Anti-War Activist Ann Wright Travels to Jordan Seeking Iraqi Peace - Interview

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AMANDA: So, I believe the count that I read yesterday was a little above 300 billion but that does not take into account a lot of discretionary monies. The US Army is cutting its operation spending. Two-thirds of our National Guard troops are not 'combat ready' because they lack equipment to train and deploy.

ANN: Yes, I can imagine that because all of the equipment is wrapped up in Iraq. When the National Guard unit deploys to Iraq, it takes its equipment with them and when it returns, it does not bring it back because it is needed over there because of all the stuff that was brought over by earlier units is broken. The environment in Iraq is very brutal on the equipment with all the sand storms, dust, heat, plus the losses they suffered in the war itself -- the blowing up of tanks, and armored, and unarmored personal carriers. So we are reaching a point where virtually none of our National Guard or Reserves have any equipment left.

AMANDA: So what about the guys in the field then, if the loss of equipment is this high and nobody is bringing any new equipment, there is going to be a point, where, duh, you just don't have it. Are we close to that or are we there?

ANN: Well a lot of military folks are saying that we are at that point right now. We are at a cracking point for the US Army in particular, and I would say that the Marines probably too. The wear and tear on the soldiers and marines who are the ground forces there -- we got people who have had 3 to 4 deployments now to Iraq plus one to Afghanistan and they haven't been at home at all for the last five years -- and on the individual plus the family, plus the units whose efficiency has eroded tremendously by people who are just plan worn out -- don't see any help in the future. There are a lot of people that are going AWOL from the military. There are people -- I was just talking to a guy at Fort Hood, Texas -- saying, "I can't go again. My family is more important to me than any deployment to Iraq and I will not go. And there are many others who are saying, I will not go because it is wrong to go there. We shouldn't be there." So we have a lot of dissent and discouragement in our military because there is no end in sight. The Bush administration is not coming up with a plan and military is left holding the bag for the failed policies of the Bush administration.

AMANDA: On the ground in Iraq, how does this translate to US troops' ability to barely survive? I am thinking about the last days of Viet Nam and the Saigon evacuation...it seems to a great extent the US troops in Iraq are in that bunkered in 'the Green Zone?" Are they lost out there?

ANN: Some troops, the ones that are in the green zone pretty well stay in there. There are other bases all around Iraq that really house most of the military fighting forces. But they too are building their own green zones because the violence is so severe that many times the US forces will not go out. When the fighting gets bad and unless they are already in the middle of it, and have to fight to get out, it is very seldom the US forces go out to resolve this on the street. They are leaving it to the Iraqi military and police forces who have been retrained by the US that may or may not fight when they are sent out to quench some of the violence between the various fractions there.

AMANDA: We are spending quite a bit of money to equip and train these Iraqi soldiers, while at the same time as we just discussed that our own army and marines are bearing what could be a catastrophic shortage. How can that be justified? Are we throwing money down a hole by this concept of training an Iraqi force to take over and combat these surgeons?

ANN: Well, because Paul Brammer made the intralateral decisions to disband the Iraqi army without even asking the US military for their advise. When the military found out about it, they were horrified because they knew what would happen. Here you have this whole army that had been trained under Suddam, and others, that was going to be out of work and they were the guys that knew what weapons there were and where the ammunition was. Of course, the US forces had secured neither of those. Unbelievably, they secured not the ammo docks, not the weapons, not the armories, or the museums. They didn't secure anything.

AMANDA: Not the WMDs? (Laughter)

ANN: No, that's right. So you have the whole army that is out on the street, that know where the weapons are and the ammunition. So they went and got the weapons, and started fighting against the people that threw them out of office. There are a lot of people in Iraq that know how to use a gun. In fact, their job is keeping the United States on its heels. If America would withdraw and the Iraqi government decided that it wants to include people who have been fighting against the invaders, and know how to fight well, they can. There's lots of equipment. There are plenty of weapons already there. The problem is with the Bush administration in there saying, "We want our own militia -- not only do we want our own troops there, but we want our own militia. The Bush administration is planning for the Iraqis to be the US's own militia. We are part of the insurgent violence because we are training our own Iraqi group. If the Iraqis are given the option of creating their own army that reflects members of all the ethnic groups, it's going to be hard because now there are militias for every political party. But, over time, the ultimate solution and whether it comes in the short term or the long term is that the Iraqis themselves would sort this out. The longer the US is there and the longer Iraqi self-governance is postponed, they will not have the opportunity to sort it out. There are plenty of people in Iraq who know military and know how to use weapons. They have discipline and they fight against the United States in a very effective manner. So, the cheapest way for America is to get out is to let the Iraqis form what they want. They have all the equipment in the world there now. What is now called the Iraqi National Army is nothing more than the militia for the United States of America.

AMANDA: We've gone through a number of areas from what you've been doing in Washington, to what you hope to accomplish in Jordan. Anything else you would like to add that I haven't covered that you think would be important for our readers?

ANN: It's really important that the people of America know that they are the key to ending this war in Iraq. They need to be calling their congressional delegation every single day to register their concern and their demand that this war end. And demand that those members of congress do not vote in any invention of funding for the war. That is critical! Also, if any of them can come up to Washington, it is unbelievable how few people are up here protesting. Unbelievable, for the last month there have only been two groups of people that have been here for a total of maybe 50 people and we should be having hundreds, thousands people out on the street every single day to protest all of these policies. They need to be walking into the congressional offices to demand that these things are stopped. I appeal to your readers to come to Washington, in fact they can do that in the month of September. We have what is called Camp Democracy. And from the 5th of September to the 21st of September we will be having workshops everyday, providing skills and opportunities to learn about how to better lobby your congressional delegation. And then on the 21st of September is the Declaration of Peace day, followed by a week of activities in Washington. So there are a lot of things for people to do and of course we are looking at the congressional elections. Number one -- who will end this war -- is the criteria for voting in this election. Will that candidate stand for ending the war in Iraq and refusing to fund it?

AMANDA: Can the Camp Democracy help interested individuals making arrangements of inexpensive places to stay?

ANN: Yeah, online on that website is a transportation link and there is a housing link. We are appealing again to the fine people that live in Washington year after year -- kind of the base for all of the events we hold in Washington -- open up their homes, open up their hearts to all these people that will be coming into Washington to help make a change within our country. It's the people of America that will make the change. So we appeal to them to really put pressure on their congress delegations.

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Amanda was a managing editor at OpEdNews and worked with Rob Kall on the site from 2004 to April 2009. A retired research ethnographer, she now resides in Georgia.

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