I am sick to my soul over U.S. military terrorism in Iraq....

I am so deeply ashamed of my country this morning-- more so than ever during the last four years, and after the bombardment of Baghdad and revelation of torture at Abu Ghraib I would never have thought I had the capacity for further shame.

Today we are engaged in the slaughter of civilians in Fallujah-- some of whom are "insurgents" resisting the cruel occupation of Iraq. The Marines and soldiers committing these crimes share some of the responsibility, perhaps most of it in the sense that no murder is ever committed until someone pulls the trigger or detonates a bomb.

To those who argue that "the troops" have no choice, that they are in a "no-win" situation, I ask "Would you extend the same apologies for the Nazi murderers of civilians in Lidice, or the Russian assault upon Grozny?" They too were soldiers following orders, in similar no-win situations. Yet we willfully acknowledge that their actions were crimes.

How does the collective punishment of civilians in Fallujah, where boys and men were imprisoned by siege for weeks before the assault, differ from the massacre of men and boys in Lidice? The dead of Fallujah are meant to be a warning to the entire Sunni triangle, just as the dead of Lidice were a message to the Czechs. This time the slaughter is orchestrated by our Marines rather than by the Schutzpolizei. Otherwise, little has changed.

I believe that U.S. military forces deserve our unflagging support and gratitude when they risk their lives-- and give their lives-- to defend America or our allies from aggression. I despair to see them used as instruments of foreign policy rather than as America's defense but I'm realistic enough to understand that this is the reality of power, and that we citizens have a duty to serve as watchdogs over the powerful who would misuse our military.

The situation in Iraq goes far beyond simple misuse of the armed forces for geopolitical manipulation, however. In Iraq our military is engaged in a brutal foreign occupation. They are not defending America or its allies-- they are acting as thugs and enforcers for a greedy, corrupt, and power-hungry regime. Their acts are indefensible by any standard of decency. Over 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died, either directly or indirectly, because of the invasion and occupation. How can we say that our military is behaving any differently from the Russians at Grozny? Iraq is rapidly becoming America's Chechnya.

Many here have condemned me for calling attention to these truths. There are many who cannot help but offer blind support for "our troops," no matter what crimes they commit. Some point out that such men and women are often young and unsophisticated. Many have noted that the Marines and soldiers in Iraq are our sons and daughters, husbands and wives.

Every murderer is someone's son or daughter. Every murderer has a history that we can use to trace the roots of their pathologies. Nevertheless, we lock them into cages to protect the innocent. It is their acts that we judge, not their histories or the failings of others.

When a soldier kills in defense of his nation we forgive him, indeed, we thank him, for he has accepted an awful burden in our names. But when our soldiers murder to create terror, or to "pacify" an occupied population, or simply to put down opposition to their presence, they are not to be forgiven. When they ignore the basic standards of decency toward their enemies as outlined in the Geneva Conventions, or hold innocent civilian populations hostage to the geopolitics of greed, their actions are criminal and indefensible. What they do in our names is not honorable or noble, but shameful and terrible.

I am so ashamed of America today. The dead in Iraq will stain our consciences forever. I am sick to my soul. I have cried, raged, begged, marched, cajoled politicians, and sought to educate others, all to little avail. My shame remains. How could we have ever let our names be so badly misused? How could our leaders have allowed this nightmare?

because in a short while, this battle will be so propagandized you will not think that anyone is talking about the same thing. We will have fought a great battle against a great army armed to the teeth, our soldiers will be glorified as brave heroes and George Bush as the greatest president ever, resolute in battle, who won a great battle for freedom. Somewhere religion and a god who looked down on his troops and enabled the win.

I share your angst and pain. I can barely bring myself to read about it.

The Germans and Stalingrad.

is what I heard on the radio this morning.

The whole thing brings me to tears.

Allowed? Allowed? They wanted it, the whole PNAC lot of them. That's the sickening part.

:puke:

for her people though. Today, I am ashamed of half of her people as well.

"No government can allow terrorists and foreign fighters to use its soil to attack its people and to attack its government," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

You think that might be what some of the folks in Fallujah are thinking?