From Liberation to Occupation. From Deceit to Death

Read this. Read this. Read this.

The picture they [the reviewed books] present is not always bleak. They describe many affecting scenes in which soldiers try to do good, administering first aid, handing out food, arranging for garbage to be picked up. For the most part, the GIs come across as well-meaning Americans who have been set down in an alien environment with inappropriate training, minimal cultural preparation, and no language skills. Surrounded by people who for the most part wish them ill and living with the daily fear of being blown up, they frequently take out their frustrations on the local population. It's in these firsthand accounts that one can find the most searing descriptions of the toll the war has taken on both US troops and the Iraqi people.

Wanna know how to create an Iraq worse than that governed by Saddam? Here's how: Launch a 'liberation' while not giving a shit about the people you are liberating. Plan poorly. Send in troops - fallible human beings who you have trained to kill dispassionately. Ask them to deal with all the complexities of occupation. Fail to support them...