When the United States invaded and occupied Iraq, the formerly
secular country was destabilized. The United States and the Department
of Defense intentionally created and agitated sectarian divisions that
would not have otherwise existed. The result of this is what we see
today, and Iraqi civilians are paying for it.
Iraqis have been paying with their lives for this war since March
2003. After 10 years of US occupation they were left with little relief.
Their economic infrastructure was destroyed and new work to repair it
has been awarded to US corporations and contractors, instead of to
Iraqis. Iraqi labor unions face frequent retaliation, and an entire
generation of children has been born with severe birth defects in places
like Hawija. No one has been held to account. No effort has been made
to clean the waste left behind.
When it comes to arming "freedom fighters" the US has a tendency to
act as a fair-weather friend; today's freedom fighter becomes tomorrow's
terrorist and justification to pursue an illegal invasion. Instead of
creating more chaos, we should be solving the problems that already
exist. Instead of installing another puppet president, the United States
should be cleaning up environmental contamination, investigating
allegations of torture, and allowing democracy to blossom in both
government and labor, without US intervention.
***Read full article here***
*Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) blog
