By Anwaar Hussain
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Writing in National Review Online in February 2006, you William F. Buckley Jr. its Editor at Large and a diehard conservative icon, admitted that the U.S. mission in Iraq has failed but gave the following reason for the disaster;
“Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an invading army of 130,000 Americans…………they have not been able to contend against the ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols.”
No Mr. Buckley, no. You are muddying the water.
Since your chant has now been taken up by many Cons, Neocons and Repubs, the record must be set straight.
Mr. Buckley, your great country went to war with a nation that was already impoverished by more than 20 years of war and American led, UN-imposed sanctions. The immediate aftermath of the war found the traumatized Iraqi society without a recognized head of state or a working administration with well over 70 highly fragmented political parties pulling their unfortunate country in every which way.
Moreover, any nation, including yours that has now become not a dream but a nightmare for many, would have behaved the same way under similar circumstances.
As a matter of fact, your country may have fared far worse. Your society, sir, has now been transformed into a culture of carnivorous marauders, most of them with a past criminal record. Allow me to give a glimpse of this violent nature of the society of which you are a mouthpiece.
According to Christian Science Monitor, in 2003 alone, more than 5.6 million Americans were in prison or had served time there. That's 1 in 37 adults living in the United States, the highest incarceration level in the world. Talk of ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley.
Not only that, with over 570,000 prison inmates released annually, "the suspect has a criminal record" has become more like a broken record playing over and over for American victims and their families. In the past about four decades, total crime in America has increased over 350%. Millions of criminals have been released from prison, many have been given probation for their crimes. All now roam the streets of America like cocked guns and ticking bombs. Talk of ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley.
Yours is the most violent society in the world presently Mr. Buckley. In your great country, the crime clock continues to click incessantly. According to reliable statistics, there is one murder every 22 minutes, one rape every 5 minutes, one robbery every 49 seconds, and one burglary every 10 seconds. Not only that, the cost of crime in your beloved country continues to mount: $78 billion for the criminal justice system, $64 billion for private protection, $202 billion in loss of life and work, $120 billion in crimes against business, $60 billion in stolen goods and fraud, $40 billion from drug abuse, and $110 billion from drunk driving. When you add up all, crime costs Americans a staggering $675 billion each year. Talk of ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley.
The crime battle in America now rages in terms of seconds and minutes within your own national boundaries Mr. Buckley. It rages in your states, cities, towns, communities and yes even in your own streets and homes. With crimes to property occurring every two seconds, and a violent crime every 19 seconds, crime is a war with casualties now being counted in seconds and minutes. Talk of ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley.
And hush Mr. Buckley. It is not a just a matter of crime statistics availability in your country. Compare your beloved country with some other developed countries of the world for example. You would squirm if I informed you that of the 10 cities having the highest murder rate in USA and Europe, 8 are American cities i.e. Washington, Philadelphia, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, Houston and New York City. Talk of ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley.
Now if by a quirk of fate, a world force of a million odd strong men were formed up from countries that have had enough of you and your divine country’s endless machinations, landed in your great country, surrounded your murderous capital and cities like Chicago and New York, dissolved your federal and state administrations, disbanded your armed, civil and police forces, threw into the stockade your lying bunch of criminal leaders and announced the arrival of a New American Century of dog eat dog within you geographical confines, what would happen in your society that has more guns than hands Mr. Buckley? Talk of Iraqi animosities and ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley.
This is how criminal and violent your society has become Mr. Buckley. This is what you need to keep in mind next time you talk of Iraqi animosities and ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley. And I have not even touched upon the racial and religious tensions simmering on the fault lines just below the surface of your national fabric.
Get this straight Mr. Buckley.
Iraq fiasco was, is and always will be a gigantic human catastrophe, resulting from the stillborn vision of small men who wanted to ride high on their demented dreams.
No Mr. Buckley, no. Do not muddy the water.
Yours Truly,
Anwaar Hussain
Sources:
1. http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/buckley200602241451.asp
2. http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0818/p02s01-usju.html
3. http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/crime.html
4. http://www.atps.com/crime/usa.htm
5. http://tinyurl.com/y5cjqp
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