Brandon Ericson, “a North Dakota National Guardsman who lost an arm serving in Iraq,” didn’t know why he was going there; he was “pretty naive” when “sent overseas.” Now a college senior majoring in political science, the medically-retired soldier has no choice but to see the invasion and occupation as necessary, and a “pretty good success so far.” If he didn’t, he’d “have a hard time dealing with what happened” to him. His only solace is believing we are there to spread democracy.
He obeyed orders without question, and for no better reason, he took up arms against a people he knew nothing about.
What extraordinary surrender. First, to the most powerfull military machine in the world as it ruthlessly executed a final assault upon a stripped-down, defenceless target. Second, to the selective media who sees him not as a man begging to be asked the right questions but because he sacrificed dearly yet supports the campaign, and finally, to the personal demons he is not ready or willing to face.
The election, to be more than a prelude to an intractable civil war, cannot be co-opted by America’s craven need to be exalted for an exceptionalism only they can palpate, in denial of the unnecessary horrors that have been inflicted upon the Iraqi people in its name, rightly seen as injustices by a majority of the earth’s inhabitants.
Should votes actually be counted and Shi’ites allowed victory, the insurgency ranks will swell, reinforced by U.S. allies in torture and repression Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt, fearfull of democracy and Shi’ites in control, until a new Saddam is in the seat of power. If the Shi’ites enlist the Badr Brigades against them democracy will be the first victim.
And as a remedy despite chaos, should the U.S. continue to suffer the delusion their power is unlimited, decide to push-on into Syria and Iran, they will hardly be in a position to put even a facsimile of humpty dumpty back together again.
Three actions should occur immediately if the Bush administration is serious about promoting democracy in Iraq:
*Cease all offensive actions and depart from population centers.
*Close the 14 or more permanent and/or long-term military bases the U.S. has established in Iraq.
*Declare that it has no intention of maintaining control, officially or through surrogates, over Iraq ’s oil, oil fields or oil production capacity.
Those are just a start.
*Excerpted from ENDING THE U.S. WAR IN IRAQ : How to Bring the Troops Home and Internationalize the Peace by Phyllis Bennis and Erik Leaver.