Peaceful Day in Iraq?

By Cindy Sheehan
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Monday 17 October 2005

I keep hearing on the news that this past Saturday was a relatively "peaceful" day in Iraq. Despite many reports already of alleged election fraud (shades of Ohio and Florida), George and his cronies are cautiously optimistic that the referendum for the constitution will pass. George Bush says that it looks like Iraq is heading for "peace."

I have two points to make about the referendum vote in Iraq on Saturday. First of all, George told us in his headlong rush to disaster in Iraq that Saddam had WMDs and that Iraq was culpable for 9/11. George and his band of war monsters still despicably say "9/11" in every major speech in defense of the invasion and continued occupation. He never said "regime change" or spreading "freedom and democracy." If the constitution passes, what will be the next devious justification for the occupation?

Secondly, I hate to spoil CNN's euphoria over the vote on the referendum, but 5 soldiers and a Marine were killed by IEDs on Saturday. I wonder if the families of those tragically slain on the "peaceful" day are celebrating the turn-out on Saturday? I know I don't think that it was worth Casey dying so the people of Iraq can vote in a theocracy.

The soldiers and the Marine were all killed by IEDs. There exists such a thing as an IED jammer. For $47,000/vehicle, our children can be saved from most of the IED attacks. The Pentagon has decided that $47,000 is too much to spend to keep our children alive!!! Halliburton steals that much from the Pentagon before the CEO's first cup of morning coffee. For the two vehicles that were destroyed and the 6 of our children killed, it comes to a little over $15,000 per person. Not to be crass, but the government will be handing each family a check for $100,000 soon (the deaths are still "pending") and $400,000 in insurance death benefits. I know each family would mortgage their homes, or sell their souls, if they knew it would have cost $15,000 to keep their precious family member alive.

We can't let these criminals in power to come up with another sham reason to keep our troops in Iraq. Iraq does not now and never has needed our military presence there. Our young men and women have done everything they have been asked to do so far. It is time to reward them by not asking any more of them and bringing them home alive. We know that the "counted" dead Iraqis have been 3663 in the previous 6 months. How many more have not been counted? How many of them even have names to us? It is time to for us to stop the serial abusers in power. Each day we delay means more flag-draped coffins and more shattered lives.