Random Ruminations About Iraq

Yesterday

Remembering a report in the media within a few weeks of 9/11 which quoted Osama’s reasons for the assault on the symbols of wealth and power in New York City and Washington D.C. i.e. his rationalizations for premeditated murder were that it was in retaliation for the U.S.’s unilateral support of Israel when Israel violates international law in its oppression of the Palestinian people, the occupation of holy lands in Saudi Arabia by the U.S. military during Gulf War I, and the loss of over 500,000 Iraqis, mostly women and children since the first invasion of Iraq. When the U.S. looks the other way while Israel invades Lebanon and leaves it in a shambles and while more Iraqis mostly women and children are dying since Gulf War II we can expect violent response.

Today

Iraq may not meet all the requirements for “civil war” as defined by most historians but it does meet all the requirements for a state in “chaos”. Today in Iraq there is massive unemployment, a water and sewer system that was destroyed by the bombing of Iraq’s infrastructure since 1990 has yet to be completely repaired, there limited are amounts of electricity, people are hungry, there is disease, there is little or no medical facilities or supplies, education in the class room has been replaced by education in streets littered with rubble and charred remains of man and machine, the military and police have all joined different street gangs, homes, communities, extended families all destroyed, and yet a majority of those who survive in these inhuman conditions claim that life was better under a man who will be executed in 30 days for his crimes against humanity.

Tomorrow

Like it or not we as a nation are responsible for all the suffering the Iraqi people must endure because of “faulty intelligence” or “cheery picked intelligence” whether by design or deceit that formed the basis of our decision to invade Iraq and create all the carnage by committing our own crimes against humanity. To be sure we can justify our actions using the same technique of rationalization as employed by Osama Bin Laden for 9/11 yet certainly a self proclaimed “Christian” nation familiar with the saying “as ye sow, so shall ye reap” understands that the essence is based on reality and not self serving rationalizations.

In the final ayalysis, it's all about oil yesterday, today, and tomorrow

All that wasted time and energy on debating about our options in Iraq. Should we create a time table for withdrawal, should we withdraw immediately, should we stay, should we send more troops for a short time, and if so why and for what purpose and if not, why not? Whatever ones position is the one truth is that we are not leaving Iraq. We invaded Iraq to create a military presence in the middle-east to protect the oil resources which result in large profits to our big oil companies. The increased global demand for oil and the dwindling supply of oil threatens five percent of the world’s population that consumes nearly 25 percent of the world’s energy here in the homeland. Until we have a government which actively pursues alternative sources of energy and legislates conservation we will remain in Iraq and staying the course to our addiction to oil will continue to be the way forward to causing more suffering abroad and here at home.