All Fall Down by William Rivers Pitt
| All Fall Down By William Rivers Pitt t r u t h o u t | Perspective Wednesday 26 July 2006
It has come down to this. “Sectarian Break-Up of Iraq Is Now Inevitable, Admit Officials,” read the headline from Monday’s UK Independent. “‘Iraq as a political project is finished,’ a senior government official was quoted as saying,” continued the report, “adding: ‘The parties have moved to plan B.’ He said that the Shia, Sunni and Kurdish parties were now looking at ways to divide Iraq between them and to decide the future of Baghdad, where there is a mixed population. ‘There is serious talk of Baghdad being divided into (Shia) east and (Sunni) west,’ he said.” At a minimum, the predicted Balkanization of Iraq points to nothing more or less than the comprehensive failure of the Bush administration to bring democracy to that nation. The Iraqi parliament is today comprised of Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish elements, the three main groups that comprise the Iraqi population. Yet the fighting within this parliament mirrors the bloodshed taking place on the streets, and this signaled desire to split Iraq into three parts means there isn’t any hope left for anything other than an utterly shattered state. It is hard to be surprised by this, considering the nature of the Iraqi government the Bush administration actively assisted in cobbling together. Consider the speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, who said on July 13th, “Some people say ‘we saw you beheading, kidnapping and killing. These acts are not the work of Iraqis. I am sure that he who does this is a Jew and the son of a Jew. I can tell you about these Jewish, Israelis and Zionists who are using Iraqi money and oil to frustrate the Islamic movement in Iraq.” That, friends and neighbors, is a true statesman. Tip O’Neill would be proud to share a title with this fellow. No wonder things are going so well. With friends like this, who needs friends? At worst, a move toward dividing Iraq sets the stage for an even darker turn of events. Any division of Iraq will be controlled and mandated by the majority Shiite faction, which has little love for the Sunnis. The Shiites will make sure any land partition will deliver to them the choicest petroleum deposits and production areas, effectively depriving the Sunnis of an economy. The possibility of mass slaughter of Sunnis by Shiite militias looms large. The largest benefactor of all this, of course, will be Iran, whose Shiite government would love both the buffer zone created by a Shiite Iraq and a taste of any Iraqi oil revenues the Shiites can plumb. It has come down to this. George W. Bush announced on Tuesday that American military forces will be collapsing back into Baghdad in an attempt to quell the unspeakable sectarian violence taking place. At least 100 civilians a day are being slaughtered in the mayhem. Pulling American troops out of wider Iraq will encourage those doing the fighting and killing outside Baghdad to step up their violence, and will leave the remaining US troops outside Baghdad exposed and vulnerable. The invasion and occupation of Iraq is more than three years old now. This redeployment of American forces back into the capital puts one in mind of a tape being rolled backwards. Three years ago, we hit Baghdad with “Shock and Awe,” rolled our forces into the city and then expanded those forces out into the countryside. The tape is being reversed, the troops are funneling back in, but that’s as far as it goes. Mr. Bush refused to consider an exit strategy or timetable for withdrawal when directly asked on Tuesday. The shock and awe, therefore, remains in place on any number of levels. Two American soldiers were killed in Iraq on Saturday. Three American soldiers were killed in Iraq on Monday. Another American soldier was killed in Iraq on Tuesday. Thirty five American soldiers have been killed in the month of July. To date, 2,569 American soldiers have been killed. Approximately 20,000 American soldiers have been wounded, many of them grievously and permanently. There is no accurate accounting of the dead and maimed among the civilian population of Iraq because, as General Tommy Franks said, we don’t do body counts. We make them, yes, but we don’t count them. A very small number of people have become rich beyond the dreams of avarice thanks to this war. They are petroleum magnates, gasoline commodities speculators and weapons manufacturers, for the most part. The failed state we have created in Iraq makes Iran quite happy, but also serves the purposes of those who profit from wars. The failed state we have created in Iraq will someday serve to justify the next war, and the next, ad infinitum. It has come down to this. Again. We have, you see, been here before. Our support of Iran begat our support of Saddam Hussein once the Shah was overthrown. Our support of Hussein begat his reign of terror, the invasion of Kuwait and the first Gulf War. Our support of the anti-Soviet mujeheddin in Afghanistan, followed by our total abandonment of that war-ravaged nation once the Soviets were beaten, begat the Taliban and al Qaeda. This begat September 11, which begat our current Iraq fiasco for reasons only a few reality-deprived hard-liners in Washington care to even try to explain. What we are doing in Iraq today will begat the next series of horrors, and the next, and the next. It has come down to this, it will always come down to this, because failure is profitable in the long run for a select few. It will always come down to this until the cycle is broken, forever. |
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5 Responses to “All Fall Down by William Rivers Pitt”
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So sad—-SO true.
Posted on 28-Jul-06 at 5:06 pm | PermalinkMuslim: they divided into Shias, Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis from their village hate each other and fight to control Iraq.
They have no regard of life.
Christianity: too many sects like Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, so on…
They are confusing the believers and they fight for their beliefs.
Jewish: Judaism
They respect life.
So sad that Israel has to fight to defend themselves.
It’s breaking my heart to see this kind of violence and hatred in the Middle East for hundred of years. This really made me cry for these innocent women, children and animals.
When will it ever break the cycle?
PEACE and LOVE are the answer to stop the violence.
Posted on 29-Jul-06 at 10:47 am | PermalinkHmmm, Roxanne, time to do a little more reading….Various Christian denominations are not ’sects’. You call out “…like Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, so on…” Baptists ARE Protestants! But, the various Christian denominations have some differences….please tell me when you then describe “Jewish:Judaism” that you don’t know that there are Reformed Jews, Conservative Jews, Orthodox Jews, for example? Do you think that the Jewish faith is monolithic? The Jewish friends I love respect life very much the same way we Christians do! What about some of the other ‘great world religions?’ - Buddhism, Shintoism, and the one we hear the most about today - Islam. Are there no differences between believers in Islam? I don’t believe they are ALL terrorists, intent on the destruction of anyone and everyone who does not follow their particular faith. We don’t hear much from the pacifists in that particular faith, and I believe it would be exceedingly helpful, especially in this country, if we did. I, too, am saddened by the hatred and violence in the Middle East, but it is far older than a couple hundred years, and I cry for the innocent men, too; not just the women, children and animals… I doubt anyone would argue that Peace and Love are important, but to say that Peace and Love will stop the violence is like saying having oxygen in the room will keep me from suffocating ….the heart and lungs have to function to USE the oxygen that is there. Peace and Love can be great motivators and they can both be products of a situation, but on their own, without a mechanism to make them function, and without a willingness on ALL sides to TRULY want peace, it won’t happen - it can’t. You cannot FORCE someone into a peaceful mindset…they must want it for themselves and their children and their children’s children. You can, BY force, ENFORCE a peace (truce) and that can work until a population lives under it long enough to realize that life is much better all around when peace prevails and they can learn to trust it as a system…such is the opportunity we’re trying to give the dear souls in Iraq. If they could live without fear for long enough to know the joy of it, they would be willilng to work harder to defend it, but they know that RIGHT NOW if the USA does the ‘cut and run’ that some are promoting, they will be back in the hands of tyrants and butchers and they’re too afraid to risk it right now. The ‘talking fools’ in the United States might come into power and leave them stranded again, once more at the mercy of the roving bands of killers who are eager to once again take control. People seem to forget that when we in the U.S. wanted our freedom, and that just from a cranky old king and his tea tax!, it tooks years of fighting, lots of foreign help, but a deep desire to be free. We truly enjoy the fruits of their labor, but some of us are not willing to then turn and help someone else achieve the same great blessing…well, ok, we’ll help, but only if we can do it quick and not too messy, please! Good thing those men (and women!) of eternal courage who founded this country weren’t so faint of heart or quite so light in the area of conviction and beliefs!
Posted on 31-Jul-06 at 2:50 pm | PermalinkKaren M. Bushy
Karen,
Posted on 01-Aug-06 at 11:34 am | PermalinkI pulled out my Idiot’s guide to World Religion book and read on what you had criticized my statement. I admit I am not a religion buff and am still learning.
You are right about the denominations of the Christianity. I have studied some of Buddhism in the 80’s that helped me changed into a compassionate and loving person.
I am not speaking of Islam as all terrorists. No, only the extremists one who had no regard for life.
I learned three years ago that Arabs people do practice Jewish. My neighbors are from Iran and their religion is Jewish. They are very friendly and kind. My father-in-law used to live in the Arabic world: Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. He told me they are beautiful people and very friendly. He worked in the oil companies for 30 years.
Since Bush’s stolen election and the 9/11 had changed my perceptive and made lots of researches range from Iraq, secret societies to religion especially Islam. I started getting into politics and learned from reading articles in Michael’s and others blogs.
I didn’t mean to excluded men after I mentioned women, children and animals. I do cry for men who fought and died in wars, too.
I understand very well it is hard to make peace and love on this Earth.
We all want peace and love to make our lives better, right?
I agree with you on what you said the rest and thanks for the tip.
the busniess of governments (or tribes) is all to often the busniess needs of the individual(s) idealogues in charge (selfishly) at that time. now our precious earth is spitting us out in rejection. and we wonder why. read Isaiah 45 - nothing he made was to be turned into a waste. what have we done? what must we do - immediately.
Posted on 03-Aug-06 at 11:34 am | Permalink