Five Years
by Danny Fisher
Today marked the fifth anniversary of the U.S.’s invasion of Iraq. Five years ago, we began our occupation of their country based on specious claims made by the Bush Administration. (Saddam Hussein had absolutely no connection to the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks, and his country had no weapons of mass destruction, period.) Along with the U.K., Australia, Poland, and Denmark, we flouted the U.N. Security Council and international law by invading Iraq. Worse still, the human cost of all this has been exorbitant. At the time of writing, these are the numbers:
Additionally, the cost of this war as of around 10 p.m. this evening was a mind-boggling $503,993,939,887 (and climbing every second).
This evening, I joined about twenty-five or thirty others in the Whitneyville neighborhood of Hamden, CT, for a candle-light vigil sponsored by MoveOn.org. I was moved that so many registered participants showed up in spite of the cold and pouring rain. (Considering the level of discomfort that our U.S. military personnel and many Iraqi civilians face every single day, though, I suppose it’s the least any of us could do.) And the response to our presence was overwhelmingly positive–lots of thumbs-ups, waves, cheers, and car horns. Some drivers even pulled over to chat and offer words of support.
I think it’s very important that Americans show up for these kinds of event. Two-thirds of us apparently think this war was a mistake, and we ought to back that up with action. But what’s to be done about Iraq? How do we leave? Do we “bring our troops home” just like that? To be honest, I have no idea what the solution is to avoid more violence and death. I do know this, though: at least several points of Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s (D-OH) 12-point exit plan make good sense. In particular, I think he’s quite right to say that one of the first things that needs to happen is “a simultaneous return of all U.S. contractors to the United States and [turn over of] all contracting work to the Iraqi government.”
- The contracting process has been rife with world-class corruption, with contractors stealing from the U.S. Government and cheating the Iraqi people, taking large contracts and giving 5% or so to Iraqi subcontractors.
Reconstruction activities must be reorganized and closely monitored in Iraq by the Iraqi government, with the assistance of the international community. The massive corruption as it relates to U.S. contractors, should be investigated by congressional committees and federal grand juries. The lack of tangible benefits, the lack of accountability for billions of dollars, while millions of Iraqis do not have a means of financial support, nor substantive employment, cries out for justice.
Whatever the solution, though, let’s hope/pray/practice for peace and stability in the region. For no more loss of life. For the safe return of our military personnel serving abroad.
- May all beings everywhere plagued
with sufferings of body and mind
quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid,
and may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power,
and may people think of befriending
one another.
May those who find themselves in trackless,
fearful wilderness–
the children, the age, the unprotected–
be guarded by beneficial celestials,
and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.
I leave you with some raw footage I shot at the Hamden vigil this evening. (Think of it as a sort of participant’s-eye-view of the event.) You can watch it here (below), at iTunes, at Switchpod, or at YouTube.
