Hearts and minds
I thought it was worth taking a look, on this day before July 4th, at just how well the ol' Red White and Blue is coming across in its crusade to spread democracy, and win the hearts and minds of the Islamic community. You know, from the perspective of the Islamic community.
From Sunday's Al Jazeera:
After all, our soldiers are supposed to be more than just a mindless killing machine. In the larger struggle of ideology, they are America's on-site ambassadors, our public face to the world, the very embodiment of this country's broader goals and attitudes. Our national image is being destroyed weekly by a rampant, pervasive savagery, one that is the logical end result of an Administration-fueled campaign of fear, relentless jingoism, and officially-sanctioned attitudes toward rules of engagement that include torture, murder, and the denial of civil rights - specifically to Muslim non-Americans.
And all in a military conflict that should never have been allowed to start, over a threat that didn't exist, fabricated by an Administration which already had Iraq in its crosshairs on November 8, 2000.
Disappointing, isn't it, that as we approach America's 230th birthday, the U.S. has become worse than that other English speaking nation against which the Founders launched an actual revolution. A brutal and arrogant occupying force that looks down with disdain on the "locals" it's been charged to protect. A misinformed and misled street gang that cannot discern friend from foe - and doesn't appear too interested in doing so.
And with each successive revelation of American atrocity in Iraq, the list of people wanting to - dare I say it - justifiably strike back at our citizenry grows exponentially longer.
Shameful, too, that the Right-wing's "culture of death and entitlement," trickling down from the highest office in the land to the lowest grunt in the field, has dragged this nation - and what the word "American" represents - to such a disgraceful point. Thanks, George. We have seen the enemy, all right. And, increasingly, we have become that very thing we profess to abhor.
From Sunday's Al Jazeera:
The Association of Muslim Scholars, an influential Sunni organisation in Iraq, issued a strong condemnation over the rape of the Iraqi woman and the brutal killing of her family by U.S. troops.Good God, America. Give me all the "it's only a few rotten apples and 9/11 and what about all the good things we're doing and 9/11 and look at the terrible things they've done first and 9/11" bullshit excuses you want. These monsters should hang. And their steadfast platoon-mates - at least those who kept the truth to themselves until two of their own were brutally murdered in what seems to me an obvious act of retaliation - should face swift and severe prosecution.
"Raping this girl then mutilating her is shameful and will remain as a sign of shame to American invaders," the organisation said in its statement...
"[The] terrible violations committed by the invaders show the truth of the ugly American face and shows that their claims of supporting humanity and liberation are false," said the Sunni association.
"We call the world and all humanitarian organizations as witnesses to this ugly crime and urge them to face the American recklessness that went way too far," it added.
The recent scandal is expected to fuel worldwide furor over the disgraceful conduct of the U.S. troops in Iraq.
After all, our soldiers are supposed to be more than just a mindless killing machine. In the larger struggle of ideology, they are America's on-site ambassadors, our public face to the world, the very embodiment of this country's broader goals and attitudes. Our national image is being destroyed weekly by a rampant, pervasive savagery, one that is the logical end result of an Administration-fueled campaign of fear, relentless jingoism, and officially-sanctioned attitudes toward rules of engagement that include torture, murder, and the denial of civil rights - specifically to Muslim non-Americans.
And all in a military conflict that should never have been allowed to start, over a threat that didn't exist, fabricated by an Administration which already had Iraq in its crosshairs on November 8, 2000.
Disappointing, isn't it, that as we approach America's 230th birthday, the U.S. has become worse than that other English speaking nation against which the Founders launched an actual revolution. A brutal and arrogant occupying force that looks down with disdain on the "locals" it's been charged to protect. A misinformed and misled street gang that cannot discern friend from foe - and doesn't appear too interested in doing so.
And with each successive revelation of American atrocity in Iraq, the list of people wanting to - dare I say it - justifiably strike back at our citizenry grows exponentially longer.
Shameful, too, that the Right-wing's "culture of death and entitlement," trickling down from the highest office in the land to the lowest grunt in the field, has dragged this nation - and what the word "American" represents - to such a disgraceful point. Thanks, George. We have seen the enemy, all right. And, increasingly, we have become that very thing we profess to abhor.
posted by Bob P @ 1:00 PM
3 Comments:
I don’t think there is any doubt in anyones minds that these soldiers should and will be held accountable for their atrocious behavior. That’s the difference between these Islamic militants and our military. You sure as hell don’t see any of their so-called soldiers being reprimanded for bombing innocent men, women and chilren to achieve their political/”religious” agenda. So before you paint your own nation as being treacherously savage and essentially terroristic, you may want to reconsider so easily dismissing those “bullshit” excuses because there is a balance in every situation in regards to perspective and it seems to me like your so far stuck on one side your falling off the deep end. I just hope you realize that your entire argument is pretty much exclusively based on generalizations, about the Arab people, Americans and soldiers. Not tryin to be hostile here buddy Im just sayin from what I see it becomes evident that you may not have a clue how things are really playing out over there. If you don’t like the current administration that’s cool, but don’t let that blind you to other perspectives and realities.
I appreciate your comment, steveo, but I don't feel that I'm "using gneralizations" at all. There's been a sustained, intentional campaign by the leaders of this nation to characterize our "enemy" as sub-human, barbaric, undeserving of the protections of the Geneva Conventions, or the World Court, or even basic American legal procedure.
The fruits of this deplorable PR campaign are quite obvious: Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, "justified" incidents of the torture and murder of unarmed prisoners, Administration dismissal of civilian "collateral damage." And my specific point here is that this callous attitude "trickles down" and affects the conduct of our troops on the ground.
As for "perspective and realities"... The reality is that the U.S. is the aggressor in Iraq. Our invasion and occupation have been carried out against a nation and a people that posed no threat to America. Our actions have unleashed a brutal civil war, and only increased the ranks of "terrorists" who would now seek to attack our citizens and soldiers.
You're half correct in pointing out that, in many cases, our individual troops are ultimately held accountable for their atrocities, while it would seem that "Islamic militants" are not. But have we not as a nation cheered the brave pilots who've bombed Iraq back to the stone age? Applauded the ground troops who've shelled towns and villages into oblivion? Have we held anyone accountable for the death of at least 50,000 Iraqi citizens during our campaign to "liberate" them from tyrany?
War itself is about atrocity - which is why it is something to be avoided at all costs by any nation that calls itself civilized. This is the perspective that's been missing in this country since the summer of 2002.
I have to say that I still feel your viewpoint is still somewhat contingent on certain generalizations but most importantly certain assumptions that are too easily swallowed as truth. These assumptions include the notion that the war is in fact entirely unjustified, that the current adminisration freely permits and advocates violations of the Geneva convention and is in essence launching some sort of smear campaign against the enemy to portray them as “sub-human”, and the notion that so many parallels exist between the “enemy” and their tactics and our own soldiers. There are many factors involved that must be taken into consideration before establishing the validity of such bold and significant assumptions, most of which are not conveyed in mainstream news or even public opinion.
In regards to justification for this war, Im sorry but the idea that Saddamm Hussein posed no threat to America or the international community for that matter is far from accurate. He repeatedly violated UN resolution after resolution, deadline after deadline, and responded to IAEA inspectors with close surveillance that bordered on all out spying, not to mention the suspiciously selective and often elusive inspections he did rarely allow in response to international pressure. Clearly, noone disputes the fact that our intelligence was faulty and misleading, to put it mildly, in regards to the abundant presence of WMD’s. However, conflict with Iraq was in my opinion, given the facts and realities of Hussein’s behavior, inevitable. The sectarian violence that has plagued Iraq is indeed tragic to say the least. The methods through which this violence is carried out, (i.e. bombing of civillians in mosques, funerals, marketplaces etc..) is even more tragic. I simply do not see how you can draw parallels between these tactics and our military’s tactics. Granted, we cheer on our troops when a successful raid is conducted or enemy munitions are bombed, but contrary to what some conspiacy theorists may believe, our targets are not villages and marketplaces filled with women and children but strategic engagements aimed at weakening the “insurgency”. The only difference between now and when Hussein was in power is that there is no dictator suppressing certain factions with fear aand the threat of what we’ll call “chemical oppression”. For the record too, I think it was a couple weeks ago that we actually found large quantities of sarin gas in a munitions depot over there, which would constitute a WMD as well as a breach of UN mandates.
I really don’t understand how you can think the administration advocates and promotes torture and Geneva violations through some “deplorable PR campaign”. Abu Gharib and Gitmo ranging to the recent Haditha masacre and the rape/slaughter in Iraq are not evidence of an administration smear campaign. The enemy paints themselves as increasingly barbaric and sub-human with every “martyr mission” that slaughters innocent men, women and children in the name of Islam. In abu gharib, our soldiers were strained, ignorant and out of control. In this syle of warfare intel is the name of the game and they crossed the line tryin to secure some, as they did in Gitmo as well. America is held to and tries to uphold higher standards and values thus such intelligence gathering methods and degrading treatment of prisoners is vile in our society, whereas it may be justified in many others. But putting the controversy over the morality and maltreatment of prisoners aside, the administration has condemned all such acts and Bush himself has said Gitmo should be shut down, just not at the cost of having to releasing high profile itnernational criminals. I see your point that there does indeed exist an attitude among Americans that these “terrorists” are sub-human and barbaric, therefore unworthy of humane treatment. Bu I would think condemning and punishing those responsible for torture and breaches of morality trickles down as well, sending the message that we uphold higher standards and strive to be above such behavior.
I do agree with you that war is all about atrocity and should be avoided, but not at the expense of international and domestic security, which was at stake in many ways. The resulting atrocities perpetrated by both our enemy and our own troops in Iraq are tragic to be sure. Do not however disregard the progress that hs been made though like the establishment of an elected government, the dwindling of al-qaida’s effectiveness and strength by al-Zarqawi’s own admission or the toppling of a corrupt and oppessive dictator. There has been and will continue to be atrocity, political/material/human loss, and developing conflict, as there is in any war. And among these tragedies is how, in many minds, our country has been portrayed as this trigger-happy, savage and hypocritical imperialist nation who is the root cause of all violence and atrocity, most notably in the middleeast. Granted, there are some who represent our nation that have perpetrated heinous acts that we should and very much are ashamed of as Americans. But to take these incients, which we condemn and punish, and apply them to our nations agenda and intentions as a whole, now that’s a generalization in my opinion.
---- I realize this things is long as hell but it’s a pretty slow day at the office so I had some time on my hands, haha, and theres nothin like a good old fashioned political discussion to pass the time
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