War? What War?

I’ve always felt queasy calling our military action in Iraq a “war”. First of all because wars are supposed to be declared by Congress, and they let the President start this action. And lately what has been going on in Iraq hasn’t felt like a war.

But as usual, Thom Hartmann expresses these things much more clearly than I do. Thom says that the “War in Iraq” ended in May of 2003 when the US Military defeated the Iraqi Military. Mission Accomplished and our boys (and girls) won it.

What we have had since the end of the war is an occupation. Wars can be won or lost. But occupations only end when the occupier leaves or is violently thrown out. So there is no dishonor in planning for redeployments that will end this occupation. America did not “lose” when the occupations of Japan or Germany ended after World War II.

The words we use to describe ourselves and the world are important. 95% of those attacking U.S. forces in Iraq consider themselves to be “anti-occupation fighters.” We need to stop talking about a “war in Iraq” that does not exist. The U.S. Military is good at winning wars, but the U.S. Military is not good at occupying countries. We need to refer to this situation as accurately as possible: U.S. Military forces are occupying Iraq. And we must plan and execute an honorable end to that occupation.

We will not be able to even talk about ending the occupation as long as people continue to inaccurately label this situation as a “war”. We won the war. No we need to end the occupation. When Republicans push to portray the current Iraqi situation as a “war” they are making it psychologically difficult for Americans to talk about what needs to be done. When they vilify Democrats and others who want to end the occupation of Iraq, they say that “cowards want to cut and run’, that we want to “lose the war”. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Americans must frame this discussion accurately. The War is Over. Let’s End the Occupation of Iraq.

What do you wish you had been told?

Bill Moyers in another great speech (read it here) tells the class of 2006 what he wishes he had been told as he entered the "adult" world:

"That's really what brings me here this afternoon. I did put myself in your place, and asked what I'd want a stranger from another generation to tell me if I had to sit through his speech. Well, I'd want to hear the truth: The truth is, life's a tough act, the world's a hard place, and along the way you will meet a fair share of fools, knaves and clowns--even act the fool yourself from time to time when your guard is down or you've had too much wine. I'd like to be told that I will experience separation, loss and betrayal, that I'll wonder at times where have all the flowers gone.

I would want to be told that while life includes a lot of luck, life is more than luck. It is sacrifice, study, and work; appointments kept, deadlines met, promises honored. I'd like to be told that it's okay to love your country right or wrong, but it's not right to be silent when your country is wrong. And I would like to be encouraged not to give up on the American experience. To remember that the same culture which produced the Ku Klux Klan, Tom DeLay and Abu Ghraib, also brought forth the Peace Corps, Martin Luther King and Hamilton College.

And I would like to be told that there is more to this life than I can see, earn, or learn in my time. That beyond the day-to-day spectacle are cosmic mysteries we don't understand. That in the meantime--and the meantime is where we live--we infinitesimal particles of creation carry on the miracle of loving, laughing and being here now, by giving, sharing and growing now. "

The Stolen 2004 Election

Was the 2004 Election Stolen? An article in Rolling Stone by Robert F. Kennedy JR.
The real news is not that the election was stolen.
The real news is that the media, the Democrats, and the Republicans have all told us to polish our tinfoil hats for the last two years if we thought things smelled fishy.
Read this article.
People who have wanted to know, know about this stuff already, but Kennedy does an excellent job of putting it all together with reference material for the skeptics. Although I am sure no amount of scientific data will be sufficient to change the minds of the faith-based voters in this country.