April 19, 2010
By Sandy Shanks
Just as Americans are beginning to think that the war in Iraq is all but over, think again. It is not, not by a long shot.
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Just as Americans are beginning tothink that the
war in Iraq is all but over, think again. It is not, not by a long
shot.
I read the solemn words of an Iraqi journalist
named Raed Jarrar. The picture in Iraq is far different from that perceived by
Americans at home, mostly because Iraq has fallen below the radar of theMSM. It
is rare to hear anything in the news about Iraq, and that in and ofitself is a
tragedy. Americans may be dubious of an Iraqi's account, but they should not be.
While reading the sad and ominous words of Mr. Jarrar, I found it difficult to
believe he was a terrorist or a member of the insurgency. He is just a "regular
guy," a civilian, caught up in a devastating war and seeing before his eyes the
destruction of his beloved country. The reader is advised to at least consider
this man's thoughts.
Mr. Jarrar recalls, "On April 9, 2003, exactly
seven years ago, Baghdad fell under the US-led occupation. Baghdad did not fall
in 21 days, though; it fell after 13 years of wars, bombings and economic
sanctions. Millions of Iraqis, including myself, watched our country die slowly
before our eyes in those 13 years. So, when the invasion started in March of
2003, everyone knew it was the straw that would break the camel's
back."
He adds with lament that can be seen between the
lines, "I still remember the day of the fall of Baghdad very clearly, as if it
happened yesterday. My family and I had fled to my uncle's home in southern
Baghdad because our neighborhood, located near Baghdad's airport, was bombarded
by US airplanes in the days before. I remember the first US tank rolling down
the street with a US soldier, wearing black gloves, waving his hand and some
people waving back. That was one of the sadist day of my life, not only because
Baghdad fell under a foreign occupation, but also because I knew it would be the
beginning of another disastrous chapter in Iraq's history. Now, when I look back
at all that happened under the occupation, I find that I was, unfortunately,
right."
I, too, can remember thingswith a regret that
cannot be quantified. They were words spoken seven to eight years agothat I
will never forget as long as I live. Tragically, the statements made were from
the leaders of our great nation. As a consequence, those words were a precursor
to devastating events. As one reads the statements below, consider this: In the
last seven years, one million Iraqis have been killed and millions more injured
and displaced from their homes. The country's infrastructure was destroyed and
Iraq's civil society has beenmarginalized.
William Rivers Pitt of the N.Y. Times reports,
"The final nail in Iraq's coffin was hammered in by George W. Bush during his
State of the Union address on January 20, 2003. This was a presidential act of
terrorism against the American people, make no mistake, for its purpose was to
frighten the citizens of this nation into following a course of action that was
against their best interests and would come to no good end for anyone except the
few who would prosper financially from the war to come. Mr. Bush, in the most
ominous tones, told the American people that Iraq was in possession of 26,000
liters of anthrax; 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin; 500 tons - which is one
million pounds - of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent; 30,000 missiles to
deliver the stuff; mobile biological weapons labs; al-Qaeda connections and
uranium from Niger for use in a robust nuclear weapons program. This monstrous,
outrageous lie was followed and preceded by many like it."
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam
Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."
Dick Cheney, vice
president
Speech to VFW National Convention, 8/26/2002
"We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom
cloud."
Condoleezza Rice, US national security adviser
CNN "Late Edition,"
9/8/2002
"Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving
facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons."
George
W. Bush, president
Speech to the UN General Assembly, 9/12/2002
"We've also discovered through intelligence that
Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be
used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas."
George
W. Bush, president
Speech, Cincinnati, Ohio, 10/7/2002
"If he declares he has none, then we will know
that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world."
Ari Fleischer, press
secretary
Press briefing, 12/2/2002
"We know for a fact that there are weapons
there."
Ari Fleischer, press secretary
Press briefing,
1/9/2003
"Intelligence gathered by this and other
governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and
conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."
George W. Bush,
president
Address to the nation, 3/17/2003
"We know where they are. They're in the area
around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."
Donald
Rumsfeld, secretary of defense
ABC interview, 3/30/2003
"I'm absolutely sure that there are weapons of
mass destruction there and the evidence will be forthcoming. We're just getting
it just now."
Colin Powell, secretary of state
Remarks to reporters,
5/4/2003
"But for those who say we haven't found the
banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found
them."
George W. Bush, president
Interview with TVP Poland,
5/30/2003
"No one ever said that we knew precisely where
all of these agents were, where they were stored."
Condoleezza Rice, US
national security adviser
"Meet the Press," 6/8/2003
And the most ludicrous statement of all time because I
wasone of those not buying into these absurd claims at the time and I said so
in my column.
"I think the burden is on those people who think
he didn't have weapons of mass destruction to tell the world where they
are."
Ari Fleischer, press secretary
Press briefing, 7/9/2003
Seriously, just how stupid is that remark. Logic
suggests that we might begin with dissenters such as I trying to prove a
negative. Unfortunately, Bush and his advisors were not much into logic. Theirs
was a program of false propaganda later proved without a shadow of a
doubt.
All that being said, that was then, this is now.
Serious considerations should now be addressedwith respect to the Iraqi
Question, and the fact thatAmerican forces (all other nations have withdrawn
from the war, even our reliable ally, Britain)and the Iraqi government
currently are making a mess of it. While American troops remain virtually
sequestered in their mega bases as per the 2008 SOFA between Iraq and the U.S.,
Iraqi security forces remain virtually useless in providing security for their
war-torn nation.The insurgents and Al-Qa'ida in Iraq(AQI) are stillable to
attack with impunity nearly every target they wish in Iraq, including the most
sensitive targets in Baghdad and elsewhere. Mr. Jarrar writes, "The conditions
on the ground are rapidly deteriorating in Iraq. After last month's general
election, there is a dramatic spike in violence and growing threats to the
security and political stability of the country. This week alone, hundreds of
Iraqis were killed and injured because of car bombs, assassinations, and other
armed attacks. Meanwhile, the Iraqi political establishment is struggling to
form the new government."
As stated by Mr. Jarrar, Iraqi woes continue,
signaling our involvement there won't end any time soon. April 6 -- Bombs rip
through apartment buildings and a market in Baghdad, killing at least 50 people.
April 4 -- Suicide attackers detonate car bombs near embassies in Baghdad,
killing 42. April 2 -- Gunmen kill 24 villagers execution-style in a Sunni area
south of Baghdad. March 26 -- Twin bombings strike a restaurant in Khalis, north
of Baghdad, killing 57. March 7 -- Series of bombings and rocket and mortar
attacks kill 36 in Baghdad on Election Day. March 3 -- Suicide bombers strike in
quick succession in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad, killing 32. Feb. 18 --
Suicide car bomb explodes outside the main government compound in Ramadi,
killing 13. Feb. 5 -- Coordinated blasts targeting Shiite pilgrims in the holy
city of Karbala kill 40. Feb. 1 -- Female suicide bomber strikes Shiite pilgrims
in Baghdad, killing 54. Jan. 26 -- Suicide car bomber strikes a police crime lab
in Baghdad, killing 22. Jan. 25 -- Suicide attacks hit several Baghdad hotels in
well-planned assaults that kill 37. Dec. 8, 2009 -- Coordinated attacks strike
Baghdad, killing at least 127. ''This is blamed on the power vacuum, of
course,'' Iyad Allawi told the A.P. Allawi won a plurality in the recent Iraqi
elections, but not enough seats to take control of the government. The political
haggling to form a government could take months. Baghdad security spokesman
Major General Qassim al-Moussawistated, "We are in a battleground and we have
to expect any type of attack."
Not good. Some observers feel that a protracted
political stalemate in Iraq could lead to intensified sectarian warfare. It is
difficult to believe allAmerican combat troops will be withdrawn in
thisvolatile environment by Aug. 31 as projected by President Obama. "Let me
say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq
will end," Obama. Nevertheless, we can all hope, but hope is a nebulous
entity.
For whom has America sacrificed its young and its
treasure in Iraq? The answer is, of course, for the Germans and the Italians.
Below is a must read. However, it is suggested that the article not be read if
one has a weak stomach.
Grand Iraqi Dreams - for Whom?
Speaking of treasure, Tom Engelhardt of
TomDispatch provides us with some staggering numbers, numbers he compares with
the now-defunct "Ripley's Believe It or Not." Engelhardt begins by saying, "In
my 1950s childhood, Ripley's Believe It or Not was part of everyday
life, a syndicated comics page feature where you could stumble upon[many]
mind-boggling facts ..." He adds, "With our Afghan and Iraq wars on my mind,
I've been wondering whether Ripley's moment hasn't returned." His revealing
article includes the comments of Lieutenant General James H. Pillsbury, deputy
commanding general of the U.S. Army Materiel Command, who is deeply involved in
the "drawdown of the logistics operation in Iraq." General Pillsbury states,
"There are more than 341 facilities; 263,000 soldiers, Defense Department
civilians and contractor employees; 83,000 containers; 42,000 vehicles; 3
million equipment items; and roughly $54 billion in assets that will ultimately
be removed from Iraq." Or not.
Engelhardt continues, "Those sorts of figures
define the U.S. military in the Bush era -- and now Obama's -- as the most
materiel-profligate war-making machine ever. Where armies once had baggage
trains and camp followers, our camp followers now help
plant our military in foreign soil, build its housing and defenses, and then
supply it with vast quantities of food, water, fuel, and God knows what else. In this way, our troops carry
not just packs on their backs, but a total, transplantable society right down to
the PXs, massage parlors, food
courts, and miniature golf courses." Pillsbury offers the punch-line. The American drawdown will be the
"equivalent, in personnel terms alone, of relocating the entire population of
Buffalo, New York." Is there anyone who honestly believes that will happen in
the near future, meaning the next 30 years? Rumsfeld may have gotten something
right. He called Iraq a generational war. Sen. McCain, during his Presidential
campaign of 2008 trotted out the figure of 100 years.
Put a different way, the Bush administrationintended
the structures to be permanent bases, not temporary ones. Bush and his advisors
envisioned an American fortress in oil-richIraq smack in the middleof a
hostile Mideast, but surrounded by happy, smiling Iraqis grateful for the
overthrow of a brutal dictator. Consequently, they built accordingly. In other
words I will believe in the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq when it
happens and not a minute before.
However, no one in the Obama administrationis
mentioning the contractors, hired guns in the vernacular. They are equal to, or
greater than, the number of American troops.
Authors Bio:I am the author of two novels, "The Bode Testament" and "Impeachment." I am also a columnist who keeps a wary eye on other columnists and the failures of the MSM (mainstream media).
I was born in Minnesota, and, to this day, I love the Vikings and the Twins. I am currently retired and reside with my wife of 45 years in Southern California. I am a former educator and a Marine officer [ret.].
I am a self-described amateur historian, the love of the topic going back to my sophomore days in high school. I am probably the only high schooler in the U.S. to read the 1600-page "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich." I also consider myself somewhat of a specialist on the Middle East. The vast bulk of my articles concern the topic.
Not unlike many I was devastated by the attacks on 9/11. So devastated, in fact, that I was determined to fight back, following in the fine tradition of the Marine Corps. But how? What could a 58-year old retired Marine officer do in terms of fighting back. The answer was quite simple. Using the writing skills I learned while writing two books, I chose as my weapon what can euphemistically be called the pen, actually a word processor.
I was determined to become a columnist to offer my sage advice while recalling recent history that I know for a fact that Americans had long since forgotten. I am here to remind them.
Fortunately, achieving the goal of becoming a columnist did not take too long. I became a columnist for a Midwest newspaper in Nov. 2001. As an added bonus, all of my articles were placed on the Internet. I have been a columnist ever since, meaning for nine years.
