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Departments War Lord knows we've suffered enough already: keep them out of Ohio! Strickland Doesn't Want Overflow Iraqi Refugees "Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has a message for President Bush: any plan to relocate to the US thousands of refugees uprooted by the Iraq war shouldn't include Ohio. The administration plans to allow about 7,000 Iraqi refugees to settle in the United States over the next year, a huge expansion at a time of mounting international pressure to help millions who have fled their homes in the nearly four-year-old war. Strickland -- a Democrat who opposed the war as a US House member -- says Ohioans can't be expected to have open arms for Iraqis displaced by the war. More than 100 Ohioans have been killed since the war began. The governor says he has sympathy for the refugees' plight, but he won't ask Ohioans to accept a greater burden." It is really all quite mad, isn't it? That on top of the million or so Iraqis we've killed, and the four million we've maimed, we've also created millions of refugees; that our Maniac-in-Chief now decrees 7,000 refugees is a politically acceptable number we should allow into the U.S. even as he continues the slaughter around the clock; that the governor of a state, having absolutely nothing to do with immigration policy anyway, feels compelled to protect the homeland (or would that be "homestate?") by warning a morbidly unpopular president, "Not in our backyard, pallie!" Something for people of good conscience to keep in mind: When we finally get our troops out of Iraq, and our bases out of Iraq, and our mercenaries out of Iraq, and our spooks out of Iraq, and Halliburton Corp., and Burger King Corp., and all the rest - when the last U.S. helicopter flies off the roof of the world's largest embassy and the American Empire's sorry, bloody, murderous adventure draws to a close - we owe these people. Big time. I don't know how many, or actually, why any of them would want to come live in Disneyland. But if some do, we should welcome them and the many lessons they could teach us about maintaining humanity in conditions of pure hell. For the 99.9% of Iraqis who would rather stay home and rebuild their shattered lives, at the very least we owe them money. Lots of money. Multiple billions of dollars. And not to be administered by our military or our corporations or our mercenaries or our spooks. No, we should have nothing to do with that money except deliver it to Iraq and let them decide what to do with it. I hope they can rebuild the hospitals and the electric and phone systems we bombed, and the water treatment plants we've destroyed, and the economy we've wrecked. But frankly it doesn't matter if they want to insulate their attics with it, or mix it with mud and turn it into building material, or pile it up in the middle of the desert and f.....g burn it all. They can't possibly do any worse with it than we have. And THAT is just the beginning of the magnitude of the dollar amount we owe Iraq. What we do for all the pain and suffering and heartache and terror we've created, only God knows. Those things we carry on our conscience to our graves. And the governor of Ohio wants to be first in line to say, "Keep your tired and maimed. Don't burden us." What world is this? --- Mike Ferner www.mikeferner.org served as a Navy Corpsman from 1969-73. He is a freelance writer from Toledo. |
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Pentagon cover up: 15,000 or more US deaths in Iraq war? Iraq's million Talking with two who walk the walk Baghdad in middle America Understanding the next war money vote Jonesborough justice Ann Wright’s conscience: former colonel and diplomat against Iraq war Open letter to the government from an AWOL soldier Constitution, flag, and leaving Iraq Whistleblowers on tape Observing our government through Blackwater "Funding the war is killing the troops": interrupting the empire 30 seconds at a time We have nothing but fear itself Sanity in tiny nibbles Can we talk? Day one of IVAW's "Truth in Recruiting" campaign New day in the anti-war movement? Bush’s fake sheik whacked: the Surge and the Al Qaeda bunny Iraq: the people's report Questions for General Petraeus My son, back from Iraq, lives on tower on National Mall Creative destruction 300 towns, cities, states oppose Iraq occupation Reparations Democrats as Leviathan: another step toward war with Iran We will sit in for impeachment Gorilla suit Peace movement comes to US Social Forum The hearts of all sane men Belief and doubt Sen. Clinton wants troops in Iraq for at least 10 years This is not a story about Cindy Sheehan The holy occupation of Iraq Why I voted "no" For five years we've called it blood for oil Collateral genocide Please don’t throw me in that veto patch Anti-U.S. uproar sweeps Italy Knee-deep blood in the land of make-believe Tax day protests and refusing to pay for war You can't hurt a troop by defunding a war Iraq veterans speak in Columbus, OH 3-17-07 Iraq @ 4: It's Not About the Troops - Either Way Progressives stand strong against funding war No mo money for war Sacrificing our children on the altar of corporate greed Only nonviolence will end the war The war money can be stopped How will you end this war? Congressman Obey says "Idiot Liberals" need to support war money Former Pentagon staff speaks out on crimes of Doug Feith, Dick Cheney, and planning of Iran War I'm more pro-troop than you are Only nonviolence will end the war Cindy Sheehan, George Will, and loving your enemies No, seriously, why did we invade Iraq? Lord knows we've suffered enough already: keep them out of Ohio! Murtha only intends to undo the escalation Shut up and stop the war 100 Senators quietly vote: majority oppose escalation Dems change the gas and claim it's a new car A world that works for everybody D.C. demonstration How we can end the occupation of Iraq Dear Mr. President: Send Even MORE Troops (and you go, too!) ...from Michael Moore The Kucinich Plan for Iraq An Iraq jobs program? Waist deep in the big muddy Out of Iraq and back to the American city If not now, when? Mr. President, surge this 3,000 lights delivered to Rep. Marcy Kaptur 3,000 lights for 3,000 killed in Iraq Read War Articles by Year: |
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