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My dictionary defines 'brink' as 'the
point at which something, typically an unwelcome or disastrous
event, is about to happen.'
Seems we've left the brink
behind and moved into those disasters many times under the leadership
of George W. Bush. The decision to go to war is one, followed
by torture, rendition, spying on American citizens, and, of course,
the brink in New Orleans when Bush knew the levees would be breached
but was passive and, later, said, "Who'd have known?"
How many brinks are we going
to allow, especially, when Bush is too stubborn and inept to
pull us back, away from danger?
Now, George W. is giving his
speeches to garner support for the war we've lost. He's just
said, "We will not lose our nerve." Easy for him to
say since his life isn't on the line. The lives of our troops
and of Iraqis are, though, and the Bush Presidency is. Bush has
always indicated he doesn't pay attention to polls, but his actions
prove otherwise. He's looking deeply at his approval ratings.
That's why he's out there predicting victory. I guess the poll
he's ignoring is the Zogby International which did face-to-face
interviews with our soldiers on the ground in Iraq and found
that more than 70 percent think they should be pulled and returned
home this year.
So many of us have grown weary
of the patriotic pablum, emanating from the minority who support
the war. I'm sick of servings of "fighting for our freedoms"
or "protecting our liberties." These should be removed
from the pep-rally menu and sympathy offerings.
I say this with certainty.
I say it as my family endures the August 6, 2005 death of our
own soldier in Iraq. I say it because I have so recently experienced
the loss of my First Amendment rights, the swiping of my freedoms-taken
so brazenly that I'm still having difficulty with the reality
of what it now means to be a citizen of the United States under
George W. Bush. He's the real miscreant here and he sleeps in
a house for which I pay under 1000-thread-count sheets for which
I pay in a bed for which I pay and jets around in an airplane
for which I pay, yet, he hasn't spent one minute paying for crimes
that most of the world consider horrendous. His payment is long
overdue.
On March 6 when I accompanied
CODEPINK members and the Iraqi Women's Delegation to the US Mission
to the UN to deliver a petition with over 100,000 signatures
of women who say no to war, my freedoms-those my nephew and more
than 2,300 of his fellow soldiers supposedly died fighting to
preserve (?)-were abruptly and brutally suspended. Four women
for peace, Rev. Patricia Ackerman, Medea Benjamin, Cindy Sheehan,
and I, were arrested and jailed for 22 hours.
I've written about the incarceration--the
indignities that people suffer even before arraignment--all designed,
of course, to teach a lesson. But after more than a week of
reflection, my thoughts are focused on those freedoms the Bush
Administration has convinced the electorate we're fighting to
prevent terrorists from seizing. Let me tell you that those freedoms
have been confiscated by our government. When I can't walk on
a public sidewalk with women who have an appointment to enter
and simply hand a petition to the US Mission, then, my freedoms
and the freedoms of these other women are no longer principles
on which I, we, can depend. Further, when a spokesperson can
misrepresent our actions to mainstream newspapers that don't
print our position, someone might as well put a pillow over
our mouths and noses and extinguish our breath.
George W. Bush has the audacity
to say there is no greater sacrifice than to serve this country
in war. But our troops aren't serving our country. Instead,
they're serving a commander-in-chief who isn't serving the electorate,
but is, instead, serving his own interests. George Bush wants
you, our soldiers, and me to believe that he acts on our behalf.
Obscene lies twist past his lips.
Several people have asked why
I chose that particular day last week to take a stand more drastic
than my usual. The answer is this: March 6th marked seven months
since my nephew's death in Iraq. When I saw that the security
agents had locked the doors to our mission, I was compelled to
do more than march or sit in front of my computer and write.
I acted not only in support of freedoms for which Chase J. Comley
didn't die but to claim what he believed he was preserving when
he enlisted, even though he was betrayed by George Bush who manipulated
evidence to go to war and, then, didn't care enough to even provide
adequate body armor for the troops. My claim on liberty was denied.
For all who say, "Freedom
isn't free," I want them to understand exactly what's occurring
while they ignore our descent into a dictatorship. Our freedom
was never at risk in Iraq or from Saddam Hussein. Freedom wasn't
an issue in the invasion that Bush conceived long before the
events of 9/11 and even prior to the oath he took as our president.
The word 'freedom' is currency to those in the highest offices
of our government and they use it to market war. Abusing patriotism,
they speak nationalistic rhetoric. They should be ashamed.
They should be publicly shamed. They should be impeached and,
then, prosecuted. To this administration, the lives of our troops
are insignificancies. The dead are placed in transfer tubes-vacuum
cleaner bags-to be emptied into a coffin and placed in the dirt.
The grief of the distraught families is unfelt by the president.
The wailing is unheard by the designers of war.
My nephew's death is meaningless
to Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Rove, Wolfowitz, Powell, Perle,
and all the advisers who were foaming at the mouth to invade
Iraq. Our loss is their gain. POWER. OIL. CONTRACTS. PROFIT.
Meanwhile, as those of us who
work for peace are jailed because we dare speak against this
administration, Bush and pals raise their glasses or give each
other the high sign, confident in their accomplishments and planning
the next war.
Freedom to Bush doesn't mean
the same as it does to you and me. Bush's definition is measured
by the support he receives for his doctrine from members of Congress
who are no longer statesmen and stateswomen. Rather, they bow
and scrape for the glory of George. Anyone who strays is bulldozed
by the power the president and Karl Rove harness so effectively.
Freedom used to mean having
the right to speak against injustice, against war, and against
a dangerous president who makes insane statements like: "God
told me to invade Iraq."
Tragically, the distillate
of Bush's unpunished, scandal-plagued reign may be a world that's
uninhabitable. And, sadly, for so many, the realization of this
won't occur until there's nothing left to lose.
CounterPunch
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CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair
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