Occupation By Any Other Name

Hey, fellow Americans, you are finally going to get something you voted for!

Really, like what?

Well, your President is pulling out of Iraq.

But wait a minute , something doesn't sound right. 90,000 combat troops are leaving by the end of August. What happened to the other 50,000? Well, bad news, they are staying. You see we have hundreds of military bases scattered throughout Iraq a portion of which will be either closed or manned by those troops remaining to provide security and training for the Iraq Army. We also have the largest embassy in the world in Iraq. It's actually the size of Vatican City (80 football fields). The people working there require security. So our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has requested the State Department to provide a maximum of 7000 special operation forces hired through private contractors similar to Blackwater for “diplomatic security”. In short we are downsizing the occupation and calling it something else like “diplomatic security”. And a number of these bases will become “enduring posts”. (a euphemism for forever and ever). Recently 20 year contracts to run Iraqi oil fields were given to a number of private companies . Obviously the U.S. has no intention of really leaving. We are, therefore, privatizing the occupation by hiring armed mercenaries to replace the troops that are returning home. The mercenaries are paid well for dying while a majority of U.S. troops are finally relieved of the stress of combat.

So was it all worth it ? The short answer is no. Iraq remains a disaster. The situation is still unstable. The puppet leaders cannot form a government. Potable water is limited as is electricity. Oil production is still below what Saddam produced. Millions of people have migrated to Syria and Jordan. The American Empire made the situation in Iraq worse.

The mercenary special operation troops will continue to chase down “terrorists” paid for out of the deficit budget and the military black budget.

And what is happening in Afghanistan? According to some observers there are two wars going on there. One is the war reported by the main street media. The other is the special operation war that are night time raids and go unreported. This is the one where civilians get killed if they get in the way of the target. There is a lot of public talk by the military about “ reducing civilian casualties” but these night time raids which we lie about are responsible for many civilian deaths. The Afghan forces avenge these deaths at a rate of 6 to 1, according to recent reliable reports.

So let's keep in mind as it does bear repeating: “ Politicians are like talking dogs in a circus, interesting, but no sane person believes what they say.”


References:

Common Dreams, Guardian UK.
Democracy Now, Jeremy Scahill.
Alan Furst.