The James Logan Courier

By John Chau, Courier Managing Editor.

On Wednesday, Democrats in Congress stated that in order for President Bush to receive needed funding for the Iraqi conflict, he must accept the majority opposition’s proposed timetable for troop extraction. With $122 billion of funding in question, the president nonetheless holds firm to resist the Democrats’ withdrawal schedule, claiming in a White House excerpt that if troops went unfunded in Iraq, the American people would hold them responsible. The president also claimed that he will not negotiate with Congress, and will veto all withdrawal-related funding bills.

Why, may you ask, would beloved Dubya bite the hands of the policymakers that are offering him an end to this Iraqi war? Until recently, Bush’s approval rating in the nation has been in its abyss. In addition to the drastic drops in consumer confidence, a steady rash of protests and demonstrations have appeared across the nation, the displays showing even in localized, suburban high schools such as James Logan High School.

Amongst all this, the Patriot Act and the modified Posse Commitus Act slowly leech away the civil liberties and privacies once guarantied to all in the Land of the Free, inspiring fear and mistrust in all levels and facets of life.


Dozens of James Logan students recently protested the war.
Courier Photo
On the ‘magically’ faraway Guantanemo Bay and the equally remote Iraqi prisons, the hysteric hunt for terrorists has led to numerous atrocities. Just a year ago, journalists onboard have revealed to the American public the tortures and humiliating treatment U.S. soldiers and Corporate sector officials inflict upon countless civilians, ranging from rape to physical torture. Innocent and guilty alike were denied their dignity and liberties, and our ever-righteous judicial branch has even stripped suspects of their right to appeal their imprisonment outside of a state-declared court.

Even in the eyes of our servicemen, Bush’s insistence to continue the war is both unwelcome and full of losses. Everyday these soldiers remain in Iraqi meant more comrades and volunteers falling to car bombs, terrorist skirmishes, and malicious mistreatment: Walter Weed, with its neglected, languishing veterans; Halliburton, cheating America of billions in graft while providing woefully substandard service- who knows if there are more of such atrocities spawning from a certain leader’s desire to get more oil for his father’s coffers?

In the years since 9/11, scholars had analyzed, and provided strong evidence to the credibility of the ‘terrorist’ attack. All conspiracy talk aside, America is of late losing many of its coalition allies and in the process, greatly damaging deep-seated alliances our past leaders have spent so much effort on building: we are losing our standing among the nations at such a rate, that our reputation, economy, and credit are in rapid decline.

The trust Americans once placed to their president is no more. Indeed, many citizens once loyal to Bush’s war policies are now questioning the validity of his actions. In the Vietnam conflict at least, Nixon had been able to bring to an end troop deployment and social unrest- and he today bears still the shame of both Watergate and abandoning the Vietnamese to the Communists. Bush’s situation is unique in that much of Iraq’s unrest is caused by U.S. presence that it no longer requires. In addition to a growing democracy, the nation itself will soon possess a functional police force and the ability to restore its municipal services, achievements even hundreds of thousands of foreign troops could not solve. Furthermore, the U.S. needs to respect Iraq’s standing as a nation, meaning the right to exist independently, without occupation or military presence. It is time for the Iraqis to take control of its social situation, without the U.S. military’s constant presence and surveillance. It is time for the president to withdrawal his army, and takes an assisting, cooperative role in the nation’s reconstruction. With Iraq in civil war, it is clear that it is futile for the world police to continue its intervention effort in the nation. It is time for the Shi’ites and the Sunnis to learn that their strife is breaking down their nation, and that they must pursuit peace for the good of their homeland. It is time for us to come home, and repair the rifts and problems within our borders, as well.

Truth. Freedom. Knowledge.