Two years ago on
March 20, the U.S. launched an invasion of Iraq (left photo) that claimed the
lives of at least 30,000 Iraqis. Today, amid the formation of an
Iraqi government installed, according to critics, as an American
puppet regime the country remains torn by almost daily bombings
(right photo) -
showing that the war is far from over.
Two years ago,
President Bush sent American troops into Iraq on the basis of claims that
evaporated into thin air not long after the fighting got underway.
There was no
justification for starting this war, and there is now no good reason to
continue it. It is time to bring our troops home.
At this writing 1,518
American soldiers have lost their lives: 585 in the war's first year, 933
in the second. Soldiers are dying at a rate of about two per day except
during major offensives, when the death rate rises sharply.
The Pentagon has
worked hard to conceal the total number of seriously wounded, but
investigations by CBS and UPI allow us to estimate that around 16,000
soldiers have been wounded too badly to return to duty. Medical
investigations show that one of every six returning soldiers is suffering
from post-traumatic stress disorder, and that fraction could well double
within a year.
The best estimate of
the number of Iraqi civilian deaths caused by the war – 100,000 – was
published six months ago by Johns Hopkins and Columbia University
researchers. By this two-year anniversary, the number will have increased
to around 133,000. Proportional to population, that's as if 1.5 million
American citizens had been killed.
To make matters
worse, much of Iraq's infrastructure is in ruins, and the reconstruction
effort is almost completely stalled because of insurgent attacks and
sabotage. We are caught in a vicious cycle: our very failure to repair the
war damage is fueling much of the anti-U.S. anger.
To date, the war has
added $156 billion – about 20 percent – to Pentagon budget. Yet another
war bill now before the Congress would tack an additional $82 billion onto
a federal budget that's already running $500 billion in the red. To help
pay for it, the president has proposed severe cuts in domestic programs,
including family support, health care, and education.
We have no idea when
this war will end. The Bush administration has persistently refused to
offer any timetable for withdrawal. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard
Myers gave us a clue when he noted that insurgencies typically last seven
to 12 years, making a quick withdrawal from Iraq unlikely.
Another clue: the
Pentagon is continuing the construction of bases that can support a large
and permanent American military presence on Iraqi soil.
The president says
U.S. troops will remain in Iraq until we have trained an Iraqi army and
security force capable of defeating the insurgency. That, too, would mean
a long, long occupation. Military and intelligence experts dispute
administration claims that more than 100,000 Iraqis have been fully
trained, saying the number is closer to 5,000. Deputy Defense Secretary
Paul Wolfowitz told the Senate that Iraqi army units have absentee rates
of up to 40 percent.
We will withdraw if
the Iraqi government asks us to leave, says the president. But U.S.
authorities have many levers of control to prevent the newly elected Iraqi
authorities, or their successors, from making this request – despite
overwhelming support for immediate withdrawal by the Iraqi people.
President Bush plans
to continue the U.S. occupation for as long as it take to accomplish his
real goal – turning Iraq into an American satellite and projecting
American power over world oil supplies.
Fears of violence
following a U.S. withdrawal are justified. But there is no reason at all
to believe that the violence would be reduced by a continued American
occupation. On the contrary, almost all insurgent attacks have focused on
Americans, our allies, or Iraqis associated with us.
After two years of
occupation and chaos, our very presence is a lightning rod. Given that,
there is simply no way that our troops can impose peace on Iraq, try as
they might.
The United States
will not withdraw from Iraq unless the American people demand it and force
our political leadership to comply. It's up to us.
BACK TO TOP ■
COMMENT
© 2004 Bulatlat
■ Alipato Publications
Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.