Who Speaks for Them?

Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to death by hanging for his crimes against the people of his own nation. Perhaps it is a just sentence, but what about the crimes against humanity caused by our invasion of Iraq?

As of this writing we know of 3105 coalition deaths and 46,137 casualties and somewhere between 47,085 and 52,222 Iraqi civilians have perished. How do we count the cost of these losses in human and material terms? We have no estimate of the number of Iraqi “non-mortal” injuries, but clearly tens of thousands of our and Iraqi wounded will never lead normal lives again. Limbs are gone and brains are damaged beyond repair. A country has been torn apart economically, culturally and physically. The politics of the mid-east has been set on a more destructive course than ever in recent history.

And so who pays for this “crime” against humanity? They say the victors are never tried for war crimes, but in this case, are there any victors…but only the vanquished? And no one speaks for them.

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{For an up-to-date accounting of U.S. military, coalition, contractors, etc. killed, MIA, and wounded see http://icasualties.org/oif/
For a current count on Iraqi civilian deaths go to http://www.iraqbodycount.net/background.htm }

November 8th: The Morning After

So November 7^th was an historic election for the United States. But what does it all mean? We may not have achieved a complete “magnetic shift” but clearly it is time to set a new course.

The votes were not so much an affirmation of a party platform or agenda as a clear rejection of our current president and his policies and performance (more performance) in foreign affairs and the war. It was as though Americans realized they were headed on a course for disaster, and a turn had to be made. But a turn where? Clearly more to the “center.” But now to what destinations do we plot our new course?

Those who will be moving to D.C. into their new congressional offices were often elected by slim margins. They should travel light and not unpack everything unless they are willing now to set a new national course and not just drift.

That new national course should include a vigorous and clear set of initiatives and legislation that inspires Americans to be proud of their nation once again. Even if the going is rough in the Senate and the President threatens with veto power, Congress can give us renewed faith in America by focusing on one project over the next two years:

· End the occupation of Iraq, deal with the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and begin repairing our international relations, foreign policy and credibility.

AND get reelected in 2008 with a Democratic platform that includes:

· Redefining national security as not isolationism from but engagement with the rest of the world

· Adjusting our tax policy to achieve a more equitable and fair distribution of our economic wealth

· A major reassessment of our foreign policy

· An aggressive program to end our fossil fuel dependency

· A complete overhaul of our national health care program

· Serious reform of our educational systems – K-12 and higher education

· Working with international alliances that seek to reduce world poverty and hunger and thus reduce probability for terrorism

· Advocacy of free and fair trade

The doors of opportunity seem to have opened once again for our Nation. Let us work to make sure our optimism is well grounded.

Merle

Facing the Facts

What a nasty turn we have taken when Americans cannot face the facts. We are increasingly a class divided society; our wars are now fought by those on the underclass; at no time in American history has such a small percentage of Americans held so much of the nation’s wealth; the middle class is squeezed as never before and now has about the same purchasing power it did in the mid 1970s; and we have not won a war since W.W. II and we have already lost the war in Iraq. The debate is really over how to withdraw and call it a “victory.”

These are the truths that we must face and talk about if America is to claim its moral leadership in the 21^st century. We need the political leadership that will not be afraid of facing the truth and not covering it with symbols of false patriotism. Real patriotism speaks the truth!

Merle