Since 9/11, America has been at war in the Middle East constantly.
Big, public wars like our attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan, and quieter wars
like our participation in (and escalation of) the civil wars in Libya, Syria,
Somalia, and Yemen.
None of these wars had any honest relationship to the safety
and security of the United States. None of these nations was an aggressor
towards us or remotely dangerous to our well-being. Some folks will point out
that it’s really not our fault we got embroiled in war with Iraq – Bush lied to
us so it’s all his fault. But I was a young mother with absolutely no political
involvement outside of voting at the time, and I was distinctly aware that Bush
was full of crap and had no real basis for the invasion, so Congress certainly
should have known better.
The cost of these wars in human lives has been enormous. The
US military and media purposefully underestimate body counts, but well-researched
estimates total 6+ million, broken down as follows:
Iraq – 2.4 million
Afghanistan/Pakistan – 1.2
million
Libya – 250,000
Syria – 1.5 million
Somalia – 650,000
Yemen – 175,000
It’s pretty obvious that the only purpose these wars serve
is to provide a constant source of income to a few disgustingly wealthy and
greedy individuals. Subservient or weak governments in the Middle East make it
easier for us to control oil supplies. Supplying our enormous military moves
money very efficiently from the public coffers into the hands of corporations.
Meanwhile, the media reports on the latest scary bombing
without mentioning that the bombs were made in America or dropped from American
planes, feeding the racist narrative that the Muslim world is inherently
dangerous and unstable. And because only a small percentage of Americans are
actually negatively affected, the lie is easily sustained.
It’s past time for Americans to wake up to the fact that
they live in a rogue, aggressor nation; that we rain murder and mayhem on poor people
around the world who have done us no harm and are powerless to resist our
military juggernaut. It’s past time for the young men and women who serve our
country to refuse to participate in these illegal wars. It’s past time for the
media to stop playing along.
Just yesterday, I was accused of not “supporting the troops”
as though I had committed the most horrific sin imaginable. Which is kind of
funny considering that I’m a veteran. But the cult of “love our soldiers” is
inherently dangerous. An army which complies with its mandate to protect its country
needs no PR blitz. There is no need to coerce the people of a peaceful and
righteous nation to feel love and pride for their institutions.
Yes, I joined the Army when I was 18. I don’t think I had
any illusions about saving the world from communism, even though it was Cold
War days. What I learned during my service informs my activism today. One of
the things I learned was that all of the history I was taught in school was
mythology; huge pieces of reality were simply left out to paint the U.S. in the
glorious colors of freedom and democracy. Another thing I learned was how
incredibly important the actions of individuals are. History has literally
pivoted over and over again on the deeds of a single human being.
You must resist the path towards fascism that the U.S. is
galloping down. Teachers. Soldiers. Engineers. Everyone. Business as usual isn’t
an option anymore. Business as usual is what got us here. Refuse to get on that
troop carrier. Refuse to make the gun or the software that guides it. Refuse to
teach the lies. You could be the one who saves the world, or destroys it.
