[Iowa-dx] Fwd: US must take responsibility for breaking Iraq (Pat LaMarche, Bangor Daily News)

[hhart@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu]

Another article by Pat LaMarche.



Pat LaMarche: Taking responsibility for breaking
Iraq

Bangor Daily News, September 19, 2007
http://bangornews.com/news/t/viewpoints.aspx?articleid=3D154396&zoneid=3D117


Forty-eight years ago today, then Soviet Premier
Nikita Khrushchev was denied access to
Disneyland. The Secret Service said it would be
too dangerous for the communist leader to visit
America?s best-known amusement park. They claimed
that they just couldn?t guarantee his safety.

Probably just as well. If they hadn?t been so
diligent, we might all be members of the Mickey
Mao club right now.

But really, how times have changed: Amusement
parks are where we take foreign nationals now to
prove that they are finally safe and sound. This
weekend, with video cameras all around, a little
Iraqi boy went to Universal Studios. CNN gushed
with details of the delightful time this little
guy had, meeting Spider-Man and going on rides.
According to CNN, the little boy?s father got
scared a few times but not little Youssif ? he
was brave.

Seems once you?ve been pulled from your house,
doused in gasoline, and then set on fire, a
carnival ride just can?t scare a kid.

CNN brought Youssif, his parents and baby sister
to the United States because the Iraq hospital
that treated Youssif?s burns had no painkillers.
After two months of listening to his son scream,
his father risked everything by going to CNN.

Of course they had to bring the whole family
because talking to the American media ? the media
of Iraq?s "liberators" ? has a tendency to get a
family killed in Iraq.

Don?t read further if you?re enjoying breakfast
or if you already know that in Iraq we?ve lost
the war on terror.

In Iraq, our invasion and continued occupation
has assured that there?s plenty of terror to go
around.

See, in order for Youssif?s father to approach
CNN, he had to take the chance that something
worse might happen.

What could be worse than having your kid burned
alive?

Youssif?s father, on CNN not Al Jazeera ? a major
mainstream American news outlet, not an alleged
Arab propaganda machine ? told about a
neighborhood kid (I warned you to stop reading)
who had been kidnapped and beheaded. Then her
murderers sewed a dog?s head where her head had
been and returned her to her family.

Youssif?s father listened to Youssif scream for
two months because he was that scared.

What are we doing in Iraq?

This week, the Washington Post reported that the
Democratic leaders (I use that term facetiously),
listening to their country clamoring for
withdrawal, think that they can stall a vote on
funding the war until November, hoping that
Republican leaders (ditto) will come along.

Maybe by November, every American news
organization will find some injured kid to
exploit. By the time Congress has the guts to
act, 30 kids might make it to safety.

Well, I?ve got an idea. It?s a crazy idea. But
invading a country with no plan for after the
bombs stop falling is crazy ? destroying the
entire infrastructure of a nation and claiming
"mission accomplished" is crazy.

So here?s my idea.

As long as America has a presence in Iraq, the
only really safe Iraqi is an Iraqi outside of the
country. Now, there are 22 million people in
Iraq. About half of them are children. I?m not
saying that we can or should bring all those kids
to Universal Studios. Heck, if Disney can?t keep
Nikita Khrushchev safe, what fun park could
handle 11 million Iraqi kids?

No, I say we bring them to ? Montana. In Montana,
there?s room for their parents, too.

See, Montana is roughly the size of Iraq but has
a population of under a million. There?s gobs of
room!

I mean, we broke their country. Don?t we owe it
to them, if we can?t keep them safe there, to at
least bring them here? Hey, Universal Studios and
Halliburton and all the U.S. corporations who?ve
found a way to make a buck or get free publicity
from their misery can pay for their plane
tickets.

Or do we as a nation need to admit that we just
don?t care about those dying Iraqi children?

Call your congressman. Let U.N. peacekeepers from
the neighboring nations take charge. Tell them to
withdraw our troops and end this war.


Pat LaMarche of Yarmouth is the author of "Left
Out In America: The State of Homelessness in the
United States." She can be contacted at
PatLaMarche@hotmail.com









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