Journalist Paints Human Experience In Najaf

Robertson has spent three days inside the Imam Ali shrine

It takes a lion-hearted and
objective journalist along with a talented cameraman to go all the way to
perils-riddled Iraqi holy city of An-Najaf, to reveal facts and unearth
the truth that we may never know.

Beleaguered by a torrent of western media reports that sometimes, if
not all the time, are politically motivated, many people worldwide are
really bewildered at what is really going on in the flashpoint city of
An-Najaf, especially after a stark warning by the interim Iraqi
government to journalists to leave or face arrest or even death.

Braving the media blackout, Phillip Robertson, an independent
journalist, and his friend cameraman Thorne Anderson, saw a much different scene
than what was painted in the news reports. Now it is their turn to
paint their human experience without reference to propaganda, ideology or
hoary old clichés.

"This is natural because most Western reporters stayed away, thinking
that the Mahdi Army would take them hostage or kill them," Robertson
told IslamOnline.net’s audience through a live dialogue on Sunday, August
22.

Robertson and Anderson were the only journalists inside the US-besieged
Imam Ali shrine for three days, August 17-19.

‘Heartbroken’

Robertson feels "heartbroken" at the destruction done to the
time-honored city by the three-week US raids.

"I think taking the war to the old city, to the Shrine was a terrible
mistake, and a travesty. Most Americans, if they could see the mosque,
and experience how beautiful it is, would agree. It is a sacred place,"
he said.

The awarded journalist said the conditions of civilians in An-Najaf are
deplorable.

"No electricity, no good sources of food and warfare raging outside in
the streets. Snipers are a great danger, and they are invisible. Most
people are hiding, trapped in their houses.

"These battles have caused a great number of casualties as well as
widespread destruction to the edge of the old city of Najaf, he went on.

"I believe that some men have remained behind to protect their houses
from looters. This happened in [nearby] Karbala as well."

Pitched battles between US occupation forces and the Mahdi Army of
anti-occupation firebrand Sheikh Moqtada Al-Sadr have gone almost unabated.

Iraqi Sunni and Shiite leaders slammed the “bloodbath” in An-Najaf and
called upon the international community to rein in the Americans.

The US raids have been described by law experts as amounting to
genocide.

Shrine Hit

Robertson says the battles have killed many civilians

Giving his first-hand experience of the situation there, Robertson said
US gunfire hit the outer walls of the Imam Ali shrine, the Shiites’
most revered site.

"The building is not badly damaged. Bullets and mortar fragments hit
the structure and land in the marble courtyard. There are nicks and
scratches, but nothing major. Of course, continuing attacks place the
building and everyone inside it at risk," he said.

"The tomb of Imam Ali was undamaged as of 4:30 pm Thursday, Baghdad
time. It is well protected by the walls of the mosque."

Al-Jazeera satellite channel broadcast Monday footage of slight damage
done to the outer wall of the Imam Ali mosque by the US bombardment on
Sunday night, August 22.

Sheikh Aws Al-Khafaji, the director of Sadr Office, confirmed to the
Doha-based channel that the wall was struck by US tanks.

The attack is expected to enrage millions of Shiites around the world
and give Sadr political ammunition in his rebellion against US troops.

Misinformation

Robertson further said there is a great deal of misinformation and
distorted facts about the exact situation in An-Najaf.

He was keen on refuting claims that Imam Ali shrine was used as
launching pad for mortar attacks by Shiite fighters.

"There are no weapons in the Shrine. It is a place of refuge, not a
military encampment," he said, extending a heartfelt thank-you to the
Shiite people there for their "kindness and hospitality".

"The [Imam Ali] mosque is not used as a place where fighters are
launching mortar attacks. I would have been able to see and hear any activity
along those lines, and I was free to go where I liked. Mahdi Army
officials are in the Shrine, but they are unarmed, like everyone else
inside," he stressed.

"I was there and never feared for my safety. It is vital that the war
in Najaf end immediately, and that US attacks on the area near the
Shrine cease."

Volunteers

Robertson also said many Shiites from different cross-sections of Iraqi
society have volunteered to defend their sacred site.

"In the press, they have often been portrayed as the poor, uneducated
class of Iraq. In fact, this is not the case. Sadr has many poor
supporters, like his father, Sayeed Mohammad Sadiq Al-Sadr, had.

"But many of the Mahdi Army cell leaders have college education. The
militia attracts educated men as well as workers. The movement is
broad-based and cuts across many layers of society. Most Western papers don’t
describe it this way—much to their shame," he explained.

The journalist also said that the Mahdi Army is a disciplined force,
dismissing as untrue reports about fighters’ abuse and hooliganism.

"As far as the US goes, the worst reports of abuse stem from Abu
Ghraib; those are well-documented crimes, but I am not familiar directly with
any others," he said.

No Iraqi Forces

Robertson also held the interim Iraqi government of Iyad Allawi
accountable for the aggravating situation in An-Najaf.

"The Iraqi government, through statements made by Prime Minister
Allawi, has not helped the situation," he said.

He even did not see Iraqi government forces there.

"But they could be hidden somewhere. As for the Iraqi police, I was
hiding from them most of the time because they have misguidedly banned
journalists from the zone that includes Najaf," he said.

Robertson further said the United States can work out a deal with the
Mahdi Army if it wished to do so, hitting out at its military juggernaut
used disproportionately against lightly armed Shiite fighters.

"The United States is spending a billion dollars a month to fight men
who make 300 dollars a year. Fighters kept asking me why America hated
the poor," he said.

Ahmad Maher, IOL Staff
CAIRO, August 23 (IslamOnline.net)