An Occupation of Iraq is Not Ours to Choose

[babylonsister]

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/24666

An Occupation of Iraq is Not Ours to Choose
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2007-07-14 04:09. Media

By Ward Reilly, Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinel

Attacking Iraq was a war crime, and to sit back now and debate how much control we are entitled to is disgusting. With typical U.S arrogance, our Congress, and the White House, now debate if, how, and when, to leave Iraq, and also about how many troops we should leave for a "training force," if we are to leave troops there.

What they are blind and deaf to is the cold and bloody fact that the people of Iraq have already spoken, and they have told us to get all of our troops out in a very loud voice.

Nowhere in the discussion is heard a word about how the citizens of Iraq feel about our genocidal presence. You'd think that the USA wasn't guilty of an illegal war. A small band of egomaniacs plotted to destroy Iraq, and now the choice of whether to stay there or not isn't ours to make.

snip//

This war is lost. It was lost the day we invaded an innocent nation. Some of my friends say we are never leaving Iraq. I say tell it to the Vietnamese people.

We have about 16 months left to see to it that the neocon leadership of our nation learns the truth about justice and democracy, and to save the USA.

The only chance we have of saving our nation is to ensure that Bush and Cheney are not allowed to retire into the sunset. If they are allowed to do that, the concept of our nation is lost forever, and we will all be branded as war criminals in the eyes of the world, because "We The People" allowed all of this to happen.
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Ward Reilly is active with Vietnam Veterans against the War and Veterans For Peace. He was a volunteer Infantryman in the First Infantry Division from 1971 to 1974. He writes from Louisiana.

[BuyingThyme]

1. kcik

[xchrom]

2. on the basics -- i agree with him -- EXCEPT --

we are not -- nor have we ever been an idealized version of ourselves.

that's the problem with americans and their history -- interpretations of the founding -- you name it.

bushco may very well get away from all of this unscathed -- more accurately -- the republick party will.

in particular -- in the post nixon years this country has really morphed into something part democracy, part corporate oligarchy -- and mostly at war with itself.

we will see what the future brings.