inside the glass house

Who dies for the greater glory of the United States?
NEW YORK - "I want you to remember," General George S. Patton once told his soldiers, "that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country." He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for HIS country.

Patton's advise has begun to resonate once again-- this time, in a different political context, as US soldiers continue to die at an alarming rate battling an increasingly intense guerrilla war in Iraq.

But right wing politicians in the US who are gung-ho about the war are not sending their children to die in the streets of Baghdad and Mosul. Instead, they are sending the other poor dumb bastard's son to die for the United States, a country in which some of them were not even born.

A large number of casualties in Iraq include minorities-- Latin Americans and Asians who have become naturalised Americans but who were born either in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam or Puerto Rico. An executive order signed by President George Bush in July 2002 is aimed at expediting naturalisation for aliens and non-citizen nationals who serve in active-duty status during the current "war on terrorism".

If Bush's justification for the military attack on Iraq is to be believed, the war on Iraq is an integral part of the US war on terrorism. The executive order permits non-US citizens to obtain US citizenship immediately upon arrival at their first military base, rather than wait the usual three to four years.

Jose Gutierrez, an orphaned Guatemalan, was one of the first "American" soldiers to die in Iraq. But he was not even a US citizen at the time of his death. Pentagon statistics also show a 13 percent casualty rate for soldiers of Hispanic origin serving in Iraq.
This is "unfortunate and tragic", says Teresa Gutierrez, of Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER), who argues that more and more Latino youths are joining the US army for job security and because they are unable to pay the high costs for higher education.

Charles Rangel, an African-American Congressman representing New York, is leading a campaign to introduce legislation that will bring military conscription. Rangel's move, although highly unpopular among politicians who are not willing to sacrifice their children for the greater glory of the United States, has hit a raw political nerve.

With justifiably logic, Rangel says: "I believe if those calling for war knew that their children were likely to be required to serve-- and to be placed in harm's way-- there would be more caution and a greater willingness to work with the international community in dealing with Iraq."

Rangel, who says that "the sacrifice should be shared by all", is no former draft dodger either. He is a decorated veteran of the Korean War with two meritorious awards, the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

The New York Times says that almost no member of the US Congress now has a son or daughter in the military. Former President Bill Clinton "ducked the draft" during the Vietnam war, and the current President George Bush "managed to sit out the war" by serving in the Air National Guard in Texas.

The Bush administration has also expressed disappointment that despite a Security Council resolution last month, no country has so far volunteered substantial troops to join the coalition forces in Iraq. With the exception of Britain, all other coalition members in Iraq contribute an average of over 400 troops each.

South Korea, Japan and Turkey, who were expected to send thousands of troops to Iraq, have either had second thoughts or are dragging their feet. Since the security situation in Iraq is not conducive to any foreign troops-- be they from a Muslim or a non-Muslim country-- even Pakistan and Bangladesh have been reluctant to sacrifice their soldiers.

The growing insurgency in Iraq and the continued attacks on foreigners in Baghdad, Basra and Nassariya have also brought international humanitarian operations to a near standstill in the war-ravaged country.

The United Nations, which has withdrawn virtually all of its international staff numbering over 500, has no plans to return to Baghdad until the security situation improves.

Virtually all of the international relief agencies, including Oxfam America, Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), have withdrawn their international staff from Iraq and relocated them in neighbouring Jordan.
Asked when they would return to Baghdad, Nathaniel Raymond of Oxfam America said last week: "Your guess is as good as mine."

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