The more this "war" is waged in Iraq, the more angry I get, and I didnt know the depths of anger in myself could reach so deep.
The scenario that is occuring over there, from my take on it and the research I do, from a personal perspective, and from news reports of soldiers returning, and my stepson writing to me, is this.
He tells me of the anger of the civilians where he is. The anger, of course, as I have read in news reports about where he is, is that the civilians are angry due to the fact the US military makes broad sweeps of towns and rounds up thousands of people, some young, some elderly, some women, people who are dragged into the compounds and prisons the US soldiers are stationed at, and thrown into prison with no charges.
They are kept for months and months, and the soldiers, the teenager soldiers from small towns across the US, who signed up in the Guard or Reserves for college monies a few years ago, are now standing there feeling the heat of the anger. Or being told by their superiors to go in and roust out people, kick down doors, put whole families on the ground, tie their hands, and in the case of 6 soldiers in Bagdhad, torture and abuse people, which they have been charged with.
These are the so called "diplomats" the PNAC crowd is using. Teenagers with guns. 18, 19, 20, 21 year old weekend kids that more then likely NEVER left their home state, let alone went to another country where no one speaks english, there is no communication, and the cutltures of the people in Iraq are completely different then the one here. Its like walking onto Mars in some of these soldiers minds. That , unfortunately, makes it easier for the soldiers to dismiss the inhabitants of Iraq as sub human..or, as my stepson told me , some of the guys in his unit said, before he left "Cool. we can kill some ragheads". That made me sick, and it made my stepson sick to hear. There are a lot of these types in the military .
Add to that the stories we hear in the press, of the anger rising amongst everyday Iraqis where the US soldiers, if they enter, are attacked, such as Fallujah, and the press lies and says "Oh, its a few holdouts from Saddam's old regime".
Bullshit, It is not. The crowds I hear that are right where my stepson is are families who are angry. The "diplomatic" corps in Iraq? There is none, the soldiers actions rounding up whole families and dragging off loved ones to places like Abu Ghraib and holding them for months and months with no charges (Guantanamo on steroids), is creating anger that is beyond comprehension.
I wanted to state to my kid..look, how would you feel, if one night here at my house, a bunch of cops came barging in, grabbed you and your brothers , and dragged them out and we didnt know where they were, or what happened to them. How would you feel???
I didnt write that to him, I have to law low. I did say, in an email..remember...these are human beings, these are not evil people. They love their families, they miss them, and they are angry and want some justice so their families are safe.
It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that this "war" is creating hundreds of new people who are furious with the USA right now. More then ever. A war that never should have happened, and no matter how much the news spins the lies, over and over, eventually that cant keep blaming it on "saddams old Baathist party".
At some point, it will come out that WE, our policies created the anger and the new terrorism and hatred towards the US in Iraq.
In the meantime, I have to contend with my stepson standing there, wondering and scratching his head, as crowds surge around where he is, angry, furious at us for our cruelty towards their citizens, and the inane "diplomacy" of the Bu$h White House is that they went into this with a bunch of KIDS as soldiers who are supposed to occupy, but not anything else. No intelligent diplomatic spokesperson here, folks, no one to tell this administration
"Look....if you go into a country, you appease the good folks there, you treat them with kindness, you dont drag their loved ones around and hold them without charges for no reason."
Richard Clarke calls it the hydra headed monster being created now by the Bush admin..hes right on. For every angry Iraqi being abused, theres tenfold now who are furious at the US and will strike back.
George W Bush has created a new terrorism, more then ever before, his policies, as we all knew they would and they did, are not only making our country we live in the most hated by all of the Islamic states, but by the whole world.
In the meantime, the kids on the ground, just like Vietnam, know full well how much the Iraqi people hate them.
You will see soldiers paraded in front of the cameras who come home now, and they will be told the "right" things they should say, but you wont see too many who will say "they hate us" .
Yesterday, Troop morale stats show the morale is low...52% that came back said its really low...add to that the soldiers think their superiors are being assholes and are doing a poor job..about 70% said that.
If a kid over there is a grunt, hes considered lowest of the low. He gets the dirty work. He has to do what his superiors tell him. He can refuse, but then hes in deep shit.
Group evil, such as My Lai, happens. I.E., Iraq is another breeding ground for troops to fuck up..kids in groups, teenagers with guns, do that when they are hot, have angry people all around them, and hormones are raging, mistakes are made.
Its going to get worse if we dont get the hell out of there. The military is stretched so thin its going to pop.
We are a nation of bullies and thugs.
God help us, when we create monsters of our own children, by sending them off to a bloodbath and expecting them to come home sane.
They arent coming home sane.
They are coming home insane, or dead, or wounded.
http://www.bringthemhomenow.com sorry. Had to rant.
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