The Common Ills: Withdrawal?

Friday, May 20, 2011

Withdrawal?

On one hand, locals have heard many Iraqi politicians say they don't want to see giant Hummers (American military vehicles) racing around their countryside anymore. On the other, they hear rumours, some of which come from inside the country’s political elite, that there is a genuine need to keep US troops in Iraq for the sake of security, in a fledgling democracy not yet familiar with stability.
Yet failure to declare an opinion on this issue remains the most common attitude in Iraq's political circles presently. During his most recent press conference, a journalist asked al-Maliki where he stood on the matter. Without any trace of irony, the prime minster replied: "There are governments and many other protagonists who want to know where I stand on this. Why would I tell you?"
Nonetheless Azza Shabandar, an MP for the State of Law coalition, the second largest coalition in the Iraqi parliament which is headed by al-Maliki, told NIQASH that, "I can say with certainty that 80 to 90 percent of the political parties have a genuine desire to extend the presence of US troops in Iraq."

The above is from Fadel-Al Nashmi's "Parliamentary poker face, but behind scenes Iraqi MPs want US troops to stay" (Niqash). Yesterday at Fort Leonard Wood, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spoke on the topic and stated, "I think that most of us in our government believe that there is value in a residual U.S. force remaining in Iraq. [. . .] They still have a lot of work to do with logistics and things like intelligence. They basically have no air defense capability." It really is amazing how little US media attention the possibility of the US military remaining in Iraq past 2011 has received. The US print outlets (and AP) with reporters in Iraq have covered it. But so few others have. And, outside of CNN, there's been very little serious broadcast coverage of this issue (no, I'm not forgetting NPR -- NPR can't even keep a reporter in Iraq these days). In the Iraqi press, there's actually interest in the issue and some might argue "of course" noting it's the country in question; however, that same self-interest motive should prompt coverage in the US but hasn't.

Al Mada notes MP Sabah al-Saadi stating that it is highly likely that the agreement between the US and Iraq will be extended to keep approximately 20,000 US forces on the ground in Iraq past 2011. al-Saadi notes that 20,000 is the number being tossed around by the US in discussions with Iraqi officials. Another Al Mada article (also published today) on the issue notes that Robert Gates is pitching US troops as a way to "protect" the Iraqi government from popular protests. Gates appears to be on a mission to demonstrate just how hollow Barack's words were in yesterday's speech. In another article published today, Al Mada notes that Hezbollah Brigades have issued a statement that if the US stays in Iraq, armed violence will take place and the foreign occupiers will be expelled. Dar Addustour reported yesterday that Moqtada al-Sadr is now insisting that troops from "Arab and other foreign countries" be used to help stabilize Iraq in 2012. The other, right? Just sticks out there, doesn't it? Sounds like he means Iran, doesn't it? Wonder why that is? But he does realize the security situation talking point needs to be combatted so he runs with "our neighbors will help our defense."

Joan Wile is the founder of Grandmothers Against the War and has written the book Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace. She gets the last word with her latest article:

BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

RALLY AGAINST THE AFGHAN WAR;

Prove There Can Be a Youth Anti-War Movement

The day was downcast, but the wonderful high school seniors from Brooklyn Collaborative School standing in the rain on Fifth Avenue were not. You could say they were upcast. They were living proof that daring and principled teachers could raise their students' consciousness about the material and political costs of our current wars and integrate them into the anti-war movement.

It was the morning of May 18. About 8 or 9 kids, all Latino and African American, had joined the Grandmothers Against the War weekly vigil at Rockefeller Plaza. Their Social Economics teacher, Stephen Simons, thought it would make a good field trip to supplement their class discussions regarding the question: was the Iraq war a just one?

Seniors from the Brooklyn Collaborative Studies school at (photo by Rex Bounds)

the Grandmothers Against the War vigil May 18, 2011

It would have done your hearts good to join with them, just as it did our hearts. Every single one of the youngsters is going on to college -- one with a full scholarship to Bard College and one with a full scholarship to Franklin and Marshall College. I suspect this impressive feat is due in part to the influence of their teacher.

Carol Husten, a former teacher and member of the Granny Peace Brigade, began the event by drawing the kids out about their thoughts relative to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It became quickly apparent that the students were very well versed in the causes and effects of the war. When Ms. Husten asked them, for instance, why they thought we invaded Iraq when there were actually no weapons of mass destruction, one young man promptly replied, "Oil." They were also very aware of the fallacies spouted by military recruiters to lure kids into their ranks.

Barbara Harris, Chair of the Granny Peace Brigade Counter Recruitment Committee, explained Opt-Out options so that recruiters wouldn't be able to harass them in their homes. She told them that though they would be assured of being trained for all sorts of non-fighting jobs, in actuality they would be trained for only one thing -- combat!

Vietnam veteran and member of the Veterans for Peace, Bill Steyert, described the horrors and the immorality of the Vietnam war and urged the young people to stay out of the military.

At that point, the kids read to us a statement they prepared for our event, as follows:

"In May of 2003, former President Bush stated the Iraq War was part of 'Mission Accomplished.' Last year, 2010, President Obama shared that troops would come home

by August 2011. Please, Mr. President, keep your word. No May 18th, 2012 with our troops in Iraq, no American troops engaged in warfare in our name. For the future of this country, re-do the American military budget. Switch for education and peace."

One of the students, Miguel Gomez, the person going to Franklin and Marshall, had this to say when asked what his conclusion was as to whether the Iraq war was a just one:

"The
Iraq war is one of the most controversial wars that impacted society.
Thousands of innocent civilians died in Iraq, thousands of our own men died
and to this day they are still recovering dead bodies. I believe the
Iraq war is an unjust war because of the amounts of
lives that were taken in vain due to an unclear cause, and because we
destroyed a country that never hurt us. The living conditions in Iraq are worse in comparison to
Saddam Hussein's control in the past. We are enemies to ourselves because we
are hurting another country, killing our own men, and hurting our economy.
Bring our Troops Home !!"

Senior Andrea Navarro, who will
be attending the College of Staten Island in the fall, answered the same
question this way:

"I believe the war in Iraq was an unjust one. We
went in for mysterious reasons and it has taken away funds needed at home for
education and health care."

We were extremely inspired by these marvelous youngsters. We have long bemoaned the fact that there are no youths in today's anti-war movement -- we believe that without them policy cannot be changed, as it was in the Vietnam era. But the Brooklyn kids gave us hope that they can reverse the inertia of their generation about the wars and lead the way for them to become committed peace activists.

We grannies will not be here forever, and we urgently need to believe others will follow us and continue our struggle for peace. The Brooklyn high school students helped assure us we needn't worry.

Postscript: We were delighted to learn after the vigil that one of the students told his classmates as they left that he had thought about joining the military, but after hearing Barbara Harris describe the truth about the recruiters' phony promises he had changed his mind.