Oracle Online

As this drama continues on campus, the anniversary of America’s incursion into Iraq to kill its citizens, destroy its infrastructure, and liberate its oil wells nears. It seems like a good time to evaluate the anti-war movement. But it seems like there is little to evaluate. Pretty much everyone knows that the Bush administration lied through its teeth, that the Democrats goose-stepped with the Republicans in the march to war, and that only after it became apparent that a lot of voters were pissed off at this betrayal did a few isolated voices in Washington start hinting at a pull-out. Congressional Democrats still lack any courage to call the administration to account for lying to one nation in order to destroy another. Bill Clinton got impeached for an indiscretion in the Oval Office, but George Bush stands unchallenged for demolishing Iraq? Maybe the Democrats want us to forget their own eagerness to believe the Bush administration and attack Iraq.

Where does the public stand in all this? Well, it’s hard to say since few even mention Iraq anymoreč it’s old news, and can we please move on to cigarette butts?č but it seems like the general consensus is “we support our troops.” At least that’s what all the ribbon magnets on cars say. Even liberals are saying it. The fear of not supporting our troops, of appearing “unpatriotic” is palpable everywhere. The only person I’ve seen speak out is Joel Stein of the Los Angeles Times who in a Jan. 24 editorial pointed out that “those little yellow ribbons aren’t really for the troops. They need body armor, shorter stays and a USO show by the cast of ‘Laguna Beach.’ The real purpose of those ribbons is to ease some of the guilt we feel for voting to send them to war and then making absolutely no sacrifices.” The responses to that article posted on the Times’ website were irate, but I think it’s saying that they almost unanimously resorted to name-calling instead of responding to his argument.

The source of all the outrage was that Stein announced that he does not support our troops. Neither do I. I don’t see how anyone who claims to oppose the war can support the troops. Yes, it’s tragic that most of our troops are just average, hardworking people trying to make a living, and that the military makes a point of recruiting in the inner city where youth don’t have many options.

But that does not translate into blindly supporting our troops. We would be shocked at the idea of supporting the troops in Germany in 1939 as they bombed, shot, arrested, tortured, and killed people in central Europe. So why do we support our troops now as they bomb, shoot, arrest, torture, and kill people in Iraq?

Depending on the source, between 30,000 and 100,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the American invasion. The administration who ordered this near-genocide, and the politicians in Congress who went along with it, bear the ultimate responsibility. As Stein says, “Blaming the president is a little too easy. The truth is that people who pull triggers are ultimately responsible, whether they’re following orders or not. An army of people making individual moral choices may be inefficient, but an army of people ignoring their morality is horrifying.”

This is why the only troops I support are the ones who refuse to fight. If this is truly an unjust war, and we do not want to see Iraqi citizens suffering and dying under American occupation, then everyone who is anti-war needs to announce that they, too, do not support our troops.