Martin and Bobby
Tomorrow I will participate, for the first time, in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. march in Denver, CO. I'm somewhat embarrassed to say, "for the first time", as it has always seemed that things such as work or other scheduling issues, have prevented my participation in the past. Well, not tomorrow. I have taken the morning off from work for the march and for the speeches at City Park and Civic Center Park. It is supposed to be about 16 degrees above zero tomorrow, so I will be "marching" rapidly, in order to build up the ol' body heat. Dr. King followed a tradition that goes back to Leo Tolstoy, and then Mahatma Gandhi, regarding the issue of nonviolence and opposition to violent actions such as war. He studied the works of both of these men, and incorporated them into his own thoughts and works on the issues of nonviolence and racial justice in this nation. In addition to his work on civil rights for all in this country (sorry, Hillary - but his work was in fact more important than LBJ's subsequent passing of civil rights legislation, as that never would have happened without MLK's being a prime catalyst for it), Dr. King was in great opposition to the Vietnam War, and was on the verge of leading an even wider movement in the nation that focused more upon class issues, planning a Poor People's March on Washington, when he was taken away from us. I've been reading Daniel Ellsberg's (the govt. analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the NY Times, revealing the lies of the Vietnam War) memoir on his life and the war in Vietnam, "Secrets", and am struck by the parallels between that time and now, with regard to our involvement in yet another unjust, immoral action. Here are just a few statistics which usually don't come to light, concerning our involvement in the occupation of Iraq, courtesy of Iraq War Results & Statistics as of Jan 2, 2008
Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated - A UN issued report dated Sept 20, 2006 stating that Iraqi civilian casualities have been significantly under-reported. Casualties are reported at 50,000 to over 100,000, but may be much higher. Some informed estimates place Iraqi civilian casualities at over 600,000.
Troops in Iraq - Total 170,961, including 160,000 from the US, 4,500 from the UK, 2,000 from Georgia, 900 from Poland, 650 from South Korea and 2,911 from all other nations
US Troop Casualities - 3,905 US troops; 98% male. 90% non-officers; 80% active duty, 12% National Guard; 74% Caucasian, 10% African-American, 11% Latino. 18% killed by non-hostile causes. 51% of US casualties were under 25 years old. 70% were from the US Army
Non-US Troop Casualties - Total 307, with 174 from the UK
US Troops Wounded - 28,822, 20% of which are serious brain or spinal injuries (total excludes psychological injuries)
US Troops with Serious Mental Health Problems - 30% of US troops develop serious mental health problems within 3 to 4 months of returning home
Private Contractors in Iraq, Working in Support of US Army Troops - More than 180,000 in August 2007, per The Nation/LA Times.
Daily Insurgent Attacks, Feb 2004 - 14
Daily Insurgent Attacks, July 2005 - 70
Daily Insurgent Attacks, May 2007 - 163
Estimated Insurgency Strength, Nov 2003 - 15,000
Estimated Insurgency Strength, Oct 2006 - 20,000 - 30,000
Estimated Insurgency Strength, June 2007 - 70,000
QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS
Iraqis Displaced Inside Iraq, by Iraq War, as of May 2007 - 2,255,000
Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan - 2.1 million to 2.25 million
Iraqi Unemployment Rate - 27 to 60%, where curfew not in effect
Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 - 50%
Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition - 28% in June 2007 (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)
Percent of professionals who have left Iraq since 2003 - 40%
Iraqi Physicians Before 2003 Invasion - 34,000
Iraqi Physicians Who Have Left Iraq Since 2005 Invasion - 12,000
Iraqi Physicians Murdered Since 2003 Invasion - 2,000
Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 1 to 2 hours, per Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (Per Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2007)
Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 10.9 in May 2007
Average Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 5.6 in May 2007
Pre-War Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 16 to 24
Number of Iraqi Homes Connected to Sewer Systems - 37%
Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies - 70% (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)
Water Treatment Plants Rehabilitated - 22%
Tomorrow will be a day to remember and honor Dr. King, as well as Robert F. Kennedy, to remember all of those who died in Vietnam and Iraq, and to begin the work for change so that such tragedies will not be allowed to happen again. 16 degrees, suddenly, doesn't seem so cold now.
posted by Frank at 12:14 PM
4 Comments:
I read in a pretty exciting conspiracy theory book last year that MLK Jr. was likely assassinated because of that very same Poor People's business that he was working on. It has been largely undiscussed and ignored in every tribute ever since.
I guess that is one of the theories behind his assassination, because I remember seeing, a long time ago on ABC's 20/20 program, a similar thing; where a Green Beret colonel(?) was making the claim that his secret unit tracked all the movements of Dr. King, fearing an all-out total revolution during the 60's, that he might have been a major leader in. Because of this fear, he was constantly tracked by this unit. If I remember right, this man claimed his unit was responsible for the killing, and I can't remember if he said it was accidental, but I believe he did. I cannot believe that there was never more about this; it seemed so astounding when I saw this program on TV. I never saw anything like that, with that type of detail, ever again. I suppose there are several authors of different books though, positing similar and not so similar theories, like the book you had read.
It seems to me like it might be more important to "the powers that be" that poor people stay poor and continue to believe that is their lot rather than have them rise up and demand jobs, services, education, and livable housing (check the projects in American Ganster--I was horrified--nowadays they look like palaces by comparison).
If people lie, cheat, and kill to get power, why wouldn't they continue to do so in order to keep it?
I realize now that when I was younger, watching some of those programs that would do all the 101 violins and so on and talk about racial inequality and a need for justice didn't actually make a connection necessarily between color, Civil Rights, and his killing--it was just that the viewer's mind tends to take a leap of logic--not even a leap, it's just a step.
Those statistics need to be posted somewhere everyday- a newspaper, a website- mcdonalds somewhere- until we 'get it', we probably will never 'get it' but it's so much different when you see it this senseless war, what it costs all of us. It's scream inducing.
And these people in washington hmph. I guess a good deal of the budget was spent on rose colored glasses?
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