The Case for Self-Determination

Jeremy Scahill's "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" covers a lot of material in its 550 pages, but the message of the occupied people is clear: we demand self-determination.

Malalai Joya, the revolutionary Afghan activist, was clear on this topic when I heard her speak at Socialism Northeast at Columbia University, where she was the opening plenary speaker. 'Democracy,' she said 'never comes at the end of a gun.' Democracy comes through self-determination.

In the American drive to turn the largest possible profit on these wars, they have forcefully silenced those who have dared to speak out against them and expose the atrocities that the Americans commit again and again. Scahill's book cites the example of Fallujah, who have a long history of resistance against Western occupation dating back to 1920. Even though they have been continually massacred, continually portrayed in the Western mainstream media as 'bad guys,' 'Saddam lovers,' and 'terrorists,' the people of Fallujah have never stopped fighting, never stopped resisting the occupation of their city.

When the Americans dropped 'smart bombs' on Fallujah during the first Gulf War (bombs that missed their target by more than 800m, killing more than 130 people), the Americans insinuated that the deaths were acceptable because Saddam Hussein had also killed people. Apparently, the irony of comparing themselves to the totalitarian, murderous dictator was lost on them, and they flushed away any remaining reputation they had left for protecting human rights (which was virtually none, so no big deal, right?) Afterwards, the Americans accused the Iraqis of using the incident as anti-American 'propaganda.'

When American troops rolled into Fallujah in 2003, the Iraqis demanded they stay no longer than 2 days, a demand which the Americans ignore. In addition, the Americans occupied a school, which further infuriated the Iraqis, who demonstrated peacefully only to be fired upon by soldiers. 13 Iraqis were killed, 6 of them children.

The Iraqis of Fallujah marched again, shouting 'No to Saddam! No to the US!' Again they were fired upon, and this time, the occupation forces killed 4. Someone hung a banner that read 'Sooner or later, US killers, we'll kick you out.'

It's pretty clear what the people of Fallujah wanted, and despite the American occupation, they created a city council. It's also pretty clear what all the people of Iraq and Afghanistan want. They want to go home. They want the right to self-governance and self-determination.

Any time that withdrawal--immediate withdrawal--is presented to the government, military, or mercenaries (they aren't contractors; contractors build houses, they don't gun down innocent civilians), the response comes like a reflex. It will be chaos, they say. The country will disintegrate.

But this 'discourse' is imperialist bullshit. These wars are not about democracy, or liberation, or women's rights. They aren't even about terrorism. These wars have been waged at the expense of thousands of soldiers and tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of INNOCENT civilians, and all for profit. The profit of the American war machine and all those connected to it--including mercenary firms, politicians, lobbyists, and other DoD contractors. All stand to benefit from sending our children, our mothers and fathers, our brothers, sisters, spouses, and partners to die. They all stand to benefit immensely from the slaughter of innocent people. That equation is nothing short of obscene.

Even without a strong antiwar movement, 43% oppose this nation's imperialist wars. The government is scared; they should be. We do not need guns to topple it. We need people. People marching, screaming, demanding. Now is not the time to vote and hope for the best. Not with politicians who represent only two viewpoints, politicians who are intricately linked into war profiteering. These people think human life is expendable in the pursuit of profit. As a people, we cannot accept that. We must fight. For ourselves, for the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, and Pakistan. For people struggling all over the world for their lives, for human dignity, and ultimately, for self-determination.

Posted by Trish