The Forgotten War

The war in Iraq has been pushed off the front pages by the presidential campaign. There has not been much discussion lately about Iraq except to report briefly that there is some “good news” coming out of Iraq and if that is so some people might just think that “victory” over this devastated land is possible.

Recently a Congressman from my district returned from Iraq ecstatic about the progress being made in that country. He was pictured in the local paper decked out in full body armor and surrounded by U.S. security troops. And what did he say? This didn’t look like a war to him. He could walk around town surrounded by his entourage and the violence was less compared to his previous visit. Two days later five U.S. soldiers were killed and three severely wounded by a bomb directed to them in the heart of the shopping district in Baghdad. A day later just a short distance out of town three more soldiers were killed not to mention the injured. That’s eight deaths in a little more than 48 hours.

Four thousand troops killed, sixty thousand injured, some permanently, not counting the mental health patients suffering from PTSD who return to the U.S. and kill themselves and their families. 1.3 million Iraqis killed, 2.5 million refugees now trying to survive in Jordan and Syria. These two countries cannot continue to support these people with very little space and money. No one else is contributing to their support. Both Jordan and Syria cannot accept anymore refugees and will eventually have to ask them to leave. Where will they go?

If the violence in Iraq has decreased, it must be because there are not that many left to kill.

A permanent decrease in violence could occur if the occupying forces would withdraw. It is the general belief among most Iraqis that the cause of the violence between sectarian and ethnic groups is the occupation of their country by U.S. troops. Reconciliation could occur if the invaders would leave. The official position now for the original invasion was to protect the world from terror. But instead terror has increased 7-fold according to some terrorist specialists.

As for reconstruction of Iraq, Gen. Petraeus claims that the Iraqi government has greatly increased spending on reconstruction. Good news, right? But when the Government Accountability Office examined the facts, they found that the figure was actually one-sixth of that reported by Petraeus and further was a fifty per cent decline when compared to the previous year. Should we praise our government for militarily destroying the infra-structure of a country and then proceeding to reconstruct it for profit? Practically all the no-bid contracts go to Halliburton, a company linked to Vice-President Cheney, not to mention the reported corruption involved in the process.

What is the clincher? Bush plays his trump card once again, another signing statement. This time he is refusing to implement the provisions of a Congressional law that prohibits him from spending tax payer money on permanent military bases in Iraq or control of Iraqi oil.

Last week Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte, testified before Congress that the administration had no plans for permanent bases in Iraq, ignoring the fact that four huge bases were already built. No Congressman challenged his statement. The poor people of Honduras will always remember Negroponte, who as Ambassador to Honduras under Reagan, constantly denied the horrific crimes of the Chief of the Honduras armed forces so that financial aid to the military would continue. (Reagan’s policy) It was called bringing democracy to the people of Honduras. Where have we heard that before? Mendacity in government is our watchword.

Reference:

Znet