THINKING FOR OURSELVES

Revenge and Retaliation

By Shea Howell

Michigan Citizen, May 20-26, 2007

In a surprising show of political unity a majority of the Iraqi Parliament formally joined the call for a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal. Of the 275 members of Parliament 144 signed a petition calling for a timetable. The petition is the first step toward a formal bill to be introduced in both the legal and foreign relations committee in Iraq.

The Bush administration has downplayed the Iraqi effort, claiming it actually supports the administration’s plan because it links withdrawal to the ability of Iraqi troops to provide security.

Such a spin misses the depth of the desire of the Iraqi people to be rid of this occupation. Muhammad al-Daini, a Sunni member of Parliament, has been in the U.S. meeting with congressional leaders. He has a simple message. “The problem in Iraq is the American Army.” he says. “What brought terrorism, what brought Al Qaeda and what brought Iranian influence is the Americans.”

In virtually every opinion poll done in Iraq, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of people want the U.S. out. Among those least in favor of U.S. withdrawal are those who benefit directly from the U.S. presence. This includes the current Iraqi government which depends on the U.S. for its security as well as its authority. Now it is realizing just how little security the U.S. is able to provide; that its legitimacy increasingly depends on its willingness to resist the dictates and desires of the U.S.

So, like the U.S. Congress, the Iraqi Parliament will not stop demanding timetables. It will continue to escalate its own opposition and to resist being manipulated by the Bush Administration.

Iraqi demands for withdrawal will intensify as the occupation becomes more bloody and brutal. That is the only direction that Iraq can go. This past week reflects the cycle of violence inherent in the U.S. strategy to bring peace and security through force.

In response to the capture of three American soldiers, more than 4,000 troops have been moving through neighborhoods in Baghdad looking for them. Soldiers have arrested over 100 men, knocked down doors, invaded and destroyed homes and increased terror among civilians caught in this anguish.

Meanwhile the al Qaeda group claiming responsibility for the ambush that killed five other soldiers and the abduction of three missing men, says its actions were in retaliation for the killing of one of its senior leaders by the U.S and for the rape of a teenage girl by a group of U.S. soldiers. Retaliation and revenge have no end.

The failure of this war has little to do with the deception and incompetence of the Bush administration. It has to do with the arrogance of power and the belief that it is possible to control people against their will. More troops, more weapons, more planes and more bombs cannot overcome the desire of people to be rid of us. They can only force people into more deadly and desperate acts of resistance. And they can only create more reasons for revenge and retaliation.

Bush and his administration have never understood that the world will not bend to their will just because they wish it so. Force cannot create or sustain peace.

This week the Iraqi parliament joined an ever-expanding chorus demanding U. S. withdrawal from Iraq. In so doing they provide a counter point to the Bush argument that we must stay in Iraq to bring security and support our friends. Our circle of friends is becoming smaller each day. Demonstrating once again that only death comes out of the barrel of a gun.

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