The reason we are in Iraq is to control the oil there and profit from it. Controlling the oil will allow us to intimidate other countries and postpone expected future energy shortages at home. Those who made it their vision to control these resources are unconcerned about the cost in money, lives, or human consciousness, for the cost will not be borne by those who will benefit most from the theft. Tragically, those cost were unnecessary anyway, given that technologies already exist which could eliminate our dependence on foreign oil if we only had the will to pursue them.
In any event, our government intends for our troops to be in Iraq as long as it considers it useful to control those resources.
In carrying out this project, our government and our troops committed and continue to commit unconscionable crimes. The primary planners, instigators, and perpetrators of these crimes have yet to be repudiated or punished. Those who are directly responsible for and have been commissioned to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law are derelict in their duties, so much so that one can rightfully call their negligence and dereliction, criminal, even treasonous. Those who have betrayed their oath of office are now responsible, along with the original perpetrators, for much of the carnage that has resulted. Almost every member of the legislative and executive branch of government is now complicit in these crimes and in the undermining of the rule of law.
In a very real sense, the Constitution of the United States has been suspended—is suspended—and whether or not it will or can be restored any time soon is very much in doubt.
National elections are not far away and none of the popular candidates for high office are willing to make observations similar to what I am offering here. So far, the mainstream media is mostly silent on these issues as well. Some people will remind me that I still have the right to make these observations, and therefore will conclude that surely our democracy must still be healthy. No. Our democracy is not healthy even though I am free to say these things. For a long time, the public mind has been conditioned not to think or be responsible about anything important. As long as that's true, the administration is not worried about anything I might say.
Much of the world's population now sees the United States government as the primary enemy of peace, prosperity, and justice in the world. More of our citizens are in prison than in any other country. Our policies are now responsible, after just a few short years, for the death, injury, and displacement of more innocent people than any terrorist organization we claim to be fighting. The way we made war in Iraq fits very well the definition of terrorism that our own government would have us believe is engaged in by others. The methods we use are somewhat different but the resulting indiscriminate terror experienced by innocent people at our hand is very much the same.
I suspect that terror is on it's way to a neighbor or neighborhood near you. Today, innocent people could be disappeared off the street and sent to some far away place indefinitely to be tortured or killed. If it happens, what would you do about it? Probably nothing. Citizens can no longer be assured of a fair trial if accused of a crime. In fact, citizens can no longer be assured that they will remain free even if they are not accused of a crime. If accused of wrong doing, no one is guaranteed a public trial by a jury of their peers, nor are they guaranteed the right to be fairly represented by an attorney. It is not even guaranteed that they would be told what offense they are accused of committing or what evidence there is against them. Who do you think is available now to defend those rights we once took for granted? You? Your congressman? Your constitutional right to privacy has been suspended. More than 20 million documents previously available to citizens have now been classified as secret, removing your right to review, oversee, and be informed about how your government works and is being administered.
The President of the United States no longer considers himself subject to laws passed by Congress. Members of Congress, almost to a person, have transferred to their political party, the President, or some other interest group, loyalty that they once pledged to the Constitution and to you. Most Americans still appear to be unaware of the implications of all of this. This is true because most Americans have not yet been personally exposed to these injustices. Only a few have. Reports of same are not front page news. So most Americans continue to go to work and engage in their normal daily routines not realizing that they no longer live in the constitutional democracy they once called America. They don't realize the government they studied in school no longer works as they were told it did. They don’t realize that their children and/or grandchildren are at risk of one day being forcibly inducted into a military regime that will require them to commit unconscionable crimes while risking their lives, limbs, and sanity as they do so.
Government spokespersons claimed and 'predicted' that terrorists were and are conspiring to attack Americans on our own soil because they hate our freedoms and our democracy. They then stepped up those policies and activities that resulted in 911 in the first place, thereby guaranteeing that we will be attacked again one day even though those 'predictions' were assuredly nonsensical and ridiculous when they were made. It's only a matter of time now. Is it too late? I don't know.
But I do know this: if what I'm talking about isn't near the top of your list of what's important… and if that's also true for your friends and your family and the people you work with, buy from, and sell to, then it probably is too late.
In 1988, when people were campaigning for president, I once wrote a commentary in which I said something to the effect, that if you elect one more president who doesn't love you, very soon you will no longer be living in a free country. I was right. No one seems to realize that it was HW who gave you W. Now what are you going to do?
