The White House wants to claim our presence in Iraq is similar to that of South Korea. Does this administration remind anyone else of a salesman pitching slogan after failed slogan to get us to buy into a horrible product? Bush’s mission is actually more like that of the European explorers who completely claimed the Western Hemisphere for themselves. As in the Americas of the past, and Palestine of the present, the native peoples have been pushed from the most fertile lands, and imprisoned into camps so that they no longer have a right to their own resources. The same is now happening in Iraq with permanent US buildings being constructed, walls being built to limit mobility and break communities, and resources like oil being privatized.

Both the Cold War and the “War on Terror” have given the United States the justification to position its military on every continent, with the exception of Antarctica. Supposedly, this occupation is needed to ensure a rapid response to any threat which may arise anywhere in the world. It’s no wonder that the military budget of the United States is greater than the next 14 largest national military budgets combined. US soldiers are stationed in nations like South Korea to maintain control over it with a continued military presence, so perhaps there is that similarity. Not because the situation in Iraq is as calm as the one in South Korea, but because both nations are victims of US imperialism.

What the US military is hoping for now is a ceasefire between various Iraqi resistance groups and the US. A ceasefire would work in favor of our imperialistic intentions by allowing us to stay in Iraq indefinitely even after the war has officially ended, as we have in Japan, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, South Korea, etc. However, continued violent resistance by the Iraqis could mean that we’d eventually have to abandon our occupation and pull out entirely once the bodycount becomes intolerable to the troops themselves. The fear of mutiny is the only real fear a military giant has.

I’m sure the troops would like to thank Traitor Joe and the Democratic members of Congress for their latest war-funding bill. They’re looking forward to Democratic representatives “supporting the troops” for decades to come. Thanks for validating Bush’s agenda everyone.