Unmasking the Iraq War
The U.S. occupation of Iraq has come up against an insurmountable obstacle: it has lost the battle for the hearts and minds of those who, despite the now indisputable fact that the war was launched on a campaign of mass deception, might still have believed that the much talked about goal of "democracy in Iraq" was being pursued with at least a modicum of sincerity. Much to the chagrin of the Bush administration, the mask has finally been torn away. Having marched gleefully into the Cradle of Civilization as self-styled “liberators”, it is increasingly clear that the occupiers have become like the regime they ousted: torturers, murderers, despots. [For details see Seymour M. Hersh's recent exposes in the New Yorker: "Torture at Abu Ghraib"(5 May 2004) and "Chain of Command"(10 May 2004)]
This is not a time for half-baked apologies. What can Bush say to the Iraqi woman whose husband has been paraded around stark naked, like an animal, utterly humiliated before his gawking captors? What can Bush say to the young Iraqi boy whose limbs were blown off by American bombs? What can Bush say to Iraqis who want control over their own country and its natural resources and do not understand how this is compatible with military occupation? What can Bush say to account for himself and his administration?
What we are now seeing is the bitter fruit of a war that is not only unnecessary, but absolutely unjust, not to mention illegal under every accepted convention of International Law. Indeed, every single rationale proffered for the invasion of Iraq can be refuted - and even before the war began they had been debunked by anyone who turned a critical eye on the situation. Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction. Iraq did not have ties to al-Qaida. Iraq did not pose a threat to the region. Iraq certainly did not pose a threat to the United States.
Saddam Hussein was the darling of the U.S. through the period of his worst atrocities, a time when business deals took precedence over human rights. Indeed some of our strongest support for Saddam came after the incident people like to cite to illustrate the dictator’s brutality - the 1988 chemical gas attacks against Kurds in Halabja. It wasn't until 1990 that the U.S. decided to condemn Saddam Hussein's human rights abuses (which we had known about all along); but the condemnation only came when Saddam Hussein openly espoused the cause of Arab Nationalism, which included Arab control of Arab resources. Before Saddam invaded Kuwait, U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie reassured him that “the U.S. has no interest in inter-Arab border disputes." We gave Saddam a virtual green light to invade Kuwait, then turned around and launched the Persian Gulf War in response. We then allowed Saddam to crush a post-war rebellion that may have toppled him. And this is not even the half of it. Such hypocrisy is outrageous, yet it continues to this day.
Since the war was unnecessary, everyone who has died in Iraq died unnecessarily. In even starker terms, they died for no reason at all. The Bush Administration's hands are stained with the blood of every American soldier, and every Iraqi man, woman and child who has died or otherwise suffered as a result of the occupation. If this does not classify as "high crimes and misdemeanors" then the phrase should be thrown out and never used again.
George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and other principal members of the administration responsible for committing US troops to the invasion of Iraq should be impeached and held criminally liable for the death and destruction wrought by the war they foisted on the public and the world.
If President Clinton could be impeached for lying about sexual misconduct in the Oval Office, it is all the more imperative that we impeach President Bush and his administration for the massive crimes against humanity they have committed. These crimes are manifestly clear by now.
How many more American (or "coalition") soldiers and innocent Iraqis have to die before we take decisive action to stop this? Our moral capital, our integrity, is withering away to nothing. This once great country is falling. We cannot afford to let it sink any further.
Read "Chain of Command" by Seymour M. Hersh
This is not a time for half-baked apologies. What can Bush say to the Iraqi woman whose husband has been paraded around stark naked, like an animal, utterly humiliated before his gawking captors? What can Bush say to the young Iraqi boy whose limbs were blown off by American bombs? What can Bush say to Iraqis who want control over their own country and its natural resources and do not understand how this is compatible with military occupation? What can Bush say to account for himself and his administration?
What we are now seeing is the bitter fruit of a war that is not only unnecessary, but absolutely unjust, not to mention illegal under every accepted convention of International Law. Indeed, every single rationale proffered for the invasion of Iraq can be refuted - and even before the war began they had been debunked by anyone who turned a critical eye on the situation. Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction. Iraq did not have ties to al-Qaida. Iraq did not pose a threat to the region. Iraq certainly did not pose a threat to the United States.
Saddam Hussein was the darling of the U.S. through the period of his worst atrocities, a time when business deals took precedence over human rights. Indeed some of our strongest support for Saddam came after the incident people like to cite to illustrate the dictator’s brutality - the 1988 chemical gas attacks against Kurds in Halabja. It wasn't until 1990 that the U.S. decided to condemn Saddam Hussein's human rights abuses (which we had known about all along); but the condemnation only came when Saddam Hussein openly espoused the cause of Arab Nationalism, which included Arab control of Arab resources. Before Saddam invaded Kuwait, U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie reassured him that “the U.S. has no interest in inter-Arab border disputes." We gave Saddam a virtual green light to invade Kuwait, then turned around and launched the Persian Gulf War in response. We then allowed Saddam to crush a post-war rebellion that may have toppled him. And this is not even the half of it. Such hypocrisy is outrageous, yet it continues to this day.
Since the war was unnecessary, everyone who has died in Iraq died unnecessarily. In even starker terms, they died for no reason at all. The Bush Administration's hands are stained with the blood of every American soldier, and every Iraqi man, woman and child who has died or otherwise suffered as a result of the occupation. If this does not classify as "high crimes and misdemeanors" then the phrase should be thrown out and never used again.
George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and other principal members of the administration responsible for committing US troops to the invasion of Iraq should be impeached and held criminally liable for the death and destruction wrought by the war they foisted on the public and the world.
If President Clinton could be impeached for lying about sexual misconduct in the Oval Office, it is all the more imperative that we impeach President Bush and his administration for the massive crimes against humanity they have committed. These crimes are manifestly clear by now.
How many more American (or "coalition") soldiers and innocent Iraqis have to die before we take decisive action to stop this? Our moral capital, our integrity, is withering away to nothing. This once great country is falling. We cannot afford to let it sink any further.
Read "Chain of Command" by Seymour M. Hersh
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