Iraq Debate Heats Up
Movement Against Occupation Builds
Minneapolis, MN - Bush and company are losing the war at home and in Iraq. Washington Post and Gallup polls show that over 50% of Americans disapprove of Bush’s handling of the war on Iraq. This dissent within the U.S. even extends to Congress, where previously few had questioned Bush’s ‘war on terror’ or the original lies that he used to justify invading Iraq.
Bush has been forced to respond to this opposition in a way that looks like he is reducing U.S. troops in Iraq but without actually decreasing the U.S. commitment to the occupation in Iraq. In fact less than 6% of troops are being brought home, with many still on alert and some being redeployed to nearby Kuwait. Some of Bush’s own generals admit that the current ‘reduction efforts’ are simply a recall of extra troops that were sent in to boost up U.S. troop levels for the December election.
Iraqi resistance growing
Iraqis want the U.S. and its allies out of their country more than ever. Demonstrations continue daily in Baghdad along with more frequent military actions by the Iraqi resistance. Marine General Peter Pace has been forced to admit that Iraqis want the United States presence to end. Pace said in an interview with Fox News, “Understandably, Iraqis themselves would prefer to have coalition forces leave their country as soon as possible.”
Despite the U.S.’s efforts to lend support to its handpicked leaders, the fraud-marked December elections have turned into an ongoing disaster and have failed in their main objective - to give legitimacy to the puppet government.
It is easy to figure out why Iraqis would want the U.S. to leave. In November the European media reported that there was evidence that white phosphorus had been used in the U.S. siege on Fallujah. White phosphorus is a chemical weapon that has been banned by international law. European news was flooded with pictures of Iraqis burned in their homes by white phosphorus. But American media outlets have yet to show any of the footage of the burned bodies.
In addition, increasing evidence shows that prisoner abuse is the norm, not merely the problem of a few ‘bad apples.’ The U.S. government is now refusing to allow UN human rights inspectors to view U.S. jails in Iraq, and instead says that the International Red Cross has already done a review of jails. But the Red Cross does not release their reports publicly, and instead gives the report to the government being reviewed, weakening the power of their investigation.
The use of brutal force and tactics banned by international law is nothing new, but it gets worse and worse as the occupation continues. For example, the city of Samarra has come under direct attack by U.S. forces this winter. Military officials have built a wall around the city and movement through the city is controlled with eight checkpoints. Both checkpoints and walls have been banned by international law because they punish all Iraqis for continuing to live in Iraq - which should not be a crime.
U.S. elites duke it out
The repeated setbacks handed to the Bush administration by Iraq have given pause to a section of America’s rich and powerful. They are worried. In the early days of the war, it seemed like a good idea to get rid of Iraq’s independent-minded government headed by Saddam Hussein and take control of Iraq’s oil resources. With a small handful of exceptions, like Georgia’s Cynthia McKinney, Congress overwhelmingly endorsed the war. Now, with casualties mounting and no end and no oil in sight, a few of them have begun wondering if was such a good idea in the first place.
So along come some in Congress, like Senator John Murtha, a veteran of Vietnam, supporter of Reagan’s brutal wars in Central America and among the first to enlist in the Bush administration’s crusade on Iraq. He slammed Bush’s conduct of the war and stated the obvious - the U.S. must leave. That said, Murtha’s speeches do not actually call for troops to leave the Middle East, which is the demand of the Iraqi and Arab people, but instead calls for the troops to be redeployed to Kuwait. Murtha also was quick to add that he did not support an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Bush has also had to spin that U.S. forces are leaving so he will not keep losing the public opinion debate on the war. Bush claims that Iraqi forces are ready to take over, which will allow him to reduce troop numbers. However, the majority of troops have not left and the U.S. government is not yet seriously considering ending the occupation.
Now is the time to make a difference
Despite the recent conversations in Congress and between the president and various military officials, the U.S. is not planning on leaving Iraq. Bush is not planning on having U.S. forces significantly reduced until the U.S. has conquered Iraq and can include it in its list of allies or puppet governments.
Bush’s talk of being open to reducing troop levels is merely a smokescreen to buy time. Meanwhile he is trying, unsuccessfully, to convince the public and members of Congress that there is just cause for the war. General Peter Pace went so far as to say that the U.S. might actually increase the number of troops in Iraq next year.
It is important to understand Bush’s real criteria for withdrawing troops: Having a secure and U.S.-friendly government which supports U.S. foreign and military policy in the Middle East and which will be at the beck and call of U.S. oil corporations. The only way the U.S. will pull out of Iraq is if the Iraqi freedom fighters win, forcing the U.S. out, or if the movement here at home continues to build and demands that the Iraqi people have the right to self-determination and that U.S. forces must leave the region.
Now is a critical time for the anti-war movement. The majority of Americans agree that U.S. troops should come home. Meanwhile, more and more lives are lost. The only reason why Congress, let alone the president, is addressing the question of when the U.S. should leave Iraq is because the people have voiced their concern. But merely showing concern is not enough to get the president, or his backers, to change their plans for Iraq.
March 18-20 marks the third anniversary of when the U.S. began this recent war on Iraq. Demonstrations are being planned in New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis and other locations across the country. These demonstrations will be an opportunity to show solidarity with the people of Iraq, to demand that the U.S. government listen to its citizens when people across the country to say, “Bring the troops home now!” and, “End the occupation of Iraq!”
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