Iraqi anti-corruption journalist arrested by Americans

Dr. Ali Fadhil (photographed here with Musatafa Kamil) the prize winning journalist currently working with Britiain's The Guardian newspaper and Channel 4 Films the film making subsidiary to Britain's Channel 4 television station was arrested in his home by US troops who burst into his home and arrested him in the presence of his wife, 3 year old daughter Sarah, and 7 month old son. The troops forced their way in to the house at night while the family were sleeping. "They fired into the bedroom where we were sleeping, then three soldiers came in. They rolled me on to the floor and tied my hands. When I tried to ask them what they were looking for they just told me to shut up," Dr. Fadhil is perhaps best known for his documentary film on the aftermath of the Falluja Massacres (film available here) (transcripts here and here ) was working with Callum Macrae and Guardian Films for Channel 4's "Dispatches" documentary programmed collecting evidence that tens of millions of dollars of Iraqi funds have been misused or misappropriated by American and British officials. The US troops took the films made by Dr. Fadhil during the course of his investigation and have so far not returned although Dr. Fadhil has himself been released. The timing of the raid as is its purported reason is suspect — the tro0ps claimed they were looking for an insurgent — however as Macrae pointed out to The Guardian: "The timing and nature of this raid is extremely disturbing. It is only a few days since we first approached the US authorities and told them Ali was doing this investigation, and asked them then to grant him an interview about our findings. "We need a convincing assurance from the American authorities that this terrifying experience was not harassment and a crude attempt to discourage Ali's investigation." No doubt my readers are as shocked, shocked I tell you, as I am to learn that anybody could for even a moment contemplate the idea that troops who serve one of the most notoriously corrupt administrations in US history. Occupying a country foreign country solely by force of arms the said occupation having been characterised from the outset by incompetence, racism, brutality, and corruption, could possibly be trying to intimidate one of the "sand niggers" that they are putatively protecting.