BY MICHAEL LIVINGSTON
Soon after President Trump took office General John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, told Congress that the U.S. faces a stalemate and needs several thousand more troops (New York Times, 2/10/2017, p. A3). The seemingly endless wars in the Middle East continue under Trump and the U.S. now has troops or covert operations in seven countries in the region: Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.
Now is the time to end these wars. On Saturday, March 18, the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) is organizing a protest to mark the 14th anniversary of the 2003 “shock and awe” invasion of Iraq. The protest begins at 1 p.m. at the corner of 3rd Street and Cedar Avenue South (in front of Mayday Bookstore) on the West Bank. At 1:30 people will march through the neighborhood. The protest is not just against the Iraq war, but against all of the ongoing and increasing attacks on the people of the region by the U.S. government and its allies.
In a very real sense, these wars and interventions are part of a single war of aggression carried out by the U.S. Take Afghanistan, the longest of these wars. The U.S. invaded in October 2001, purportedly to attack Al Qaeda for its role in the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001. After removing the Taliban government, President Bush declared “Mission Accomplished.” Sixteen years later, the U.S. is still fighting in Afghanistan in an effort to keep a pro-U.S. government in power. That effort, according to General Nicholson, is stalemated.
Or take Iraq, where the U.S. invaded, based on a lie told to the American people about WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction). March 20 marks the 14th anniversary of the invasion. The U.S. still has troops and civilian contractors (an Orwellian euphemism for mercenaries) in Iraq. Finally, take Syria, where U.S. aid goes to the Al Nusra Front (affiliated with Al Qaeda) to fight against both ISIS forces (supported by U.S. allies Turkey and Saudi Arabia) and the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The real U.S. objective in Syria is the removal of al-Assad and his replacement with a pro-U.S. government.
These wars touch all of us here in the U.S. every day. In addition to the thousands of U.S. soldiers killed or injured and the hundreds of thousands killed by the U.S. in the Middle East, these wars are displacing millions of people from their homes and bankrupting the U.S. economy. Economists Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes calculate the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars at over $3 trillion as of 2008. Factoring in the costs of the additional wars and the additional nine years, total costs will approach $5 trillion. The endless U.S. wars are bankrupting the American economy.
Finally, the U.S. could not mobilize support for these wars without fanning the flames of hatred against Islam. This Islamophobia, the racist and xenophobic hatred of Islam and Muslims, is essential to sustaining popular support for war. To end the wars abroad, we must also end the Islamophobia at home.
The Minnesota Peace Action Coalition invites you to join them Saturday, March 18, at 1 p.m., with the march to start at 1:30 at 3rd Street and Cedar Avenue South on the West Bank. For more information, contact 612-275-2720 or 612-827-5364.
