By turning the battle into a fighting video game
Americans are amused by the suffering of the Iraqi people in Fallujah
Drones, despite their failure in Fallujah, were used by President Barack Obama to bomb Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Bush Jr. said in his speech that the mission has been accomplished.
Father
The brutal actions of American soldiers in Fallujah are being made into a video game.
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American artillery bombed Fallujah and destroyed civilian homes.
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A combat video game, titled "Six Days in Fallujah", will soon spread, one of the bloodiest battles fought by the US Army in its history, according to the announcement of this game, which was published by two companies that worked on developing and producing the game, namely "Victora" and "Highware" for games.
A few days after the 18th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the developers will put themselves in the shoes of a US Marine, as the game's scenes find himself storming the homes of innocent Iraqis in a quest to clear Fallujah of militants, in the second battle of Fallujah.
This battle is also known as "Operation Wrath of the Mirage", an attack on the city that took place at the end of 2004, about two years after President George W. Bush's speech in which he declared that "mission accomplished", which is now considered controversial at best. And a war crime at its worst. The second battle of Fallujah resulted in the deaths of about 800 Iraqi civilians, and about 100 Iraqi and British soldiers. This battle, and the entire war in fact, was a painful and shocking moment in history, still forming a wound that has not stopped bleeding so far in the lives of many Iraqis. And after Iraq was a prosperous country, it is now in a state of economic collapse, while its infrastructure is almost destroyed, in addition to the large number of civilian deaths.
In fact, the exploitation of such human tragedies for play and entertainment is a matter of moral condemnation, and the opportunity that one might have to play the role of American soldiers in Fallujah, while they are committing hypothetical crimes, may further exacerbate the trauma that Iraqis are still suffering around the world, Accordingly, this game should not be published.
brutal narrative
It is impossible to retell the story of the Battle of Fallujah without addressing the context of the atrocities committed during it, especially after the two game developers admitted in a press conference that “the events that occurred during six days in Fallujah cannot be separated from politics.” (This came after a response The violent act that followed their initial announcement that they did not intend to touch politics through the game), and despite their superficial acknowledgment of the political nature of the game, the two companies failed to understand the implications of reconfiguring the events that took place in Fallujah, for the purpose of entertainment . In short, it can be said that this game is not only meant to be played.
The company, which tried to produce the game "Six Days in Fallujah", at an earlier stage, admitted that it involved many errors, and stopped producing it about a decade ago after widespread criticism from veterans in Iraq, politicians, and game production companies.
But the game's designer, Peter Tammet, hasn't given up on the idea.
The two new developers led by Tammet changed this period of history to simulate and embellish US military aggression, turning it into acts of "sacrifice and heroism."
It is therefore not surprising that no Iraqi company was involved in this game, and the developers of this game interviewed 26 Iraqi civilians.
Petition calling for its abolition
Within days of the game's announcement, about 16,000 people, most of them Iraqis, signed a petition calling for its abolition.
There is no need to think carefully about why Iraqis are so upset about this game.
In one of the scenes that appeared in the advertisement for this game, a peaceful Iraqi family appears sitting in a darkened room, its members screaming for fear of the heavily armed Marines.
As a Briton of Iraqi descent, I was immediately reminded of the horror of my family, who lived in a constant state of terror as our home was constantly stormed by the US military.
Many Iraqis were killed as a result of these incursions, and one of the former Marines admitted: “I was an artillery officer and we fired hundreds of shells in Fallujah, and we killed hundreds of civilians.” ».
The developers of the game tried to justify their focus on the Marines who committed these atrocities, but failed to do so.
"Few Iraqis are curious to know how Iraqi civilians have been," said Tammet, who is now Victora's CEO.
And the game's press release says that in one mission you are allowed to play the role of a defenseless Iraqi father, who is trying to get his family out of town.
But what the statement did not mention is that the US army was besieging all these fathers inside the city.
Before the operation, leaflets were dropped over the city asking only women and children to leave.
That is why men were prohibited from leaving the city from the beginning, according to an Associated Press reporter, who said: “American soldiers were required not to allow men between the ages of 15 and 55 to leave the city, as it was believed that many of the men of Fallujah They are fighters.”
Historic hiccups
The historical hiccups were aimed at making this game remarkably palatable to Western audiences. The first battle of Fallujah was full of violent and tragic events, and it had a bad reputation, due to the US Army's use of white phosphorous, a chemical that burns quickly when in contact with the air and burns the human body, leaving nothing but bones. The US forces did not admit the use of this weapon, until after a full year of continuous denial of the use of this forbidden substance. "I don't think we need to present the brutal events" to this day, Tammet said. But the children who survived this battle are still suffering from the effects of these incendiary weapons until now.
Some believe that the use of white phosphorous in Fallujah is a war crime, including human rights groups and Iraqi families represented by the now-defunct Public Interest Lawyers Group, which attempted to sue the British military for its role in the battle, but failed. They argue that the use of incendiary weapons to target humans is contrary to the 1980 Protocol to Prevent the Use of Firearms, as well as the Treaty on the Non-Use of Chemical Weapons. Under pressure from the questions directed to him, the Pentagon was forced to admit that "many civilians could have died as a result of the use of white phosphorous in the battle of Fallujah."
Veteran American soldier John Phebes, who participated in the battles depicted in the game (Six Days Game in Fallujah), criticized the work, saying: “American soldiers committed many war crimes in this battle, and many Iraqi civilians who were killed should not have been killed.” .
Killing them could easily have been avoided, because their death had no meaning or justification,” Phebes added, recalling his experiences in those battles. “This war was fundamentally illegal.
We were not supposed to go to that country.
A lot of heinous atrocities have been committed, especially in Fallujah.”
reflection of reality
Those who took part in this war know better than anyone that the game usually reflects what happened in reality.
Before the battle began, some American soldiers played combat video games to prepare themselves for war.
The killing of Iraqis turned into a video game, as American soldiers, especially snipers, scored points as the number of Iraqis they killed increased, as they were proud of the number of dead who were confirmed dead.
The titles of "battle heroes" were given to the people who killed so many Iraqis.
Even the army leadership was encouraging the practice of using video games to improve soldiers' skills in combat.
Tammet himself had earlier developed such systems for training specifically for the US military.
blur lines
The “Six Days in Fallujah” game, which was designed to present a simulation of the battle, aims, in fact, to blur the lines between what is virtual and what is real, especially since modern war is implemented in an easy way similar to video games through drone programs (a drone). Pilot). American military pilots can control raids in the Middle East, and they are very comfortable in their cities in the United States, where they drop bombs around the world as easily as they play video games, without witnessing the devastating effects of these raids.
Although the US drone raids failed in the battle of Fallujah, this technology emerged greatly during the administration of former President Barack Obama when he used it to strike both Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and it is controlled from the US state of Nevada.
Of course, it further dehumanizes civilians.
“Operating this kind of aircraft is like playing a video game,” said one of the drone operators.
Eventually, after advancing through Fallujah's streets strewn with rubble of destroyed homes, players will be able to put the game controllers aside, and then kiss their loved ones before they fall into a deep sleep.
For the Iraqis, they deserve better than turning their anguish into tales for the amusement of Westerners, because their lives are not a video game.
• Some believe that the use of white phosphorous in Fallujah is a war crime, including human rights groups and Iraqi families represented by the now-defunct Public Interest Lawyers Group, which tried to sue the British Army for its role in the battle, but failed.
Veteran American soldier John Phipps:
• “American soldiers committed many war crimes in this battle, and many Iraqi civilians who were killed should not have been killed.
Killing them could easily have been avoided, because their death had no meaning or justification.”
Ahmed Tweij is an independent analyst on Middle East affairs and an advisor to the Iraqi NGO Sanad for Peace.
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