The War: Enough is Enough!

In the darkness of the Afghan night, an American solider went on a shooting massacre, killing 16 civilians for no apparent reason; most of them were children. In February, President Obama was apologizing for the “accidental” burning of Qur’ans and other religious material by American military troops. How can we forget the gruesome torture and abuse that occurred at Abu Ghraib? Or the U.S. Marines who urinated on dead Afghan bodies? Is this war?

When is enough enough? Afghan students are staging demonstrations against the United States military occupation of their land. They don’t want us there and for good reason. After watching LinkTV’s “Iraq’s Secret War Files” (based on the biggest wikileaks release ever), I am ashamed as an American. Civilians-many of them children- are being killed all the time in Iraq and Afghanistan. The official count is over 60,000, but I would not be surprised if the actual count was much higher.

But it would be silly to blame the troops, because they are victims as well. Our troops are hyped up with propaganda and lured with huge bonuses is they go on a military tour. Then they are sent to a far-away dessert land with no training about the culture or traditions. They see their comrades killed and maimed. Many of them sustain injuries not only to their bodies, but to their minds, suffering of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). In 2010, thesuicide rate among soldiers was higher than the rate of those who had met their fate in combat.

The war in Afghanistan was started and continues on the premise of eradicating “terror” but have we become the terrorists?

**Please follow the links I provided. I don't make this stuff up, it's real!

TOTAL DOMINATION

I do not feel that I should do everything possible to overthrow any existing totalitarian state. It is not my moral responsibility to interject in every unethical occurrence in every nation on Earth. However, it is imperative to be educated on which injustices are being practiced in a totalitarian state, and to know if the government of such a state is violating certain human liberties. These basic liberties would include the right to sustain life without feeling threatened by one’s own government when working, pursuing an education, or pursuing a family life. Even after it is established that wrongs are being done, we should speak on it before we act on it. We should only act on it if we have the resources and manpower to do so without inflicting too much damage to our own military and economy.

Furthermore, no individual can confront a totalitarian state and change it; it takes a mass movement to do that. And because of extenuating economic conditions, America should choose its fights wisely. There is a United Nations and there are international laws, treaties, diplomacy and negotiations which can be used to settle internal disputes within a country and conflicts between countries. The best example would be our current war in Iraq, which started under the guise that we were to destroy Saddam Hussein’s totalitarian regime and his alleged weapons of mass destruction. Many Americans were so mislead about the conflict, they thought Hussein was behind the horrors of 9/11.

           September 11, 2001 was a terrifying day for Americans and many other citizens of the world. But it is important to know the facts and adhere to international laws, to ensure the best possible moral outcome for all people involved in such a conflict. The people of the United States were told that the U.S. had to invade Iraq because its leader, Saddam Hussein, had Weapons of Mass Destruction. Congress did not hold hearings or investigations. In the media, there was no discussion on whether the U.S. should or should not go to war. An international inspection team had been allowed to look for evidence of these WMD’ s but found nothing. President Bush and Secretary of State Collin Powell said the U.S. had proof and proceeded to bomb and invade Iraq. No Weapons of Mass Destruction were ever found.

As a result, the reason for the Iraq War changed to “getting rid of the totalitarian dictator, Saddam Hussein, and bringing democracy to the people of Iraq.” But in fact, for years the US supported and was a friend of Saddam Hussein and it never mattered how he governed his country. However, oil was a big concern for the United States. Iraq’s oil, which had been nationalized under Saddam Hussein, was privatized and now is controlled by foreign oil companies. Iraq did not threaten the United States. What was the real reason for the Iraq War? In this 2008 New York Times editorial article, the confusion and deception behind the war in Iraq is made clear:

It took just a few months after the United States’ invasion of Iraq for the world to find out that Saddam Hussein had long abandoned his nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs. He was not training terrorists or colluding with Al Qaeda. The only real threat he posed was to his own countrymen.

Not only was it morally wrong to invade Iraq but also illegal and financially destructive to our country. The current war in Iraq/ Afghanistan / Pakistan is projected to cost 3 trillion dollars, most borrowed from China, thus adding to the national debt and deficit.  Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died. Several million Iraqis have fled to other neighboring countries or are homeless in Iraq. More than 4,000 US soldiers have been killed. This is the price of war. And yet, there have been little ethical/moral conquests. Are the Iraqi people better off now? Is the United States better off now?

On the surface, it might seem difficult to draw a parallel between the invasion of Iraq and the invasion of Nazi Germany. However, when history is more closely examined, there are similarities. In the case with the Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s, the US entered the World War II against Nazi Germany after it invaded many European countries. There was ethnic and religious discrimination against Jews in all European countries and in the United States before Nazi Germany existed. Many people in the US and Europe supported the racial superiority beliefs of Nazi Germany. At first these countries ignored the widespread racism and discrimination. Then they realized that world domination was the goal of Nazi Germany and at point became resolute on going to war against Germany, Japan and Italy. There are indications that the United States is trying to dominate the world today by interfering in other countries and “spreading democracy.”

So, what may seem to be ethical and moral strategy, might actually turn out to be economic and political strategy. Yet, whatever the political reasoning, interjection from nations opposing totalitarianism was necessary to end the horror of concentration camps. If the United States and other countries had not stood up against the fascist beliefs of Adolf Hitler, millions more human lives would have surely been brought to a senseless end. The Nazi party had achieved what Arendt branded as “total domination,” and it had to be destroyed on all levels before it spread any further. The idea of total domination is horrific in nature; totalitarianism is usually associated with violence, but the terrors going on in concentration camps were despicable beyond belief.

In this passage, Hannah Arendt explains the premise behind concentration camps:

Totalitarian domination attempts to achieve this goal both through ideological indoctrination- the testing ground in which the latter must prove itself- while the appalling spectacle of the camps themselves is supposed to furnish the “theoretical” verification of the ideology.   (Arendt, p. 124. pp. 2)

In conclusion, yes I stand up against totalitarian regimes.  However, war is a strong gesture, and we should try all other means of action before we go to war, even against a totalitarian regime. Sometimes the answers to our questions cannot be seen on the 6 o’ clock news. As citizens of a democracy and citizens of the world, it is our duty to be sure our government is acting in a way that is both moral and ethical. If we are not careful, the United States could be the next nation to be subscribing to ideals of Total Domination.

End The WAR: Cut the Deficit

As the tenth anniversary of 9/11 has come and gone, the question on the minds of many Americans becomes, When is the war going to end? Personally, I have been asking this question since the war began, but now I am joined by many other fellow American citizens in these hard economic times. Whatever your opinion regarding the conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan- denoted “War on Terror”- it is evident that resolution would decrease our national debt and greatly decrease the troubling deficit. It is estimated that the war will cost over 3 trillion dollars total. Some sources even project the cost to be closer to 4 trillion.

When we think of war cost, we might think military payroll, transportation and housing; and also guns, tanks, bombs, aircraft, ships, missiles, and medical expenses for the troops. But there are many more costs attached to this war. There are the ongoing costs for veterans who might live sixty or seventy more years who have suffered debilitating mental and physical war wounds. Those costs can amount to billions.

There are billions of dollars being spent on not-so-obvious bills, like energy. The heat in the Afghanistan desert can reach up to 125° F, and air-conditioning is costing billions just to keep our troops somewhat comfortable. And in an NPR interview, the former chief logistician for Gen. David Petraeus explains:

"When you consider the cost to deliver the fuel to some of the most isolated places in the world — escorting, command and control, medevac support — when you throw all that infrastructure in, we're talking over $20 billion," Steven Anderson tells weekends on All Things Considered guest host Rachel Martin.”

There is also the issue of where the money is coming from. Unfortunately for the United States, it is all being borrowed, much of it from China. “We have borrowed virtually all of the money that has been used to pay for the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and that has been very expensive, adding at least $1.5 trillion to our national debt," Linda Bilmes, an economist with Harvard University told the Huffington Post in a July interview.

President George W. Bush started the war in Iraq on the premise that Sadaam Hussein had concealed “weapons of mass destruction.” In the spring of 2005, it was officially announced that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. However, the troops remained and the costs continued to soar. Barack Obama was elected in 2008 and the war continued, on the premise of finding Osama Bin Laden “dead or alive.” Bin Laden was found and killed earlier this year. Why are we still fighting? Who or what are we looking for now? If there is no clear answer to this question, let’s get out before any more lives are lost. Let’s get out to save our troops, our economy, and our dedication to higher moral principles.

Let's Talk About the WAR

I admit, talking about the war in Iraq/Afghanistan (Lybia??) can be daunting. There's a lot of confusion and a lot of deception because the war is so highly political and economical. Okay, let me start over. I don't know much about the war, but I do know something ain't right!!

With the tenth anniversary of 9/11 in a few days, I'd like take a step back a take a good look on how America has gotten to this place of confusion. There are hate groups coming out of the shadows. Our economy is plundering, as millions of people are without work. Our young military troops are being killed and maimed and mentally scarred... and for what? Weapons of mass destruction? Oh yeah, that turned out to be a complete LIE.

I am currently taking a Political Science class in college, and will be taking it upon myself to learn more about the war and the oil money politics behind it. So, join me over the next few months as I explore why it seems that the U.S. seems to enjoy destroying the lands and lives of Muslims in the East in the name of democracy.