No Comments Raed In Sad Sign Of Times

No Comments: Raed

In a sad sign of the times, Raed Jarrar and friends, the Iraqi bloggers, have closed their comment section. They were alarmed by the recent launching of a lawsuit against a site for reader comments at the web page. They were also alarmed by a more draconian form of the phenomenon. What, they ask, would happen if one of the commenters made deep criticism of the US troop presence. They fear the new Iraqi government might hold them accountable if a commenter supports the guerrilla movement (Raed’s brother was already detained for reader comments that appeared at his blog.)

Once upon a time, some of us dreamed that the internet and the blogging revolution could play a positive part in growing civil liberties there. In the end, the repressive apparatus of the state trumped all that.