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Tag(s): Iraq Exit Strategy; Iraq Haditha; Media-News
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October 29, 2007 at 09:36:55

The Catastrophic Military Occupation of Iraq is Rarely Described Accurately in the U.S. Media

by Kevin Zeese Page 2 of 2 page(s)

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KZ: What advice would you give the U.S. peace movement and Americans opposed to the Iraq occupation at this difficult time?

DJ: I feel the two single greatest things people can do to help end the occupation are to support Iraq Veterans Against the War, and to continue to organize locally. IVAW is the spearhead, I feel, of any movement that will be effective in ending the occupation, and organizing locally for local, national, and international issues is paramount for building the infrastructure necessary to radically change the collapsing system we find ourselves in today. (Iraw Veterans Against the War can be found at www.IVAW.org. If you want to get involved in local organizing contact the author at KZeese@DemocracyRising.US.

KZ: I understand you have participated in deep ecology workshops with Joanna Macy (see www.JoannaMacy.net) who is a long-term activist and is now involved in what she calls "The Great Turning" from the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization. Do you see connections between the Iraq occupation and issues like climate change and the ecological crisis?

DJ: They are inseparable. The runaway train that is this Late Stage Capitalism, of infinite growth at the cost of human rights and our ecology, brings us the latest symptom, which is Iraq. The U.S. military is one of the largest polluters on the planet-thus the direct link of the ambitions for U.S. global empire, using the military to enforce this, runaway corporatism and all the destruction to the ecology that that growth entails, and thus, our global climate change crisis.

Kevin Zeese is Director of Democracy Rising (see www.DemocracyRising.US) and Voters for Peace (see www.VotersForPeace.US).

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5 comments

Retire high school English teacher. Grandmother of eight grandchildren, six of them Muslim. Love to travel. Have been to Russia, Spain, Morocco, Crete and Santorini, Cosumel and Chichen Itza. Alas, not enough places. However, the ocean anywhere satisfies the soul.
ChristieRetire high school English teacher. Grandmother of eight grandchildren, six of them Muslim. Love to travel. Have been to Russia, Spain, Morocco, Crete and Santorini, Cosumel and Chichen Itza. Alas, not enough places. However, the ocean anywhere satisfies the soul.

I suggest that people read Chris Dodd's campaign Website

Here is a very brief statement from Chris Dodd on Iraq:

"I am calling on all the Democratic candidates in this race

to join me in clearly standing up to the President once and for all

by stating their support for the Feingold-Reid legislation

that sets a firm timetable to end this war by March 31st, 2008."

Beyond Iraq and Into an Era of Bold Engagement |

http://chrisdodd.com/bold_engagement

and

Campaign Website.:Chris Dodd for President

http://chrisdodd.com/

by Christie (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 143 comments) on Monday, October 29, 2007 at 12:37:47 PM

Kevin Zeese is Executive Director of the Campaign for Fresh Air and Clean Politics (www.FreshAirCleanPolitics.net) whose projects include Voters for Peace (www.VotersForPeace.US., True Vote (www.TrueVote.US and www.TrueVoteMD.org) and Climate Security (www.GlobalClimateSecurity.org). He is also president of Common Sense for Drug Policy (www.csdp.org).
Kevin ZeeseKevin Zeese is Executive Director of the Campaign for Fresh Air and Clean Politics (www.FreshAirCleanPolitics.net) whose projects include Voters for Peace (www.VotersForPeace.US., True Vote (www.TrueVote.US and www.TrueVoteMD.org) and Climate Security (www.GlobalClimateSecurity.org). He is also president of Common Sense for Drug Policy (www.csdp.org).

Feingold-Reid

Unfortunately Feingold-Reid does not end the military occupation. It only applies to combat troops -- less than half the troops in Iraq. And, even with combat troops it leaves very broad exceptions for training, fighting terrorists, protecting U.S. interests. This is just the occupation ongoing.

We need all U.S. troops out, all U.S. private security forces out and all U.S. corporate interests out.

by Kevin Zeese (86 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 45 comments) on Monday, October 29, 2007 at 12:58:29 PM

I am a Californian and am supporting Governor Bill Richardson for President.
Stephen CassidyI am a Californian and am supporting Governor Bill Richardson for President.

A voice of sanity on Iraq

Thank you for posting this informative interview.

I am supporting Bill Richardson for President - who has called for a complete exit by U.S. now:

So long as American troops are in Iraq, reconciliation among Iraqi factions is postponed. Leaving forces there enables the Iraqis to delay taking the necessary steps to end the violence. And it prevents us from using diplomacy to bring in other nations to help stabilize and rebuild the country.

The presence of American forces in Iraq weakens us in the war against al-Qaeda. It endows the anti-American propaganda of those who portray us as occupiers plundering Iraq's oil and repressing Muslims. The day we leave, this myth collapses, and the Iraqis will drive foreign jihadists out of their country.

by Stephen Cassidy (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 6 comments) on Monday, October 29, 2007 at 5:38:49 PM

Bill Richardson

Yes, Bill Richardson is one of three Democratic candidates calling for a complete withdrawal. He stands with Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel. On the Republican side Ron Paul is also for a complete withdrawal.

Thanks for your comment.

by Kevin Zeese (86 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 45 comments) on Monday, October 29, 2007 at 5:46:20 PM

57Yo m I'm a "been there, done that! Bought the tee shirt,to hide the scars!" type of person Ive workedï¿½many jobs fromï¿½a chicken slaughterer to managing a branch of a multinational and many jobs in between.Raised in colonial PNG Left School 16,Grad Hi school 22 Night School, University 36ï¿½ BBus (majored in Psyche and Marketing), Dip Comp prog and project Mmnt.at 50 I've been in 48 different community org ,23 on board with 18 prez or deputy prez.First social campaign at 17 for the aborigine...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Andris57Yo m I'm a "been there, done that! Bought the tee shirt,to hide the scars!" type of person Ive workedï¿½many jobs fromï¿½a chicken slaughterer to managing a branch of a multinational and many jobs in between.Raised in colonial PNG Left School 16,Grad Hi school 22 Night School, University 36ï¿½ BBus (majored in Psyche and Marketing), Dip Comp prog and project Mmnt.at 50 I've been in 48 different community org ,23 on board with 18 prez or deputy prez.First social campaign at 17 for the aborigine...

to see more of bio, click on member name

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Firstly I have no doubt at all that the military Occupation of Iraq was/is catastrophic. In fact I have no problem in typifying any military campaign based on 'Brute Force and Ignorance' (BFI) as being catastrophic. Neither do I doubt that the reporting of the war as being 'selective' (read misrepresentation). I certainly don't dispute that Bush's if not US objectives are to control middle Eastern Oil. In that vein it's clear that there is an underlying distrust (racist?) view in America and it's government that only they can guarantee uninterrupted flow of oil.

It is demonstrably untrue (both archeologically and factually) that either civilization developed in Iraq or because of that the current government infrastructure is capable of maintaining law, order and borders.

However contact that I have from Iraq and other sources paint an altogether less monochromatic picture of Iraq. It has been explained to me that conflict in Iraq is multi dimensional. The conflict(s) are complex mixture tribal and Clan loyalties in the country to racial/cultural religious to political in the cities. Add to this the political opportunism of al Qaeda, Foreign states with cultural and religious affiliations (Iran and Syria) and those that don’t (Turkey). Currently the central govt. is in Aussie terms, "held together with fencing wire, old bags,spit and BFI’.

Given this assessment is consistent amongst several sources I wonder how DJ would respond. I put your article to two of my contact they both responded that his (DJ’s) was one perspective but not a universal one. They both agreed that the killing must stop but were not in agreement about the US ‘abandoning them again’ (the Shia revolt). They both said the US role should change. One a Kurd was concerned about Turkey’s ambitions.What is your and JD response to all this?

by Andris (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 531 comments) on Monday, October 29, 2007 at 10:48:03 PM