by Bill Van Auken
http://www.wsws.org
18 February 2009
Recent media reports on the mounting evidence of wholesale corruption in US reconstruction efforts in Iraq are symptomatic of the criminal nature of Washington’s war and occupation from their inception nearly six years ago. These crimes are continuing under the Obama administration, with no end in sight.
Citing unnamed senior government officials and court documents, the New York Times reported Sunday that federal investigators have turned their sights on two senior US military officers who were in charge of contracting out reconstruction projects in Iraq in the aftermath of the March 2003 invasion.
[…]
This plan always envisioned tens of thousands of US troops staying behind to conduct counter-insurgency operations and protect US interests in the country. The generals are reportedly urging Obama to merely reclassify large numbers of those now categorized as combat troops and keep them in Iraq as well.
It is clear that, in one form or another, the war and occupation in Iraq will go on. The fight to bring it to an end and to hold accountable those responsible for this criminal venture is a struggle against the Obama administration, which requires the independent political mobilization of the working class against the profit system, which is the source of militarism and war.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
see
Dandelion Salad 
Pingback: Aaron Glantz: The War Comes Home « Dandelion Salad
Most if not all conscientious and intelligent people in the world, and I have no doubt that President Obama is no exception, would agree that the occupation of Iraq was the sister if not the mother of all screw ups, at least since the Vietnam war. It was so ill-conceived, and its planning and execution were the works of evil, greedy and sociopathic fanatics. It’s a disgrace that the U.S. has to live with, and deal with, for a long time. I believe that President Obama, in addition to making sure that we get out of there as soon as possible, but with careful planning this time around, that he should, on behalf of the American people, apologize for all the horrible and heinous, unjustifiable crimes we committed in Iraq, which are too many to list. Yes, the previous shameful administration was responsible for that war, but since they are no longer in power, we should have the courage and moral strength to apologize for what Bush did in our name. I believe that President Obama would enter history from its broadest doors, as a truly great president, if he would facilitate holding the previous administration accountable for its despicable mistakes and horrendous war crimes. It would show the whole world what the U.S. is made of and that when we make a terrible mistake we have the strength and courage to admit it and do our best to fix it, in addition to punishing those responsible.