Juan Cole: US presence in Iraq is colonialist occupation

[blitzen]

http://juancole.com/

As George Lakoff reminds us, actually what is needed is a bill to cut off Bush's authorization to occupy another country. The US was born in a revolt against colonialism and empire; it is shameful for it to seek to retain other countries as colonies now, in the mold of King George III. You may as well bring back slavery as to seek to go on occupying Iraq, as the Republican presidential hopefuls want to do.

And this is what I would add to Lakoff's suggestion. The war was over in 2003. What we've had since then is an occupation, at least in the Sunni Arab areas and some of the Shiite south, where US military presence is unwelcome. Although the Bushies trumpet the two elections, in fact the prime minister elected as a result of them, Ibrahim Jaafari, was unseated through heavy-handed US intervention in Iraqi domestic affairs. When Bush is telling Iraq who it can and cannot have as prime minister, then Iraq is not an independent country.

Such an occupation is just warmed over 19th century colonialism of the "white man's burden" variety. And, such colonialism is just as objectionable as slavery. When the revolutionary French National Assembly abolished slavery in 1794, its abolitionists voiced the hope that ending slavery would also end colonialism.

[Strelnikov_]

1. ..

The war was over in 2003. What we've had since then is an occupation.

Yep.

[Disturbed]

2. Of course it is.

I have been saying this since 2003. There is no Iraq War. There is a US Occupation. Hell, even Busholini has stated that the US are Occupiers in Iraq.

Unfortunately, the majority of Dems support the continuation of the US Occupation of Iraq.


The majority of Dems do not call for all US Troops to be pulled out of Iraq. The Bill outlines that a undetermined number will stay indefinetly to train Iraqi Troops, to defend the Green Zone and the 14 US Bases and to fight al Q and the Sunni and Shi'ite Insurgency. The US will have at least 60K Troops and a large number of Mercs in Iraq well beyond '09.

[IChing]

3. Wrong it's a Pottery Barn

:sarcasm:

that has been broken into by criminals who wrecked the store
murdered the management, maim and injured the employees
then refused to leave.