The last time I updated this blog another milestone had been passed. It was November of last year. The total number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq  tied the highest number for any one month. November 2004 saw 137 troops die. The previous high mark was 135 set in April of the same year. Today, October 25, 2005 marks the death of number 2,000.

There are two comments I must make about this historical moment. Tonight as I write this, game three of the World Series is being played. While I understand that games and play are important to individuals and a people keeping a certain level of sanity, I also think it speaks directly to the lack of concern and by the people of this nation as many of our wonderful and loving troops are sent in to harms way never to breathe again. They die so that we can continue our way of life. So that we can watch these games and feel as if the out comes are of importance. As if the Astros or White Sox winning or losing will really matter. As if lives are in the balance.

AP Dispatch continued (from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer):

The spokesman for the American-led multinational force called on news organizations not to look at the 2,000 death as a milestone in the conflict. Lt. Col. Steve Boylan described 2,000 figure as an “artificial mark on the wall.” Iraq,” Boylan said in an e-mail. “The 2,000 service members killed in Iraqsupporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone. It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives.”

“I ask that when you report on the events, take a moment to think about the effects on the families and those serving….’

And what is my agenda other than to end the war and bring the troops home now? What is my agenda other than to recognize that each life lost be it 1, 20, 100, 700, 1,600, or 2,000 represents a milestone for members of that unit who saw one of their comrade’s die. A milestone for the mother or father who will never see their child alive again. A milestone for the son or daughter who will never fully know their parent. A milestone for the spouse who must carry the pain of losing a love to the madness of war.

As this day approached, the day of 2,000 dead, I felt dread in my heart. I was thinking about my son. Would he be number 2,000? Then, I think it was Sunday, his wife called to tell me he is still in Kuwait. I rejoiced because I knew that he would not be the one. I do not want to see that milestone. Perhaps Boylan does not have children. Perhaps he does not realize that the death of Staff Sgt. George T. Alexander Jr., 34, of Killeen, Texas (number 2,000) is a milestone for someone.

But to be fair, my son and Sgt. Alexander are soldiers. Their lives are expendable. The mission is more important. They sacrifice themselves so that we can have our way of life. I forgot. I guess I should just go back and watch the game.

Go Astros or White Sox.

U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Ties Record

By ROBERT BURNS
AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fueled by fierce fighting in Fallujah and insurgents’ counterattacks elsewhere in Iraq, the U.S. military death toll for November equalled the highest for any month of the war, according to casualty reports available Tuesday.

At least 135 U.S. troops died in November. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAQ?SITE=NCFAY&SECTION=HOME

BRING THEM HOME NOW!
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U.S. Death Toll in Iraq for November Tops 100
    By Robert Burns
    The Associated Press
Monday 22 November 2004

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/112304V.shtml

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How many more must die before the nation understands?

Bring Them Home Now!
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Marine Kills Wounded Iraqi

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On Monday November 15, NBC reported that the previous Saturday a Marine shot and killed an unarmed wounded Iraqi. The incident was caught on video by correspondent Kevin Sites of NBC television. According to Sites in the news accounts I read, the mosque was the location of a battle the previous day between insurgents and Marines in Fallujah. Ten insurgents had been killed and five wounded. The wounded had been treated and left behind. Saturday: “On the video as the camera moved into the mosque during the Saturday incident, a Marine can be heard shouting obscenities in the background, yelling that one of the men was only pretending to be dead.

The video then showed a Marine raising his rifle toward a prisoner laying on the floor of the mosque but neither NBC nor CNN showed the bullet hitting the man. At that moment the video was blacked out but the report of the rifle could be heard.

The blacked out portion of the video tape, provided later to Associated Press Television News and other members of the network pool, showed the bullet striking the man in the upper body, possibly the head. His blood splatters on the wall behind him and his body goes limp.”

Sites reports that a Marine in the same unit had been killed the day before when tending the booby-trapped dead body of an insurgent. A Rueters account of the incident reports that the same Marine had been shot in the face a day earlier. The marine had been removed from the field for questioning. The military ask that the Marine’s identity be protected and promised a full investigation of the incident. Sites said the shot prisoner “did not appear to be armed or threatening in any way.” (http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=255312 
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6496898 )

Obviously all the facts are not in and no matter the circumstance it is hard to dismiss the shooting of an unarmed wounded person as OK. Yet one may come to understand how and why it happened without condoning the act. As I look at the recent violence of the athletes and entertainers during the past week and hear the excuses given about tremendous pressure etc. for the athletes I think about this Marine. The
Detroit and Indiana players were not in a life and death situation. No matter who wins or loses the game, everyone will go home to see their families and friends unless there is an unexpected tragedy such as a car accident or plane crash. This is not the case for the soldiers and resistance fighters in Iraq. It is a life and death matter. Many people will never see their loved ones again. Perhaps Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal thought their lives were in danger, but it was a fantasy of sorts. A fantasy fed by our popular culture where athletes and entertainers are made to believe they are center stage and the world revolves around them. Well a cup of beer does not represent real danger, AK-47s, grenade launchers and 1000lb bombs do. If nothing else we need to remember that there are people in real danger fighting for their lives everyday in Iraq and around the world. War changes people. In the midst of violent life threatening confrontation one switches to survival mode. The pressure on this Marine is unimaginable to most. Many people will call for his head and in the end that call may be found justifiable. He will then pay the price. If the professional and college athletes want to know pressure and real fighting please join the military. If not then shut up and take your medicine.

Allawi Declares, “Terrorist won’t derail upcoming elections in Iraq.”
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AP Reports – “The forces of darkness and terrorism will not benefit from this democratic experience and will fight it,” Ayad Allawi told the Associated Press. “But we are determend that this experiment will succeed.”

Forces of darkness, Ayad must be using Bush speech writers.

As I said yesterday, I pray that there are fair and broad based elections, but Allawi’s statement does not help in the process. Instead of acknowledging the continued violence and dissatisfaction with the conduct of the American occupation, Allawi mimics Bush’s rhetoric and pretends that everything is on course as scheduled. By backing the
U.S. action in Fallujah he has effectively alienated himself from the Sunni minority. But the perceived motivations behind the attack on Fallujah run deep.

According to Ahmed Mukhtar of the Cairo based AL-AHRAM weekly (http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/717/re1.htm) the onslaught in Fallujah is dividing Iraqis. Mukhtar reports that many Sunni clerics are angry that more Shia leaders have not taken a clear stand against the attack and that the interim government is launching a war against Sunnis.

The sharpest Sunni criticism came last week from Sheikh Mahdi Al-Sumaidaei, head of the Supreme Association for Guidance (irshad) and Daawa, a conservative Sunni organisation, who accused interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s government of “launching a war on Sunnis”. Al-Sumaidaei blamed the most influential Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, for not condemning the Falluja attack. “We did not hear from them at all,” Al-Sumaidaei said. “I assume they are either satisfied [with the assault] or they are afraid. When there were attacks on Shia cities, the Sunni clerics in Iraq immediately condemned them. What about the Shias now?”

The Muslim Cleric Association (MCA) seen as the most influential Sunni group with over 3000 cleric membership has called for a boycott of the elections. And the Islamic Party, the main Sunni Islamic Party in the interim government has withdrawn support for government. Allawi claims that a small minority of Sunni will actually boycott the election. He estimates 5 to 7 percent. This is a ridiculous projection considering most of the Sunni leadership is calling for boycotts. Of course we do have two months and a lot can happen in 60 days.

There are some signs of hope that things can change. While the Islamic Party has with drawn support, the Minister of Industry Hashim Al-Hassani, did not resign from office. Nor did the party’s four members in the interim parliament withdraw from their posts. Al-Hassani ruled out any split inside the party and justified his decision to stay. “I felt that I can do something for Falluja and other cities, as I am inside the cabinet,” he said. “The big issue is about Iraq – not Falluja or Najaf, but the unity of the Iraqi people. There were conspiracies against Iraq which could have undermined the Iraqi institutions, yet the presence of honest national members was able to thwart them.”

Al – Hassani went on to say that, “The problem of Falluja stems from foreign agendas. Foreigners have been arrested in Falluja, including ten Iranians. These foreign agendas are not in the interest of the Iraqis.”

So a door is open for Sunni cooperation. But it surely depends on how many Sunni are actually part of the resistance or sympathize with it. The video of the wounded Iraq being killed in the mosque surely does not help the situation. Not to mention the Kurds who according to AL-AHRAM, Kurds now consider the assault on Falluja necessary. Nawshirwan Mustafa, an official with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said Falluja was a “hub of terrorists”, and his only criticism of the US-led attack was that it did not happen sooner. Former Kurdish guerrillas, now serving in the Iraqi National Guard, have provided reinforcements to battle Arab rebels in the northern city of Mosul during the attack on Falluja.

In my opinion the U.S. constant use of force, disregard for Iraqi opinion and horrible treatment of everyday Iraqis in their won country is creating a situation where civil war is more likely than not. In fact there is already a civil war of sorts with Iraqis siding with the U.S. fighting Iraqis who want the U.S. t leave immediately. By hand picking leaders instead of developing a process where people who have grassroots support are forced to work together to represent the people of Iraq we are intensifying sectarian differences.

Possibly by brining Najaf and al-Sadir under more control most of the Shia resistance has been pacified. Bush is gambling that the Fallujah attack will quite down the Sunni. This does not seem to be the case. The U.S. controls the city but there is continued fighting and it has reignited fighting in other parts of the country. Bush should also remember foreign fighters like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi will be satisfied with one of two objectives, continued chaos in Iraq or control by a fascist Islamic government sympathetic to al – Qeada. Bush’s reliance of the use of force to make people comply with U.S. will only embitter locals and drive them to foreigners.

As always it is really up to the Iraqi people to decide the validity of the elections. But the Bush administration could make it a little easier by letting the process take its on course rather than trying to control everything. In the end we may end up controlling nothing. Remember Vietnam.

Washington Post: How Ayad Allawi came to power.

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November 22, 2004

So what’s in the news today? Of course the continuing saga of public violence. Last Sunday or Monday the fight that exploded during the Vibe Music awards was one of the first items I saw in the news. Now we have fights breaking out in professional and college sports.

Back to that in a moment.

Iraq Elections Set for January 30. 

This is very important for the
Iraq people as well as the Bush administration. If a government can be elected that is seen by everyday ordinary Iraqis as legitimate then perhaps we can move this occupation to a swift conclusion and we can Bring Our Troops Home. Of course there will be continued violence, but a people who believe in their government will be empowered to create change. They will stop the foreign intervention because they want to get on with creating a new and better future. But if the “elected” leadership does not reflect the wishes of the people then violence will continue not only from the foreign fighters but from Iraqis who do not want U.S. domination. The Bush administration has put a lot of hope on suppressing the insurgency by attacking Fallujah. If this tactic fails to create an environment were legitimate elections can be held, Bush has left himself open to major criticism for the peace movement to exploit. It will show what most people in the peace movement already know. The military cannot provide a political answer.

I pray that legitimate elections take place and a fairly elected widely representative government comes to power. The best thing the U.S. can do is let the process play itself out. We should not try to control the outcome. Let the Iraq people decided their future. If we ignore the will of the people like the Eisenhower administration chose to refuse to hold elections in 1956 in Vietnam because it would have brought Ho Chi Min to power, we will have proven ourselves to be full of lies. Liberation means self determination, not subordination to American will.