Another Example of Washington's Treachery
by James Glaser
January 2, 2008

For the last few months "Washington," that would be George Bush, the Republicans, and the Democrats in Congress, have been trying to tell us how much better things are in Iraq. Like the aluminum tubes, the yellow cake from Niger, and the Weapons of Mass Destruction that started this war, talking about things getting better in Iraq has been a lie.

Yes, violence in Baghdad has gone down in the past couple of months, but read these quotes from an article of December 31, 2007 by Dahl Jamail, of Inter Press Service.

During the surge, the number of Iraqis displaced from their homes quadrupled, according to the Iraqi Red Crescent. By the end of 2007, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there are over 2.3 million internally displaced persons within Iraq, and over 2.3 million Iraqis who have fled the country.

What you have to remember is that Iraq's population is about 25 million, so close to 20% of that population has been displaced from their homes. True, violence has gone down in Baghdad, but there is a reason for that. Also, remember that about 5 % percent of the population of Iraq has been either killed or maimed so far in this war. This war makes you wonder what percentage of the Iraqi population is going to have life-long mental health issues.

Sectarian killings have decreased in recent months, but still continue. Bodies continue to be dumped on the streets of Baghdad daily.

One reason for a decrease in the level of violence is that most of Baghdad has essentially been divided along sectarian lines. Entire neighborhoods are now surrounded by concrete blast walls several meters high, with strict security checkpoints. Normal life has all but vanished.

The Iraqi Red Crescent estimates that eight out of ten refugees are from Baghdad.

The population of Baghdad is now living in armed fortified positions. If you are a Sunni Muslim, forget about going to a Shia Muslim neighborhood and vice versa. The United States has divided Iraq along religious lines that never may be taken down.

Think about George Bush and the many Democrat and Republican politicians who have been touting how many Iraqis have been returning to their country now that violence has gone down. They make it sound like the Iraqis were coming home because the American military surge has worked so well, but that wasn't the truth.

In October the Syrian government began requiring visas for Iraqis. Until then it was the only country to allow Iraqis in without visas. The new restrictions have led some Iraqis to return to Baghdad, but that number is well below 50,000.

A recent UNHCR survey of families returning found that less than 18 percent did so by choice. Most came back because they lacked a visa, had run out of money abroad, or were deported.

Lies about returning Iraqis is the reason I call Washington's "spin" about Iraq treachery. Merriam-Webster gives this definition for treachery. "Violation of allegiance or of faith and confidence."

There was a time that Americans could have faith and confidence in what their government said, but that is no longer true. Now we have to investigate whatever they say and decide if this time they are being honest, of if they are putting out another line just to appease us.

Think about this. For years Washington has been telling us that things in Afghanistan are so much better now that we have kicked out the Taliban, and help the Afghan people get a democracy. Well, that was a lie, too. We first attacked Afghanistan back in 2001, and 2007 was the deadliest year so far for American troops with 110 of them being killed, and who knows how many were wounded. Washington won't even tell us how many American troops are wounded on any one day, nor will they tell us how many troops now have life-long brain injuries, debilitating wounds, or life-long psychological problems. Heck, it is illegal for anyone to even take a picture of returning flag draped coffins containing our troops who were killed in action. Out of sight, out of mind.

Americans have to face the fact that our politicians are on the dole. They are paid off one way or another by large international corporations, and those corporations make huge profits by keeping our country in an almost constant state of war some place in the world. Right now, with combat going on in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the flow of money is phenomenal, and those corporations don't want it to stop.

So, this year we have another election, and there are about twenty candidates running for President. Two of the twenty, Ron Paul and Dennis Kuninich are the only ones who want to stop these two wars, and if you see how the media covers their campaigns, you can see that "the fix is in,"

Here is one last quote from that Inter Press Service article:

Underscoring another failure of the so-called surge is the fact that the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad remains more divided than ever, and hopes of reconciliation have vanished.

According to a recent ABC/BBC poll, 98 percent of Sunnis and 84 percent of Shias in Iraq want all U.S. forces out of the country.

The Sunnis and Shias make up about 80% of Iraq's population. They want us gone and their country back, but do you think Washington is going to pay attention to those numbers?

Here we are in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, where we have had over two hundred years of representational government. Today in Washington, it doesn't even matter that the vast majority of American citizens want our troops out of Iraq. In America today, money and Corporations dictate.

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