MetaFilter posts tagged with occupation

Surely this. . .

bardic — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:02:14 -0800

"Liberal Hawk" Peter Galbraith played a major role in justifying the American invasion of Iraq. Later he helped write the new Iraqi constitution. Turns out he failed to disclose the hundreds of millions he stands to make on Kurdish oil fields, in part because of his engineering of the same constitution to put him in a favorable business position. Another blogger remembers the good ol' days of 2003 when the media and politicians were shocked --shocked! -- that anyone would dare suggest that the invasion and occupation of Iraq was "all about oil."

Immigrant Workers Occupy Chicago Factory

jason's_planet — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:21:59 -0800

"You got bailed out. We got sold out." Chicago workers respond to a factory closing by occupying the factory. A flickr set of photos from the site.

China's plan to tame Tibet

homunculus — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:56:02 -0800

China's secret plot to tame Tibet. "Internal Communist party documents have revealed that China is planning a programme of harsh political repression in Tibet despite a public show of moderation to win over world opinion before the Olympic Games next month." Meanwhile, the military has sealed off several monasteries in Lhasa, keeping over 1,000 monks locked up. Another 1,000 monks have mysteriously disappeared, and may have been sent to prisons in a neighbouring province to keep them silent through the Olympics.

Les Parisiens sous l’Occupation

homunculus — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:11:03 -0800

Paris under the Occupation, in color. L'exposition Zucca divise le public

Waiting for the New Way Forward

kirkaracha — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:02:10 -0800

Fables of the Reconstruction. According to a new GAO report [PDF of full report], the surge has resulted in security gains and reduced violence in Iraq, but the political goals the surge was supposed to buy time for mostly haven't happened. From the GAO report:

The Department of Defense reported in March 2008 that the number of Iraqi units capable of performing operations without U.S. assistance has remained at about 10 percent.
Between 2005 and 2007, Iraq spent only 24 percent of the $27 billion it budgeted for its own reconstruction efforts. More specifically, Iraq's central ministries, responsible for security and essential services, spent only 11 percent of their capital investment budgets in 2007--down from similarly low rates of 14 and 13 percent in the 2 prior years.
Since 2003, the United States has provided more than $20 billion to develop Iraqi security forces
Although oil production has improved for short periods, the May 2008 production level of about 2.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) was below the U.S. goal of 3 mbpd.
The daily supply of electricity met only about half of demand in early May 2008.

Here's what President Bush said the surge would accomplish, with updates: "To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November." That didn't happen. The Iraqi government is taking control of Anbar Province this week. It'll be the 10th province out of 18 that the Iraqi government has taken responsible for--but the first Sunni-controlled one, and the Kurdish and Shiite provinces were previously run by militias that were folded into the government. Security gains in Sunni areas are largely due to co-opting insurgents into the Sons of Iraq. The US military pays the 103,000 overwhelmingly Sunni members $300 a month, but fewer than 17,000 Sons of Iraq members have joined Iraq's security forces and 6,100 more have been approved, leaving around 80,000 unemployed armed men (again?) when the money runs out. "To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis." That didn't happen. Talks are resuming this week. Meanwhile the Iraqi government is about to sign no-bid contracts with several U.S. and European energy companies. "We fear that any such agreements signed by Iraq's Hydrocarbon Ministry without an equitable revenue sharing agreement in place would simply add more fuel to Iraq's civil war." "To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs." That didn't happen. Iraq spent a little over half of the $10 billion allocated in 2007. In 2005 the Iraqi government estimated the total cost of reconstructing Iraq at $200 billion. "To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year." That didn't happen. Provincial elections are scheduled for October 2008, but could be delayed due to disputes over election law. "And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws..." That happened, kind of. The re-Baathification law passed in January but the law isn't being implemented. "...and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's constitution." That didn't happen either, but it might happen in July. Most of the troops that made up the surge have been withdrawn. Violence is down to only 300-850 violent incidents per week after spiking in March and April. Apparently the surge has always had the Maoist name of The New Way Forward; I seem to have missed it until now.

Dutch East Indies

No-sword — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 05:58:33 -0800

Dutch East Indies. "After a wonderful youth in the Dutch East Indies, today Indonesia, my family and I went through three and a half years Japanese occupation. I lost my father, I lost the country I loved, I lost everything, but I kept my memories. ... So here I am, 79 years old, sitting behind my computer, going back to the Dutch East Indies."

No Blood for Blubber!

Kattullus — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 13:04:07 -0800

Bomb Iceland instead of Iran is the modest proposal of Princeton Professor of Political Economy Uwe Reinhardt in today's Daily Princetonian. Some enterprising Aussies are way ahead of him on that one. Heck, it wouldn't even be the first time the U.S. and Britain occupied Iceland. [via RÚV, the Icelandic state broadcaster]

Dr. Noori ... stayed home the day of the strike to prevent his workers from finding out that he knew many of the soldiers.

amberglow — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 04:02:09 -0800

"I thought, 'Why don't we just raid the place?' " --the newest and only currently viable way to check up on how the billions and billions we're spending on reconstruction in Iraq is being spent--fake raids by the US military, making it seem like the recipients aren't receiving aid from us, and in fact are being targeted by us.

Iraq: The Lost Generation

washburn — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 15:30:33 -0800

Iraq: The Lost Generation. This 47 minute long documentary was filmed by an anonymous Iraqi journalist. Broadcast on the UK's Channel 4 in November, it tells the stories of several young Iraqis whose lives have been changed by the invasion and occupation of their country.

Cry of the Snow Lion

homunculus — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 13:35:53 -0800

Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion. The complete documentary (1 hr 43 min) on Google Video.

"Fruitless for the Americans, and humiliating for the Iraqis."

bardic — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 17:50:03 -0800

On the ground with the 101st in Iraq, a video by photographer Sean Smith on the lives of US soldiers and their complex relationship with Iraqi civilians.

The more things change.

bardic — Sun, 28 May 2006 01:24:19 -0800

Newsfilter: Members of Iraq's tennis team shot "for wearing shorts." Being an Iraqi athlete is no easier than before. Just ask members of the Iraqi Taekwondo squad. More.

we're the Mafia now

amberglow — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 15:11:05 -0800

the "Second Liberation of Baghdad" --coming soon, in which we act as "enforcers", providing "protection" --...American and Iraqi troops would move from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, leaving behind Sweat teams — an acronym for “sewage, water, electricity and trash” — to improve living conditions by upgrading clinics, schools, rubbish collection, water and electricity supplies. Sunni insurgent strongholds are almost certain to be the first targets, although the Shi’ite militias such as the Mahdi army of Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical cleric, and the Iranian-backed Badr Brigade would need to be contained. ... Will we be greeted with candy and flowers again as well?

an off the books slush fund that both the Americans and their Iraqi allies could use with impunity to cover expenditures they would rather keep secret

amberglow — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 18:43:47 -0800

How Much Oil Has Iraq Been Exporting Since We Invaded? And how much revenue should be recorded? --Iraq’s oil exports hit another post-invasion low in December and January, according to the Oil & Gas Journal. How do they know? Good question: according to Reuters, production and exports have gone unmetered since the Coalition Provisional Authority took over the country following the 2003 invasion; until new meters are installed (in 1-2 more years), everybody’s just guessing. Our Government's Energy Information Administration has all sorts of statistics--anyone wanna figure out how they're derived regarding Iraq?

Then and Now: Truth and spin on Iraq

y2karl — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 06:29:51 -0800

To be successful, an occupation such as that contemplated after any hostilities in Iraq requires much detailed interagency planning, many forces, multi-year military commitment, and a national commitment to nation-building... To conduct their share of the essential tasks that must be accomplished to reconstruct an Iraqi state, military forces will be severely taxed in military police, civil affairs, engineer, and transportation units, in addition to possible severe security difficulties. The administration of an Iraqi occupation will be complicated by deep religious, ethnic, and tribal differences which dominate Iraqi society. U.S. forces may have to manage and adjudicate conflicts among Iraqis that they can barely comprehend. An exit strategy will require the establishment of political stability, which will be difficult to achieve given Iraq's fragmented population, weak political institutions, and propensity for rule by violence.

From the US Army War College in February 2003: Reconstructing Iraq: Insights, Challenges, and Missions for Military Forces in a Post-Conflict Scenario (PDF). From June 2005, Anthony Cordesman's analysis of factual misstatements in the President's recent address: Truth and spin on Iraq. Foresight is 20/20. Irresponsibility and mendacity are timeless.

Photographs of the Iraq occupation

omidius — Thu, 09 Dec 2004 18:10:50 -0800

Photos of an aftermath in progress (graphic). How a search for weapons of mass destruction has lead the U.S. so far. An informed citizen has an amazing right to see what is going on.

Act like a drunk acting sober

planetkyoto — Tue, 24 Aug 2004 08:21:36 -0800

Tricks of the Trade . In an article in The Morning News, Defective Yeti asked readers to reveal the secrets of their profession:

Attorney: Do whatever it takes to fit your contracts onto a single page. Even sophisticated negotiators can be charmed by the lack of a staple.

Auto Mechanic: Always put copper grease on the battery terminals after servicing a car. The performance benefit is negligible, but when customers look under the hood they will immediately see that something’s changed and thus feel happy to pay you.

Handyman: If you have to change a light bulb where the glass is broken, you can press a potato into the metal base to unscrew the remains of the bulb from the fixture. Got any secrets to success or even just survival in your racket?

Photographs of Allied Occupied Japan after WW2

carter — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 10:10:33 -0800

360 photographs of Allied-occupied Japan after World War Two, taken by anthropologist John W. Bennett, arranged in portfolios with comments by Bennett and links to large images, such as hotel umbrellas drying in the sun. The exhibition includes selections from Bennett's journal and letters with his first impressions of Japan. Portfolios include views of Tokyo, children in the park, women of the night, traditional architecture, and Japanese resorts.

A new Philippines?

UKnowForKids — Wed, 22 Oct 2003 06:36:40 -0800

In 1898, the United States made a major move in the direction of colonial imperialism with the acquisition of the Philippine Islands from Spain. President Bush, in a recent speech in the Philippines, pointed to that country's story as a model for rebuilding Iraq. Perhaps a history lesson about the American and Filipino experience in this occupation is in order for both us and our President. The atrocities committed during the Filipinos' struggle for independence (including the use of concentration camps), the high death toll (between 250,000 and 1,000,000, according to this article), and the American occupation which spanned six decades lead me to question whether Bush is just ignorant of the associations made in this comparison, or if it's a subtle way for the administration to set the stage for what possessing Iraq is actually going to entail. (Most links courtesy of the outstanding BoondocksNet, a collection of primary and secondary sources related to American imperialism.)

Bring them home

dejah420 — Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:43:11 -0800

"Bring them home now!" is a campaign of military families, veterans, active duty personnel, reservists and others opposed to the ongoing war in Iraq and galvanized to action by George W. Bush's inane and reckless challenge to armed Iraqis resisting occupation to "Bring 'em on." At a news conference yesterday, reported the Washington Post, the organization has stated their goals of returning to their home bases the 150,000 U.S. troops serving in Iraq.

'No real planning for postwar Iraq'

owillis — Sat, 12 Jul 2003 06:41:48 -0800

'No real planning for postwar Iraq' "The officials didn't develop any real postwar plans because they believed that Iraqis would welcome U.S. troops with open arms and Washington could install a favored Iraqi exile leader as the country's leader. The Pentagon civilians ignored CIA and State Department experts who disputed them, resisted White House pressure to back off from their favored exile leader and when their scenario collapsed amid increasing violence and disorder, they had no backup plan. Today, American forces face instability in Iraq, where they are losing soldiers almost daily to escalating guerrilla attacks, the cost of occupation is exploding to almost $4 billion a month and withdrawal appears untold years away." Bring 'Em On!

After wars end, then what?

sheauga — Mon, 14 Apr 2003 04:30:24 -0800

How to police Iraq, and where to sign up. The US Army Peacekeeping Institute site is full of useful information for understanding the nuts-and-bolts of putting together a successful military occupation. Even though this is exactly the kind of material that journalists, students, and policymakers ought to be reading these days, some of it may be about to disappear. The Peacekeeping Institute website is shutting down on May 1. Will the Google cache preserve its contents for us?

owillis — Thu, 12 Sep 2002 21:43:41 -0800

A Blast from the Past. In 1998, George Bush, Sr. explains why Saddam was not removed in the Gulf War: "Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the U.N.'s mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the U.S. could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different--and perhaps barren--outcome."

nofundy — Fri, 26 Jul 2002 11:16:29 -0800

Gore questions timing of Iraq concern Is it proper to invade Iraq? This would be an unprecedented move for the US military as Iraq has not attacked the US anyone the US has defense treaties with. "Republican National Committee spokesman Jim Dyke called Gore's comments "irresponsible." "This is no time to attack the president or Republicans for their handling of the war for political gain," he said." Hmmm..so he admits the Iraqi attack IS for partisan political gain, eh? I would have never suspected it.

Postroad — Thu, 07 Mar 2002 02:57:01 -0800

Syria on Brink of Conflict Over Lebanon For reasons unkown to me, the Liberals (the Znetters) fail to mention this 30 thousand man troop occupation of Lebanon and focus on Israeli occupation of land taken in war; conservatives never mention this occupation. American political figures ignore or push this aside; and Arabs, about to meet in Beirut for their summit brush this aside, but for the Lebanese, a sore issue.