Voice from the Commonwealth Commentary, World Views and Occasional Rants from a small 'l' libertarian in Massachussetts
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest for freedom, go home and leave us in peace. We seek not your council nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams
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Praise for Voice
"A smart fellow...I do like, recommend and learn from Barbera's blog." -Roger L. Simon
"Your blog is bullshit"- anonymous angry French reader.
In trying to deny Kiley access to information, the Iraqi officials provide a disturbing glimpse of a country in the iron grip of terror and propaganda. This propaganda would dismiss PBS, Kiley and "Frontline" as mere agents of Western powers and Zionist leaders, yet, again and again, the most incendiary comments are made by people who are provided by the government to make Saddam look good.
When Kiley asks about public beheadings of women, a director at the Ministry of Religious Affairs says, "These stories were all fabricated . . . all the lies of America." If so, they are lies believed by his own people. Assumed to be the will of the government, the beheadings are spoken of with approval by Iraqis voicing approval of Saddam. Confirming the reports of eyewitnesses, they refer to these executions as common knowledge.
When Kiley asks about claims that economic sanctions are hurting hospitals in Iraq, doctors tell him such shortages are a thing of the past. When one doctor says drugs are in short supply, Kiley is stopped from verifying this at the hospital's pharmacy.
This is the truth he found in Baghdad, and he didn't have long to find it. His three-week stay was cut to 10 days when the government decided it didn't like the questions he was asking.
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