Iraq: Fun With Numbers



Posted: Sunday, October 21, 2007

by
GLFranklyn

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who is watching the story about the alleged murders of Iraqi civilians by BlackWater Operatives in Iraq. It’s a grizzly story and, by rights, SHOULD be reported and investigated thoroughly. If these operatives are guilty of murder, they SHOULD be prosecuted to the full extent of the law! Our main confusion about "The Law" is currently letting murderous thugs get away without so much as an arrest.

Because these operatives are not “Officially" US Soldiers and they are not acting on US Soil, they are not under the jurisdiction of US Law. Because they are not “Officially" Iraqi Forces and they are not Iraqi citizens and their country of origin is the same as the occupying force in Iraq, they are not under the jurisdiction of Iraqi Law. Because they are not “Officially" UN sanctioned Operatives fighting in a battle that is not “Officially" a declared War, they don’t seem to be under the Jurisdiction of International Law either. At present, they appear to be autonomous and accountable to no one’s rule of Law. A legal limbo, if you will, that allows them to do whatever they want without accountability.

However there’s a sub story that keeps getting brushed aside like an insignificant sidebar to the main story about murder and accountability. I see the sub story as being at LEAST as important as the main story, if not MORE so!

When the Bush Regime releases numbers about military activity in Iraq they only talk about US Military troops. The US military soldiers currently fighting in Iraq are not the only Americans in Iraq! The sub story is that independent contractors operating in Iraq collectively account for almost as many forces as the US Military.

The US Military numbers are roughly 150,000 at this writing. About 5,000 are rumored to be leaving for home by Christmas, leaving a US Military force of roughly 145,000. Independent contractors account for roughly 110,000 people. Now, granted, not all of these contractors are combat oriented units, but most of them are. The truth is that there are roughly 220,000 people involved in operations in Iraq that require the use of lethal weapons.

When you are watching reports about the US Involvement in Iraq remember that the numbers you are being told comprise a little more that HALF of the actual amount of people operating for US Interests in Iraq. Let’s see what that would look like here in the US. Iraq is 167,400 square miles in land mass. California is 163,707 square miles. The population of California is quite a bit larger than Iraq given that Iraq is mostly desert and almost all population there is gathered within 200 miles of one city.

Imagine, if you will, a fighting force of 225,000 people with guns, who have a dramatically different cultural perspective, religious perspective and economic structure than Californians, occupying that state and attempting to transform its government into a Fundamentalist Islamic State. That, roughly, is what the US is doing to Iraq as I write this. Kind of puts things into perspective don’t you think?

When you are voting for your next President please watch the candidates carefully. All but ONE of those candidates is advocating some form of continuation of that occupation. Republicans are VERY aggressive about it, but even the democrats, with one exception, are advocating that we stay in Iraq for one reason or another and backing it up with legislative votes to that effect. That one candidate? Dennis Kucinich!

Just Thought I’d mention it.

Much Love,

Gregory

Gregory Franklyn is a 50 something native of Detroit, now calling the Pacific Northwest his home. He is a former “small fish in a small pond” rock star of the first magnitude. He is a published author and boasts a background in Television Production and National and Foreign Policy dating back to BoysTown High School in 1966, where he and his partner Brian McGinty walked away with second place in state in varsity debate in 1970. He writes and maintains a political opinion blog at http://glfranklyn.com.

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by robert melaccio sr
 4 years 95 days ago.
Gregory, in my opinion and that of many they are all the same no difference. Check what they do, what they vote for, what they support who they sup with. There is no difference and if you are expecting one party over the other to do something, well no comment. Good job and best wishes. As for me I'm voting, voting them all out!
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