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IRAQ
A
serving US soldier calls for the end of an
occupation based on lies
BY TIM PREDMORE-Taken
from The Guardian
FOR the past
six months, I have been participating in what I
believe to be the great modern lie: Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
After the
horrific events of September 11 2001, and throughout
the battle in Afghanistan, the groundwork was being
laid for the invasion of Iraq. "Shock and awe" were
the words used to describe the display of power that
the world was going to view upon the start of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was to be an up-close,
dramatic display of military strength and advanced
technology from within the arsenals of the American
and British military.
But as a
soldier preparing to take part in the invasion of
Iraq, the words "shock and awe" rang deep within my
psyche. Even as we prepared to depart, it seemed
that these two great superpowers were about to break
the very rules that they demanded others obey.
Without the consent of the United Nations, and
ignoring the pleas of their own citizens, the US and
Britain invaded Iraq. "Shock and awe"? Yes, the
words correctly described the emotional impact I
felt as we embarked on an act not of justice, but of
hypocrisy.
From the moment
the first shot was fired in this so-called war of
liberation and freedom, hypocrisy reigned. After the
broadcasting of recorded images of captured and dead
US soldiers on Arab television, American and British
leaders vowed revenge while verbally assaulting the
networks for displaying such vivid images. Yet
within hours of the deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons,
the US government released horrific photographs of
the two dead brothers for the entire world to view.
Again, a "do as we say and not as we do" scenario.
As soldiers
serving in Iraq, we have been told that our purpose
is to help the people of Iraq by providing them with
the necessary assistance militarily, as well as in
humanitarian efforts. Then tell me where the
humanity is in the recent account in Stars and
Stripes (the newspaper of the US military) of two
young children brought to a US military camp by
their mother in search of medical care.
The two
children had, unknowingly, been playing with
explosive ordnance they had found, and as a result
they were severely burned. The account tells how,
after an hour-long wait, they - two children - were
denied care by two US military doctors. A soldier
described the incident as one of many "atrocities"
on the part of the US military he had witnessed.
Thankfully, I
have not personally been a witness to atrocities -
unless, of course, you consider, as I do, that this
war in Iraq is the ultimate atrocity.
So what is our
purpose here? Was this invasion because of weapons
of mass destruction, as we have so often heard? If
so, where are they? Did we invade to dispose of a
leader and his regime because they were closely
associated with Osama bin Laden? If so, where is the
proof?
Or is it that
our incursion is about our own economic advantage?
Iraq's oil can be refined at the lowest cost of any
in the world. This looks like a modern-day crusade
not to free an oppressed people or to rid the world
of a demonic dictator relentless in his pursuit of
conquest and domination, but a crusade to control
another nation's natural resource. Oil - at least to
me - seems to be the reason for our presence.
There is only
one truth, and it is that Americans are dying. There
are an estimated 10 to 14 attacks every day on our
servicemen and women in Iraq. As the body count
continues to grow, it would appear that there is no
immediate end in sight.
I once believed
that I was serving for a cause - "to uphold and
defend the constitution of the United States". Now I
no longer believe that; I have lost my conviction,
as well as my determination. I can no longer justify
my service on the basis of what I believe to be half-truths
and bold lies.
With age comes
wisdom, and at 36 years old I am no longer so
blindly led as to believe without question. From my
arrival last November at Fort Campbell, in Kentucky,
talk of deployment was heard, and as that talk
turned to actual preparation, my heart sank and my
doubts grew. My doubts have never faded; instead, it
has been my resolve and my commitment that have.
My time here is
almost done, as well as that of many others with
whom I have served. We have all faced death in Iraq
without reason and without justification. How many
more must die? How many more tears must be shed
before Americans awake and demand the return of the
men and women whose job it is to protect them,
rather than their leader's interest?
*
Tim Predmore is a US soldier on active duty with the
101st Airborne Division, based near Mosul in
northern Iraq. A version of this article appeared in
the Peoria Journal Star, Illinois.
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