“George Bush, take a good look at this man, cuz’
you took my only son away.” These powerful words came from a father
in mourning, holding up a picture of his son, a U.S. soldier now dead
from the war in Iraq.
The state-controlled glimpse of the war on television – described
by one CNN anchor as “reality TV in war time” – has
made it easy, perhaps desirable, to accept the Pentagon’s message
of unwavering optimism.
However, keeping in mind the U.S. government’s abominable track
record in being honest with the American public, it seems only fair to
question it while bombs fall and bullets fly from U.S. troops invading
Iraq.
It began with the president’s “moment of truth,” where
we were told, “the terrorist threat to America will be diminished
the minute Saddam is disarmed,” and “the United States did
nothing to invite or deserve this threat.”
In a prophetic message to the Iraqis, Bush said, “the day of your
liberation is near.”
Should we believe the president when he makes such promises?
One can only hope that this time it will be different.
Interviewed for the book, “War on Iraq,” former U.N. weapons
inspector, Scott Ritter, explains precisely why the United States’
goals in Iraq are to not bring democracy to Iraq.
“In Iraq, 60 percent of the population are Shi’a Muslims,
theocratically aligned with Iran. Iran is, of course, a hotbed of anti-American
Islamic fundamentalism,” Ritter said.
“And the truth is that we don’t want the Kurds (around 23
percent of the population) to have independence anymore than the Turks
do.”
This leaves power to the Sunnis, the remaining 17 percent. “Saddam
is a Sunni. The Sunni tribes have always dominated Iraqi politics. They’ve
dominated the military; they’ve dominated the governing class,”
he added.
One can only wonder with unsound hope and wait to see if the U.S. government
will bring democracy to Iraq, much as it failed in doing for the Philippines,
Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and now Afghanistan.
These, of course, are only to name a few of the many disasters caused
by U.S. military interventions.
How many wars will be fought in the name of democracy? How many failed
attempts at wars for peace will be allowed?
In the beginnings of this war, “Operation Iraqi Freedom,”
there came a “target of opportunity” as if in sync with MSNBC’s
48-hour countdown clock to destruction. It came even prior to the much
anticipated initial assault of “shock and awe.” But then,
shortly after we were primed to never see Saddam Hussein in the flesh
again, he appeared mysteriously on television.
Allegations ran rampant; ranging from “is it him?” to “was
it recorded earlier?”
Most of the media immediately fell in line with the official story, and
thoroughly exhausted the possibility that Hussein could actually be dead.
Much like the genuine and proven threat to the United States – Osama
bin Laden – Hussein too, may escape capture from the U.S. military.
If that turns out to be the case, it will be his whereabouts that keeps
Bush and others in “shock and awe.” After all, the Bush Administration
will find itself in a tight spot if Hussein appears on video as frequent
as bin Laden does.
The division in world opinion is growing by the day. Millions of people
throughout the world have taken to the streets to voice their opposition
to this war. It is becoming too clear that most of the world is against
the United States in this war.
Divisions seem to run deep, as a U.S. soldier is now being detained for
a grenade attack that killed one and injured at least 10 of his fellow
soldiers – clearly reminiscent of the “fraggings” that
wrought the war in Indochina.
In an interview for Progressive Radio, Howard Zinn, author and historian,
offered words now more vital than ever.
”My hope is that more and more Americans will come to realize that
this country is not fulfilling its promise of being a beacon of liberty
in the world, that it has become a kind of military monster in the world,
and that the people of this country are suffering as a result.”
After visiting the Baghdad hospital to witness the results of air strikes
from the previous night, Robert Fisk, Middle East correspondent and veteran
war reporter with the Independent in London, concluded “It is the
same old story. If we make war – however much we blather on about
our care for civilians – we are going to kill and maim the innocent.”
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