If the war in Afghanistan was truly about counter terrorism, peace in the region, or equality for women, I’d support it. If the attacks on the Gaza Strip were about the protection of the Israeli people, I’d support them. If the point of the Iraq war was to rid the country of weapons of mass destruction or help the people of Iraq get a democratic government, I’d support it. The fact is these wars are about money and power …for the rich and powerful.
Since the ‘War on Terror’ began 8 years ago, the ‘terrorists’ and their activities in the Middle East have increased… tenfold. As the wars continue and the West kills more and more innocent civilians as ‘collateral damage’, the victim’s families continue to grow hostile to our occupations of their countries (surprise, surprise).
There was no justifiable reason to invade Iraq , yet 8 years later the US is still there! More than a million Iraqis have died since the US occupation began; compared to about a thousand Americans (almost half of those were private contractors (think Blackwater (now called Xe)). Now, despite Obama’s claims that he’s ending the war in Iraq , it just isn’t so. Did you know Obama plans to keep 50 000 troops and another 50 000 private contractors in Iraq until 2011?! Did you know Obama intends to follow through with Bush’s plan to maintain a $592 million US embassy in Iraq ? It’s the size of the Vatican City , will employ 4000 Americans in Iraq indefinitely and will have an operating cost of $1.2 billion per year!
So why then is the United States ’ military really know t ? Obama’s just gchange, they remain the same?e telling the corporations that although they make stuff we don'resin the Middle East ? We may never know the full answer to that, but there are a few concerning possibilities: Having strategic bases in the region has long been a goal of the US administration. Gaining control of the oil industry in Iraq would be a huge asset to the energy starved US. Furthermore, as the Iraq war continues it costs the US taxpayers an extraordinary amount of money (in 2008 alone the U.S. spent $12 billion a month in Iraq ), but where does that money go? A large portion of it goes to American private contractors and corporations that donated money to political campaigns! Sadder still, many of these contractors subcontracted their projects out to other contractors, who sold out their work to other subcontractors who did the work with veritable slave labour… or simply didn’t do the work at all!
During Israel ’s three week attack on the Gaza Strip, 16 Israeli soldiers died, 3 of those in ‘friendly fire’ from their own troops. During that same attack more than 1400 Palestinians died (less than 600 of those were soldiers), meaning that at least 800 innocent civilians were killed, half of those were women and children!! All of this, according to the US and Israel , was in the name of Israel ’s right to defend itself! It’s time to stop giving Israel planes, bombs, weapons and unlimited monetary support, while turning a blind eye to the war crimes, destruction and terror they cause Arab countries in the false name of protection.
By bombing Pakistan without any warning or declaration of war (one day after his inauguration), President Obama did the same thing that Bush did when he pre-emptively attacked Iraq . Under Obama, extraordinary rendition (secret abductions to foreign countries/jails) will still be practiced, and certain unspecified means of extracting information will still be used. No matter how much things under President Obama appear to change, they remain the same when it comes to US foreign policy.
A while back I heard a story about former US president F. D. R. A group came to him with an important issue. President Roosevelt listened to their concerns and then said something along the lines of: ‘I agree with your initiative. I wish I could support you in this task… but I cannot’ (Too many important and powerful lobbyists fighting the other side of the cause). Then he said something startling: “Make me do it”.
What he meant by that was that he alone cannot bring the change needed. I believe president Obama is now in that situation. It’s his ideals that got us this far, he knows what is the right thing to do; he knows what needs to be done. But, until we make him do it, he cannot. Make him do it!
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