Warm greetings
This has been a more difficult post to put together. In doing so, I am aware that most of you will already be very aware and knowledgeable about the propaganda, costs, and impact of war, occupation, and empire building. That said, several things moved me to do this post. As soon as I was home from work several days ago, my son Matt pulled me over to the computer to watch a Frontline episode that he had found in doing research for a paper for one of his college courses on the impact of war. (See the below Frontline: "The Soldiers Heart".) This also coincided with Matt's friend Dustin's return to Iraq following being home on an 18 day leave. My son has several friends who are in Iraq as I write this. Another experience that I had which motivated me to do this piece occurred at work as I met a man who works for a different agency who proudly shared with another co-worker and myself a framed photograph of his 19 year old son in Marine's uniform standing in front of an American flag; this man went on to share with pride that this son would soon be leaving for Iraq. And my heart sank as I stood there thinking that I would rather die than have any of my children participate in the war and occupation of Iraq. Quietly, in my heart, I wept for this man and his son.
Even though a vast majority of Americans now believe that we were misled into war and that the on-going occupation of Iraq needs to end, there still continues to remain millions of Americans who are uninformed about even basic information regarding these issues. This is not, from my perspective, at all related to any polarity of left/right, conservative/progressive, Republican/Democrat, etc. For these are human issues which affect us all, both here in America and around the world: the treason committed by a president who knowingly misled us into war, the American and Iraqi deaths and injuries, the destruction of a country and the profound refugee crisis created in its wake, the destabilization of the Middle East, the fueling of terrorism worldwide, the profound loss of positive regard created worldwide toward the American government, the destruction of the Earth, the depletion of resources, the costs to the American and global economies, the distraction from the true threats to our country and the planet, and on and on. The total costs of the war and occupation of Iraq is inconceivable to me. And tragic beyond description.
It is my experience that it takes both knowledge and courage to look at these things. It is my belief that part of the solution to these issues of profound importance is being able to name the problem, to clearly outline facts and present the faces of war, occupation, empire building -- AND describe the propaganda that has propelled us all to this national and planetary crisis. Of course, the below links are but a tiny glimpse into a much larger picture that I do not pretend to describe in detail here. But some of these facts and faces can be empowering to the shift toward peace that is at the heart of this message I share with you today. It is important to spread the word that approximately 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffer PTSD or major depression. That's one of every five military men and women who have served over there. It is important to know that suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans who are seen in medical facilities. Author storyteller Michael Meade (http://www.mosaicvoices.org/) recently told me that he is seeing an even more traumatic impact than the Vietnam War with the Iraq War vets he is working with due to the high civilian deaths caused by our soldiers in missions that require them to do things such as kick down doors and invade people's homes. As the word continues to spread about the profound costs of war, occupation, and empire building, it is my belief that fewer parents will support their children going off to war and fewer messages promoting war and occupation will continue to circulate. It is my belief that, in the larger picture, we will increasingly be empowered to recognize propaganda as it chronically fed to us here in America and demand a government and a media who tells us the truth and supports the ideals we profess to live by.
Here are a few of the links which you may want to check out, if you already haven't, or pass on to others:
The National Priorities Project
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home
Includes on-going war clock and gives more information on the cost of the war/occupation of Iraq: $4,681 per household, $1,721 per person, $341.4 million per day.
Cost of War and Nation Building
http://zfacts.com/p/447.html
The Center For Public Integrity: The War Card - Orchestrated Deception on the Path to War
http://www.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/
False Pretenses: Following 9/11, President Bush and seven top officials of his administration waged a carefully orchestrated campaign of misinformation about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Bush misused Iraq intelligence: Senate report
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAN0540864220080605
"The president and his advisors undertook a relentless public campaign in the aftermath of the (9/11) attacks to use the war against al-Qaeda as a justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein ... Representing to the American people that the two had an operational partnership and posed a single, indistinguishable threat was fundamentally misleading and led the nation to war on false premises." - Jay Rockefeller
http://www.truthout.org/article/former-white-house-press-aide-bush-misled-us-iraq
McClellan and His Media Collaborators
http://www.truthout.org/article/mcclellan-and-his-media-collaborators
Critical Voices on Scott McClellan
http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0529-17.htm
"In taking us to war in Iraq, not only were George Bush's allegation that Saddam Hussein was an imminent threat to the security of this country and his unmistakable allegation by implication that Hussein was involved in 9/11, false, but also and much more importantly, Bush knew that both allegations were untrue."
Frontline: "The Soldier's Heart"
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heart/view/
Profiles veterans in a four areas - Homecoming, The Psychological Impact of Combat, Needing Help, A Need for Change.
"Invisible Wounds of War Study"
http://rand.org/multi/military/veterans/
Since October 2001, approximately 1.64 million U.S. troops have been deployed for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) in Afghanistan and Iraq. Early evidence suggests that the psychological toll of these deployments — many involving prolonged exposure to combat-related stress over multiple rotations — may be disproportionately high compared with the physical injuries of combat. Concerns have been most recently centered on two combat-related injuries in particular: post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. With the increasing concern about the incidence of suicide and suicide attempts among returning veterans, concern about depression is also on the rise.
"Wartime PTSD cases jumped nearly 50 pct. in 2007"
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfMAY08/nf052808-1.htm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of troops diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder jumped by roughly 50 percent in 2007, the most violent year so far in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon records show.
FOCUS Bill Moyers and Michael Winship: Memorial Day
http://www.truthout.org/article/memorial-day
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship, writing for Truthout, say: "We honor our war dead this Memorial Day weekend. The greatest respect we could pay them would be to pledge no more wars for erroneous and misleading reasons; no more killing and wounding except for the defense of our country and our freedoms."
FOCUS Camillo "Mac" Bica: On This Memorial Day
http://www.truthout.org/article/on-this-memorial-day
Camillo "Mac" Bica, writing for Truthout, says: "For many of us who have known war, it has been years since we faced the insanity of man's inhumanity to man. Yet, it haunts us still. Not a day goes by, I think, that we do not recall the devastating screams of a comrade who died in our arms while taking and then giving back a useless and desolate hill top in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, or wake up screaming as we relive the horror of the bloodstained streets of Fallujah."
John Cory No Room on the Wall
http://www.truthout.org/article/no-room-wall
John Cory, writing for Truthout, says: "Memorial Day is here, and with it the cheap carnival sales pitch of patriotism and sacrifice and paying the price for freedom. The sideshow of this holiday weekend will be the primary campaign pre-election blather and speeches about honoring the men and women who serve our nation. Nickel-and-dime phrase and praise, sleight of hand and tongue, to divert our eyes from the real issue of supporting our troops and veterans."
Memories of Iraq Haunted Soldier Until Suicide
http://www.truthout.org/article/memories-iraq-haunted-soldier-until-suicide
Halimah Abdullah, reporting for McClatchy Newspapers, writes: "According to family members and police reports, on February 20, 2007, just a few months after being discharged from his second tour of duty in Iraq, Sgt. Brian Rand smoked half of a cigarette as he wrote a suicide note, grabbed a gun and went to the Cumberland River Center Pavilion in Clarksville, Tennessee. As the predawn dark pressed in, he breathed in the wintry air and stared out at the park where he and his wife, Dena, had married."
From IAVA - Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America -
"RAND Releases Ground-Breaking Study on Veterans' Health" : http://www.iava.org/component/option,com_/Itemid,105/option,content/task,view/id,2729/
VA Watchdog: http://www.vawatchdog.org/
IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against the War: http://ivaw.org/
West Point Graduates Against the War: http://www.westpointgradsagainstthewar.org/ (I believe that my grandfather - who graduated from West Point in 1911, was a Brigadier General who fought in both World Wars, and who we buried at West Point on his 99th birthday - would be proud of these graduates and their commitment to honor and truth.)
No More Victims: http://www.nomorevictims.org/
No More Victims works to obtain medical sponsorships for war-injured Iraqi children and to forge ties between the children, their families and communities in the United States. - "We believe one of the most effective means of combating militarism is to focus on direct relief to its victims. "
Revealed: Secret Plan to Keep Iraq Under US Control
http://www.truthout.org/article/revealed-secret-plan-keep-iraq-under-us-control
Patrick Cockburn, of The Independent UK: "A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November. The terms of the impending deal, details of which have been leaked to The Independent, are likely to have an explosive political effect in Iraq. Iraqi officials fear that the accord, under which US troops would occupy permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity from Iraqi law, will destabilise Iraq's position in the Middle East and lay the basis for unending conflict in their country."
Dahr Jamail: Winter Soldiers Hit the Streets
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/04/9421/
SEATTLE - In a clear change of strategy to energise public anti-war sentiment, Iraq veterans led a determined demonstration of hundreds through the streets of downtown Seattle last Saturday, following regional Winter Soldier hearings at the Seattle Town Hall.
Chris Hedges: Collateral Damage -- What It Really Means When America Goes to War
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/04/9407/
Troops, when they battle insurgent forces, as in Iraq, or Gaza or Vietnam, are placed in "atrocity producing situations." Being surrounded by a hostile population makes simple acts, such as going to a store to buy a can of Coke, dangerous. The fear and stress push troops to view everyone around them as the enemy. The hostility is compounded when the enemy, as in Iraq, is elusive, shadowy and hard to find. The rage soldiers feel after a roadside bomb explodes, killing or maiming their comrades, is one that is easily directed, over time, to innocent civilians who are seen to support the insurgents.
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