Loose cannons

Moor killers

"A row broke out in Spain yesterday after the country sent its first troops to patrol Iraq wearing on their shoulders the Cross of St James of Compostela — popularly known in Spain as 'the Moor Killer'. Patches bearing the cross, the symbol of a saint who allegedly guided the medieval Christian reconquest of Spain from the Muslims, are to be worn by a 2000-strong Spanish brigade in central Iraq, who will patrol the sacred Shia city of Najaf." — British Guardian, July 25.

Liberation

"The [Iraqi] hospitals we visited during late June where new administrators have been installed are for the most part in disarray." — From an article by James Jennings, president of Conscience International, an Atlanta-based humanitarian and human-rights organisation, printed in the New York daily Newsday, August 5.

100 days... and still lying

"[H]ealth care, previously available only for the Baathist [party] elite, is now available to all Iraqis." — From Emperor George Bush II's 24-page report Results in Iraq: 100 Days Toward Security and Freedom, issued August 8.

Unique opportunity

"This is a unique opportunity for people who enjoy working with people of various backgrounds, to develop professionally and make a real difference by contributing to their security, safety and respect." — From job advertisement for Australasian Correctional Management guards at prisons for refugees in the August 13 Parramatta Advertiser.

From Green Left Weekly, August 20, 2003.

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From GLW issue 550