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I wrote this OpEd that appears in Thursday's Eureka Reporter. It is in response to a column that ran last Friday called War in Iraq not so hopeless as Democrats, media try to portray.* * *
No wonder we're ready for revolution
By Dave Berman, Eureka
5/9/2007
I would like to caution my fellow community residents. If you happen to be in the vicinity of Jonathan Ashbach's place in Fortuna, please do not stop for a drink at his Kool-Aid stand.
Ashbach (May 4) is peddling the same false claim of "progress" that we have heard literally dozens, if not hundreds of times from Mr. Bush over the past four years. Ashbach is selling the lie that violence has decreased since the start of the "surge" (escalation), when in fact April was the deadliest month since December 2006 (an easy fact to check, dear editor).
Perhaps worst of all, Ashbach has gotten himself so turned around and twisted that he is now taking the position offered by John Kerry during the 2004 presidential debates. Namely, that the goal is not to eliminate the violence in Iraq, but rather to reduce it to a tolerable level. This may be a fine objective, provided you don't first choke on the hypocrisy of the condemnation Kerry received for this position. It also might be a useful way to gauge progress, but this requires the honesty to admit that the U.S. presence is the greatest cause of violence in Iraq and our troop withdrawal the step most likely to reduce the killing.
This debate is so old and tiresome now. Ashbach, if you think the mission is so worthwhile, go to Iraq. Everyone else still supporting this genocide needs to understand they are enabling war crimes and propping up nothing less than a fascist regime that has taken over America (yes, dear editor, look up the characteristics of fascism to confirm accuracy here too).
The Bush administration has no legitimacy, other than the backing of folks still willing to accept the shredding of our Constitution, the loss of our inalienable rights, the willful and knowing destruction of our environment and economy, and the charade of our electoral process. Your passive consent is complicity in the destruction of our country and planet. On behalf of the refusing-to-be-silent majority, I invite you to join us in saying we do not consent!
And to our "elected" officials, at every level from City Council to Congress, I remind you of your oath of office. You swore to protect and defend the Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic. There is nothing in your oath about potholes, easements or festival tickets. Bush, Cheney, Gonzalez, Rice, Rove and the rest have damaged us all immeasurably and continue to be a direct threat not only to Iraq but to America. The inalienable right given primacy in the Declaration of Independence says we all share a duty to alter or abolish our government when it stops serving our needs. Without the intervention of those sworn to protect us, can it really be that difficult to understand why so many of us are ready for peaceful revolution?
