Iraq... 2 Years Later

Marines fighting in Najaf in Aug. 2004

It's been two years. Everyone has their own thoughts on what has happened, and what is to come. Interest in the war has surges and reprieves, as it carries on... sometimes with good news, sometimes bad. For me, it has been a difficult war to understand.

This must be what many people felt in Vietnam, with the rising of the anti-war movements, and many of the men eligable for the Draft seeking refuge in Canada and other places, to avoid fighting in a war they didn't believe in. Well now, I suspect many of the soldiers are trained much more rigorously and their capability to not believe in a war like this is eroded away, with more intense physical and mental training. No drafts needed, just the Marines...

For me, I didn't believe any of the pre-war accusations. The US had sanctioned Iraq so badly after the first Gulf War, it would have taken someone much more balanced and far less greedy to actually build up Iraqi forces and weapons to the amount the US and UK proclaimed so loudly. After all, Hussein was a greedy dictator, but no Adolph Hitler. I think the start of my opposition to the war, was when the US decided to ignore the Weapons Inspectors, ignore the United Nations, and ignore many long time allies such as France, Germany and ourselves, Canada, who stand by the US on so many other issues. It didn't matter though, for reasons that later became clearer to myself, the US attacked Iraq, claiming to be the saviours from the West, giving the people the "democracy and freedom" they assumed they wanted.

I think now, that much of this is done out of greed from another source. With the US oil reserve threatening to drop off, it is obvious to me that they want to secure much of the Middle Eastern oil supplies for themselves. And why not? They are scared. Scared shitless. If the US runs out of oil, they are done. No energy supplies, no power for all of those mighty bombers, tanks and boats. How can they remain as the World's Super Power with none of the muscle that keeps them there?

Notice now, as the rebuilding in Iraq progresses, that power is still disrupted. Buildings still demolished. Homes unrepaired. There are bill-boards up, loudly proclaiming their products, for a country of the poor to see. Is this rebuilding? This is not freedom for Iraqis. It is Capitalism at its finest. Who is rebuilding Iraq's Oil Infrastructure you ask? Iraqis? Guess again. It's Halliburton. Almost all of the main rebuilding and infrastructure projects are being done by US based companies. So now the poor people have no jobs.

This had no connection to the "War on Terror". I am constantly amazed how many people think Hussein and Bin Ladin were buddies. Hussein must be on the list of 9-11 guys. He probably cheered, sure, but he didn't help them. If the US wanted to, they should have gone after Saudi Arabia, since that is one of the major sources of funding AND terrorists...

It was lies like these that had me dumbfounded when Bush won his second term. I simply could not believe that the US majority wanted to have an administration that mongered war and lies over them. Now it's worse. With Bush surrounding himself with handpicked flunkies like Alberto Gonzales, they are taking away Civil Liberties from their own people. Every week, they slip closer and closer towards Fascism. Soon you will not be able to deduce the truth for yourself, as the government and giant corporations control all forms of media. Soon, you will not be allowed to speak out against them, lest they take you to the prisons filled with uncharged, and untried "insurgents"...

It's been two years. Since the war began, 1,521 US personnel have been killed. Out of those, 1,176 were killed in combat. 11,344 were wounded on top of that. Naturally, this doesn't include any of the troops from other countries that took part in the invasion or the occupying force afterwards. It doesn't include the thousands upon thousands of Iraqi soldiers and more importantly, civilians, who have been killed in the conflict. Latest estimates place civilian numbers between 17,061 and 19,432 at present. CIVILIANS... All of this human waste for what? Oil? Capitalism? Freedom? The American Way.