IRAQ: SOVEREIGNTY DAY

JUNE 30, 2009 SOVEREIGNTY DAY IN IRAQ

By

Joseph Chez

ALL ROADS LEAD TO BAGHDAD ... so goes the saying. And surely , on the road again, the United States went to war via Baghdad in March 19, 2003. This June 30, 2009 however, American troops have been relegated to the outskirts of Iraqi cities and towns.

Today, Iraq celebrates a day which the Maliki government labeled, "sovereignty day". From the confines of the walled and heavily fortified "green zone", the Iraqi government has declared this day an official holiday. Outside the walled government, the Iraqi people rejoice and celebrate what many say is "Independence Day". Yes, independence day from the American invasion which has lasted 6 years and has caused at least 1, 320,110 Iraqi deaths. But, is the celebration a blessing for the Iraqis or a curse? What does it mean for the United States?

It is an indisputable fact that the reasons for the invasion of Iraq were not to bring democracy to that nation, or to free the Iraqi people from oppression. Instead, the war in Iraq was ill- conceived with sinister plots to make it look like Saddam Hussein was somewhat connected with the 9-11 attack on the U.S. Further, the neo-cons, which were chuck full in the Bush Administration, effectively attempted to make us fear further attack from Iraqi WMD's or the "smoking gun" of nuclear and biological Iraqi weapons - which interestingly enough, never existed. Yes, George W. Bush, Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Condi Rice, Donald Runsfeld, Douglas Feith, James Woolsey, John R. Bolton and the Joe Liebermans will go down in our history as the morons whose ulterior motives mislead the nation.

So yes, the road to Baghdad has been costly. In terms of human casualties, the United States has suffered 4,319 dead U.S soldiers and 31,368 wounded. In US tax dollars, just in Iraq alone, the cost is rapidly reaching the one trillion dollar mark.

On the other hand, one can argue that "Iraqi Freedom" has created a democratic government - NOT. For despite elections that have taken place and a semblance of decreased violence, the American supported government will cease to exist once we have exited the country. Civil war will ensue and in the end, a strong "caliphate" will again control the fractured nation. And needless to say, American control or influence will cease to exist. So what was the point. I see, the neo-cons can celebrate the alleged liberation of Iraq, while the Iraqis today, celebrate the exiting of foreign invading forces from their cities.

In sum, the event horizon is upon us and the sobering facts become undeniable.

Lesson: before we get on the road, we should know its history, its potholes, and where it may lead us to.

ISRAEL USES CHEMICAL WEOPONS IN GAZA

A massacre unfolded in late December 2008 and continued through January 20, 2009 in the Gaza area of the Middle East. Israel, under the pretext of the Bush doctrine invaded the Palestinian territory of Gaza. According to the United Nations, only a few Israeli casualties resulted while several thousand Palestinians were wounded and or killed. Astonishingly, the world watched in horror as innocent men, women and children were corralled - with no exit for cover or safety - while Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) blanketed civilian areas with bunker-busting bombs that crumbled buildings similar to the bombings of cities like Dresden or London during WWII.

The storm of death in Gaza also obliterated homes, hospitals, schools, places of worship and even United Nations sponsored food- warehouses. Further, our country did little to stop the bombardment and instead, held that Israel had the right to defend itself. In fact, in the last month of his presidency, president Bush gave the wink and the nod, allowing for Israel to use chemical weapons - with full knowledge that those weapons would likely hurt innocent civilians in Gaza.

Those who know history can remind those who don't know or care, that the world united into a League of Nations to stop future chemical weapons such as those used during WWI . Can the world still then tolerate the use of chemicals as used in crematories in WWII or in Gaza today? Yet, it should be known that in Gaza, Israel consistently and deliberately used phosphorous bombs. Those fluffy fire works that blanketed the Palestinian cities in Gaza were indeed chemical weapons. These chemical explosives exploded overhead and caused mist to rained down on the population. But on the ground, as the mist came in contact with the population, human flesh of the young and old blistered and burned. As the mist was inhaled, lungs irritated and burned. For small children and weak-elderly, such chemical contact only proved fatal.

But where were you when these atrocities were happening? Should we really care? A good program on TV you say? Not my problem? They were the bad guys you say? We know of course, that President Bush has had a biblical connection, veiled with the fact that Israel and its US lobby placed him in office, and therefore, he had an agenda that allowed him to accept and be complicit with such atrocities. However, what was President-elect Obama's excuse in not forcefully calling a halt to the atrocities? He was not yet president?

At one time, the world stood uncommitted and allowed Nazi Germany to exterminate 6 million human beings, until we decided to intervene, but it was too late for those 6 million. In January 2009, the Bush Administration blocked a United Nations resolution forcing Israel to stop the bombings. Regrettably, Secretary Rice of the U.S. Department of State went before the world body to personally argue for a no cease fire. President Bush on the other hand, publicly blamed Hamas for the collateral damage of the Israeli bombardment. Washing his hands of any responsibility, President-elect Obama also remained silent. He simply stated, that there was only one president at a time.

Not surprisingly, long before President Bush's term came to a close, the order went out to the Pentagon to rid itself of unusable or no-longer-needed sophisticated armament, such as missile defense systems, tanks, bunker-busting bombs, and helicopter gun ships. Thus began the emptying of US warehouses of war material, which was shipped to, you got it, the state of Israel. Now Israel has enough weaponry, U.S. made, to kill more innocent civilians. For you and I however, if we were to supply a weapon to an individual who would commit a lethal act, you bet, you or I would be complicit in the crime, tried and convicted for the act.

But now, we have a newly elected president of our nation, President Barack Obama, who is the hope of our future and messiah for peace. So what does he have to say now about the atrocity of civilians with American weapons? Incidentally, Israel stopped the hostilities in Gaza immediately before our new president took the oath of office. Yet, the question remains; why did President-elect Obama stand silent during the Israeli massacre of innocent civilians in Gaza, and what will he do now that he is president?

Mr. President, take inventory and don't let Pentagon officials or neo-cons determine our foreign policy. You are now in charge. Keep in mind that the audacity of silence is complicity.

Joseph Chez