Occupy A Country, Massacres Will Always Follow by PATRICK COCKBURN
All contested occupations have the potential for atrocities by occupying troops. There was a time, during national service and mass mobilizations, when this would have caused no surprise. Soldiers were considered by home populations as dangerous young men with semi-criminal tendencies.
The Duke of Wellington was denounced for snobbery for calling his men “the scum of the earth”, which was true. He was accused of inhumanity for favoring retention of the lash, but he argued that without the threat of a beating there was no way he could safeguard civilians from his soldiers.
Once again the drums of war are beating. This time over Iran. Every person with any sense in the world will tell you that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. The IAEA, the world's official atomic experts have been sending in inspectors and saying this for years. For as long back as when Dubya was beating the war drums, the US intelligence community has been saying that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. Yet, our current war President, Obama is still beating the war drums for Iran. The only question appears to be when will the killing begin, before or after his re-coronation.
And, massacres will always follow. When the war drums are beating, we are always told how clean and painless the war will be. We are presented with plans that show our planes and missiles cleanly destroying the enemy. We are told the enemy will quickly collapse. We are told that our enemy will greet us waving cute little flags and throwing flowers at our soldiers feet. It is all a lie. As surely anyone who's paid any attention at all to Iraq and Afghanistan can easily know.
Massacres will always follow. There will be resistance. Iran is a revolutionary country who threw off American rule with their own revolution. They are a bigger, stronger and more prosperous country than Iraq was, and they will resist us. Massacres will follow.
If we go to war with Iran, we know we'll soon be seeing the stories of dead innocent civilians. Blown up by bombs, killed by missiles, or machine-gunned down by our troops. We've seen this time and time and time again. We know as sure as the sun will rise in the morning that this will occur. Its a part of war. War is always hell.
If you support this war, then you support this. Then you support machine-gunning down innocent people. You support murder and torture and kidnapping. If you support war, you support death and destruction. If you support war, then you are a supporter of the hell that is war.
So, go ahead, vote for your favorite war leader if you want. Vote for your war president Obama. Or vote for his wall street financed challenger Romney. Or vote for the crusading Santorum. Go ahead, vote for war. Declare yourself to be a supporter of hell and all its minions.
Or, stand up and say no. Its your choice. But know that the only way to stop this from happening over and over and over again is to do exactly that ... stand up and say no.
