Bob's Links and Rants

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Monday, December 01, 2003

Major Combat Operations Just Beginning
The military now says that 54 Iraqis were killed in the attempted ambush of two US convoys yesterday. According to the NY Times:

The A.P. quoted residents as saying that when Saddam loyalists attacked the Americans, American forces began firing at random, prompting civilians to get guns and join the fight. It said many civilians were bitter about recent United States raids in the night.
...
Residents and police officers in Samarra said less than a dozen Iraqis had been killed and contended that many of those wounded were civilians, the Associated Press reported. The residents were clearly incensed at the immense firepower used by the Americans.


No matter which side is telling the truth (probably neither), carnage on this scale is clear evidence that there is very little hope for the US military ever creating a democracy in Iraq. Not that that was ever their intention. It's about oil and empire, and always has been.

I think we're starting to see the latest excuse for continuing this bloody occupation, and battles like this one are key to it. Anyone paying any attention already knows the stuff about WMD's and al Qaeda ties was all lies. The democracy BS is looking pretty frayed too, especially when the Bushies' concerns for democracy in places like Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan are concerned. No, the main reason being sold to the mostly ignorant American public now is simply the "these colors don't run" nonsense--the idea that "loss of honor" is worse than the loss of thousands of troops (as if US honor wasn't already completely destroyed by the illegal invasion in the first place).

Screw all that. Bring the troops home now. Whatever chaos ensues in Iraq is unlikely to be any worse than the chaos that will happen if the troops stay, and the troops will without a doubt be better off at home.