Here we go again? Is there anyone, not completely insane, who thinks that this strategy of willy nilly bombing inside of allied and neutral countries will actually kill more "terrorists" and "militants" than it will create? The above picture is a non-violent demonstration in Syria denouncing American "terrorism." These demonstrations are a reaction to the US raid inside of Syria about a week ago, in which 8 people were killed; of course the "Defense" Department claimed these individuals were all "militants" (i.e. males over the age of 12). In what way do these actions compare to US policy in Iraq, specifically in the April '04 siege on Fallujah? Respond...
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The argument is that the people killed were "militants." The "Defense" Dept. also claims that Syrian groups, not official or Gov't, are supporting insurgent groups in Iraq. It's always an amusing ploy when Defense argues that the problem in Iraq, with no apparent sense of irony, is "outside forces."
No matter how many times this happens, the result will be the same. We take an area that is already on our side, and turn them into some enemy. We claim that there are terrorists hiding within the masses in these cities. We claim that the population will help us once we get started. By chasing blindly after these ghosts in the machine, we only create more enemies.
Fallujahans were victimized by Saddam Hussein, and we were the ones who drove him from power. We have done them that service, but then we made the foolish assumption that they could not do the right thing on their own. As Americans, we feel superior to every other nation, assuming that they are too ignorant to create something good without our "supervision". We place people in power who do not belong there, and then remove them when they cease to be useful.
No longer are Fallujans or Syrians or Pakistanis fellow human beings. They are a number that suffers from a smaller number. War is no longer a thing of people, it is a thing of math. We treat those in Fallujah, not as thousands upon thousands of human souls, but as "captives" and "militants", and "terrorists".
So long as we treat these people as a number, we will be justified in bombing them in search of a terrorist, who most likely was never there in the first place. As sad as it is to face, I do not see an end to the War in Iraq anywhere in the near future. At least not so long as we look at war mathematically like we are now.
The invasions in Syria and the seige of Fallujah are really one in the same. They are both war crimes. They are both a very apparent example of the derogatory nature of the American mindset. They are the physical representation of the fact that a human life is no longer a living soul, it is merely a number.
Well... It's almost a mirror example, with the exception that the raid on Syria was only once, and the siege lasted... uhhh, long. Right, a week or so... Really it isn't comparable, since Fallujah was soo much longer. But for the entire operation in Iraq, I suppose that it is similar in that there is, apparently, no obvious real intent with the bombing. Well, with the exception that we are killing people who are(possibly) insurgents! Woot woot! Go America! We rock!
Clint said: "By chasing blindly after these ghosts in the machine, we only create more enemies."
This quote reminds me of the British films on the "war on terror" called The Power of Nightmares. Its basic thesis is that while Al Qaeda and other forms of extremism exist, they have been blown out of proportion to justify the political and hegemonic goals of US / Brit leaders. The chasing of ghosts seems an appropriate illustration here.
Resh's point that the duration of the April siege of Fallujah distinguishes it from the recent actions by the US is definitely true but the folly of both actions is undeniable.
I have read up to Chapter 8 in Beyond The Green Zone...so far it has given me more of a perspective on the war in Iraq. It tells both sides of what is really happening over there. When Jamail describes the looks on the faces of the people in Iraq, after the US military barged into houses it felt like the Iraqis didn't really want us there because they felt like they were being attacked and not protected.
"'Successful operation'
An unnamed US official told Reuters news agency the raid killed Iraqi Abu Ghadiyah, a former lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader who was killed in 2006.
"It was a successful operation. [Abu Ghadiyah] is believed to be dead. This undoubtedly will have a debilitating effect on this foreign fighter smuggling network," the official said."
If it is a success, like the article said, why is everyone so upset? Does it really matter that we don't know every detail of the fighting as American citizens? We don't know on a daily basis how scared they are, what they're going through, and what kind of attacks they could be under. I think we should have some trust in our government that they know more than us and are doing what they're doing for our benefit.
On the other hand, I do agree that sometimes we are making enemies out of other countries that could be neutral or our allies. Again, this is the cost of waging war on terrorism.
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