Now when an elected Prime Minister of Iraq, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, lashes out at the American military by denouncing what he characterized as habitual attacks by troops against Iraqi civilians, it is a serious warning signal for the Bush Administration. Until now, there was an excuse that the American soldiers were in Iraq to avoid a “civil war” or “bloodbath”.
Today’s NYT wrote that: “As outrage over reports that American marines killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha last year continued to shake the new government, the country’s senior leaders said that they would demand that American officials turn over their investigative files on the killings and that the Iraqi government would conduct its own inquiry.
“In his comments, Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki said violence against civilians had become a ‘daily phenomenon’ by many troops in the American-led coalition who ‘do not respect the Iraqi people’. They crush them with their vehicles and kill them just on suspicion,” he said. “This is completely unacceptable.”
Attacks on civilians will play a role in future decisions on how long to ask American forces to remain in Iraq, the Prime Minister added.
The NYT’s OP-ED Columnist THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, under the heading
“Insurgency Out, Anarchy In” (June 2, 2006), writes: “President Bush has told us that the question of whether to withdraw from Iraq is one that his successor will have to deal with — not him. I don’t think so.
“Mr. Bush is not going to have that luxury of passing Iraq along. You see, the insurgency in Iraq is in its ‘last throes’ — just like Dick Cheney said. Unfortunately, it’s being replaced by anarchy in many neighborhoods — not democracy. And I don’t believe the American people will put up with two and half more years of babysitting anarchy instead of midwifing democracy.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.