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Why is violence escalating in Iraq?
by Eric Straatsma, Peace Think Tank
August 1, 2005

To understand why opposition to the US is growing around the world and in Iraq, you have to get inside the head of an average Iraqi. When was he last time you spoke to an Iraqi citizen living in Iraq? These average Iraqis have many reasons to commit suicide by bombing or shooting US troops or their supporters.

First, their women are raped in our military jails across the country. We do not hear about this in the US news, but other countries have this on their news all the time. Their family members are honor bound to defend their women to the death. Their extended family is around three thousand people. Each time one woman is raped in prison, we create 3,000 terrorists.

Second, when we break into Iraqi or other country's homes looking for terrorists at night, with no search warrant and without any rights to privacy, they are insulted and their family honor is ground into the dirt. US troops usually tie everyone up, put bags on the heads of the males and force everyone into humiliating positions. This breaking of honor in the family is punishable by death in their culture. When we do this to them, we create terrorists and/or enemies of the US out of peaceful families.

The troops usually round up a lot of men and take them to jail with no charges, and then release them after three months or so, with no explanation. Again, family honor is at stake, and family members take this personally. This also creates suicide terror bombers and enemies of the US.

When US troops fire on crowds who are innocently protesting, killing women, children and men who are doing nothing but expressing their free will to have an opinion, we create 3,000 terrorists in each family where someone is killed. This same thing happens when families are killed by soldiers at checkpoints. Usually they speak and read no English and have no idea that they are supposed to stop way back. They drive up and get blasted; women, children, seniors, etc. Again, their families defend this wasting of human life by killing those who killed their family. Every person killed, creates another potential 3,000 terrorists.

When innocent Iraqi men are tortured in US or other jails, and if they make it out alive, they tell their neighbors, friends, people on the street. This torture is still going on and is reported in the news in other countries, but not here in the US. This story spreads, again creating hatred and terrorists against the US and all other allies. What would you do to occupying troops who tortured your civilian comrades? Give them flowers?

Civilians want their government to create and maintain peace. The opposite is happening in Iraq. The level of violence is escalating, not getting better. The civilians there see it but the news media here do not report that. They get more and more frustrated and see us as the problem, since we promised security and are legally bound to create it.

US troops do not protect Iraqis, they just protect US troops and either shoot civilian Iraqis or let them all die. They want us out, and will help terrorists to accomplish this.

Civilians want fresh water, food, housing and electricity and gas. They are getting less and less of each of these, and they see it. US news does not report this. They get frustrated waiting in three day lines for gas and have electricity for three hours a day. Under Saddam there were none of these problems.

Iraqis see US companies taking the money for reconstruction and stealing it, not rebuilding anything and taking care of only US troops and the dozens of military bases across the country. Again, out of the hundreds of billions sent over there, almost all of it went to US troops and contractors. Too little and too late for Iraqis. This is not like the Marshal plan, where the people got direct loans and administrered their own plan.

US contractors and advisors control and spend almost all of the money and pay off those who need to be paid off, further aggravating the corruption and domination of of Iraq by the military. He who controls the money controls the country. The US controls everything including the money over there, and the Iraqis see this. Iraqi troops follow US army orders, not the other way around. The Iraqis support terrorists to get us out, since we are taking over their sovereign country, not giving it back to them.

When 100,000 Iraqi civilians are killed in a war that killed only 1,000 US troops, you have to think about how they died. They died from bombs on civilian homes, strafing from planes, napalm on cities, soldiers shooting them, dying in jails, dying from preventable diseases, etc. US troops get blamed for all of these deaths, including those that die from Iraqi terror bombers.

US troops are responsible for Iraq security and it is not safe in Iraq. How does that make Iraqis feel towards US troops who are bunkered down in concrete and barbed wire, safe and secure, while leaving Iraqis to defend themselves?

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Learn about their culture. Talk to an Iraqi. You might learn something about the real situation and how the average person feels in Iraq. That is what I did. I did not talk to terrorists to come up with the above. I talked with an average Iraqi.