Independence Day

Democracy Now!: Embedded Filmmaker Who Shot "Fahrenheit 9/11" Iraq Footage Describes Humiliation and Sexual Abuse of Iraqi Families in U.S. Raids

"Swedish-Iraqi filmmaker Urban Hamid, who was embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq for two and a half months, describes Iraqis being bound, hooded, humiliated and sexually abused by U.S. troops in neighborhood raids."

I watched Amy Goodman with Urban Hamid on Democracy Now! (they now stream the show or you can read transcripts) You get to see video, by this independent film maker who was shooting for Fahrenheit 911, of our very young soldiers going to an Iraqi household and completely disregarding their dignity. There is also a large unedited file of footage to watch of a house raid in a residential neighborhood in Iraq. You get to be sick to your stomach. True free speech is relegated to Internet broadcasts. How strange.

I was wondering how many of those young GIs joined the service for a college grant and ended up in Iraq. I wondered how many of them were not quite academic enough for college and joined the service to learn a skill. I wondered how many of them were sold a fake bill of goods from those snazzy military recruiters who stalk our high schools looking for losers or kids who don't really know what they want to do. I wondered how many of them really joined so that they would get to torture, humiliate and kill people. Maybe some joined cause they like guns or like wearing a sharp uniform. There are some who believe that they are called to defend our country and are willing to sacrifice their lives for our freedom and safety.

Our administration has little or no regard for these young men and women. They put them in harms way for nothing once again. They were lied to and brainwashed. God help me, we citizens are paying for this.

I was thinking about all the people who have told me lately how I should appreciate all the soldiers who have fought and died for my First Amendment Rights. All of them? Is that what they were doing in all those wars? Honestly, I would rather shut up than have a bunch of these kids go and slaughter or be slaughtered in order for me to blow off some steam. But we all know that this is the biggest crock of BS. Those who are pro war seek to stifle dissenters in this land of first amendment rights. The flag wavers give birth to a cow if anyone dares to call foul when our government fucks up. The flag wavers went crazy when John Kerry used the F word. They said nothing when Cheney used it because after all he used it towards a man who was concerned about our rights and freedoms.

I do not understand how my first amendment rights are based on anything but the Revolutionary war, if that. If we lost the Revolutionary war then we'd probably be something like Australia, Canada or New Zealand I imagine. God forbid. The only thing I can think of that would have threatened my right to free speech would have been the threat of commies overtaking our country.

Whenever I comment about my unhappiness over the war in Iraq, I have to hear about our boys fighting and dying for my freedom from all sorts of indignant nasty people. I disagree. They are brainwashed. Watching the footage from our soldiers in Iraq does not lead me to think that this war was a good thing. They got Saddam, so what is the need for all these raids in residential neighborhoods? What's with the torture of Iraqi citizens who are innocent? Why did they take pictures of torture? Were the Phillippino's a hundred years ago a threat to my freedom?

Why are our boys slaughtering women and children in their homes? Is that what my tax dollars are paying for? What the hell is going on with all this rape? Why do our soldiers have to do that? US Soldiers were also noted for their raping rampages in WW2 and Vietnam. I don't care for rapists. Our country enlists them though. We don't want to enlist homosexuals though. They aren't rapists however.

Many of those soldiers are young men like my son. I never raised him to even think about doing something like what those boys are doing in the video. I can't imagine that other parents teach their kids to completely disregard other people's right to life. There must be some sort of military brainwashing going on in bootcamp or something. They must teach our boys to become selfish killing machines.. or something like that. They come home to America and have trouble readjusting to their families and communities. How could they not? They were taught and trained to kill, humiliate and torture other human beings. If my son were ever drafted, I'd get him out of the country ASAP and begin to sue the US Gov. for seeking to pervert my son.

I am trying to think about why some people end up being in the military on purpose and how they feel when they come back to reality when they aren't allowed to kill people anymore. It must be a major let down. Adrenaline withdrawal to the max. No wonder they look at those of us who are anti-war or those who support the war but don't sign up to fight in it with such disdain. I even look at young war supporters, who don't have the balls to enlist, with disdain.

If you support the war, then go fight in the damn thing for my supposed freedom and then you won't have to hear me bitching about it. How's that, smart asses? Or maybe my dissent might save your life? Maybe you should be thanking me?

Soldiers I've met believe they performed a tremendous sacrifice. And they most certainly undeniably did. And yes, if our country was invaded, I would be very happy that we had soldiers willing to die for our safety. Honestly I really do. Then this whole thought process of mine leads me back to 9/11. So what the hell was the Air Force doing on 9/11? Why did Bush sit in that classroom, she asks for the zillionth time in almost 3 years. Why isn't anyone bothering to find out who was behind 9/11? Why wasn't anyone fired? Why do they hate us? Where the hell is OBL? Why aren't our soldiers guarding our borders? Isn't that what we pay them for?

On this 4th of July as I sit here thinking about what it means to be independent, I think about how the colonists fought to be free from the British. Taxation without representation. But then again, what if the English didn't bring so many diseases with them to Jamestown in 1610 and the Indians were able to fight back? Maybe we wouldn't even be here. I think about our forefathers, rich and intelligent men who wanted to establish a republic free from monarchal rule and where all men are created equal. (except for black slaves and women) But they were no worse than St. Paul. And we've come a long way in some respects and haven't changed a bit in others.

I've decided to reclaim my flag. The tyrants don't deserve to fly it. I do. I am going to wave my wag, wrap myself up in it and smother myself in it. I am going to demand that we the people find out why our government made the world hate us so... what are they doing behind our backs... why were they allowed to deregulate the media and stifle first amendment rights. Join me, won't you. Let's take back the flag.