Life ‘better’ for gay Iraqis under Saddam Hussein.
By on Jul 6th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Life ‘better’ for gay Iraqis under Saddam Hussein.
A new report by the BBC looks at the “deteriorating conditions for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people” in Iraq. In fact, all the LGBT Iraqis the team interviewed said that “life was easier for them when Saddam Hussein was in power, from 1979 to 2003. Some spoke fondly of an underground gay culture that flourished before the war in Baghdad.” Recent stories of violence include an Iraqi LGBT leader being gunned down and Iraqi militias gluing anuses of gay men and inducing diarrhea to cause death. “Homosexuality was generally tolerated under Saddam,” Hali, founder of Iraqi LGBT, said in 2007, adding, “Life in Iraq now is hell for all LGBT people; no one can be openly gay and alive.”
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It was better for all Iraqis under Saddam.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:32 pmBut it was all worth it to display Saddam’s pistol in a library…
July 6th, 2009 at 2:33 pmReligious extremism, no matter the religion, has proven time and time again that it is intolerant and dangerous.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:34 pmIt’s a win-win-win for bush. He gets a fancy gun, his friends get to earn a boatload of cash, and his bible-thumping supporters get to enjoy gay people being harmed.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:34 pmMaybe that was the whole reason for the war. We all know what those on the right think about gay marriage, it is a grave threat to traditional marriage and a threat to Western civilization. ;)
July 6th, 2009 at 2:35 pmThose Iraqis are such ingrates.
They obviously don’t know how to appreciate their new-found (or is it imposed?) freedom, courtesy of the good ole’ US of A.
/sarc off
July 6th, 2009 at 2:41 pmHow ironic and delicious would it be if Saddam’s pistol accidentally discharged into ………….
July 6th, 2009 at 2:42 pmAh, religion and it’s consequences…the Middle East will be a hell hole for centuries to come because of religion.
Ah, religion and it’s consequences…the United States will be a hell hole for centuries to come because of religion.
Ah, religion and it’s consequences…the (fill in the blank) will be a hell hole for centuries to come because of religion.
Man can base most of it’s problems on religious zealots and their sick beliefs.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:42 pmAIO Says:
How ironic and delicious would it be if Saddam’s pistol accidentally discharged into ………….
bush’s ‘liebrary’.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:47 pmIs this what we fought for? What we toppled the Saddam Hussein regime for? So people could be tortured and killed for their sexual orientation?
Yup — nothing says “freedom”, “liberty”, or “democracy” than having your anus glued shut and diarrhea induced…
July 6th, 2009 at 2:49 pmGays here, Abortion below… bit can’t be far…..
July 6th, 2009 at 2:50 pmAnother item for the list of “achievements” for GWB’s legacy.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:52 pmThis is a little misleading…homosexuality was technically punishable by death in Iraq during Saddam’s last two years in power, largely due to Saddam needing to placate the religious fanatics (Sunni and Shia) that were putting pressure on his government.
Still, at least gays weren’t the target of roaming death squads…
July 6th, 2009 at 3:00 pm.
Operation Freedom Agenda…
… Mission Accomplished.
.
July 6th, 2009 at 3:01 pmIsn’t this the same thing the Republicans and the so called “Moral Majority” want to happen here?
Religion + Government always ends up with innocent blood being shed “in the name of GOD”.
July 6th, 2009 at 3:07 pmOver a million people dead. Men, women and children.
Millions more persecuted, maimed, reduced to grinding poverty.
No electricity.
Troops electrocuted in the shower. Given toilet water to drink. Hospital rooms in squalor.
Mercenaries taking potshots at Iraqi citizens. No laws.
Irradiated countryside via depleted uranium.
No WMD.
Yet, no one is in jail. No investigations. The oil companies bidding on the corpse to drain away the resources. But, “look to the future.”
Fcuk You.
July 6th, 2009 at 3:10 pmSaddam was a vile man. A dictator of the worst sort. But?
He was a secular ruler and, under his rule, Iraq was, arguably, the most modern nation in the Arab World. They are not likely to regain that any time soon.
July 6th, 2009 at 3:14 pmThat quote that it’s impossible to be “openly gay and alive” is somewhat contradictory considering it was a living person who said this.
July 6th, 2009 at 3:45 pmThere were trillions, off the books, spent on this war, with not a peep from the repiggies.
What exactly has been accomplished?
Bush/Cheney and the rest of that trash have succeeded in adding another theocracy to the Middle East.
July 6th, 2009 at 3:46 pmAnus gluing? Just tell them you’re Iranian. They don’t have gay people.
July 6th, 2009 at 4:01 pmI wish that there were some way to help Iraqis that can’t possibly survive in the Bush-created Islamic Theocracy.
Would there be any way to help Iraqi gays, women, Christians or others whose lives are now in danger because of the theocratic government of Iraq?
Is there some possibility of helping them to emigrate, to the U.S., Canada or the EU
member nations?
Our nation destroyed their nation and their society. We owe it to them.
July 6th, 2009 at 4:03 pmjohnson44 Says:
That quote that it’s impossible to be “openly gay and alive” is somewhat contradictory considering it was a living person who said this.
July 6th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Have you considered that he might not be in Iran?
July 6th, 2009 at 4:09 pmZooey Says:
johnson44 Says:
That quote that it’s impossible to be “openly gay and alive” is somewhat contradictory considering it was a living person who said this.
July 6th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Have you considered that he might not be in Iran?
Or Iraq for that matter! ;)
July 6th, 2009 at 4:17 pmOops!
Thanks, livelongandprosper. *blush*
July 6th, 2009 at 5:03 pmThis is a step back, but hopefully not a permanent one. We’ll see.
I’m not going to go with the claim that things were better or worse off under Saddam than now or in the future, as that just plays into the neocon’s hands – the fact is, it doesn’t matter if Iraq is better or worse off, or in which ways. We had no prior justification to invade that country, period.
.
jimmcdosh Says:
Why exactly did we invade Iraq and topple Saddam again?
So Dubya could have a cool gun.
July 6th, 2009 at 5:14 pmThe country is largely in the throes of vigilante justice doled out by religious extremists. Saddam Hussein was a rather odious character, but he was the leader of a country with a functioning government, utilities, social services, police forces, and military. Unfortunately, rather than simply removing Saddam Hussein from power, we dismantled the structure of the country entirely.
July 6th, 2009 at 6:08 pmWhat fletc3her said.
I’m no fan of Saddam but we destroyed a whole country to get him. It’s going to take decades before we have a clue whether they recover or not. And I would say the chances of them being loving allies are pretty slim.
July 6th, 2009 at 6:14 pmAIO Says:
It was better for all Iraqis under Saddam.
It was better for most Iraqis under Saddam. He did kill more than his share of enemies (or those he considered his enemies, at any rate).
Which, of course, doesn’t justify the US invasion of Iraq and the subsequent clusterfark.
July 6th, 2009 at 6:28 pmsesli sohbet, sesli chat, seslisohbet, seslichat, kameral? sohbet, görüntülü chat, kameral? chat, görüntülü sohbet, sesli, seviyeli sohbetsesli sohbet sesli chat seslichat seslisohbet
July 6th, 2009 at 7:07 pmBUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT OBAMA IS CONTINUING THE BUSH INVASION AND WAR UNTIL AT LEAST 12-31-2011 AND THERE ARE PENTAGON PLANS TO BE IN IRAQ FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS (perhaps just long enough to get all that earl outta the ground) AND SO OBAMA IS CONTINUING THE DEGRADATION OF LGBT LIVES IN IRAQ. BUT WHAT A CO-INKY DINK…HE’S ALSO INCREASING FUNDING TO THE FAITH-BASED INTITIATIVE OFFICE AND EXPANDING THAT OFFICE TO INCLUDE ALL THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS SOCIAL SERVICES DIVISIONS SO WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE ULTIMATELY MORE ANTI-LGBT BASHING AND INTOLERANCE. IN VIEW OF THE FACT HE CHOSE AN OPENLY ANTI-GAY SINGER TO ENTERTAIN AT ONE OF HIS RALLIES IN THE SOUTH WHAT WOULD YOU EXPECT….
July 6th, 2009 at 8:18 pmhint, go on the net and search the words “Obama gay betrayal” and see what’s really up with Zer-O.
fletc3her says:
July 6th, 2009 at 8:23 pm“Unfortunately, rather than simply removing Saddam Hussein from power, we dismantled the structure of the country entirely”
“We” DID NOT dismantle the country. I believe it was General Jay Garner who was on the right track to stabilize and progress Iraq. HE WAS OVERRULED BY DOUGLAS FEITH AND PAUL WOLFOWITZ who are the real reasons Iraq went to hell. My guess is they intentionally planned the total destruction of Iraq, including the complete destruction of Iraq’s national treasures, which were of global human importance, lost forever. Why? Probably had to do with that Jewish thing…just ask the Zilkhas.
See this week’s New Yorker mag Talk of the Town feature by Hendrik Hertzberg on more about Obamas less than stellar support of the LGBT community (in STARK contrast to his candidate’s primary rhetoric). Say it ain’t so! A politician LIED AGAIN??!?
July 6th, 2009 at 8:26 pmSaddam’s twisted version of fascism was still perhaps the best suited to reasonably control a population full of insane religious fundamentalists. At least they were kept in check to a degree under his reign. The increase in violence towards homosexuals is a perfect example of this inconvenient truth.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:12 pmRE: “Life in Iraq now is hell for all LGBT people; no one can be openly gay and alive.”
MY COMMENT: Yet more ‘collateral damage’ thanks to Bush/Cheney!
July 6th, 2009 at 10:49 pm.
Dear Tracy 5 Cheeto’ Fingers,
… Just like the USA does, NO?
.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:53 amsesli sohbet, sesli chat, seslisohbet sesli sohbet sesli chat
July 7th, 2009 at 2:26 pm