The End of 2004

It has been a particularly dismal year, with a exceptionally dismal final week in this year of 2004. The tsunami is the worst natural disaster in our lifetimes. If you can contribute to a charity to help these poor people, then please do so. Please be sure to give to a reputable charity, like the Red Cross, UNICEF, many religious charities (my favorite, www.afsc.org).

I was looking at a new summary in the local paper of events in Iraq this past year. They mention how many US troops have died, but no mention of totals of Iraqi deaths, civilian or otherwise. They mention one to three highlights from each month. They mention the September 30th terrorist bombings that killed 35 children in Baghdad, and also mention the October 1st actions US forces made to retake Samarra from the "insurgents". No mention is made of the 23 children killed on Oct 1st (in that retaking of Samarra) from US bombings.

The civilian deaths from terrorists and insurgent activities are mentioned, but the civilian deaths from US actions are totally ignored in our press. They don't even make an attempt to find out.

Another example is the mention of the March 31st incident were four American "security contractors" were killed and mutilated in Fallujah. No mention of the incident the week before, where 15 Iraqis were killed by US Marines, seven of them children. The US response to the killing of the "security contractors" was extensively bloody, and resulted in many civilian casualties.

It goes on and on. The US forces still does report or attempt to uncover the number of dead from the results of their own actions. And the US media still ignores the issue. Yet we are supposedly there to bring the Iraqi people "freedom and democracy". We are bringing many of them the freedom of the grave and the democracy of death.

In November the US forces "liberated" Fallujah for the third time. They are still "liberating" Fallujah. The entire water and sewer system has been destroyed, and the place is not fit to live in. So, what are they going to do about this? Is there going to be a fourth "liberation" of Fallujah someday?

Here is what one Iraqi official said (From FRONTLINE, a magazine in India): Ghazi al-Yawar, the interim President of the puppet regime in Iraq, had opposed the impending action: "I completely disagree with people who see a need to settle the Fallujah question through military action .. . . It is like someone firing bullets at his horse's head because a fly lands on it; the horse dies and the fly flies away."

He was correct. The terrorists moved elsewhere. Now, the mainstream media in the US would have you think they moved to Mosul. However, those of us who listen to Democracy Now know that Mosul was in the complete control of the insurgents by September, 2004, well before the Fallujah assault.

I often wish that those people who started up this useless war could be made to bear the burden of the suffering it causes.... but instead, it will be ordinary, poor Iraqis and ordinary, poor US troops who will bear this burden. Forever and always.

Pray for peace, pray for the addressing of wrongs in this world, pray for guidance on how we can solve these problems in a non-violent manor. Pray for unity for the good people in Iraq and all over the world.

I don't feel like a party, but I am headed to a friend's house anyway.

I wish you all a happy and peaceful New Years.