End These Wars!

“The Amerikan way of life is simply not sustainable, because it doesn’t acknowledge that there is a world beyond Amerika.” ~Arundhati Roy

The wars that Amerika has been engaged in have lasted so long that they no longer even make the front pages of newspapers. Media uses these wars and occupations as political rhetoric and analyze (as if they were qualified) and discuss where presidential hopefuls should align themselves in order to obtain popular votes and argue about how they can get the muhfuckin’ “super”delegates on their side. Simultaneously thousands of troops have died, tens of thousands more have suffered injury, thousands of Iraqi civilians have died and been injured, families on both sides destroyed, and our militaries mere presence in Iraq and Afghanistan provide Al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups with ever-increasing recruitment numbers. Young Iraqis have grown up and are growing up in an occupied country and live under martial law. They have suffered through bombings, firing squads, air strikes, missile launchings, and a whole lot of other terrible shit that I don’t know enough to speak on.

What War Brings

They grow up on that while our youth grow up playing the video game versions of these wars as if they are not framed within the context of some of the most unjust and unfounded wars in history, and we all are becoming increasingly desensitized to death and dying and killing as we are fed numbers and statistics and lies.

I stayed up until 2 watching C-Span last night because there was a panel of 5 veterans of the war in Iraq reading their testimonials as to why they now actively oppose the war and work to end it and bring the rest of the troops back home. They were all part of the organization Iraq Veterans Against the War. The panel was put together by the Congressional Progressive Caucus to hear the experience of members of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Congresswomyn Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey are the co-chairs of the caucus which aims to “give voice to the needs and aspirations of all Americans and to build a more just and humane society.” Watching this panel I could just see how fucked up one of the speakers was with post traumatic stress syndrome, you could see him flashing back while he was reading about what the military was doing when he was in Iraq. It was powerful to see 5 marines who served tours of duty speaking on why they have since become some of the biggest anti-war activists.

At this point the war in Iraq, which so many of us knew was an unjust war to begin with- solely based upon power and control of the worlds oil supply- is nothing more than a farce and disgrace to the global community. Thousands have been killed and Amerikan media has been ordered not to show the people what this war actually looks like: These pictures are INCREDIBLY HORRIFIC, some of the worst I’ve ever seen, but this is what “our” country is doing right now.

End all Amerikan invasions and occupations now!

Peace,

G-Mitch