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The way forward in Iraq is back
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by Hazel Burke, Unknown News
July 2, 2007
The level-headed, pragmatic, far-sighted and
wise politicians in Washington D.C. acknowledge
that Iraq is a mess. Some propose "over the
horizon" tactical
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withdrawal of a portion of
U.S. forces. Others propose a new strategy, such
as political reconciliation of Sunni, Shia and
Kurds leading to a three-way partition of Iraq.
But few of these 20-20 hindsight geniuses
support immediate and total withdrawal from
Iraq.
Why not?
There are three "must have" goals for
The Powers That Be in D.C., and these are stated
in terms of their anti-goals: Iraq must not be a
haven for terrorists, it must not cause Middle
East instability, and it must not result in
damage to American strategic interests.
These
"anti-goals" are code words for 1) eliminate all
patriotic national resistance movements fighting
American imperialism and hegemony; 2) enable
Israel to have complete freedom to dictate terms
to its enemies -- forever; and 3) obtain Middle
Eastern oil at below fair value for British-
American "free enterprise" corporations, Exxon,
Chevron, BP, Shell and Conoco.
The problem with this "framing" of the problem
is that logical dissent to the means by which
the anti-goals are to be avoided is tarred and
feathered by TPTB propagandists as support for
the enemy, and as suicidal, nearsighted stupidity
that threatens the American Way of Life (e.g.
cheap oil and cars.)
If we accept the Frame as
given, we give license to theirtheir unlimited use
of military force to "protect" America, its
freedom and its Way of Life -- regardless of the
fact that continued use of military force in
Iraq is creating the necessary and sufficient
conditions for our eventual military and
economic defeat.
Allow me to provide an analogy. The Bush Regime
in Iraq is like a man who gets a DUI on a Sunday
night. The man worries that he will lose his job
if he doesn't show up for work on Monday
morning, so he tries to break out of the drunk
tank by assaulting a guard. Unfortunately, this
is precisely what the guards are watching out
for and he is caught.
So now he is facing not
just a DUI but felonious assault on a "peace
officer", mayhem, and attempted escape -- and a
DUI.
The man ends up missing work on Monday, but
he eventually is able to contact his boss and
arrange to take his vacation time early. That
gives him three more weeks. And what does he do,
try to make bail? Nope. He attempts another jail
break on the way to court for arraignment, and
this time manages to kill a deputy and two
jailers ... and is caught again.
Does he give up
now? No, because he is determined to use force
to achieve his objectives. Even though he is now
locked in solitary confinement 24 hours a day he
pounds his head against the wall hoping to break
the concrete.
That man is like the Bush Regime.
Military force
will not eliminate our enemies, it will not
obtain cheap oil for Exxon, and it will not
create stability in the Middle East. What is
will do is just the opposite, and on top of
that, it will end up bankrupting America as we
pound our head on the concrete walls of our
foolishness and stupidity.
Now, lest you assert that I offer no practical
suggestions, only negatives, I provide these
concrete steps that America could take to create
peace and stability in the world, which would
thus help keep oil prices low and help Israel
defend its borders:
1) We need to put G.W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and high
members of their administration on trial for war
crimes and crimes against humanity, with the
trials to be held under international
jurisdiction at the Hague.
2) We withdraw all American troops from foreign
occupations back across NATO lines and to
American military bases in America.
3) We foreswear first use of force, especially
nuclear attack, and promise to act militarily
only if attacked domestically or if one of our
allies is invaded and we are authorized by NATO
and the U.N. to go to war overseas.
4) We divert ½ of our $1-trillion annual
"defense" budget for the next five years to
actual defense of American territory (port and
border security, etc.); reparations to the
victims of Bush and Cheney's war crimes; and
resolution of the Palestinian situation.
5) We apologize to the innocent Iraqis and
Afghanis we have killed, and beg their
forgiveness.
Sounds like a good plan, no?
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Now, lest you assert that I offer no practical suggestions, only negatives, I provide these concrete steps that America could take to create peace and stability in the world, which would thus help keep oil prices low and help Israel defend its borders:
1) We need to put G.W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and high members of their administration on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity, with the trials to be held under international jurisdiction at the Hague. ...
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