GIs miss own weddings, baby's first words during long Iraq tour
So, we can expect to be told, by the TVs, and the Bush administration, and McCain-backers, that "the surge has worked" and we are on the verge of "success" in Iraq. They will argue that the sacrifices identified in the Yahoo! News headline were worth the victory. If it takes self-delusion to get us out of Iraq, I suppose I can go along with it for a while. But really...
Success? Fewer deaths per month is "success?" The ethnic cleansing has played itself out, as over 2 million Iraqis have left the country and walls now divide newly created ethnic fifdoms that depend on local militias for security. Was this part of the plan? Is this part of the "success"? Is buying off and arming Sunnis, who were involved in the Shia ethnic cleansing, an honorable "success"? Many don't believe this "stability" will hold, given that it was effectively created by the US with pay checks and short-term interests that can change in the future.
It's as if a bee (Hussein) was buzzing around in someone's house and the US came in, without permission, to get the bee. The homeowner was glad about that in the beginning.
Then, in it's initial shock and awe, US soldiers destroyed the living room... smashed TV, chairs turned over with broken legs, stuffing torn out of cushions, walls bashed in, windows broken, reading materials and unopened mail burned. Meanwhile, the bee buzzed off into another room. Then, room by room, the US inflicts similar destruction.
Eventually the home owner intervenes to demand a say in how the US is going after the bee. The owner wants to be informed of US attacks, so at least nobody will get hurt as US soldiers, led by George W. Bush, continue to hammer away trying to get that bee.
Finally, they smash the bee! Success!
The children in the house have black eyes, swollen lips, missing teeth, worse than any bee sting. Many of the family heirlooms are completely ruined. The homeowner's spouse has left and filed for divorce. The homeowner no longer has a job and is in debt and has late bill payments, and a credit record in shambles. Success?
The soldiers lament missing their weddings and baby's first words. But the bee is dead! Was the sacrifice worth it? Is this really "success"?
The king has no clothes. Less violence in Iraq will never be "success" or "victory." US policy and actions have destroyed the society once called Iraq. Many of its antiquities and public records have been ruined. It's economic independence has been subjugated by the US in order to rid it of Hussein? Of course not. If getting rid of Hussein was the goal, the US would be gone by now.
If stability or control in the region was the goal, the US has certainly made a mess of that, tilting the balance of power toward Iran. I could go on, but the notion of "success" or "victory" in Iraq is impossible given the horrible destruction inflicted on generations by the war. We got nothing in return... the end of violence is NOT a victory, despite what McCain or the mass media pundits say. The king has no clothes when it comes to victory in Iraq.
Sources:
GIs miss own weddings, baby's first words during long Iraq tour
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