Shoshana Johnson and the Gangsters of War

These are the words of Smedley Butler. Butler retired from the United States Marine Corps with the rank of Major General. He fought for American interests in Haiti, Mexico and China. He also described himself as a “gangster for capitalism.” Butler wrote about wars in other parts of the world but his statements ring true for Iraq as well. Shoshana Johnson was captured and more than 400 Americans have been killed to make Iraq safe for the military industrial complex, represented in this instance by Bechtel and Halliburton. Halliburton has been accused of over charging for fuel delivered to Iraq. Vice President Cheney is the former CEO of Halliburton. Yes, war is indeed a racket.

I recently watched a CNN story about soldiers wounded in Iraq. Luis Calderon became a quadriplegic when the Army deemed it necessary that he and his tank unit knock down a wall because it displayed a picture of Saddam Hussein. The wall fell, but in the wrong direction. It struck Calderon’s tank and broke his neck in the process. As I watched this heartbreaking story I waited and hoped that Calderon, his wife or his parents would say, “He is paralyzed so that Saddam’s picture could be removed. He lost the use of his body over a picture? I hate Bush and the rest of his greedy cronies!”