[A-List] What's Your Occupation?

[Macdonald Stainsby <mstainsby@xxxxxx>]

[not withstanding disputes given to me over the accuracy of the numbers 
involved, here's my latest column
Macdonald]


What?s Your Occupation?

        Were you pissed off that the war happened, despite the largest 
movement for any cause in history? Well, hold on, something even better is 
taking place. The war machine is losing the ability to make war. Oh, it?s 
not obvious yet. It won?t be for a while, at least not to the generals and 
the oil administration. Well, actually, it?s becoming obvious to some of 
the generals. These men have started demanding that the Secretary of 
Defense (Donald Rumsfeld) send more troops. What?s the problem with this? 
They don?t got ?em.
            Military discussions can get tedious and boring quickly, but 
here are some basic points:
   * The total number of people in the US Army is approximately 1.4 million.
   * The total number of ?active? troops is well under half of a million.
   * 148 000 troops are currently under siege in Iraq (including some 6000 
accounted for but unreported 'medevacs').
   * The total number of countries that the US maintains troop presence in 
comes to over 100 countries (the number tends to only increase).

With the continuing joyful adventure in Iraq, there are three options, so 
it would appear.

1)     Radically increase the number of troops in Iraq. This option means 
calling up more reserves, and doing a massive recruitment at home. The US 
Army is in no position to recruit people. It is one thing to get a citizen 
to sing ?God Bless America? or put on a yellow ribbon, quite another to ask 
them to get shot at in an occupation that is becoming more dangerous and 
more unpopular every day. More than two American soldiers are being killed 
every day­with twice as many killed in the time since Bush declared 
?victory?­ and the army has instituted a pay cut for troops in Iraq just 
last month (in a military that spends more money than the rest of the other 
200 countries on the planet combined).[1]
2)     Turn over the entire operation to the UN. Though George Bush has 
asked for ?help? from the UN, the US didn?t invade the country to simply 
turn it over to the rest of the planet or worse­the Iraqi people 
themselves. The United Nations was part of the attack of the war, to 
eliminate the supposed peace-enforcing body. The rest of the Security 
Council including permanent members France and Russia as well as rotating 
members Germany and Syria want no part in picking up the American tab (Bush 
just ?asked? congress for another $87 billion for Iraq alone) or getting 
attacked by Iraqis who want to be left alone. The political humiliation of 
the American Empire in Iraq is growing thicker by the day. The very fact 
that the Americans have turned to the UN is in itself indicative of just 
how desperate the government is getting.
3)     Continue on with what they have, and hope that somehow, the people 
of the Middle East will come to love their new occupiers. This option is 
the one that Donald Rumsfeld wants to maintain, and he?s in charge. Known 
for an almost superhuman faith in the new hi-tech weaponry of the US, Rummy 
just now has to figure out what good an Apache helicopter is to a roadside 
bomb built out of fertilizer. The media report the dead figures, but when 
these numbers continue to increase (and they will) the whole ?Operation 
Iraqi Freedom? will begin to get questioned in ever-greater numbers. In 
fact, this is already happening.

The US occupation of Iraq, I once feared, would lead to the occupation of 
Syria, the nuclear bombing of north Korea and the absolute unleashing of a 
world superpower unseen with ferocity since the times of the fight against 
fascism. And all of my fears were the dreams of the men in the Pentagon, 
but my nightmares are morphing into their daily nightmare: The Empire is 
unraveling in Iraq. Once an occupation reaches the point it is at in Iraq, 
the question really becomes: Leave now or later?

This past summer I went hitchhiking far up North with my partner. When you 
are a hitchhiker, you are leaving yourself open to the whims of other 
people; hitchhiking doesn?t allow you to decide your own fate. There were 
many times we were left in the middle of nowhere, hoping to get a ride. 
Getting through Alaska was the toughest part of our journey. We got rides 
from several American war veterans: Vietnam for the first one, a great man 
who helped load us back up with water after we were standing in brutal heat 
on an abandoned gravel road. He had nothing good to say about the war, but 
he liked having his ?Veteran? license plate to get through the border 
guards that much easier (his words). However, it was the second ride with 
an American army boy that really got to me.
 This man was 22 years old, with 4 years in the military. The reason he 
joined the army? He couldn?t afford to go to college and he wanted to get a 
trade. He?d been stationed all over the world and he had enjoyed it­his 
absolute wonder with the world, his fascination with people and his caring 
gentle spirit reminded me of the best friend I had growing up. My 
girlfriend and I had been stuck in this little town for hours and were 
literally on our knees begging for a ride when he appeared and pulled over. 
He was badly injured from an accident while playing on a dirt bike near 
Fairbanks, Alaska. When he spoke about international politics, he didn?t do 
so with ?let?s go? gusto. When we got out of his truck in Whitehorse, Yukon 
he made my partner take some Gatorade: ?I?ve seen people die of 
dehydration, it isn?t pretty! Take it.?
She took it and we parted ways.
When I see that the people of Iraq will fight for their country to be left 
to just them, I have no problem with this. I just try to understand, try to 
respect. But when I see people like Donald Rumsfeld talk, I get furious. I 
just hope that the Pentagon figures out that the war is lost, before 2 more 
hitchhikers never see their ride come down the road during the beating 
heat. I don?t think any of us should die of dehydration, unnecessarily.

Macdonald Stainsby is a freelance writer, social justice activist and can 
be reached at:
mstainsby@xxxxxx


[1] 
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0803/14paycut.html?urac=n&urvf=10637841230920.7827033058065651

--
Macdonald Stainsby.
--
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green
In the contradiction lies the hope. -Brecht.