|
I want you to put yourself in the shoes of Average Joe Iraqi for a moment and try and imagine what he or she must be thinking right about now...
When this war was delivered to his doorstep, I'm sure it was not something he had wanted but the inevitability of defeat must have played heavily on his mind. Sure Baghdad Bob was spouting his lies and the Government was making all sorts of bullshit claims as to how they would fight to the last man and woman, how Saddam was declaring a Jihad, how Americans weren't as tough as they were painted out to be... blah blah blah... but in the midst of this propaganda, Average Joe Iraqi wasn't really buying this line of crap. They knew... They knew what America could do... it's not like 1991 wasn't still fresh in their minds... precision bombing, indestructible tanks, painted warriors smiling as they rolled into combat... they knew the truth and they knew Saddam's days were numbered (even if he didn't).
Well, the war went as planned... six months of softening, "shock and awe", a land invasion and then "Mission Accomplished" set against a staged backdrop and complete with a sock in the crotch... and that was that, America was now the savior of Iraq. Saddam was gone, the tyranny was over... though uncertain, the future must have looked brighter indeed. The Average Joe Iraqi must have thought at that time that America was truly there to not only respond to Saddam's threats but to also help them attain the freedom they've always heard about but couldn't quite figure out how to gain for themselves. They must have thought that in no time at all, America would fix all the damage the invasion had caused and then with a hearty handshake and a genuine American smile, just pack up and fly away back home like a Hollywood ending... Alas, this was not to be.
We all know the story, all too well... It took a year, only a year for some of them to figure out that the story they were told was not panning out. A year without electricity, a year without jobs, a year without schools for their children, a year without police officers, a year without any of the things a country needs to even have the basic necessities for human dignity was all it took to finally push a few of them over the edge. A few had finally entered into a state of mind where violence seemed the only way to change the new paradigm that the invasion had created. Ironic, isn't it, that the first American's to be attacked were the contractors tasked with rebuilding Iraq... it was the one's responsible for getting the electricity flowing, for getting the medical system back online, for getting the schools rebuilt, the roads paved, the water cleaned... it was the contractors that were attacked first and hung from a bridge that served as the shot heard round the world for the Iraqi resistance.
Soon after, Average Joe Iraqi began to hear about torture chambers reopening for business and began to see many of his friends and neighbors get snatched up in raids and spirited away in the dead of night. Soon the sounds of gun fire and mortars and explosions once again started to break the silence of the desert air. Soon the criminals and the thugs would start ruling the streets and offering their own brand of "protection" that amounted to nothing more than extortion and violence. As time began to wear on, all the dreams they must have had after the invasion began to dissolve into a hopeless quagmire and the face of the benevolent President of America began to look more and more like the face of a tyrant.
It wouldn't be long before they found out that the reasons they were told we were there had nothing to do with what was being said in the news. They would learn that the whole Weapons of Mass Destruction thing was wrong but soon after they'd learn that Bush knew it was wrong and lied about. Then, later, they would hear a new reason for the invasion... not that Iraq was a threat to America but that George had decided to turn their country into the battleground for America's War on Terror (or Struggle Against Violent Extremism, which ever you prefer). How would Average Joe Iraqi be able to square with that idea... that his country was only a place where a giant could attract flies and he and his people were merely collateral damage just waiting to happen.
I'm sure from the beginning, somewhere in the back of Average Joe Iraqi's mind, the thought must have surfaced from time to time that this was really all about oil and money and power but as time wore on and his knowledge of who we are and what were willing to do for the things we want grew, so too did the thought that America was only there to take what was Iraq's and give him only suffering and loss in return. So as time wore on and the death and destruction began to infest his neighbors and he was forced helplessly to watch his country being torn apart by neglect and greed and hatred and deciet... he made up his mind that above all else, America must leave.
And that's where we find ourselves today... an Iraq full of Average Joe Iraqi's that have survived a nightmare created out of a web of lies and perpetuated by neglect and greed. And the responsibility for all of this lies on the desk of one man... the President of the United State, Dick Cheney and his dummy, George Bush. At this point in time, there is no way to undue the terrible things we've done... we can't turn back the clock and un-torture those we've tortured or un-kill those we've killed. We can't undo the pain and the suffering we've caused. We can't help the Iraqi's because they have been betrayed beyond their humanity and subjected to a humiliation that will stain their souls for a very long time. We can't help them because any hand we offer them is a hand stained in the blood of their neighbors, their fathers, their mothers, their children... we can't help them and so we must leave that country and offer them the only thing we have left that will have any meaning whatsoever... We must offer them the humiliation of the Neocon's who sold us this war... the only thing we have left to offer Iraqi's that will have any substantial meaning is accountability and punishment for those who misled us and abandoned them to a life of violence and pain. Compared to what we've wrought in Iraq, an impeachment hardly settles the score but it's a start and it's what must be done if we ever want to have a chance of regaining at least an ounce of respect from the Average Joe Iraqi.
Bush and Cheney broke not only our laws but the laws of humanity to bring pain and misery to a people that couldn't harm us, even if they wanted to. Impeaching them isn't about political parties or left-wing/right-wing ideology... it's about the rule of law and it's about honoring the lives of those who have died because of their lies (and not just the American lives). So next time your sitting around satisfied by the Democrat win, satiated by the thought that "We got our country back" and that is good enough for now... you're forgetting about what we owe to those who have been spiritually mutilated by those who represent our will and who spent (and will continue to spend) our money to wreak havoc on innocents for gains we will never realize. Every action in Iraq was paid for with American dollars and without accountability and impeachment, every action will appear to be sanctioned by the American people. Bush and Cheney need to own this evil, not the people of the United States... that is why we need to impeach these fuckers and who knows... maybe in 30 or 40 generations the people of Iraq may forgive us and become our friends... it's only when that happens that we can finally "win" in Iraq. Until then, we're just adding insult to injury every day we allow these assholes to remain the leaders of the United States. Impeach them, America... do it and let's end this nightmare, not only for ourselves but for the Average Joe Iraqi's, as well. It's the least we can do.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
