A bullet tears through a soldier's flesh. Searing heat and pain beyond description overcomes her and she falls to the ground, unable to move. Slipping into and out of awareness, she slurs her words as she prays for survival.
She is carried by her fellow soldiers to a safer location and bandaged as quickly as possible. An ambulance carries her through the dusty streets of any Iraqi city while medics try to make those prayers come true. In another war, in another time, she would have died.
The ambulance makes it to the field hospital while she is still breathing. The professional staff, well trained and equipped, gets to work to save both her life and limbs. Once stabilized, she is placed on an aircraft headed towards more advanced hospital in Germany. Suddenly she takes a turn for the worse. Her breathing gets shallower and her blood pressure drops. Internal bleeding. She grows colder and less responsive. The medical staff works feverishly to save her, but unable to work fast enough, the young brave soldier dies.
Is she a victim of the war in Iraq? Not according to official government policy. Her death, since it did not happen in Iraq, but on a plane as she is being evacuated, doesn't count.
Add to this the soldiers who commit suicide after they get state side, the soldiers who overdose on their drug of choice, private security who die for Haliburton and other corporations, and other indirect victims of the war, and the number of Americans killed by Bush's war was past three thousand some time ago. Only recently was the official death toll said to have reached that horrible figure, but in fact, the US has given that many lives to this misadventure months ago.
Now the President proposes a surge of troops into Baghdad. He will apparently claim that the goal of stabilizing Iraq depends on more American's lives and deaths. This is madness. Throwing gasoline on a fire will not put it out, and Bush's surge will only guarantee deeper failure.
So, as Bush and Company push us deeper into the hell we know as Iraq, what will the Democrats, newly empowered in Congress, do about it? They will salute, vote for death, and send more of your neighbor's children off to die for a failed policy
Why? To win political points and to create a hoped for legacy of greatness. Bush hopes to go down in history as a Truman clone, and the Democrats are too frightened of being soft on terror to do anything about it. Of course, the millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the military-industrial complex helps keep anyone disinclined to vote for more death in their proper place.
So, what can the average voter do about this situation?
The Green Party of the United States is a member group of United for Peace and Justice, the largest peace coalition in America. On January 27th, tens of thousands of Americans will walk the frigid streets of Washington DC, raising their voices for non-violence and an end to this insane death march. On the 29th, thousands will call on Congress to demand that they take action to end the bloodshed. These efforts will be supplemented by hundreds of smaller demonstrations across the nation, and thousands of voters will call on their representatives right at home, in their district offices.
Here in York County, South Carolina, we will have the same opportunity to tell our representatives that the time to end the war is upon us. Whether traveling to Washington, visiting a Senator or Representative's local office, or attending a local demonstration, the folks who join we York County Greens will be able to say with one voice, Enough Basta Stop this war End the bloodshed Bring our troops home NOW!
In Rock Hill, SC we will meet at the corner of Eden Terrace and Oakland Avenue, just across from the entrance to Winthrop University. From noon to 1 PM this Saturday, local citizens will stand vigil.
Won't you join us? One need not belong to the Green Party to desire peace. All are welcome to visit the local website and sign up to participate in the local lobbying at Congressman Spratt's office. The only requirement to participate is a desire to see this war come to an end.
Chair of the York County (SC) Greens, Jocoy lives with his wife of 27 years and her parents in Fort Mill, SC. He is dad to two brilliant daughters and granddad to two amazing granddaughters. (more...)
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Hey Timothy,
Great to see your reply. At this point I would say we will have from a dozen to two dozen people there, but a letter to the editor ran in today's Herald, so who knows how many that may bring?
The people feel it. They oppose this war. They just need to be shown a way and have faith that it will work.
Gregg
by
Gregg Jocoy (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 9 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Jan 26, 2007 at 2:01:03 PM
Republicans AND Democrats are not the answer to Empire
Gregg, you are exactly right that the Republicans play the bad cop roll of being the overt fascist 'war party', but the Democrats also play a contrived 'good cop' roll while they actively enable this fascist Empire.
The two parties are both controlled by the same global corporate elite Empire, and the American people now see through this phony facade.
The good news is that this gutlessness, enabling, and thinly disguised 'turn-coating' of the Democrats to actually work with the Repugs in defending the global corporate elite Empire that has taken over our government is about to have a real fight on their hands.
The very most important question that the American people need to be asking any candidate for president in '08 is not, "Where do you stand on the war?", but, "Where do you stand on the EMPIRE that has taken over our country --- an Empire of which the war in Iraq is only their biggest and most visible crime?"
When Americans ask this question of themselves and the '08 presidential candidates, they will see that only a real 'second party' choice is willing to fight the Empire that has us by the throat.
In '08 Al Gore will run for president as a GREEN, he will come out foursquare against the political economic Empire, and most importantly, he will WIN ---- we will WIN --- and this will start the Second American Revolution to take back our sovereign government 'of the poeple' from the EMPIRE.
by
Alan MacDonald (11 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 131 comments [43 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Sunday, Jan 28, 2007 at 4:43:00 PM
(0+)
Want to post your own comment on this Article?
How would you rate this?
You must be logged in (if signed up) to do ratings.
It's free to signup! And easy. And takes just a minute or two....
Contact Author
View Authors' Articles
(0+)
Must Read (0) 
Well Said (0) 
News (0) 
Touching (0) 
Funny (0) 
Supported (0) 
Interesting (0) 
Inspiring (0) 
Valuable (0) 
