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Do Not Serve in this War
By Mike Whitney
11/10/05 "ICH
" -- --
How does a man justify his service in the US Military?
The documented evidence that has been compiled by the ACLU, Human
Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Red Cross and myriad other
eyewitness reports proves beyond a doubt that the United States is
deliberately involved in the most heinous acts of prisoner abuse and
torture. The regime of torture continues because the military
provides a shield that keeps the public from intervening. The
military is the facilitator of torture; the "enabler" of torture.
Without its support the system would fall apart.
So, how does one continue to serve knowing this?
Soldiers do not swear allegiance to George Bush or the criminal
cabal who have seized power through the corrupted electoral system.
They have pledged to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
At its core the Constitution is a human rights document, setting out
in lucid prose the standards for civil liberties, social justice and
the rule of law. The rights of man do not change when a Republican
president takes office. Soldiers are still required to honor the
principles they are sworn to serve.
It is manifestly immoral to serve in the US military.
Just this week, the Vice President, a man who jettisoned his own
moral compass years ago, has continued his aggressive campaign to
promote the use of torture by the CIA. His despicable behavior has
been faithfully recorded in all the major media, much to the chagrin
of 79% of the American public who still disapprove of the use of
torture "for any reason". The VP's actions prove that the
mistreatment of prisoners is not an aberration, but administration
policy.
Is this why men continue to serve in the military; to defend the
criminal activities of America's corporate elite?
There's not a drop of American blood in Dick Cheney. He is a charter
member of a transnational terrorist organization which has hijacked
the US military and is using it as their personal security
apparatus. (Isn't this the meaning of the New World Order?) Neither
the Iraq war nor Cheney's torture gulags serve the interests of
American citizens. The sole beneficiaries are the oil giants and
Israel.
So, why serve?
This week is the one year anniversary of the massacre in Falluja;
the wanton destruction of a civilian city of 300,000. Even now, the
UN inspection team and independent reporters are being blocked from
entering the city and reporting on the massive damage. Falluja is
the site of the world's greatest war crime since the leveling of
Grozny, and yet, the western media still remains silent; their
complicity with the administration has never been in doubt.
We now have verifiable proof that the US used banned weapons,
including incendiary bombs, cluster bombs, and other "unidentified"
chemical weapons in the unprovoked siege of Falluja.
Ask yourself this question? Who ordered the use of napalm in Falluja?
Would a low-ranking colonel or a 4 star General jeopardize their
career on something as unnecessary to the attack as the use of
prohibited weapons? The order to use napalm in Falluja came from the
main office at the Pentagon. I believe it was ordered by Donald
Rumsfeld himself. If it wasn't; then let him prove it at the Hague.
The decimation of Falluja had no strategic value whatsoever. If
anything, the resistance only intensified after the siege. The
flattening of the city was purely gratuitous retribution for the
killing of 4 American mercenaries.
300,000 Iraqis lost their homes, their neighborhoods, their schools,
their livelihoods', their friends, and the only life they've ever
known, to atone for the deaths of 4 bloodsucking corporate warriors.
At least that puts things in perspective.
Americans have no right to serve in the war in Iraq. There is a
higher principle than merely obeying the orders of the
commander-in-chief. No one should be asked to kill another man
without reason. So far, the administration has not even provided a
rationale for the current occupation. The idea of killing a man in
his own country to "liberate" him is transparently immoral. Just as
it is immoral to serve in any army that deliberately engages in
unprovoked aggression, torture, and war crimes.
Put down your weapons and go to jail. Better to lose your freedom
than your dignity.
Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He can be reached at:
fergiewhitney@msn.com
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