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This Month Marks 25 Years the U.S. Has Been at War in Iraq
Saturday, January 17, marked 25 years - a full generation - since the 1991 launch of a U.S.-led mostly air war, "Operation Desert Storm," that devastated Iraq, including extensive damage to Iraqi electrical, water and sewage infrastructure, with terrible public health consequences.
A quarter-century later, the U.S. is still bombing, and 3400+ U.S. troops are in country.
Jan 22, 2016
Saturday, January 17, marked 25 years - a full generation - since the 1991 launch of a U.S.-led mostly air war, "Operation Desert Storm," that devastated Iraq, including extensive damage to Iraqi electrical, water and sewage infrastructure, with terrible public health consequences.
A quarter-century later, the U.S. is still bombing, and 3400+ U.S. troops are in country.
War rages in northern Iraq and Syria, with a ferocious, merciless entity driving the destruction: ISIL.
The countries of the region, and to a lesser extent European countries, are overwhelmed by the largest refugee crisis since World War II. One tragedy in particular has awakened our minds and hearts to the catastrophe: the little body of Aylan Kurdi,washed up on the shore of Turkey as he and his family tried to find refuge. His brother and mother also drowned. They are among the thousands of refugees who died seeking freedom and a new home in 2015.
Continuing warfare, including U.S. bombing; increased jihadists terror attacks around the world; the Middle East awash with and contaminated by weapons; a refugee crisis; murdered and traumatized civilians: all these make for a grim legacy stemming from the U.S. war of aggression in 1991. A new United Nations report on Iraq reveals that 19,000 civilians killed in Iraq in the past 21 months, and that 3,500 women and children, mostly Yazidis, have been enslaved by ISIL, with immense suffering and actual slave markets reported.
As American citizens and taxpayers, and as people with hearts, we have 2 serious responsibilities in response to the blood-soaked chaos in Iraq and its neighbor, Syria. We need to start acknowledging the real human costs of war, including the Iraqi and Syrian violent death tolls, the trillions of our tax dollars wasted and the damage to our troops deployed to the region.
CODEPINK has been one of the few raised voices on Capitol Hill and elsewhere denouncing bombing as a "solution" and calling for responses that will actually help people. Look here for news about our protests and many links to more information.
The U.S. government, from President Obama on down, and presidential candidates of both parties, must stop exaggerating potential threats to the United States or to Americans abroad as an excuse for more military "solutions," which only enrich weapons makers and other war profiteers.
There are two actions the United States can take without delay or negotiations:
Stop U.S. Air Force bombing of, and sending weapons to, the region.
Offer dramatically increased assistance to the victims, including refugees and women victims of ISIL terror. CODEPINK has partnered with MADRE to open two shelters in Iraq, for Yazidi women who have bravely escaped from sexual enslavement by ISIL. You can contribute to this much-needed work here.
Stop the blather and the bombing. Start increasing humanitarian assistance. Many lives depend on the decisions that the United States takes at this turbulent time.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Janet Weil
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, longtime CODEPINK member and staffer Janet Weil is also a co-founder of the SF 99% Coalition. She tweets from @wardollarshome and @sf99percent.
Saturday, January 17, marked 25 years - a full generation - since the 1991 launch of a U.S.-led mostly air war, "Operation Desert Storm," that devastated Iraq, including extensive damage to Iraqi electrical, water and sewage infrastructure, with terrible public health consequences.
A quarter-century later, the U.S. is still bombing, and 3400+ U.S. troops are in country.
War rages in northern Iraq and Syria, with a ferocious, merciless entity driving the destruction: ISIL.
The countries of the region, and to a lesser extent European countries, are overwhelmed by the largest refugee crisis since World War II. One tragedy in particular has awakened our minds and hearts to the catastrophe: the little body of Aylan Kurdi,washed up on the shore of Turkey as he and his family tried to find refuge. His brother and mother also drowned. They are among the thousands of refugees who died seeking freedom and a new home in 2015.
Continuing warfare, including U.S. bombing; increased jihadists terror attacks around the world; the Middle East awash with and contaminated by weapons; a refugee crisis; murdered and traumatized civilians: all these make for a grim legacy stemming from the U.S. war of aggression in 1991. A new United Nations report on Iraq reveals that 19,000 civilians killed in Iraq in the past 21 months, and that 3,500 women and children, mostly Yazidis, have been enslaved by ISIL, with immense suffering and actual slave markets reported.
As American citizens and taxpayers, and as people with hearts, we have 2 serious responsibilities in response to the blood-soaked chaos in Iraq and its neighbor, Syria. We need to start acknowledging the real human costs of war, including the Iraqi and Syrian violent death tolls, the trillions of our tax dollars wasted and the damage to our troops deployed to the region.
CODEPINK has been one of the few raised voices on Capitol Hill and elsewhere denouncing bombing as a "solution" and calling for responses that will actually help people. Look here for news about our protests and many links to more information.
The U.S. government, from President Obama on down, and presidential candidates of both parties, must stop exaggerating potential threats to the United States or to Americans abroad as an excuse for more military "solutions," which only enrich weapons makers and other war profiteers.
There are two actions the United States can take without delay or negotiations:
Stop U.S. Air Force bombing of, and sending weapons to, the region.
Offer dramatically increased assistance to the victims, including refugees and women victims of ISIL terror. CODEPINK has partnered with MADRE to open two shelters in Iraq, for Yazidi women who have bravely escaped from sexual enslavement by ISIL. You can contribute to this much-needed work here.
Stop the blather and the bombing. Start increasing humanitarian assistance. Many lives depend on the decisions that the United States takes at this turbulent time.
Janet Weil
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, longtime CODEPINK member and staffer Janet Weil is also a co-founder of the SF 99% Coalition. She tweets from @wardollarshome and @sf99percent.
Saturday, January 17, marked 25 years - a full generation - since the 1991 launch of a U.S.-led mostly air war, "Operation Desert Storm," that devastated Iraq, including extensive damage to Iraqi electrical, water and sewage infrastructure, with terrible public health consequences.
A quarter-century later, the U.S. is still bombing, and 3400+ U.S. troops are in country.
War rages in northern Iraq and Syria, with a ferocious, merciless entity driving the destruction: ISIL.
The countries of the region, and to a lesser extent European countries, are overwhelmed by the largest refugee crisis since World War II. One tragedy in particular has awakened our minds and hearts to the catastrophe: the little body of Aylan Kurdi,washed up on the shore of Turkey as he and his family tried to find refuge. His brother and mother also drowned. They are among the thousands of refugees who died seeking freedom and a new home in 2015.
Continuing warfare, including U.S. bombing; increased jihadists terror attacks around the world; the Middle East awash with and contaminated by weapons; a refugee crisis; murdered and traumatized civilians: all these make for a grim legacy stemming from the U.S. war of aggression in 1991. A new United Nations report on Iraq reveals that 19,000 civilians killed in Iraq in the past 21 months, and that 3,500 women and children, mostly Yazidis, have been enslaved by ISIL, with immense suffering and actual slave markets reported.
As American citizens and taxpayers, and as people with hearts, we have 2 serious responsibilities in response to the blood-soaked chaos in Iraq and its neighbor, Syria. We need to start acknowledging the real human costs of war, including the Iraqi and Syrian violent death tolls, the trillions of our tax dollars wasted and the damage to our troops deployed to the region.
CODEPINK has been one of the few raised voices on Capitol Hill and elsewhere denouncing bombing as a "solution" and calling for responses that will actually help people. Look here for news about our protests and many links to more information.
The U.S. government, from President Obama on down, and presidential candidates of both parties, must stop exaggerating potential threats to the United States or to Americans abroad as an excuse for more military "solutions," which only enrich weapons makers and other war profiteers.
There are two actions the United States can take without delay or negotiations:
Stop U.S. Air Force bombing of, and sending weapons to, the region.
Offer dramatically increased assistance to the victims, including refugees and women victims of ISIL terror. CODEPINK has partnered with MADRE to open two shelters in Iraq, for Yazidi women who have bravely escaped from sexual enslavement by ISIL. You can contribute to this much-needed work here.
Stop the blather and the bombing. Start increasing humanitarian assistance. Many lives depend on the decisions that the United States takes at this turbulent time.
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