A truly spiritual view of war

[Guest guest]

A truly

spiritual view of war .. by Dr. Michael Yellow Bird

Why Are

Indigenous (American Indian) Soldiers Serving in Iraq?

By Dr.

Michael Yellow Bird, Ph.D.

Open

Letter to all Indigenous Peoples:

As the

United States prepares for its annual Independence Day celebrations, I strongly

urge all of our nations to hold critical and independent discussions on why we

are committing our young people to serve the U.S. military in its occupation of

Iraq.

The

recent reporting (including revelations of a cover-up) of the murders,

executions, and massacres of innocent Iraqi citizens by United States troops

prompts me to ask, " Why are Indigenous (American Indian) soldiers serving

in Iraq? " I wonder why our tribal communities have not had critical

debates on the immorality of this war, on the lies of the present Bush

Administration that got us into this war, and on the spiritual, economic,

social, and psychological costs that both our people and the Iraqi people will

pay for this war. It is clear from the history of many of our tribes that our

people understood the grave costs of war and so took this act very seriously.

Before

engaging in war, many of our tribess initiated peace councils an sent

emissaries to negotiate goodwill and friendship with the " enemy " in

order to avoid war. As sovereign Indigenous nations, we did not do this before

or during the invasion of Iraq. We instead let the United States make the

decision for us as to whether we should or should not enter into this war. I

wonder when was the last time that the United States asked our people for our

opinion about war and its costs.

Our

history tells us that because war was so destructive on many different levels,

many of our tribal nations before committing to war against another tribe

consulted our elders, peacemakers, women, youth, philosophers, intellectuals,

spiritual leaders, children, warriors, and veterans to weigh the costs of war.

This is something that many of our nations have not done for some time. Many of

us have " outsourced-our-thinking " to the United States with respect

to when and why we should or should not go to war. We are sovereign nations

with very intelligent and moral people who do not need to rely on this country

to interpret for us the meaning and the costs that war will bring to our

communities. Most of us already know the answer to this.

And we

know that we should decide for ourselves, after careful, deliberate, and

intelligent discussions, whether we must commit our people and resources to the

wars of the United States.

Along

with the U.S. invasion of the lands of our respective nations, the last two

major conflicts of the United States, Vietnam and now Iraq, were based on lies

created by the U.S. government. Their track record makes it even more

imperative that we rely upon our own thinking, experiences, and morality when

we enter into discussions on why our tribal nations should compel our people to

go to war. The Vietnam lie was very expensive and horrific; it was responsible

for the deaths of 58,191 American soldiers and 153,303 wounded. One million

Vietnamese combatants and four million civilians were killed for this American

lie.

The

missing in this war includes approximately 2,300 American soldiers and 200,000

Vietnamese. In Iraq, over 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed since 2003.

After so many lies told to our people by the United States, do we trust this

nation to be honest with us? Do we trust it to care about life as much as we

do?

If we

are to have discussions about this war, topics must include:

Our

belief that all people and beings are related to us so what does it mean to

make war on our relatives; The fact that we value all life so, therefore, war

truly must be a last resort; The fact that we value Mother Earth as a living

being and the fact that the United States military is contaminating the lands,

waters, trees, plants and people in Iraq through the use of biowarfare,

landmines, and depleted uranium which will kill innocent people and will poison

much of their territory for many years;

The

fact that we believe in the great circle of life (e.g., what goes around comes

around and what we are doing to the Iraqi people is what the U.S. did to our

ancestors); What are the effects that all of the killing, maiming, poisoning,

and torturing will have upon our people, especially on the psychic and

cosmological levels; How the U.S. has treated us in the past and the present,

and how it has conscripted our minds and hearts so that we are participating in

their same oppressive behavior of another group/race of humans; What other

nations has the United States overthrown for its own interests? How many

innocent non-U.S. peoples have been killed by this country's covert operations,

and who is it planning to attack in the future? Why? Who benefits most from war

and who are the biggest losers? Finally, there are many other reasons that we

can discuss and analyze.

It

seems that we cannot rely on corporate media or the U.S. government to tell

us the truth or to give us the facts about why we should go to war or

who we should consider our enemy. John Stockwell, the highest-ranking

CIA official to leave the agency and go public with information

about CIA-sponsored activities, once said that the U.S. neither

does " bloody, gory operations " in Europe nor does it spend its time

attacking these countries. Rather it performs such operations in countries

that are filled with people of color who do not have the military

strength and resources to protect themselves from U.S. invasions.

I am convinced that Stockwell is suggesting that the U.S. government

has a clear racist war ideology and readily employs it against

people or races that are not white. So, we must use all the available

evidence to independently decide for ourselves if and when we should

go to war and who is our enemy. An enemy should not be invented because

of the color of its skin or religious beliefs.

 

I

believe that it is time for us to demand that our tribal governments call for

critical and independent discussions, and we need to tell the United States

to immediately call for withdrawal of its military forces from Iraq. Most

importantly and independently of their decision or indecision we must

immediately pull our people out of this quagmire. Countries such as Japan,

Honduras, Tonga, Nicaragua, Spain, Dominican Republic, Philippines,

Thailand, New Zealand, Portugal, and Moldova already have pulled

out their troops and many other nations are planning to reduce their

troop commitment in the near future. So why are we still in Iraq fighting

the U.S.'s illegal war? It also is time

for our tribal leaders and

communities to impose a moratorium upon any further enlistments of our

young men and women into the U.S. military. The United States has abused

our trust and has coerced us to fight its illegal, immoral wars long

enough.

 

 

Many

things about this war trouble me to the very core. One of the most disturbing

questions is why does it seem that of all the countries that have

been, or continue to be, in this war, it is only U.S. soldiers who are committing

the murders of, and atrocities against, innocent Iraqi citizens (the

unarmed, the disabled, the defenseless elders, the women, and the children)?

Is it because the U.S. is serving in larger numbers?

 

 

Is it

because the U.S. is serving in more hazardous situations? Is it because

the U.S. is more trigger happy? Is it because of poor oversight and

supervision by the upper ranks of the military? Is it because U.S. troops

are a more violent group and enjoy killing more than do other soldiers?

Is it because the architects of this war, including President George

W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld,

and former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, care more

about profit than " just war " principles? Is it all of the above?

 

 

As I

write this, two national guardsmen are being investigated for killing an

innocent Iraqi man earlier this year; seven Marines and one Navy corpsman

were charged with the shooting death of an Iraqi man, whom they had

kidnapped from his home, forced into a hole, and shot to death they then

left a stolen AK-47 near his body to make it look like he was firing

at them; three soldiers and one non-commissioned officer were charged

with killing (in May 2006) three unarmed Iraqis who were in military

custody. And many more Iraqi people

have been abused and tortured

to death in U.S. custody (especially in the military prisons).

Many of

these atrocities have been covered up or are " under investigation. "

The story

currently receiving the most press is the November 2005 massacre

of the twenty-four innocent civilians (including women and children)

in Haditha by U.S. Marines. This mass killing is being in compared

to the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam. A " Washington Post " article

reported that " Aws Fahmi, a Haditha resident said he watched and listened

from his home as Marines went from house to house killing members

of three families, recalled hearing his neighbor across the street,

Younis Salim Khafif, plead in English for his life and the lives of his

family members. 'I heard Younis speaking to the Americans, saying:

" I am a friend. I am good, " Fahmi said. But they killed him, and his

wife and daughters.' The girls killed

inside Khafif's house were ages

14, 10, 5, 3 and 1 " (Saturday, May 17, 2006).

 

 

Rep.

John Murtha (D-Pa.), a former Marine who maintains close ties with senior

Marine officers despite his opposition to the war stated, " Marines

overreacted . . . and killed innocent civilians in cold blood. " Murtha already has called for the withdrawal

of the U.S. military

from Iraq and has called the war " a flawed policy wrapped in illusion "

(Larry Downing, Reuters, Nov 18, 2005).

 

 

There

are many reasons why we must immediately get our people out of this

war:

 

 

War is

not a moral act. The occupation, torture, mutilation, killing, and murder

of innocent Iraqi people are acts of immorality. Our people should

not be complicit in atrocities. The invasion of Iraq was based on lies.

Iraq was accused of having weapons of mass destruction by the Bush administration;

it did not. Iraq was accused of having ties with Osama Bin

Laden; it did not. Our people should not be complicit in lies. The war

against Iraq does not meet the standards of a " Just War " that evolved

among " civilized " societies. Our people have enough struggles and

battles, and should not be complicit in unjust global activities on behalf

of the United States. The war on Iraq was for " regime change " which

is not legal under international law, Article 2(4) of the UN Charter.

Our people should not be complicit in lawlessness.

 

 

After

two decades of wars, invasions, and sanctions, Iraq did not have the

military power to pose a clear and present danger to the U.S. before or

after being invaded in 2003. Our people should not be complicit in oppressing

and occupying a nation that never attacked us. Many people in the

U.S. and throughout the world oppose this war. Our nations should exercise

their right to voice their opposition to U.S. military operations,

conflicts, wars, and occupations. The U.S. soldiers who have murdered

Iraqi civilians must now stand trial. Several of them could receive

the death penalty. Will more death and life sentences follow or will

the deaths of innocent Iraqis be ignored or covered up? Do we want our men

and women involved in situations that might conclude in such trials

or cover-ups? Our people should mentor their young into just and moral

activities that benefit their nations, while encouraging conflict-resolution

when possible. This war is creating new " terrorism " and

retribution that will be directed at the U.S. for its invasion of Iraq

and its torturing and killing of innocent people. Our people should not

contribute to U.S. creation of hatred. There is no end in sight for a U.S.

military exit out of Iraq. Many sources report that the U.S. is establishing

permanent military bases in Iraq which would keep troops in Iraq

for many years. Our people should not contribute to the expansion and

maintenance of U.S. militarization, colonization, and occupation.

 

 

Invading

Iraq is extremely financially costly and takes resources away from

many badly needed priorities at home. At present, it costs nearly one

billion dollars a week to wage this " War on Terrorism. " Our people should

not be complicit in U.S. activities that waste money.

 

Billions

of dollars have been authorized by the U.S. congress to be used for

occupation and reconstruction. There is evidence that billions of U.S.

taxpayer dollars have been lost through waste, abuse, and fraudulent

billing. In a June 8, 2006, article published in " The Baltimore

Chronicle, " Dave Lindorff reported that twenty-one billion dollars

" has gone missing without a trace in Iraq. " Who is responsible for

this? I am reminded that our people are fighting for, in part, accountability

of billions of lost dollars in the Eloise Pepion Cobell, et al.

v. Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior lawsuit in the United States.

Our people should never be complicit in U.S. theft, fraud, and dishonesty.

The U.S. is supposed to be rebuilding Afghanistan but it is not;

rather, it is targeting most of its focus and resources on Iraq.

Our

people should not contribute to unilateral U.S. policy and doctrines.

 

Despite

billions of U.S. dollars spent in Iraq after its invasion, very little

promised rebuilding of the Iraqi infrastructure has been accomplished.

Our people " who are familiar with broken promises and treaties "

should never be complicit in the lies of the United States.

 

The

rebuilding of Iraq is not happening. Many U.S. firms that went to Iraq to

perform reconstruction services have been accused of " bilking " funds intended

for reconstruction. In an April 16, 2006 news story, the " Boston Globe "

reported that " American contractors swindled hundreds of millions of

dollars in Iraqi funds. " For instance, in March 2006, a Rhode Island-based

company called, The Custer Battles, was found " liable for $3

million in fraudulent billings in Iraq. " Stories such as this are outrageous

and numerous. Many of these companies had/have ties to the current

Bush administration, especially Dick Cheney, the current Vice President

of the United States. Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to

2000. Halliburton has made hundreds of millions of dollars from this

war and occupation. Our people should not be complicit in helping the

rich, like Cheney, get richer.

 

 

We must

no longer allow our nations to remain in the fog of war, participating

in the U.S. continued colonization and destruction of the world.

What this country has done and continues to do to the Iraqi people

is unconscionable and must stop. The U.S.-led war in Iraq is wrong,

immoral, illegal, unjust, a lie; it is about profiteering for a very

small, corrupt, elite sector of the U.S. population. Our people, many of

whom occupy some of the lowest levels of decision making in the U.S.

military, are considered expendable and are being used for cannon fodder

so that the rich, especially in the United States, can become richer.

 

 

We must

realize that many of the people in the highest levels of the United

States government suffer from an addiction to war, power, and colonization.

Many, but not all, Indigenous Peoples have become co dependent

in this addiction as demonstrated by not holding public meetings

and councils that question the U.S. invasion, and by allowing our

people to participate in this unjust, illegal war that is creating suffering

for untold numbers of innocent Iraqi people. In the Fall of 2004,

the academic journal Wicazo Sa Review published a paper I wrote entitled

" Cowboys and Indians: Toys of Genocide, Icons of American Colonialism. " ?

In that article, I stated that " it took me some years to understand

that colonialism is a sickness, an addiction to greed, power, and

exploitation....Colonialism has taught many Indigenous Peoples to be silent,

passive, compliant victims who participate in, excuse, enable, or

ignore the colonizer's addictive behaviors. Left unchecked, colonialism

has continued to flourish, devastate, and suppress Indigenous

Peoples, keeping them in a the perpetual role of 'the Indian,'

causing many to say, do and think things they never would if their

minds and hearts were free from American colonial rule. " Today this

addictive behavior or the drug of choice of this country is its illegal,

dishonest, and brutal invasion of Iraq. I urgently ask each and every

Indigenous Person to quit enabling the addictive behavior of the U.S.

 

 

In this

same article, I also wrote that there are " antidotes to colonialism that

Indigenous Peoples can and must employ: courage, intelligent resistance,

development of a counterconsciousness and discourse, and a fierce

critical interrogation of American colonial ideology. " It is incumbent

upon our peoples to employ these antidotes in order to condemn and get

our people out of this war. We must commit all of our intellectual

and truth-seeking energies to this objective and not let any

one, Indigenous or non Indigenous, hijack our need for such critical and independent

discussions. A key democratic principle of our peoples was our

willingness to allow our people dissent from popular opinion so that we

might consider all of our options. We must not let accusations that our

" honor and courage as warriors is on the line " prevent us from deciding

to leave Iraq and the U.S. military. After generations of service

in the U.S. military and its numerous wars our people have repeatedly

proven that we are brave and courageous beyond compare.

 

 

However,

our ability to think morally, critically, and independently about

our participation in this war is another matter that we now must undertake

ever so seriously.

 

 

Maybe,

just maybe, if we act using our traditional Indigenous forms of morality

that value truth, intelligence, honesty, life, and dignity and refuse

to be a enabler to the U.S. addiction to greed, war, power, and colonization

we can help it overcome its unhealthy, destructive obsession

for war, conquest, and killing of others. And, as it recovers from

this addiction, maybe we also can help it overcome its two greatest phobias:

dikephobia (the fear of justice) and hypegiaphobia (the fear of responsibility).

I pray that that you will take this open letter (or a statement

of your own) to your tribal leaders and communities and immediately

begin the important critical and independent discussions that

will promote and act upon the well-being of all of our people.

All the

best,

Michael

 

Dr.

Michael Yellow Bird, Ph.D.

Founder

and Director, Center for Indigenous Peoples' Critical and Intuitive

Thinking (CIPCIT) and Associate Professor, Indigenous Nations Studies

Indigenous Nations Studies Program

1410

Jayhawk Blvd, Room 105

The

University of Kansas

Lawrence,

KS 66045

Email:

mybird

<http://ca.f883.mail./ym/Compose?To=mybird

www.ku.edu/~insp

<http://www.ku.edu/~insp>

 

 

Read

and spread the message at www.firethegrid.com

<http://www.firethegrid.com/>. We are all ONE, practice the law of one.

" Real

truth is always subversive. " ~ Zdenek Urbanek

 

 

Radiating

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE & Truth

To

ALL who share our circle – our universe, our love, our trust.

May

I always be found worthy.

Gratitude

& Thankfulness to All of Us

a

SoaringHawk

Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the

first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with joy &

glory.

 

Thank you for YOU!