In the name of God, the most gracious and most merciful.

Here I am, free. But my country is still a prisoner of war.

Firstly, I give my thanks and my regards to everyone who stood beside me, whether inside my country, in the Islamic world, in the free world. There has been a lot of talk about the action and about the person who took it, and about the hero and the heroic act, and the symbol and the symbolic act.

But, simply, I answer: What compelled me to confront is the injustice that befell my people, and how the occupation wanted to humiliate my homeland by putting it under its boot.

And how it wanted to crush the skulls of (the homeland’s) sons under its boots, whether sheikhs, women, children or men. And during the past few years, more than a million martyrs fell by the bullets of the occupation and the country is now filled with more than 5 million orphans, a million widows and hundreds of thousands of maimed. And many millions of homeless because of displacement inside and outside the country.

We used to be a nation in which the Arab would share with the Turkman and the Kurd and the Assyrian and the Sabean and the Yazid his daily bread. And the Shiite would pray with the Sunni in one line. And the Muslim would celebrate with the Christian the birthday of Christ, may peace be upon him. And despite the fact that we shared hunger under sanctions for more than 10 years, for more than a decade.

Our patience and our solidarity did not make us forget the oppression. Until we were invaded by the illusion of liberation that some had. (The occupation) divided one brother from another, one neighbor from another, and the son from his uncle. It turned our homes into never-ending funeral tents. And our graveyards spread into parks and roadsides. It is a plague. It is the occupation that is killing us, that is violating the houses of worship and the sanctity of our homes and that is throwing thousands daily into makeshift prisons.

I am not a hero, and I admit that. But I have a point of view and I have a stance. It humiliated me to see my country humiliated. And to see my Baghdad burned. And my people being killed. Thousands of tragic pictures remained in my head, and this weighs on me every day and pushes me toward the righteous path, the path of confrontation, the path of rejecting injustice, deceit and duplicity. It deprived me of a good night’s sleep.

Dozens, no, hundreds, of images of massacres that would turn the hair of a newborn white used to bring tears to my eyes and wound me. The scandal of Abu Ghraib. The massacre of Fallujah, Najaf, Haditha, Sadr City, Basra, Diyala, Mosul, Tal Afar, and every inch of our wounded land. In the past years, I traveled through my burning land and saw with my own eyes the pain of the victims, and hear with my own ears the screams of the bereaved and the orphans. And a feeling of shame haunted me like an ugly name because I was powerless.

And as soon as I finished my professional duties in reporting the daily tragedies of the Iraqis, and while I washed away the remains of the debris of the ruined Iraqi houses, or the traces of the blood of victims that stained my clothes, I would clench my teeth and make a pledge to our victims, a pledge of vengeance.

The opportunity came, and I took it.

I took it out of loyalty to every drop of innocent blood that has been shed through the occupation or because of it, every scream of a bereaved mother, every moan of an orphan, the sorrow of a rape victim, the teardrop of an orphan.

I say to those who reproach me: Do you know how many broken homes that shoe that I threw had entered because of the occupation? How many times it had trodden over the blood of innocent victims? And how many times it had entered homes in which free Iraqi women and their sanctity had been violated? Maybe that shoe was the appropriate response when all values were violated.

When I threw the shoe in the face of the criminal, Bush, I wanted to express my rejection of his lies, his occupation of my country, my rejection of his killing my people. My rejection of his plundering the wealth of my country, and destroying its infrastructure. And casting out its sons into a diaspora.

After six years of humiliation, of indignity, of killing and violations of sanctity, and desecration of houses of worship, the killer comes, boasting, bragging about victory and democracy. He came to say goodbye to his victims and wanted flowers in response.

Put simply, that was my flower to the occupier, and to all who are in league with him, whether by spreading lies or taking action, before the occupation or after.

I wanted to defend the honor of my profession and suppressed patriotism on the day the country was violated and its high honor lost. Some say: Why didn’t he ask Bush an embarrassing question at the press conference, to shame him? And now I will answer you, journalists. How can I ask Bush when we were ordered to ask no questions before the press conference began, but only to cover the event. It was prohibited for any person to question Bush.

And in regard to professionalism: The professionalism mourned by some under the auspices of the occupation should not have a voice louder than the voice of patriotism. And if patriotism were to speak out, then professionalism should be allied with it.

I take this opportunity: If I have wronged journalism without intention, because of the professional embarrassment I caused the establishment, I wish to apologize to you for any embarrassment I may have caused those establishments. All that I meant to do was express with a living conscience the feelings of a citizen who sees his homeland desecrated every day.

History mentions many stories where professionalism was also compromised at the hands of American policymakers, whether in the assassination attempt against Fidel Castro by booby-trapping a TV camera that CIA agents posing as journalists from Cuban TV were carrying, or what they did in the Iraqi war by deceiving the general public about what was happening. And there are many other examples that I won’t get into here.

But what I would like to call your attention to is that these suspicious agencies – the American intelligence and its other agencies and those that follow them – will not spare any effort to track me down (because I am) a rebel opposed to their occupation. They will try to kill me or neutralize me, and I call the attention of those who are close to me to the traps that these agencies will set up to capture or kill me in various ways, physically, socially or professionally.

And at the time that the Iraqi prime minister came out on satellite channels to say that he didn’t sleep until he had checked in on my safety, and that I had found a bed and a blanket, even as he spoke I was being tortured with the most horrific methods: electric shocks, getting hit with cables, getting hit with metal rods, and all this in the backyard of the place where the press conference was held. And the conference was still going on and I could hear the voices of the people in it. And maybe they, too, could hear my screams and moans.

In the morning, I was left in the cold of winter, tied up after they soaked me in water at dawn. And I apologize for Mr. Maliki for keeping the truth from the people. I will speak later, giving names of the people who were involved in torturing me, and some of them were high-ranking officials in the government and in the army.

I didn’t do this so my name would enter history or for material gains. All I wanted was to defend my country, and that is a legitimate cause confirmed by international laws and divine rights. I wanted to defend a country, an ancient civilization that has been desecrated, and I am sure that history – especially in America – will state how the American occupation was able to subjugate Iraq and Iraqis, until its submission.

They will boast about the deceit and the means they used in order to gain their objective. It is not strange, not much different from what happened to the Native Americans at the hands of colonialists. Here I say to them (the occupiers) and to all who follow their steps, and all those who support them and spoke up for their cause: Never.

Because we are a people who would rather die than face humiliation.

And, lastly, I say that I am independent. I am not a member of any political party, something that was said during torture – one time that I’m far-right, another that I’m a leftist. I am independent of any political party, and my future efforts will be in civil service to my people and to any who need it, without waging any political wars, as some said that I would.

My efforts will be toward providing care for widows and orphans, and all those whose lives were damaged by the occupation. I pray for mercy upon the souls of the martyrs who fell in wounded Iraq, and for shame upon those who occupied Iraq and everyone who assisted them in their abominable acts. And I pray for peace upon those who are in their graves, and those who are oppressed with the chains of imprisonment. And peace be upon you who are patient and looking to God for release.

And to my beloved country I say: If the night of injustice is prolonged, it will not stop the rising of a sun and it will be the sun of freedom.

One last word. I say to the government: It is a trust that I carry from my fellow detainees. They said, ‘Mutadhar, if you get out, tell of our plight to the omnipotent powers’ – I know that only God is omnipotent and I pray to Him – ‘remind them that there are dozens, hundreds, of victims rotting in prisons because of an informant’s word.’

They have been there for years, they have not been charged or tried.

They’ve only been snatched up from the streets and put into these prisons. And now, in front of you, and in the presence of God, I hope they can hear me or see me. I have now made good on my promise of reminding the government and the officials and the politicians to look into what’s happening inside the prisons. The injustice that’s caused by the delay in the judicial system.

Thank you. And may God’s peace be upon you.

Iraqi journalist Mutadhar al-Zaidi gave this speech on his recent release. The translation is by McClatchy’s special correspondent, Sahar Issa.

(h/t LewRockwell.com)

Meanwhile, top US administration and army officials cautioned Iraqis of their own recklessness. “Biden Warns Iraq About Reverting to Sectarian Violence,” read a New York Times headline. “What will it take to make a good exit from Iraq?” inquired a Kansas City Star analysis. But missing from news headlines and commentary was any indication of direct US responsibility for the genocide that has befallen Iraq.

How can one claim that US ambitions in Iraq have altered if the ongoing legacy in Iraq is being perceived as a strategic mistake, rather than a moral one?

One thing remains the same, for sure: and that is the arrogance that has long permeated US relations with Iraq. “The president and I appreciate that Iraq has traveled a great distance over the past year, but there is a hard road ahead if Iraq is going to find lasting peace and stability,” said Vice President Biden during a visit to Baghdad on July 3rd. Biden’s remarks were saturated with the same hubris that defined the former administration’s attitude towards Iraq for years: ‘we did our share, that of liberating you, and now its your turn to take charge of your own security’, type of rhetoric. “It’s not over yet,” Biden said. Ironically, he is right, since that could only mean the complete withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, the end of foreign meddling in the country’s affairs, and the removal of corrupt politicians that have destroyed the country’s national identity in favour of sectarian camps endlessly fighting for dominance and privilege. Indeed, it’s anything ?but over.

It’s true that the majority of Americans now accept the once rebuked claim that the Iraq war was predicated on a lie, and readily blame former President Bush for drawing the country into a costly war that should have never happened. President Obama’s arrival has seemingly ushered in a new discourse of honesty and national introspection.

Although one wants to believe that the new administration is sincere in seeking an exit strategy from Iraq, one is hardly sure that the US is ready to divorce itself from the war-scarred country. There is little reason, aside from tactical redeployment, that should compel antiwar sentiments to weaken, or self-respecting commentators to halt their questioning of US intentions.

The terms “exit” and “exit strategy” are now dominating media discourse regarding Iraq. Some attribute this new language to the new administration. The odd fact is that the recent US army redeployment is not the brainchild of the Obama administration, but a provision of a November 2008 agreement signed between the Iraqi government of Nouri Al Maliki and the Bush administration. Talk of exiting Iraq indeed preceded the entrance of Obama. The new US administration simply honoured previous commitments. As per official statements, following the June 30 redeployment, the US is expected to reduce its forces by 50,000 troops by August 2010, and then many of those remaining by the end of 2011.

So, 2012 will witness a fully independent Iraq, right? Wrong. “Many studying Iraq believe the US will end up negotiating with Baghdad to establish a couple of permanent military bases,” writes Matt Schofield. “Those could be essential to leaving behind a stable government, a military loyal to the nation and capable of defending it, and a country that has the backing of the people.” Those who wish to decipher such deceptive language should comprehend the permanent US military presence as permanent occupation. Indeed, the US doesn’t have to be present on every Iraqi street corner to officially occupy the country. The sectarian Iraqi army and police – US armed and trained – should be enough to carry out US wishes in Iraq (under the guise of fighting terrorists), while the US will “stand ready, if asked and if helpful, to help in that process,” as explained by Biden.

Iraq headlines will eventually fade away, making space for the new escalation in Afghanistan, also in the name of fighting terror, bringing democracy and all the rest.

The faces of the victims will be hidden so as not to harm our sensibilities, and causality figures will be manipulated, contested and at times blamed on the coward terrorists who hide among civilians. In other words, the US will take the spirit of its Iraq war to Afghanistan, remain in Iraq – as inconspicuous as possible – so as to hold onto its strategic military achievement, and, if necessary, blame both nations for their growing misfortunes.

However, before we take our eyes off Iraq, Americans must remember their own culpabilities in what transpired there. Antiwar activists and people of conscience must not forget that 130,000 US soldiers remain in the country; that the US has complete control over Iraqi airspace and territorial water; that there is not yet a reason to celebrate and move on. Even if one is trusting enough to believe the administration and army’s own account of its future in Iraq, one should recall comments made by Admiral Mike Mullen last February: “Mr. Obama plans to leave behind a ‘residual force’ of tens of thousands of troops to continue training Iraqi security forces, hunt down terrorist cells and guard American institutions.”

One may be truly eager to see a sovereign, democratic and stable Iraq, but such hopes must not occur at the expense of truth and common sense.

Featured Post for 05-/22-05/28:

“It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it”

I recalled this statement while I was reading a very powerful look at the My Lai massacre that took place during the Vietnam War. The depravity of humanity gone mad is revealed in this account and one would think that we would never again commit such atrocities. But the powers that be convinced us that we should put it behind us and move on. And now it seems we have repeated the depravity again in Iraq.

Is it true that our future is shaped by what and how we react to events and realities of the present? Have we gone even deeper into depravity since My Lai? And if that is true, what did we not do that would have kept us from drifting into an open acceptance of torture and unjustified bloodletting today? If the future we get IS up to us, what failures of our past determine what we leave for our children today?

Please take a read.

http://rwor.org/a/027/vietnam-destroy-village.htm.

The above link is a very descriptive anti-war piece about Vietnam. You might also notice that it is reflective of the Iraqi and Afghan wars of today. The parallel left me to doubt about our children’s future, but then I realized that we can set the tone of morality and ethical behavior, all we need to do to is reach out and do what is necessary to become what we want to be.

What is it we want the future to be? If we know that, and if we know what was failed to be done in the past, that caused our today, then we should know what must be done to set the tone for the future of our Country.

So why not look at Vietnam and see what it is that we have failed to learn from My Lai? Discover what would have prevented us accepting torture and massacre of innocents in Iraq and Afghanistan. I think we ignored red warning flags in the run up to Vietnam and then we failed to prosecute War Criminals for their crimes after that war.

Consider these red flags from that sorrowful episode in our history: (1) The Lie about the Gulf of Tonkin that was used as a justification to invade Vietnam. Shouldn’t we have learned to deeply question our Government when it is promoting a preventative War?

Then we let President Johnson off the hook when the Gulf of Tonkin was exposed as a lie. And remember the justification using the fear that “If we ignore the Communists in Vietnam, the rest of the Far East Countries will fall to the communists like Dominoes”?

Isn’t this rationale much like the fear of the Saddam “Mushroom Cloud” sprung on us by the Bush Administration? Just compare the Vietnam “Domino Theory” to “Weapons of Mass Destruction” about Iraq.

Consider another Vietnam War red flag (2) “Those people are Godless people who want to overrun the world and it would be better to fight them over there instead of over here”. Really, isn’t this the same chant heard about Iraq today with only the name of the people, Countries, and cultures changed?

Isn’t the prelude to any war propaganda to demonize the people? Would either the Vietnamese or the Iraqis have the capacity to “take over the world”?

And (3) the red flag of questioning the patriotism of the American Citizens who oppose the war, by stating that to support our soldiers we must support the war: Look at the phrase “Support the Troops” and the implication by the war mongers that if you don’t support the war, you don’t support the troops. Does it not sound familiar?

It was also used during the Vietnam War. We must learn to be aware of these red flags when we start hearing why we should start a preventative war of self-defense, against a Country or people who are not doing anything to us. So isn’t this what we should have done before we invaded Iraq, to keep us from repeating the mistake of Vietnam?

Lt. Calley, the leader of the My Lai massacre served all of two days in jail for his crimes. And he spent only three years under house arrest (was free to leave the house and roam about town as long as he was accompanied by his keepers).

After the house arrest Calley went on to rake in a fortune as a speaker to Right Wing groups especially the Religious Right. You know who the Religious Right is – those Bible thumping, God fearing, Ten Commandments, Good Samaritan, clean Moral living people, who support the most immoral, most vile, most ungodly Administration in history, the Republican Bush bunch, yes that’s the good people I’m talking about, the core of the Republican Party.

We must learn to be careful in how we use our vote.

Those Vietnamese who were massacred at My Lai and those killed in Iraq including those tortured to death, are still dead. And Calley was the only My Lai soldier convicted while no one who authorized torture after 9/11 has even been charged. Is there any wonder that people around the world hate us?

And would you agree that the hate is with good reason? What have the many “Police Actions” since World War II (over 50 to date) gained us if not hate? They were called police actions because our Constitution proscribes to Congress only, the ability to declare war. And yet not one single one of those military events since WWII has been a declared war, as the Constitution allows, not this Iraq War, and not the Afghan War, currently being escalated by Obama.

Because of the Constitutional requirement that Congress only can declare war, the Executive has usurped a “right” from the Constitution, of wartime powers, therefore many things now are called “wars”. We must learn to hold accountable those who lead us into un-necessary military actions. War should be an action of last resort.

Not an opportunity for a hefty profit stream to War Industry Corporations. A failure to punish people and entities for criminal activity is nothing more than an approval of that criminal activity and that failure to hold accountable, generates more of the same.

“We had to destroy our Country to save it” Is this what we have come to? Isn’t this the general excuse by the last Administration for the destruction brought on America? It started well before the Bush Administration, but the big move came under that despotic Bush era. Remember that on 9/12 a committee authorized by Bush and Cheney and headed up by Feith was formed to mine data that could be useful to sell the need of an invasion of Iraq to the American people.

It later took on the name of the Office of Special Plans. And it seems to make no difference that it was the Bush bunch. Reality has shown that we are now in the first installment of the continuation of those Bush policies. Once again the electorate have proven that a vote for the lesser of two evils gets you the same result – evil.

We must learn to hold accountable those Parties that claim the high road and yet exude corruption.

The destruction to America under Bush is almost unimaginable: We have lost many rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution, We have lost our Moral position in the World, We have become a pawn of Corporate Interests, We produce for the profits of the War Industry, We have become a bankrupt Nation, and we have subjugated the financial future of our children to the International Banking Cartels.

And the justification for all these woes is that it had to be done to protect us from “Them” and “They”, people who hate us for things like My Lai and the newest atrocities, over a million dead in Iraq, over four million displaced in that country, a country ruined for the next several generations. And why? – Sadly the excuse heard today was that it was done to free the Iraqis, yet we still occupy their land, kill their people, and steal their resources.

And the damage done to America in the name of protecting America from it’s enemies, could be paraphrased, “We had to destroy our Country to save it”. Criminals and War Criminals must be punished without exception. There are consequences for not doing so.

The future we get is truly up to us. Haven’t we proven that time and again? We let those atrocities in Vietnam go unpunished. Even worse was the Vietnam War itself, one now proven to be brought about by lies and propaganda.

And most telling, we didn’t learn from the lie (Gulf of Tonkin) that was the excuse manufactured for going to war. In every military excursion since WWII there has been a pre-war PR run up promoting fear of the “enemy”, immorality of the people, followed by a manufactured excuse to exercise military action.

Would we be in war in Iraq today if we had charged President Lyndon Johnson and his War Mongers for their Vietnam War Crimes and successfully prosecuted them? Would prosecuting the Bush bunch for their War Crimes stop a Vietnam or Iraq of the future? How many victims would be alive today if we would have had the courage to do the right thing? We need to put a stop to war criminals.

The one sure way to effect that stop is to make liable those who become War Criminals and those who promote the business of war for profit. When we learn from our past and act on that knowledge, the future we get will no longer be the past we ignored, we will re-set our future, for the better. And surely our children and their children will benefit from our actions.

Up to 50,000 troops would remain under the agreement the Bush administration had to be left with no other option except to sign to leave by January, 2012, which nicely coincides with the start of Obama’s possible second term.

However, let’s look at what Obama said during his election campaign. On his “BARACK OBAMA: TURNING THE PAGE IN IRAQ” official campaign hand-out, Barack Obama promised he “would immediately begin [meaning January 2009] to pull out troops engaged in combat operations at a pace of one or two brigades every month, to be completed by the end of next year [meaning December 2009].” In July 2008, he also announced that the Iraq combat mission would be over by May 2010. Now its September 2010. Nice work, slick. The pdf file that states this appears to have been deleted from barackobama.com, but I will email the pdf I downloaded to anyone.

Afghanis are still dying under the oppression of soon-to-be 60,000 American soldiers, and the 2009 YTD kill rate for soldiers slightly exceeds 2008’s totals. Barack Obama recently announced he would transfer 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. In July 2008, the Barackcuda announced he favored the transfer of 7,000 troops to Afghanistan. This is splitting hairs a bit, as Obama, despite his many pro-peace and antiwar followers, has always resolutely stated he would increase our presence in Afghanistan. He has always resolutely stated he would increase the size of our Armed Forces by 100,000 troops, which are 100,000 more mouths to feed and equipment to supply for the ever-declining “revenue base,” aka American taxpayer, to support.

Vice President Biden was said to have warned against a military quagmire in Afghanistan, but let’s just hope that he is wrong. A little known fact is that the Vietnam War only had 401 US war deaths under Kennedy and Johnson during its first 5 years, which does seem somewhat comparable to Afghanistan’s, see below. However, in all fairness, many Americans had very little idea what was going on in Vietnam, and no major offensives were started until year 6.

As seen below, the Vietnam dead went exponential, leaving a total of 57,000 dead in the years listed. Afghanistan and Iraq together have cost over 4,900 Americans. Over 5,000 if you include the 177 soldier overseas suicides. Perhaps many thousands more if you include the suicide rate of soldiers or ex-soldiers in the US.

(Vietnam data, Afghanistan data, Iraq data)

In the previous writings, I have argued the moral case to stopping both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Like Ron Paul had suggested all along, reviving the power to Letters of Marque and Reprisal granted in the Constitution to the Congress was, especially in hindsight, a far better solution in my humble opinion.

However, in our troubled economic times does it not seem perfectly retarded that we continue to expend the last dying breaths of our military empire amidst the Iraqi desert, the Afghanistan mountains? Or is that the only way our leaders see to remain the world’s superpower? To oppress by force? To be fair, only expect delay after delay from Barackcuda in the future, with luck he will CHANGE his mind in favor of our troops. Well, one can always HOPE, right? Barack Obama: “Chains We Can Believe In.”

If any of this makes sense, feel free to join the rEVOLution at www.CampaignForLiberty.com. The more patriots, the better. If not, thanks for reading this far, and please feel perfectly free to converse below if you wish.

Shakespeare said it best: ” The fault dear Brutus, is not in our stars….. But in ourselves.”

The fault, Mr. President, in our present situation, is ‘ not in our stars… But in our stripes.’

The American stars are something to be proud of, sir. Represented by the stars on our flag, they stand for truth and justice for all. It seems to me, that the stripes that are represented on our flag, now stand for the stripes worn by our detainees , and for the stripes that we force other nations to wear when we dominate them.

I was just watching Thomas Ricks, the author and journalist, on C-Span. He was speaking about his latest book , ‘The Gamble, ‘ which is about the occupation of Iraq. The really pertinent point I wish to make is about the whole mindset that our ‘mainstream’ leaders, pundits and reporters seem to have. They gloss over the fact that Iraq was illegally invaded and is being occupied for almost six years.

Need I repeat to you sir, that anywhere from 100,000 to one million Iraqi civilians are dead because of what our nation has done? It is disgraceful enough that over 4000 of our young soldiers are dead, with tens of thousands scarred (physically and mentally) for life! Yet, many Americans, including Mr. Ricks, who opposed the invasion and are outspoken about the crimes of the Bush/Cheney crew, continue this ‘C’est la vie ‘ argument.

Mr. President, were we not taught that ‘ Two wrongs do not make a right?’ If it was wrong to invade, is it not wrong to stay and become the colonial ruler of Iraq?

The world now knows that the Bush/Cheney crew lied us into an illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. The world now knows that the Bush/Cheney crew broke the Geneva Accords and committed torture and rendition.

Let us imagine a scenario whereupon the Chinese government, who have so much at stake economically in America, got antsy. They did not trust the Bush/Cheney crew to guarantee their enormous exports to America. They did not trust keeping their investments here, going by what the Wall Street cronies have gotten away with.

Since Bush and Cheney used pre emptive strategy, the Chinese wonder, why not them? So, they did. They attacked us, and with our vast resources out of country, they won and soon after began an occupation.

Such a terrible chain of events, all because of pre- emptive war.

The very folks who say they are saving us from tyranny and turmoil create worse for us.

Our nation, sir, faces the worst economic threat since the early 1930’s. You have inherited more than a mess…… A Disgrace! Isn’t it time to talk straight to the American people? Isn’t it time to explain that we are too stretched militarily throughout the globe?

We simply cannot afford to spend 50 cents of every federal dollar in budgeting for defense related affairs. We cannot afford to maintain over 750 military bases in over 100 different countries. Most urgent, we cannot afford 70 or 80 billion dollars a month for the Iraq occupation.

We are broke sir!

Tell the American public. Look straight into the camera and tell them that it is either ‘ guns or butter.’ We have enough ‘guns ‘ now sir, enough to supply the whole damned world!

While you are at it, sir, urge the Congress to bring the liars and con men from the previous administration to justice. How often, when some minor felon goes before the bar, and the judge lectures “After all, we are a nation of laws, and you did break the law… ”

The last time I looked, that lady statue outside the courts was blind …. To position and rank and social standing. Investigate and indict, sir, and then you and we as a nation can truly ‘move on.’

• The Obama administration is considering spreading the “war on terror” deeper into Pakistan, beyond the tribal areas, and into the city of Quetta. The New York Times says the chances of civilian casualties are very high should the US risk igniting mass protest against this violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. However, the risks for the Obama administration of not expanding the war is great, from the standpoint of perpetuating the American mission to control the Middle East.
• The growing use of unmanned drones, piloted from trailers in the US, to attack homes of “insurgents” in Afghanistan and Pakistan, could also lead to spreading opposition in those countries, as the civilian death toll grows.  But adding more US troops to Afghanistan, as we have already been warned by Secretary of Defense Gates, will bring more US casualties.

Take a look at the Afghanistan fact sheet for help in talking to people about why Afghanistan is not “the good war.”

While Americans are grateful that this six year old war will soon be over, they wonder at the delay in pulling our troops from Iraq. More than 4000 Americans have been killed; more than 30,000 have been wounded in this war generally regarded as a mistake. Our military leaders say that we should leave “responsibly.” What does that mean? Responsible to whom? To the Iraqis, whose public wants us to leave at once? To the corrupt Iraqi government whose leaders want us to stay as long as we supply the dollars?

Our first responsibility is to the men and women of the U. S. military. No more deaths. No more wounds. How would you like to be the last soldier to die for a mistake?

Obama promised a pullout within 16 months. Now, his senior officials tell the New York Times that will be extended to 19 months. How many Americans will be killed or wounded in those three months? Why? To protect the military equipment? Leave it there for the Iraqis. When we invaded, our operation against a shooting enemy took one month. Getting out should take the same one month.

If we are serious

President Obama plans to leave behind a “residual force” to continue training Iraqis, to hunt down foreign terrorist cells, to guard the American Embassy and other American installations. That doesn’t sound like much of a withdrawal. The residual tasks are what we have been doing for six years. Right now, there are about 142,000 American military in Iraq and a like number of civilian contractors working for us. The duties of the residual force indicate that at least 100,000 Americans would remain in Iraq in addition to a sizeable number of contractors to help them. Not the pullout we expected. And if the fragile truce between the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds disintegrates, U.S. forces are likely to stay in Iraq.

The U.S. now has more than 700 military bases in 130 countries. The Middle East contains 60% of the oil on earth. The U.S. has commercial, political, financial and cultural interests in every country in the area, some of the interests valued in the trillions of dollars. Will Iraq become the 131st country? Will the residual force become the U.S. military base? Removing all U.S. troops from Iraq – NOW – may reverse our reliance on military power, restore our international reputation and encourage the use of “soft power” in pursuit of American interests.

I wonder how people in the Middle East felt hearing that, having been bombed as if they are terrorists for most of this decade, either directly by US planes, or with US made weapons, as in Gaza?  An Iraqi in Sikrit, said, “In fact, the US forces achieved one thing: That is destroying Iraq … We hope that the US soldiers will leave our country sooner rather than later in order to put an end to the bloodiest pages in Iraq’s history.”

The US Defense Department is finally allowing the news media to photograph caskets and funerals of US military, even as Robert Gates and the generals in charge are warning that the next year, with 17,000 more US troops going into Afghanistan, is going to be very “rough.”

Thursday, Obama announced plans to remove some troops from Iraq over a 19 month period, unless the generals advise him otherwise.  The remaining 30,000 to 50,000 troops will be re-named “advisors” and stay indefinitely; the 17 US bases will remain in US control.

Those who are breathing a sigh of relief that US troops are being slowly removed from Iraq should stop and realize that this is part of an overall strategy to deepen and strengthen, not end, US domination of the region.  Those who think our job is to “help” Barack Obama carry out this plan are not looking at the interests of the people here, or in the Middle East, in stopping this occupation immediately.

From World Can’t Wait Steering Committee member Elaine Brower: It’s NOT OK!

“As I sit here tonight listening to the crap about extending troop withdrawal 19 months, instead of 16 months, and keeping 50,000 troops in Iraq as so called “advisers” or “trainers” or whatever they want to nickname them, I am outraged!  I expected this, but did you?  This is wrong.  The occupation is wrong, and those of us in the anti-war movement have been screaming this at the top of our lungs for the last 6 years, even before the first boots were on the ground in Iraq.

Even before the campaign of “shock and awe” even lit up the skies above innocent people.  What the hell are we thinking?

Mobilize on the 19th, do something loud and meaningful.  Complacency is not acceptable, nor is silence.  People are dying, people are crippled for life, we must act now.  We owe it to the Iraqi people.”