To My Fellow Americans
End the war… End the negligence
By Ibrahim Ebeid *
Iraq devastation and destruction, killing and maiming started a decade and a half ago by the old man George Bush. This abominable act led to the invasion and occupation of this land by George W. Bush the son. As a result of this war that started in 1990 the people of Iraq were left with no medicine, no sufficient food and without clean water. Chlorine was forbidden to be manufactured in Iraq or to be imported because the enemies of humanities have no consideration for human life. The Iraqis were forced to drink contaminated water up to this day.
The weapons of mass destruction that both Presidents George the father and George the son used obliterated the country. The effects of these horrible weapons, the depleted uranium, spread to engulf the American soldiers as well. Thousands of these soldiers became ill, some died, and more will die with the disease that became known as the Gulf Syndrome.
Millions of Iraqis died and injured and they are still dying as a result of this ongoing war. The entire nation was wounded and President Bush added and is still adding salt to their wounds to torture them furthermore. His "democracy" is bringing instability and insecurity to Iraq but to the entire region if not to the whole World.
The catastrophe of the Gulf States, in the United States, is the work of Mother Nature and the negligence of the authorities. The destruction that took place reminds us of what was inflicted upon Iraq by Bush the Father and Bush the Son. Both areas are in ruins, no electricity, no medicine, no water and no food, no security and no peace. The infrastructures of Iraq and the US Gulf States are in ruins.
The influx of the US "evacuees" reminds me of what happened to me, to my family and to the majority of the Palestinians in 1948 when the Zionists occupied our country, Palestine, and expelled us from our homes. It was heartbreaking to see the huge multitudes of the US citizens in misery and agony suffering from heat, starvation and thirst, living among the stench of the dead and human waste in the Super Dome of New Orleans. The majority of the victims are African Americans and they are the ones who suffer most. Unfortunately this is the lot of the destitute, deprived and poor in the "best country of the entire world". It hurts to see that the rescue mission efforts were diverted to protect the already destroyed businesses and properties from the “looters”. Material and ruined properties are more important than human life in the era of Bush, Cheney and the Imperial Court of the New Empire.
The severity of the catastrophe of New Orleans, the drowned city, could have been averted if the levees were strengthened and maintained properly but President Bush has neglected America and diverted billions of dollars to his war of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a fact that cannot be denied.
The levees of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans and the wetlands that protected the city were eroding. Bush and his allies have slashed federal spending for flood control in southeast Louisiana by half and funds for work at Lake Pontchartrain by almost two-thirds. From 2003, funds authorized for the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project were diverted to pay for the war of aggression in Iraq. Early this year, the US Army Corps of Engineers requested $27Millions to repair the levees to protect them from hurricanes, Bush sought to cut the amount to $3.9m and also proposed reducing spending to prevent flooding from $78m to $30m. The New Orleans Times-Picayune published numerous articles warning that the war in Iraq was taking money away from hurricane protection on the Gulf coast. This is negligence and carelessness that the President and his entourage should be accountable for.
The man who destroyed Iraq and failed to restore electricity and clean water will fail in restoring electricity and clean water to New Orleans, already the Speaker of the House, the leader of the Republican Majority, declared that New Orleans "should be bulldozed" and it "doesn't make sense" to rebuild it.
Former First Lady Barbara Bush, Dearest Mom of the President, visited the desperate victims of the drowned city herded to the Astrodome, the sport arena of Texas. She did not show any compassion or sympathy to the victims because she has no consideration for the human beings who lost everything they ever had and who lost dear members of their families. Mrs. Bush who lives in a multi million dollars home said, “Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality” What type of hospitality she is talking about? Is herding the destitute and deprived to the arena hospitality instead of an obligation to help the people in need? She continued to add an insult to the victimized and deprived people "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them." This what came from the mouth of Dearest Mom of President Bush! If you are poor and devastated by a calamity and negligence stay desperate and poor and thankful to the hospitality of Texas. This is exactly what Bush says to the Iraqis, We brought you “Democracy” and “Freedom” which mean total destruction; occupation and misery; stay under occupation. Enjoy the misery we put you under.
Was the President concern about the disaster? If he were concerned he wouldn't have come late to the scene touring the place by helicopter instead of mingling directly with the victims? Why did he not take a boat to see the real devastation? Vice President Dick Cheney was much later than the President to react, probably he was preparing for his friends in Halliburton to get the fat contracts. The President was enjoying his long vacation in his ranch while the people were suffering and dying; he was cutting wood instead of cutting his vacation. He treats the American people with the same contempt and callousness as he does the Iraqi people – as "collateral damage."
The President appointed his father and former President Clinton to raise fund to help the victims of the devastating hurricane. Will raising fund come quick enough to cure the wounds that the people suffer? Or would the raised fund go to Corporate America? Will there be more Halliburtons to fill their coffers with more money?
America is not in need of fund raising. Washington is wasting around six billion dollars of taxpayers a month in its war of aggression in Iraq to create more devastations and disasters for the Iraqis. The money is needed in the United States to rebuild it and protect it from such disasters that we have witnessed in the past and we are witnessing these days. The money wasted on wars of aggressions should be spent for a safer America. America is deteriorating very fast.
The American troops are needed in the United States to help rebuild what was ruined by negligence. The war in Iraq has devastated America and America is not safer anymore. Would President Bush comprehend? Do not wait for Bush to investigate “ what went right and what went wrong.” Everything went wrong and the President will not investigate himself.
Will the American people realize that with such a government the United States would be devastated and ruined? It is time to put the country on the right track and save it from destruction.
* The author is a US citizen and a Vietnam era veteran