It was only June of this year when Tony Snow blithely commented on behalf of the White House, upon the news that the 2500th American troop had been killed in Iraq, “It’s a number.”
There is a certain warped and tragic sense of unavoidable poesy in the announced death of the 3000th fallen U.S. troop coming, as it does, today –the last day of 2006. Yet I can’t help but be reminded that as awful as that “number” is, it comes nowhere near expressing the full pain, suffering, horror, mutilation, and unbearably high cost to humanity that this administration — and their supporters — have wrought on this world via their tragic arrogance and folly.
The 3000 “number” includes only American troops killed in Iraq. It doesn’t include the number of those, thousands over, who have been injured for lifetime. It doesn’t include American contractors who have also been killed. It doesn’t include Americans killed in Afghanistan. Neither does it include the troops and citizens from other countries who — for reasons good or bad — were deployed to the region after having bought into the mercilessly cruel confidence game that these Administration cretins — and their supporters — have perpetrated on the people of this planet. Most disturbingly, however, the “number” 3000 doesn’t even begin to include the uncountable — and mostly uncounted — hundreds of thousands of citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan who were born with the unfortunate trait of having being born where they were born, only to end up in the deadly literal crossfire ordered by people who neither know them nor give a damn about them.
“River” at Baghdad Burning, one of the citizens born with that unfortunate trait, has been chronicling the misery of such citizens from Iraq for the past three years when the power is on, and she is able to access an Internet computer and she has the stomach to share her pain with the rest of the world. She now shares the same sense, expressed by the White House via Snow, that these landmark statistics “simply represent numbers.” The irony would likely be lost on this White House.
A few days ago, “River” reminded us once again of the real cost of this sham war. And as cold-hearted as her thoughts may seem, they are yet another wake up call. Yet another one most likely to be ignored by the desperate fanatics whose simple-minded sense of self-importance has left the rest of the world — likely for generations — with the burden of cleaning up behind their crushing cruelty, unforgivable arrogance, and indescribable incompetence.
I believe “River” offers a glimpse of what we all will be forced to come to cold, hard grips with in the year — and years — ahead…
Had I not chronicled those feelings of agitation in this very blog, I wouldn’t believe them now. Today, they simply represent numbers. 3000 Americans dead over nearly four years? Really? That’s the number of dead Iraqis in less than a month. The Americans had families? Too bad. So do we. So do the corpses in the streets and the ones waiting for identification in the morgue.
Is the American soldier that died today in Anbar more important than a cousin I have who was shot last month on the night of his engagement to a woman he’s wanted to marry for the last six years? I don’t think so.
Just because Americans die in smaller numbers, it doesn’t make them more significant, does it?
For every one of these 3000 there are another 200 Iraqis.
Thats a 200:1 ratio.
I do not believe ANYTHING coming from the Bush administration. We’ve seen fake newscasts (NVR’s), lies about WMD’s, complicit “embedded” reporters in the CMSM, targetting of reporters and bombing of Al Jazeera and that hotel we knew housed reporters, lies about Sadaam/Al Queda ties, lies about medicare, sharpied out environmental reports by former corporate lobbyists running agencies, lies about global warming not existing, gas went down for the election and now back up, no-bid contracts, secret meetings with oil barons, “mission accomplished”, “last throes”, the Iraq War is going well, missing $$$ all over the place in Iraq, etc…
And yoiu BELIEVE the “official count” of 3,000?
I don’t believe ANYTHING they EVER say!!!!!
why does anyone believe the “3000” figure ,they lie about every thing , how can this figure be relied on ?
“When Lions fight its the grass that gets crushed”
“When Liars fight its the truth that gets crushed”
It is now known that Bush has been getting advice on how to run this war from Henry Kissinger. Here is how Kissinger regards our troops:
You go Henry! STRAIGHT TO HELL!
3000 X ,‘s according to bush. Isn’t the 3000 figure only the soldiers who died in battle. It doesn’t include those who died on the way to hospitals or after being hospitalized or sent home. I don’t think “friendly fire” is counted either.
007 help!
(After reading River’s blog yesterday I was so upset I sent a note to the White House so if I am “disappeared” you’ll know why. All I said was I hoped bush was enjoying the holidays and eating lots of pretzels 🙂
River’s accounts are so tragic, and one can only imagine the horror of living life on a daily basis in that poor country 🙁
Damn Bush and his illegal war..!! The monster deserves the same justice that Hussein received for HIS crimes.
Trackback: Just a number?
As the bell tolls midnight across the world, as the clockwork of the world winds down in the last hours of 2006, remember John Donne’s prose Meditation 17:
“…No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were. Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee…”
This is from 05 so you’ll have to add on to those figures;
Total Actual U.S. Military Deaths from
http://www.tbrnews.org/Archives/a2038.htm
Brian Harring, Domestic Intelligence Reporter : “There is excellent reason to believe that the Department of Defense is deliberately not reporting a significant number of the dead in Iraq. We have received copies of manifests from the MATS that show far more bodies shipped into Dover AFP than are reported officially. The actual death toll is in excess of 10,000”
From the DOD, but website no longer available.
March, 2003 through July, 2005: 10,146
Total “Reported” U.S. Military Deaths from March, 2003 through Sept 21, 2005: 2,141
Difference: 8,005
This whole war is nothing but two world leaders destroying everything in sight for the profit of big business.
I was going to name the episode of Sacxtra! (my show) “3000.” But I decided on “Surge” instead, because before this BUSH INSANITY is over more will die. there WILL be 3001 who want’s to roll that DICE?
I think it’s interesting, that every place I searched for the “leaked” sadam-phone-hanging-video-.mov I also saw a user comment saying, “How long till Bush hangs next.” I had to think about that.
I think the answer is that Bush will not hang as long as the Secret Service has anything to say about it. On the other hand, I have to ask myself honestly as a veteran, “Is Bush a war criminal–just the same?”
My honest answer is yes.
Then there’s that little problem about sworn oaths, protecting the President of the United States, and the Constitution. (I know about this shit because I am a Veteran)
Well I got to be honest, somebody dropped the ball, the constitution is NOT PROTECTED, it is DECIMATED, DESTROYED. Which makes me think more. What is the consequences of this piss ass poor historical fucking leadership? (It IS LEADERSHIP DOING THIS) Will that motherfucking bush be held responsible for genocide of iraq’s? Personally I don’t know a damn thing about iraq, or it’s people, I met some working in fields growing and propigating plants for a nursery in california back in 1987-89, I have met some on the street (today) who have a kind of crappy attitude, bue that ain’t illegal, and met some running 7-11’s (back in the 1970’s.) I don’t think they’re any different than me other than they came from another country and have a different religion. But this, this mess that Bush has started up, it has got to be stopped. Same with the Israel crap.
Dear Isreal,
Get the fuck out of the Gaa Gaa Strip, or where ever the hell your causing trouble. Get a Surveyor, MAP some land, and CREATE a fucking palestine! Then GET THE FUCK OUT OF PALESTINE, unless you have a Passport!!!
Dear APIC or APAC or whatever you are, FUCK YOU.
You hear me?
Okay, there’s problems everywhere now. Afganistan has some killer fucking heroin now eh? Sort of like vietnam and cambodia did. I see a pattern, the pattern is the 1970’s ERA fuckwads, who are OATH BREAKERS, and destroying everything. IRAQ does not need a SURGE it needs Cops. Like the CHP. What we have is RETARDS RUNNING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Drool Drool..
Every single damn bastard that was involved with IRAN/Contral/Drugs in LA/Vietnam/Cambodia should NEVER have office in Government of the United States Of America: THEY ARE THE SHITTIEST FUCKING LEADERS IN HISTORY. (I said that about a year or so ago about Bush, But I NOW say it about all of em.) They are Meth users, Cocaine Dealers, Heroin Slammers, Theives and Murders and they don’t belong in our government any fucking more!!!
General this General that, all you fuckers know how to do is kill. I don’t care anymore what you think about me. Think about the PLANET Motherfuckers. Think about the CONSTUTUTION Motherfuckers.
Okay i tried not to cuss or digress into this depressing anger crap, but i guess i failed again. This shit is literally going to fucking kill me.
HAPPY NEW YEAR….
May this year be the year all these punk ass fucking corporate rip off’s never see light again.
And another thing, I am sick of the CAR COMMERCIALS, The DRUG COMMERCIALS, The OATH BREAKERS, The CORPORATE THIEVES, The RED TAPE for FIXING THE KATRINA VICTIMS, The ELECTRONICS in ELECTIONS, the GOVERNMENT LIARS, The STUPID ASS (I guess they have a right to) RIGHT WING TALK RADIO/CORPORATE NEWS on the same old SHIT… e.g. the Gay’s, the Abortion, the Marijuana…FUCKING STOP IT ALREADY!!!! The Left needs to let the GUN CONTROL fucking bullshit go.. I am just SICK SICK SICK of this fucking CRAP. FIX OUR FUCKING PLANET ALREADY!
FUCK THE CARS / OIL
Figure out how to DO water powered cars like in the 1970’s.
Stop this WAR PROFITEERING.
HELP PEOPLE. DONT RIP THEM OFF..
(Okay I am yelling again) But damn man.. What the Fuck?
over and out.
~phil
Big Dan #2
Well said. It reminded me of a comment by Noam Chompsky:
(link here).
These elitist SOB’s actually believe that lying is the way to the truth.
Hey Phil – Happy New Year, dood – I feel your pain…
Who would believe anything Tony Snow says? Tony Snow said criticism of the way the Saddam execution unfolded was deflecting attention from Saddam Hussein’s real crimes. “There seems to be a lot of concern about the last two minutes of Saddam Hussein’s life and less about the first 69 [years], in which he murdered hundreds of thousands of people,” Snow said.
“That’s why he was executed.”
Saddam was ONLY convicted for the judicial murder of 148 villagers in the town of Dujail, villagers who were allegedly involved in a plot to kill him in 1982.
They hanged him only for Dujail!
He committed much more horrendous crimes, but the government never got to finish the other trials. Why?
As columnist Gwynne Dyer put it: It’s as if they had taken Adolf Hitler alive in 1945, but ignored his responsibility for starting the Second World War and his murder of six million Jews and just put him on trial for executing people suspected of involvement in the July 1944 bomb plot. With all of Saddam’s other crimes to choose from, why on earth would you hang him for executing the people suspected of involvement in the Dujail plot?”
What is obvious is that the government wanted Saddam Hussein executed quickly for the Dujail killings to avoid revealing its complicity in his bigger crimes. The execution was a U.S.-ordered rush job.
Snow got his marching orders.
It backfired on them — again.