Line in the Sand – Afghanistan

There are many issues in the hands of our politicians facing American citizens today.  The economic crisis, our deficit, unemployment, health care, civil rights, environmental issues, aging infrastructure, gun issues, drug issues, our prison system, retirement, to name some.  

Then there is war, and torture, and U.S. imperialism.  I know we have an economic crisis and all.  But it seems to me that death of innocent civilians, inflicted during the course of war, including through torture, takes precedence in the overall scheme of things.  Not having a job is one thing, but getting killed by a drone plane is another.   Not having health care is one thing, but getting hit by white phosphorus while sleeping is another.  That is if you believe the life of an Iraqi, Pakistani, Afghani, Iranian, or Sudanese woman or child is just as precious as the baseball player who died from a drunk driver last week.  

The thing about U.S. imperialism is that ending it could solve many of our problems.  U.S. military expenditures are double what the rest of the countries in the world, 200 or so, spend combined.  Most people don’t like to talk about imperialism or hegemony for reasons I won’t venture.  But when reviewing the official definitions, I can see no other terms that better fit the behavior our military spending and geopolitical activities exhibit.  

I understand the U.S. faces geopolitical “concerns” and must be heavily involved in world affairs, to an extent.  However the reasons our controlling elite want this strategy is to ensure the U.S. remains the worlds sole superpower and to have the greatest access to natural resources, most particularly, oil, and other business interests.  I fail to see where this is benefiting the vast majority of U.S. citizens.  It certainly doesn’t seem to be making things better.  China is in a better position now than the U.S. and they have taken am economic approach to world status.  Russia could be in a better position than the U.S. if oil prices rise.  

That is the primary reason I disliked the Bush adminstration – the “Global War on Terror”, or GWOT.  I never bought into it like most Americans.  It was clear to me that it was simply a cover for pursuing more global interests, creating more instability for our potential adversaries, and implementing further control on the American public.   From this GWOT we also got the Patriot Act and declining civil liberties, torture at a scale we are now finding completely disgusting, FISA and illegal spying on U.S. citizens, Homeland Security and DOD plans to control the U.S. population should unrest occur, and damage to our economy taking much needed help from U.S. citizens.

We’ve learned of the actions the CIA and and other black operations have conducted that seek to create terrorism for fomenting instablity to bring about regime change or economic collapse of adversarial countries, i.e, Russia.  That’s a big part of this Afghanistan escapade, if the U.S. can’t control the resources, make sure China or Russia can’t, and feed the Military Industrial Complex (MIC).    

Line in the Sand.  The origin is disputed but the overall theme is if you cross that line, you’ve gone beyond that which can be accepted.  At least by whoever drew the line.  I drew that line long ago concerning the wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The rationale Bush used for Iraq has been proven false, and the only reason to believe the rationale for Afghanistan is if you believe in the GWOT.  Which I don’t.  I’m not saying there isn’t terrorism, I am saying we should not approach it as a war with a military solution.  

So now comes the Obama administration, perpetuating the Iraq fiasco, and escalating the Afghanistan tragedy.   Those that say we will be out of Iraq in accordance with the SOFA are deceiving themselves.  Those that think we can “win” something in Afghanistan, after already being their eight years, are deluding themselves.  It’s like watching a horror slasher flick.  I’ve seen that movie before.

I have my line in the sand.  It’s my right and if you don’t like it, make your own line.  Mine was crossed by Bush.  Now it is being crossed by Obama.  There’s really nothing I can do, it was my line, I have to honor it.  I understand the blame goes far beyond Obama, but direction of criticism goes to the top, same as with Bush.  That’s the way it is.  

So far, the U.S. has spent well over a trillion dollars, cost the lives of nearly 5000 U.S. military men and women, over 100,000 injured – many for life, 1133 Coalition military members killed, well over one thousand contractors, and 139 journalists.  Studies of overall civilian lives lost in Iraq indicate over 1.3 million.  Millions more displaced and living in terrible conditions.  Afghanistan civilian losses are in the tens of thousands but harder to verify.  Over 4000 civilians lost their lives in Afghanistan directly from the bombing raids the U.S. conducted between Oct 7, 2001 and March 2002.

http://www.justforeignpolicy.o…

http://www.nationalpriorities….

The infrastructures of two countries have been destroyed.  Basic necessities such as food, water, and electricity are hard to come by for most citizens, millions of them.  Women and children are forced to live their lives in terror.  Billions of dollars have been wasted on contractor fraud, outright theft, and shoddy contractor construction.  Now the U.S., not to mention the entire world, is at Def Con 5 on the Economic Crisis meter.  Another crime of the century, another story.  But our military imperialism didn’t help the matter.

So why has all this happened and has it been worth it?  The official reason for these costs, human and financial, are because we were attacked on 9/11 by Al Qeada and that Iraq had WMDs.  Afghanistan was attacked first, less than a month after 9/11.  The stated reason for invading Afghanistan was to capture Osama bin Laden, destroy al Qaeda, and remove the Taliban regime who supported and provided safe harbor to bin Laden.  The “Bush Doctrine” was developed, where as policy, the U.S. would not distinguish between al Qaeda and nations that harbor them.  

So boil it down a little.  Again, we know that the Bush rationale for the Iraq war was built on lies.  The Project for a New American Century (PNAC) clearly laid out plans for Iraq, and its agenda and signatories were hired by Bush.  They received their “excuse” from 9/11 and went after their prizes.  It was all bullshit as we now know and Obama can do nothing other than admit that and tell us we will get out.  

The Afghanistan war rationale is more nebulous.  Which is why Obama still has support from the left for his surge and continued use of the Bush doctrine and rationale for a war on terror.  Even though SOS Hillary said we won’t use that term any longer, give me a break please.  Hey, did you hear, we won the war on terror, but now we are in the “Long War”.  That’s just ridiculous. We know that the invasion of Afghanistan was prepared well before 9/11 hit.  We know that oil was a big part of the stategy.  And we know that the whole thing was planned and carried out by the same people who lied about the Iraq war and just about everything else they did in their eight shameless years.  If you don’t believe Bush about Iraq, why believe him about Afghanistan?  And extending that, why believe Obama?  

Neither war would have occurred without 9/11.  Approximately 3.000 people were killed that day.   A terrible tragedy for sure.  The response is the greater tragedy.  Over 5000 U.S. military killed and over 100,000 injured, over 1000 Coalition deaths, over 1 million Iraqis killed, tens of thousands of Afghanis killed and injured, and over a trillion dollars spent.  And no real end in sight.  That is the price paid to avenge the acts of 20 hijackers and a rogue band of Muslims.  

Timothy McVeigh killed 142 citizens in a domestic act of terrorism.  No one died in the apprehension of that terrorist.  All twenty of the direct actors in 9/11 died.  Only the planners and funders remained.  A law enforcement action could have been conducted to find, apprehend and prosecute those responsible.  A proclamation of war and massive military might resulting in over one million deaths, mostly innocent civilians, was never a logical approach to 9/11.  Unless there were ulterior motives, which we know there were.  

Still, regarding those ulterior motives, were these costs worth that agenda?  The one about oil and other resources, and geopolitical gamesmanship to keep the the U.S. on top?  Is it worth the over 300,000 children that have been killed?  Children like mine, like the President’s, like yours.  Is it worth destroying millions more lives?  People criticized Israel for its disproportionate response to the rockets fired by Hamas.  The disproportionate response from the U.S. is far, far greater.  

That’s my line in the sand.  Imperialism, War and killing.  I served in the Vietnam war and know the truth behind it.  If Obama wants to perpetuate this war on terror, resulting in the continued deaths of innocent women and children, I won’t support that or him.  Because human life is more important than anything, regardless of the color of skin, nature of religion, or who happens to be their ruler.

My personal protest.  The power of the vote.  That seems to be the only thing we have left to impact politics.  Protests don’t seem to work, petitions don’t seem to work, calling your representatives doesn’t seem to work.  Not on the big stuff, war, torture and imperialism.  I don’t have a draft card to burn, so I’m mailing my democratic party registration card to the White House and telling them to keep it until U.S. imperialism is ended, and a humane and sane approach to world politics and affairs is created. Fuck it, I’m getting too old for these games.