We don't do body counts
— General Tommy Franks
Last week the long war in Iraq came to an end. I have some things to say about that. The hapless victim of my harangue today will be Gary Kamiya, who wrote a bitter column called What if they ended a war and nobody cared? in Salon on December 16. Before I utterly eviscerate poor Gary, let me say that his article has a lot of merit, and makes all the usual "reasonable" points. For example, here he is talking about Hopey-Changey's "Welcome Home" message to the troops.
Then, because it is not permissible for a president to acknowledge that wars are sometimes follies that end ignominiously, Obama went on to make the obligatory assertion that America won the Iraq War:
“Everything that American troops have done in Iraq — all the fighting and all the dying, the bleeding and the building, and the training and the partnering — all of it has led to this moment of success.”
Finally, having conferred this empty stamp of rhetorical approval, Obama whitewashed the motivations that actually led the Bush administration to start the war. In one of the most disgraceful sentences of his presidency, he said,
“That’s part of what makes us special as Americans. Unlike the old empires, we don’t make these sacrifices for territory or for resources. We do it because it’s right.”
If Obama had gone on to add, “They hate us for our freedom,” his impersonation of George W. Bush would have been complete.
Very good, Gary, well done. And here's a picture of Bob Rubin with his hand up Obama's ass.
I have two problems with Gary's otherwise excellent Salon piece. Unfortunately, they are big problems. They can be found in this text.
As the Iraq war concludes, Americans need to reflect on the horror it unleashed – and vow never to repeat it.
On Memorial Day in 2007, I wrote that the best way to honor the men and women who had fallen in Iraq was to bring their comrades home. They are, at last, mercifully, home. And the best way to honor them is to make sure that neither their children, nor those of any other American’s, is ever sent off to fight and die in a needless war.
Yes, let's honor the troops Obama lauded for their successful service. How can we best do that?
I think we can best do that by watching this short (1:41) video.
Keep shooting! U.S. troops gunning down innocent civilians in Iraq, including a journalist working for Reuters. This footage was part of the Wikileaks/Bradley Manning episode, which is ongoing. It starts off "We have 5 or 6 individuals with AK-47s". See if you can spot those AK-47s.
And while I'm sure the vast majority of American troops in Iraq did not commit war crimes—slaughter innocents, perpetrate atrocities—like those shown in the video, clearly some did. We have prima facie proof. Hell, they videotaped themselves killing unarmed civilians! I'm not going to play this "honor the troops" game. It's a sham. Our soldiers, and the Iraqi people, were merely cannon fodder, victims and victimizers, in the odious Grand Schemes of power-drunk human beings.
Which reminds me of this text from Gary's piece, which made me so furious when I first read it that I couldn't see straight. Gary is talking about the cost of the war.
Above all, Americans need to remember that the Iraq War was a war. A war that shattered an entire country. A war that resulted in the death of between 150,000 and 400,000 Iraqis, left 600,000 orphans and 1.3 million internally displaced persons. Almost 4,500 Americans died, and thousands more were so seriously wounded that their lives will never be the same.
Well, which was it, Gary? Was it 150,000 Iraqis killed? Or was it 400,000 Iraqis killed? Do you even fucking care? Iraq Body Count says there were anywhere from 104,106 to 113,755 documented deaths, but the Wikileaks stuff may add 15,000 more. It took me all of 30 seconds to look that up. (Lazy means uncaring in my book.) But Gary is right: we'll never know how many of these inferior Muslim heretics were killed because, as General Tommy Franks says, we don't do body counts.
Anyway, let's get on to my second objection. Let me repeat the relevant text because after watching that video, you may feel a little disoriented.
As the Iraq war concludes, Americans need to reflect on the horror it unleashed – and vow never to repeat it.
On Memorial Day in 2007, I wrote that the best way to honor the men and women who had fallen in Iraq was to bring their comrades home. They are, at last, mercifully, home. And the best way to honor them is to make sure that neither their children, nor those of any other American’s, is ever sent off to fight and die in a needless war.
As it happens, my memories of March, 2003 are rather vivid. I had just turned 50 years old, a milestone in any man's life, and my beloved (but crazy) girlfriend (woman companion, whatever) was rapidly becoming my ex-girlfriend. I remember talking with her on the phone—all talk was useless at that point. As we talked, I had the TV on. And what was on the TV? The Americans were bombing Baghdad, it was all Shock & Awe all the time. Those in the mainstream media, and no doubt the Iraqis getting the shit kicked out of them in Baghdad, were duly impressed.
And what is my point? Well, as I recall equally vividly, nobody asked for my opinon about whether we should invade Iraq and bomb Baghdad.
So I was wondering, Gary, how it is that "we" will make sure the none of our children is ever sent off to fight and die in a needless war.
You see, Gary, what the Empire does and what we American citizens think about what it does are entirely separate matters. Entirely separate, unrelated matters. The Empire does what it wants to do and doesn't consult the People at all.
And you know what happens when the bombing begins? So many of these moronic American yahoos get so whipped into a rabid frenzy, a patriotic fervor, that they think it's a terrific idea to bomb the living shit out of these inferior towelheads Muslims whatever they are. But they aren't consulted about it beforehand.
As you point out, Gary, the Powers-That-Were lied about the weapons of mass destruction, they lied about the Iraqi connection with Al-Qaida, they lied about just about everything. I really don't know what the point of all that lying was. They were going to do what they were going to do regardless of what any of us thought. Maybe they were trying to impress Tony Blair and the United Nations. Who knows? They certainly weren't trying to impress me, and didn't.
And finally, we can be sure that the Powers That Be will repeat this entire immoral, evil exercise at some point in the future. And once again, We the People (people) will not be consulted, not before the propaganda blitz, not during the propaganda blitz, and certainly not after it when the Evil Deeds have already begun.
So once again, Gary, I am wondering what it means for "we Americans" to vow to never repeat the horror of the Iraq war. I no longer know how people like you live with the lies and rationalizations you comfort yourselves with, thinking that we can fix problems like the Imperial prosecution of needless—albeit for some, extremely profitable—wars, that somehow this will all be worked out in the end.
Perhaps it would be more appropriate to anticipate the inevitable future:
Let The Next War Begin!
Bradley Manning:
http://www.youtube.com/user/journeymanpictures?feature=watch
Posted by: xavier durant | 12/18/2011 at 09:47 AM