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What To Do About Iraq
By Rod Rees
11/27/05 "ICH" -- -- With the recent polls showing strong support
for getting out of Iraq the Bush administration is once again
changing its song-and-dance routine, this time to make it appear
that they, too, want out. Of course, we in the anti-war movement
can't trust the Administration's latest stance any more than in the
past, and now is not the time for complacency on our part. Instead,
it's time to make our demands about Iraq even more explicit, more
pointed, and more forceful. It's not just a matter of "getting out,"
although that's Number 1 on the Christmas Wish List. There are
several other things the U.S. must also do for a humane and
conscientious resolution to the horrors of our war against Iraq. My
list of the necessary steps for reparation in Iraq and movement
toward reconciliation with the Muslim world include the following.
A: First, of course, get out of Iraq NOW. Which means immediately.
Not soon, not next year, not a "drawdown of troops," but today and
totally. No U.S. military personnel, not one, will remain in Iraq.
No U.S. military advisors. No U.S. peace-keeping troops. No CIA.
Nobody. Just get out. There is no other way to show the Muslim world
that our invasion of Iraq was a horrible mistake and that we as a
nation totally and unconditionally repudiate it.
B: No military bases in Iraq. This means Zero Military Presence in
Iraq now and in perpetuity. Not so much as one broken-down Humvee or
a case of MREs will remain. Our military bases in the Middle East
are a constant reminder to the Muslim world of our imperialist
agenda.
C: No U.S. corporations in Iraq. No Halliburton. No Bechtel. No
MacDonalds. No Exxon-Mobil. Not even a shadow or a hint of U.S.
corporate exploitation.
D: Hands off Iraq oil. It ain't ours. Leave it alone. Period. End of
story.
E: Rescind all contracts, laws, and agreements imposed on Iraq by
Paul Bremer or any other U.S. government entity. This means to give
total control of Iraq and its destiny back to the Iraqis.
F: Prosecute fully any violation of the Geneva Treaty. Straight up
the chain of command as far as it goes. No exceptions. No limits.
Are you listening, Mr. Rumsfeld?
G: Release all enemy combatants. Including those held in Iraq,
Guantanamo, or any secret detainee base anywhere in the world.
H: Pay for UN peace-keeping in Iraq. Whatever it costs.
I: Pay for the total cost of rebuilding Iraq. Pay for every ruined
building. Pay for very bit of destroyed or damaged infrastructure.
Pay for every dead goat, every damaged out-house, every maimed and
orphaned child, every Iraqi who was crushed to death in a bombed-out
apartment building, every mother whose legs were blown off by a car
bomb. Pay until it hurts. Pay until no one ever again will elect a
president with visions of world domination dancing like sugar plums
in his head. And after we've done everything humanly possible to
rebuild Iraq, realize that the real damage can never, ever be
repaired.
J: Apologize. Uh, this means you George W. Get on TV, without a
script, and say you're sorry. Tell the world you were dead wrong to
invade Iraq. Tell the truth, for once, about why you did it. Only
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth can regain the
trust of the Muslim world. Get down on your knees if that's what it
takes. Apologize like the end of Terrorism depends on your
apology...because it does.
If, and only if, the above steps are taken can we hope for a
reconciliation with the Muslim world and an end to Terrorism.
Anything less and we're doomed to the perpetual state of war that
Bush & Cheney hope & pray for.
Rod Rees <chayote@gilanet.com>
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