Bremer: Iraq Deaths Won't Go Unpunished

You know what is really sad? I was thinking about the contractors that were killed in Fallujah, partly because it was a hot topic of discussion on the news and internet, and partly because the idea of the violent mob that killed these people kept rotating in my head. I actually started to think that maybe our government was behind the murders. If American sentiment, which has been turning against the war, were to be solidified in a hateful mode, then they could gain control back of the spin. Yes, we are all angry and horrified to see these burned and dismembered bodies being kicked around and the cheering of young men for the cameras, but what are we going to do about it? We have to stay in Iraq and end their lawlessness that's what! Long Live America and Democracy! Yeeehaaa! In reality, I think people are sickened at the thought of what is going on in Iraq and just want to be done with the whole mess. It's sad that I would think something like that of my government, because we finance Coups all the time (Haiti!) and we have by far proven that we have no problem being the voice at the back of the lynch mob saying "Let's get those Mother Fuckers!" I love my country and I feel horribly betrayed that the dream of democracy and the belief that all should have the pursuit of happiness has been stolen from me, if it was ever really there. I want to restore the idea of what America is, what we say we are, not the bullshit that we do when the lights go out. The Bush Administration has tarnished our image, America used to mean something-the land of the free and the home of the brave- but we are not free in this country. The Christian Capitalist Crusaders have taken away our freedom with the Patriot Act, the FCC tells us what we can say and do in a public forum, and we are heading towards a course of action that would amend our Constitution so that Homosexuals (tax paying citizens) would have less rights than the rest of the population. Have we all gone mad?

It is my belief that what happened in Fallujah has to be understood before we react. This is something that the Bush people have neglected to do. By keeping America outraged (lets color code our outrage like we do our security alerts, right now I am at fuschia, yesterday I was at chartreuse) the Iraqi people will always be the "other." Its us against them, you are with us or against us. We are dividing, not uniting people! This racism is radiating from the Iraqi Administrators comments:

Iraq's administrator, L. Paul Bremer, condemned the killings as well as the combat deaths of five American soldiers on the same day, and said "their deaths will not go unpunished."

"Yesterday's events in Fallujah are dramatic examples of the ongoing struggle between human dignity and barbarism," Bremer said at a ceremony for police cadets in Baghdad. "The acts we have seen were despicable and inexcusable. ... They violate the tenets of all religions, including Islam."

First let me just say, Bremer, when did you become an expert on Islam? This statement is dripping with the oppressiveness of a colonizer. We will punish, they are despicable and inexcusable. My favorite is his statement that they were "dramatic examples of the ongoing struggle [of the Iraqi people? Of Middle Eastern people? Who are you talking about?] between human dignity and barbarism." Does that make these people less than human? Why not just call them Sand Savages? This reminds me of the sentiment that the Europeans had about the Native Americans when they were being colonized. The Native Americans used guerilla warfare which we thought lacked "human dignity." The European style of fighting was to stand in a line across from each other and shoot. The team with the most alive people wins. Yippee! Do you see the same similarities here? Let me make myself clear, I am not in any way saying that these murders were justified. Violence very rarely is. What we need to ask ourselves is: How can we try to understand the Iraqi people in order to help them if we don't quite see them as human? If we seem them as teetering on the edge of human and barbaric?

Instead of bringing the wrath of god on an entire city, lets try and understand why this happened. What circumstances brought about this level of violence? Why do these people hate us so much? Why did the police do nothing? Instead of telling them what they should be doing with their country, shouldn't we ask them what they would like? Maybe their version of democracy is different from ours. Considering that our country is largely based on Christian ideology, for example, our federal holidays revolve around the Christian calendar and at Bush's inaugeration it was stated bluntly that Jesus was the one true God of the USA. Not only is their belief system is different from ours, but the history of their country and the way their society has developed is also different from ours. How can we presume that we know what is best for them? Maybe they just want an end to the chaos that we plunged them into. People are rioting because they want work, water, food, and an end to violence. War hasn't worked so far, lets try the democratic behavior of diplomacy. Lets not allow these contractors to have died in vain. Lets make it so that this was the act that opened up our eyes and changed our point of view.

Lastly, remember when pre-emptive military action wasin style? Not anymore! Put away those "Pre-emptive Strike Rules!" t-shirts and bumper stickers. Read this:

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said troops didn't respond for fear of ambushes and the possibility that insurgents would use civilians as human shields. "A pre-emptive attack into the city could have taken a bad situation and made it even worse," he said.

Wow! Imagine the logic it took to figure that out! What modern thinking, too radical!

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