Iraqis United At Last. posted by Richard Seymour

"Thousands of Sunni and Shiite Muslims backed by cars full of food and medical supplies headed on foot Thursday toward the town of Fallujah which has been besieged by US forces.

"The protesters answered a call by Muslim groups for a peaceful march to carry supplies to residents of the Sunni town where dozens of Iraqis have been killed since US marines launched an offensive Sunday to wipe out insurgents ...

""No Sunnis, no Shiites, yes for Islamic unity. We are Sunni and Shiite brothers and will never sell our country," they chanted."



Hat tip to Ken McLeod .

On a side-note, Norman Geras complains that Seumus Milne has neglected to mention the humanitarian dimension of the war on Iraq in his critique of it. He suggests we read an article in which the case is made for privileging human rights over sovereignty. But perhaps it is Geras who is missing something - namely that Milne, whatever disagreements I have with him, is not a political fantasist. The reason he doesn't discuss this "absent dimension" is because it was absent in Washington's calculations. Washington had systematically and intentionally subjected Iraqis to a murderous sanctions regime for a decade. One would think the current situation in Iraq would give the humanitarian warriors some humility, and pause for thought. Perhaps they were wrong. Perhaps with cities falling now as fast as they fell last April, there ought to be a touch of caution about insisting on the humanitarian imperative of military invasion. Perhaps imperialism really is what it has always been. Perhaps before they inveigh on our rulers on behalf of the oppressed Iraqis, they might take the time and trouble to make a serious evaluation of the agency they are appealing to.