and children occurs ... Iraq under Saddam has become a hell and a museum of crimes," Al Souhail said.

Nidal Shaikh Shallal related some of the ways Iraqi women have suffered at the hands of Saddam.

"The Iraqi woman has lost her loved ones -- husbands, brothers and fathers," Shallal said. "The Iraqi woman has endured torture, murder, confinement, execution, and banishment, just like others in Iraqi society at the hands of Saddam Hussein's criminal gang."

"The heads of many women have been publicly cut off in the streets under the pretext of being liars, while in fact they mostly belonged to families opposing the Iraqi regime. Women, especially dissident women, have been raped by members of Saddam Hussein's gang ... The wives of dissidents have been either killed or tortured in front of their husbands in order to obtain confessions from their husbands . . . Women have been kidnapped as they walk in the streets by members of the gangs of Uday and Qusay [Saddam?s sons] and then raped," Shallal said."
And let us not forget that raped women are suppoed to kill themselves in Iraq
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article5661466.ece

all of that is going to leave huge psychological scars.

But the damage is better acknowledged not covered up with politics.

Don't ya all feel so much safer? That would be us if our brave "boys" had not taken out this nasty Saddam!

At yesterday's Iraq Petroleum conference in London, where investors and officials outlined the future of Iraqi oil, the underlying theme was one of understanding and perspective

Mission accomplished

it makes no difference if it's 100k or 500k that's killed at the end of the day. Civilians are dying period.

@santamoniker: careful, you'll wake them.

Muslims killing muslims... yeah, that'll teach those nasty imperialist Americans... and Tony Blair.

who is actully extrimist ? T
his question must be asked by briton itself. Imposing self devloped notions on other country, having a whole diffrent culture & history should also considerd as extrimist.

For it's own interest England walked with USA having past and present both is full with the instanses, in witch US allways adopted extrim option to fulfill it's selfish interest.

CA Kashyap Kishor Mishra,
Gorakhpur, India

"Iraq must not be cowed by bombings"

Very supercilious heading.

Just consider how America was cowed by 911

The creation of the Homeland Security Department and the Patriot Act
passed without a murmur.

Home of the brave, land of the political fix.

How many Iraqis must the resistance kill in order to defeat US imperialism?

So far only 250,000 Iraqis have been killed since the 2003 invasion. So that's alright then, isn't it?

In short, Yes! I don't know why people bother to quote these figures - it doesn't mean a thing to the people who led and supported the neo-colonial invasion, and it won't stop them doing it again. Glittering prizes count far more than dead bodies. Get used to it.

What the f*** is the U.S still doing there?

Its either the US or Iran. at least for the time being...Take your pick.!

Neo-con logic 101.

David Smith spent three weeks in al-Hadar, described by the US military as 'al-Qaida's last stronghold in Baghdad', during November 2007.

So some genuine improvements then.
A lot of people really hate it.
Tony Blair really didn't know there were no WMDs in Iraq, and the americans have practically won the war!!

The rotten bastards, they clearly haven't read ther guardians script.!!

not even sure what neo con means

I note that this lack of understanding doesn't stop you using the rhetoric, not a surprise.

Do you think that the US will ever leave Iraq as it currently is? If you do, you must be a typical Dreamer 101 .

The US will never leave Iraq, not even after all the oil concessions are doled out amongst the cabal that went in to take them. Dreamer, yeah, sure.

Closer to 250,000 than 100,000.

But Blair, Bush & Cheney probably think 100,000 is a bargain for so much oil.

The bombings targeted buildings and ministries of a corrupt puppet government put into power by an illegal immoral invasion. Is that terrorism or resistance or both?

George42

The bombings targeted buildings and ministries of a corrupt puppet government

So the 100+killed and many hundreds more maimed or wounded were just unavoidable collateral for the resistance, were they? Well if it's resistance that's all right then.

Nobody cares a whit or a twit for that matter about Iraq except for the Oil Men. Not even the 100 best Twitter users in international affairs can change that.

I think the war in Iraq and the recession will go hand in hand with each other. There is no doubt about the fact that it was a great mistake on our government's part to go into war. Would the British people ever support Blair?s idea of "weapons of mass destruction"? In fact we all felt that our Prime Minister was acting just like an American puppet at that time.

We the British public have not been given a chance to say No to this war. The number of casualties of British soldiers is increasing every day. Their families and relations are questioning our politicians about the justification of this war. The British people do not support any civilian deaths directly caused by this war either.

Through BBC, we the British people ask our government to stop this war before it spreads all over. Don?t we feel sorry for the children who have become orphan because we went into war in Iraq and Afghanistan? Of course we are responsible for making more and more orphans children in the UK, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Who is going to support a victim?s family in a poor country like Pakistan where there is no Social Security system at all? We cannot because we cannot afford to run our own country at the moment. If we won?t stop this war we will go bankrupt or soon we will be asking IMF to bail us out of this recession.

I prefer to think of the 1-2 million Iraqi citizens who've died or have been displaced due to the sanctions imposed by the U.N.(armtwisted by the U.S.) since the first Gulf War, while Saddam sat pretty the whole time before the 2003 invasion.

Only 33 postings in 20 hours. I wonder why; it would have been inconceivable only a few months ago. There'd have been self-serving outrage all over the website within minutes, like an oversoaped washing machine overflowing.

Harder now to keep up the fiction that this is about resistance to America of course (one or two loonies still trying mind). Also, Afghanistan provides a much greater likelihood of British and American deaths to gloat over, so perhaps it means that things really are improving in Iraq.

As usual, freewoman makes a useful point - why does the contemporary left find it so difficult to accept in the simple conclusion that these murders are carried out by psychotically disturbed individuals who kill for fun? That they were at work having fun during Saddam's time and that it is better to have them out of government now even if they still get the odd erotic surge from a successful act of slaughter.

Meanwhile, as few of the rest of you could be bothered (no doubt you didn't want to risk getting a nosebleed) I'm going to wish the writer and his fellow Iraqis well in the difficult weeks in the run up to the election.They're fucking brave and it shames us that more of us don't pay them the tribute of acknowledging that.

Only 33 postings in 20 hours. I wonder why; it would have been inconceivable only a few months ago. There'd have been self-serving outrage all over the website within minutes, like an oversoaped washing machine overflowing.

Harder now to keep up the fiction that this is about resistance to America of course (one or two loonies still trying mind). Also, Afghanistan provides a much greater likelihood of British and American deaths to gloat over, so perhaps it means that things really are improving in Iraq.

As usual, freewoman makes a useful point - why does the contemporary left find it so difficult to accept in the simple conclusion that these murders are carried out by psychotically disturbed individuals who kill for fun? That they were at work having fun during Saddam's time and that it is better to have them out of government now even if they still get the odd erotic surge from a successful act of slaughter.

Meanwhile, as few of the rest of you could be bothered (no doubt you didn't want to risk getting a nosebleed) I'm going to wish the writer and his fellow Iraqis well in the difficult weeks in the run up to the election.They're fucking brave and it shames us that more of us don't pay them the tribute of acknowledging that.

Yes FieldProducer, Tony Blair and Bush administration did a great job to overthrow Saddam Husein's regime. Its right that 25,000 Iraqi people have been killed, but who are the killer? USA solders or the Arabs. In my opinion, the best decision that made by Bush was the war of Iraq, because the Iraqi situation is positively shifted and economy growth is progressing.also, if you compare the victims during Saddam Husein reign and after 2003, you will find a result that tells you was Tony Blair and Bush right or wrong in war of Iraq!

Its the nature of Middle East, there must be violation, the peace, stability, and democracy can not be over spread in 6 years.

But you guys take it easy, its not such a huge issue that 100 people have been killed in an explosion Iraqi people have been used to. as I think the main responsibility of anarchy and instability in Iraq belongs to Arab countries that supporting terrorists.....

Well don Kak Ranj

Here is an article with practical steps that can be taken to help children under
this kind of stress and trauma. I'm sorry it is about 9/11 but it is at least detailed.

http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/911_iraq_kids_tips_parents

I think it might be helpful too to bear in mind Rwanda. They do seem to have come out of it. They put down the success of this to the serious inclusion of women at all levels of repair.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/3219125/Rwandas-women-lead-the-miraculous-recovery.html

http://tps.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/37/3/337

and people have to grieve recovery cannot happen without it.

Iraq has had a huge burden over many many years from the Iran/ Iraq war on.

I suppose what I'm saying is that if grief and recovery are set aside because
that is "women's business" or politics and security are thought too important, the mourning recovery process will be delayed. And the whole thing rolls on.

Somewhere in all of this difficulty someone needs to talk about grief and recovery.
They are concepts that transcend any tribe or group.

But Blair, Bush & Cheney probably think 100,000 is a bargain for so much oil.

Made up casualty figures apart, what parallel universe do you inhabit? The war stopped the supply of oil from Iraq for years and pushed the prices up.