Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (1243)	1/23/2005 10:35:35 PM
From: Richnorth	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 224699

“We’re committing genocide in Iraq” 1/13/2005 12:30:00 PM GMT US Marine veteran Jimmy Massey The list of critics of the U.S.'s presence in Iraq is growing each day. Former Staff Sergeant Jimmy Massey is a 12-year Marine veteran who's returned from Iraq, airing some very disparaging views on his country's role in the Middle Eastern nation. The American marine entered Iraq as part of the initial American invasion in March 2003 and was witness, and in some cases took part in, the killing of innocent civilians. He says that in one 48-hour period, he witnessed the killing of some 30 civilians by U.S. gunfire at highway checkpoints. What changed Massey's view of the occupation was the sheer brutality of the American military's actions. The former Staff Sergeant was horrified by what was happening and began to speak out to his superiors about the actions undertaken by the U.S. military. Massey was bundled out of Iraq and 'diagnosed' with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. He was labeled as a conscientious objector by his commanders but sought legal advice and won his honourable discharge in December 2003. As a recruiter with the American military, Massey began to question the methods used by the Marines which targeted young people from economically depresses areas. "I'm not going to say that the Marine Corps is all flat-out lies, but it is very misleading the way we enlist recruits. A lot of the kids joining the military are from the 'barrios' and 'hoods,' or the poor parts -so they're sweeping them up." Massey believes that due to the economic situation in the U.S. there exists what can be called an 'economic draft' of young Americans into the military. "A large percentage of the so-called growth in this country is associated with the military. The bottom line is, for the Halliburtons and Enrons war is good, but for the poor and for all of the soldiers coming home, especially the ones coming home wounded, there's not much of a future. But for a lot of the kids getting ready to graduate high-school, the military is looking pretty good because their families have no money to send them to college." Massey's disillusionment with the war in Iraq came to head when he saw the army the U.S. military faced. The world's strongest military carrying the most technologically advanced weapons up against the military of a country devastated by a decade of sanctions. Massey says, "There wasn't a whole lot of direct fighting to speak of. There were some firefights but it wasn't like major combat action…They had no artillery; they had no air support. They were so weakened by all the sanctions. All of their equipment was in very bad shape. Most of their hardware was left over from the war against Iran. The first Gulf War just devastated them. I don't think they had the will or the opportunity to fight." Massey believes the hostility the Iraqi people have towards the American presence has grown in direct response to the brutal methods used by his country's troops against the entire population. A study recently commissioned has put the number of Iraqi deaths since the war began at around 100,000. Massey agrees but says it doesn't include the number of those who died from before the war started due to the sanctions nor those who will from the lack of medical supplies, clean water or proper sanitations. "We are committing genocide in Iraq, and that is the intention," he says.