(June 28, 2005)
Faced with growing resistance in Iraq and growing worldwide opposition,
George W. Bush tonight attempted to rally support for his failed and
brutal policies in Iraq.
This speech comes
at a time when his approval ratings are the lowest of his Presidency,
and when every poll indicates that the people are opposed to the continued
occupation of Iraq. A majority in the U.S. now say that the war was
a mistake, and in a recent Washington Post/ABC poll, a new high of 57%
said the administration deliberately misled the public with allegations
of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Even some members of the Democratic
Party, which blindly supported the march to war two years ago, have
been forced to question the Bush policies, while not offering a alternative
course.
Bush delivered
his speech surrounded by a few hundred hand-picked Marines at Fort Bragg,
a military installation in North Carolina where he felt certain that
he would not receive any hostile questions or expressions of disagreement.
He was thus guaranteed that no one would ask him about the Downing Street
memo, which proves that the Bush Administration was planning to go to
war and was falsifying intelligence to justify it. He did not have to
face any questions about weapons of mass destruction--no one was there
to remind him that a little over two years ago, he and members of his
Administration testified that the people of Iraq had massive stockpiles
of chemical and biological weapons. He did not have to face any questions
about the worldwide outrage at revelations of torture and abuse routinely
carried out at the direction of the White House.
Instead, he repeated
the same empty rhetoric used all along to justify the occupation. Behind
the talk of "freedom" and "democracy," the message
was clear -- the Bush Administration intends to continue the colonial
occupation of Iraq, no matter the cost in lives, and intends to move
forward with its global military adventures under the guise of a "war
on terror." He also made it clear that he is not concerned with
world opinion, with growing domestic opposition, or the desire of the
Iraqi people to be free from occupation.
Bush's 'Vietnamization'
Speech
In November 3,
of 1969, then-President Richard Nixon gave what would become known as
his "Vietnamization" speech. The parallels with Bush's speech
tonight are striking and ominous.
Nixon declared
that he would not announce a timetable for withdrawal, saying that it
depended on training the South Vietnamese puppet forces. He was confident
in their progress, saying, "The South Vietnamese have continued
to gain in strength. As a result they have been able to take over combat
responsibilities from our American troops."
He said, "I
have not and do not intend to announce the timetable for our program.
And there are obvious reasons for this decision which I am sure you
will understand. As I have indicated on several occasions, the rate
of withdrawal will depend on developments."
He said that the
withdrawal of U.S. troops would depend on "the level of enemy activity
and the progress of the training programs of the South Vietnamese forces.
And I am glad to be able to report tonight progress on both of these
fronts has been greater than we anticipated when we started the program
in June for withdrawal."
He also claimed
that "Enemy infiltration, infiltration which is essential if they
are to launch a major attack, over the last 3 months is less than 20
percent of what it was over the same period last year."
Nixon's speech
completely ignored that fact that the puppet regime in Saigon had no
popular support and that the resistance to U.S. occupation was growing
daily. The people of Vietnam, like the people of Iraq, were determined
to throw out the occupiers and free their country.
It was 6 years
and tens of thousands of deaths later that the U.S. was forced to evacuate
Saigon, as the people of Vietnam drove out the occupation and overwhelmed
the weak and corrupt U.S.-installed government.
Bush's Vietnamization
speech sounded as if it were written by the same speech writer--it made
the same misrepresentations and laid out the same disastrous course
as Nixon's speech 36 years ago.
Tonight Bush claimed
that the training of "Iraqi security forces" is proceeding
well, saying, "The new Iraqi security forces are proving their
courage every day. More than 2,000 members of the Iraqi security forces
have given their lives in the line of duty. Thousands more have stepped
forward and are now in training to serve their nation. With each engagement,
Iraqi soldiers grow more battle-hardened and their officers grow more
experienced."
He likewise ignores
the fact that the Iraqi people do not support occupation, and that the
resistance is growing, becoming more sophisticated, and is widely supported
by the people of Iraq. Last month there were about 700 reported attacks
against U.S. forces using improvised explosive devices -- the highest
number since the war began. In March, 35 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq,
52 were killed in April, and 80 died in May.
Bush claims that
"when the Iraqi's stand up, we will stand down", and that
the U.S. is working toward "an Iraq that can defend itself, defeat
its enemies, and secure its freedom." But the real enemies of freedom
in Iraq are the armies of occupation. It is important to understand
that the resistance is a response to 12 years of sanctions, a war that
has killed 100,000 people, and a brutal colonial occupation. Oppression
and occupation inevitably bring violence. The Iraqi people have the
absolute right to defend their country from foreign invaders, and we
fully support their right to do so.
We cannot allow
the destruction of Iraq and its people to drag on - Secretary of Defense
Rumsfeld said Sunday that the occupation could last as long as 12 years.
We must take action now to end the war.
"Ideology
that hates freedom, rejects tolerance and despises all dissent"
President Bush
repeatedly referred to the people of Iraq as "ruthless killers"
and "terrorists," playing once again to anti-Arab and anti-Muslim
bigotry. He referred to the tragic events of September 11, 2001 at least
six times in his speech to justify the ongoing war and occupation, even
though he knows that the people of Iraq had nothing to do with the attacks
on that day.
He claimed that
the resistance fighters in Iraq are motivated by an "ideology that
hates freedom, rejects tolerance and despises all dissent." To
most of the world, this phrase describes, not the women and men struggling
to free their country from occupation, but the Bush Administration itself.
The neocons in the White House have lied in order to justify a war of
conquest. They have practiced and justified torture and abuse of prisoners.
They have waged war on basic rights with the Patriot Act and the creation
of the Department of Homeland Security.
Bush claims to
be fighting under the banner of "the great ideal of human freedom".
Yet no President has done more to curtail free speech or to control
the "free" press. And no President has done more to apply
the law selectively, to further his own political agenda, or to pack
the courts with right wing extremists.
Freedom in the
Middle East?
President Bush
claimed that the occupation was bringing freedom throughout the Middle
East. He repeatedly asserts that America is giving Iraq its sovereignty.
Iraq was sovereign until March 20, 2003, when the U.S., in violation
of the U.N. Charter and international law, invaded and occupied that
sovereign country. That sovereignty can only be restored when the U.S.
leaves.
The grisly photos
and testimony of torture and abuse in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and other
U.S. prison camps make it clear who the real terrorists are, and that
they have no intention of bringing democracy to Iraq.
The U.S. government
has never demonstrated any interest in bringing democracy to the Middle
East. Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger outlined U.S. policy
in the region when he said, "Middle East oil is too important to
be left to hands of the Arabs." The U.S. has made no effort to
bring democracy in any of the nations in the region where it has maintained
troops-the people of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates
all live under feudal monarchies, without free elections, civil liberties,
civil rights, union rights, or rights for women.
The U.S. continues
to fund, arm, and support the occupation of Palestine, supporting a
rogue colonial state that routinely engages in violations of basic human
rights, a brutal regime that is in violation of 65 U.N. Resolutions.
Who pays the price for global war?
Since the invasion
of Iraq, Johns Hopkins University estimates more than 100,000 Iraqis
have been killed, most of them women and children. Thousands are being
held in U.S. prison camps, subject to torture and abuse.
As of yesterday,
1,734 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq since the March 2003
invasion and more than 13,000 have been wounded, according to Defense
Department figures. The young people who are killed, injured, and permanently
disabled are not the children of Wall Street. They are children from
the poorest and most oppressed communities, forced into the military
because of the lack of options.
Many of them are
returning home to find that there are no jobs, that housing prices have
skyrocketed, and that healthcare is not available. Hundreds of returning
veterans are now homeless.
Meanwhile, working
people in the U.S. are finding it harder to make ends meet, as billions
of tax dollars have been spent on the war instead of jobs, education,
and health care. Cities are forced to slash their budgets, laying off
workers and cutting essential services. Schools are overcrowded, understaffed,
and underfunded. Healthcare is a luxury.
This is not just
a war against the people of Iraq. Under the pretense of waging a "war
on terror," Bush is waging a war of terror against working people
everywhere. We must organize to fight back.
We
Won't Go! Help Shutdown Military Recruiting and Resist the Draft
One of the most
effective ways to stop the war is to cut off the supply of fresh troops.
Across the U.S.,
parents, youth, and activists are realizing that if we can stop the
flow of troops, we can stop the war. The movement against military recruiting
is having an impact far beyond what is reported by the corporate media.
Recruiters are being driven off campus or challenged by activists who
present opposing information. Groups of parents, educators, youth, and
activists are meeting across the country to discuss strategies to defend
our young people against the predators in uniform.
No Draft No Way
launched its website in June of last year - www.NoDraftNoWay.org
This site includes updated information about the draft and military
recruiting, strategies and tactics for challenging the militariazation
of our schools, and downloadable leaflets, petitions, and fact sheets.
Since the launch
of the site, thousands have signed the online petition against the draft
and the No Draft No Way network has grown to include hundreds of activists
all across the country. It is vitally important that we provide these
local organizers with information and tools.
In order to meet
this urgent need, the Youth and the Military Education Project is publishing
We Won't Go - A Guide to Counter-Recruiting and Draft Resistance.
This 120-page book will present, in a brief and accessible format: the
truth behind military recruiters' lies; students' rights on campus;
information about the draft and alternatives; how to organize an opt-out
campaign to keep students' personal information out of the hands of
recruiters; and how to organize a local protest, including publicity,
legal issues, making placards, and working with the media. This small,
easy-to-read book, written by counter-recruiting activists, current
and former members of the military, and youth, will be available in
bulk at discounted prices for community and youth organizations, classrooms,
and libraries. It will be sent to clergy, educators, parent associations,
and community leaders across the country.
We are rushing
to get We Won't Go - A Guide to Counter-Recruiting and Draft Resistance
to publication so that thousands of activists can use this material
a part of a national campaign to educate and mobilize youth against
militarism and the war. This book must be at the printers by July 15
in order for us to have it ready for the start of the new school year.
Can you help us
with this urgent effort to publish We Won't Go - A Guide to Counter-Recruiting
and Draft Resistance? We will include a special acknowledgement
section in the book, showing appreciation for those who make a contribution
to this effort. Your name can be listed there, or you can donate anonymously.
Donate online at:
http://nodraftnoway.org/donate-new.shtml
