America's Confusion

Translation


How The U.S. Population Can Overcome Its World Class Confusion
By Jan Lundberg
http://www.culturechange.org/cms/content/view/766/1/

When we think of the millions of U.S. Americans who have needlessly
attacked or harmed millions of others in dozens of countries, and have
harmed themselves -- without fully knowing why -- and when we acknowledge
that many in the U.S. seem resigned to allow more of the same, one can
extend this phenomenon to the nation's population in general. We can call
it a common trait, and find it to be a U.S. tendency upon historical
analysis or reading between the lines of corporate news. Let us name the
national condition confusion. Under this we can lump poor education, being
propagandized, exploitation of the poor, rampant ill health, environmental
devastation, and the rape of Mother Nature (and therefore of ourselves and
our spirit).

Calling it confusion is kind sounding, when we think of three million U.S.
personnel going to Vietnam to kill millions of soldiers and civilians.
About 54,000 U.S. soldiers died there. Many more were sickened both
physically and mentally. For what ultimate goal did these casualties on
both sides occur? For the Vietnamese, it was their national defense --
whether Communist or peasant Vietnamese. Even when one considers U.S.
imperialism, and the false flag action of the Gulf of Tonkin, and one
forgives all of that, and says the nation made an honest mistake that
ended in defeat, it is still unanswerable: what was it for? To make money
on napalm and agent orange? One can revisit the war ad infinitum, but most
people can probably agree it was "for nothing" -- worthy of confusion.

Perhaps most instances of confusion fall under the heading of war, such as
the Iraq Invasion and Occupation. There was no Al Qaeda there, and no
weapons of mass destruction. With the recorded death toll since March 2003
of over 150,000 Iraqis, roughly 80% of whom were civilians -- that would
not have happened without the U.S./UK invasion and occupation -- one
should expect retaliation labeled terrorism against U.S. and UK
populations. Sowing confusion in order to wage war certainly resulted in
more confusion and worse.

To explain the Iraq War with bitterness, one can call it just an oil war
or profitable military-industrial-Congress complex scam. But the tools of
the exercise -- soldiers and their support -- are only going to keep
repeating their "confusion" for paychecks, if they are just ignored or are
called killers. So if the nation can openly address past and present
confusion, without attacking verbally the most confused individuals, this
can lessen future confusion.

Author and antiwar activist Brian Willson told this writer last year,
"Since WWII, the US has, according to my research, overtly invaded
militarily over 350 times in more than 100 countries (covertly intervening
thousands of times, while bombing 28 countries, & threatening Nukes on 20
other occasions). Estimates of numbers murdered range from 20 million to
75 million (John Ralson Saul, "The Unconscious Civilization"). Billions
have been impoverished. All this to preserve a basic notion of a way of
life that indeed itself is killing us. This is both absurd and a mental
illness."

Confusion and guilt from war and killing cause suicide far above normal
rates.  Why does it occur? The answer may lie in the population's
supposition that the U.S. is basically "a good Christian nation," while it
kills millions while waving the flag of freedom and democracy. No doubt,
the idea of "God is on our side"  for war, while Christ was known to be
all about peace and love, is confusing deep down.

For the U.S. to have a couple dozen nuke plants like the faulty (pardon
the pun) Fukushima reactors that blew and melted, this is truly confusion
of a monumental, cosmic nature. The General Electric-design reactors in
the U.S. can be hit with earthquakes, floods, human error by confused
operators, and decay from neglect that will happen when the U.S. no longer
endures in its present monolithic form. In the case of designing thousands
of years of lethal radioactive waste and fallout, we might add "criminally
insane" to the confusion label, due to the nuclear terrorism bequeathed to
our descendants.

One can step back even more deeply than calling our main social problems
"confusion" by characterizing senseless violence and fouling our
ecological nest as simple symptoms of overpopulation. The scientific proof
for this reasoning is that when rats in a cage get too numerous, they
begin to kill each other, go insane, commit suicide, eat each other, and
carry out other deviant self-destructive/self-preservation strategies. The
interests of the rat tribe, the family and the community are thus badly
eroded, and any sense of oneness is lost. The analogy is simplistic, but
we might allow "as with rats, humans." We are but animals, although at
times marvelous. Seven billion of us is a problem because of overshoot, or
the exceeding of ecological carrying capacity. Admittedly, confusion is a
symptom of overpopulation -- and of overconsumption.
_ _

To read the remainder of this essay, go to
http://www.culturechange.org/cms/content/view/766/1/

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America's Confusion . . 

I thank Jan Lundberg for the above. 

And  maintain my certain belief that it is ONLY by refusing to support the acts of such a society that it may be led to a necessary awakening.

Thank you.

Daniel J. Lavigne


Now . .  here is some information that should cause 'taxpayers' to reconsider their right and duty to refuse to support a society that would be party to mass murder, treason and sedition: 

  • Army to Probe 5 Slayings Linked to Colorado Brigade (Oct. 08)
  • At least eight civilians, all from one family and including women, were killed in a U.S. raid and airstrike Friday near Tikrit, Iraqi police and witnesses said (Sep. 08)
  • U.S. soldier sent to prison over Iraq killings (USA Today, 9/18/08)
  • U.N. says has evidence U.S. air strikes killed 90 Afghans - mostly children(Reuters, 8/26/08)
  • More than a dozen Afghan civilians were killed in an air strike by U.S.-led troops. (Reuters, 8/21/08)
  • US soldiers killed three unarmed Iraqi civilians, including a woman, near the central city of Samarra, the American military said. (AFP, 7/30/08)
  • The U.S. military said that the three people killed last month after U.S. soldiers shot at their car in Iraq were civilians, not criminals as the military initially reported. (McClatchy, 7/28/08)   
  • The U.S. military said American soldiers killed the 14-year-old son of the chief editor of a U.S.-sponsored newspaper. (AP, 7/25/08)
  • U.S.-led coalition troops killed eight Afghan civilians in an air strike.(Reuters, 7/17/08)
  • US-Led Strikes Killed 47 Afghan Civilians, Mostly Women and Children.(AFP, 7/11/08)
  • Marine's graphic interview describes killing of prisoners in Iraq. (LA Times, 7/10/08)
  • Airstrikes kill 22 Afghan civilians. (AP, 7/4/08)
  • 8 Civilians Killed in 2 Disputed Attacks, Iraq Says. (NY Times, 6/26/08)
  • Afghans outraged after US military said Marines acted appropriately when they opened fire after an attack last year, killing at least 10 civilians.(The Nation, 5/24/08)
  • Two civilians killed, child wounded by U.S. fire in Mosul. (VOI, 5/24/08)
  • U.S. military 'regrets' killing 2 children in Iraq operation. (CNN, 5/22/08)
  • Iraqi TV station says US troops killed camerman. (Reuters, 5/22/08)
  • US helicopter strike kills eight civilians in Iraq. (AFP, 5/21/08)
  • Iraqi Police Say US Snipers Killed Civilians. (Reuters, 5/21/08)
  • Japan pays Australian rape victim $30,000 as US sailor walks free. (SMH, 5/20/08)
  • US attack on Baghdad media hotel no accident: rights group. (AFP, 5/19/08)
  • CIA death squads killing civilians with “impunity” in Afghanistan. (WSWS, 5/19/08)
  • US tells UN it detains about 500 juveniles in Iraq, 10 in Afghanistan. (IHT, 5/19/08)
  • U.S. kills 3 Iraqi boys in airstrikes. (CNN, 5/4/08)
  • U.S. Missiles Strike Sadr City, Hospital and Children Hit. (NY Times, 5/4/08)
  • Iraq civilians reportedly among Sadr City dead - including a two-year old (right). (LA Times, 4/29/08)
  • A U.S. Marine faces a court martial on charges of kidnapping and raping a 14-year-old schoolgirl on Japan's southern island of Okinawa in February (Reuters, 4/24/08)
  • "Rapists in the ranks" - Sexual assaults are frequent, and frequently ignored, in the armed services. (Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), 3/31/08)
  • "It's not Hollywood and it's not 110 percent perfect," said Col. Timothy J. Edens, the commander of the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, of the accuracy of his unit's strikes. "It is as precise as very hardworking soldiers and commanders can make it. These criminals do not operate in a clean battle space. It is occupied by civilians, law-abiding Iraqis." (read)
  • Six Iraqis killed in US airstrike in Basra. (CBS, 4/3/08)
  • Up to 60 Iraqis Killed in US Attack on Hilla. (Democracy Now!, 3/27/08)
  • US military says it shot and killed a young Iraqi girl. (Sydney Morning Herald, 3/13/08)
  • US vets to testify about war crimes they committed or witnessed. (IPS, 2/28/08)
  • Iraq war vet faces trial on charge of raping 3-month-old girl. (AP, 2/20/08)
  • US air strikes kill Iraqi family including a woman and 5 children.(Wiredispatch, 2/15/08)
  • Japanese police arrest US Marine accused of raping 14-year-old girl.(MSNBC, 2/10/08)
  • US Army Sniper Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Killing Unarmed Iraqi Civilian. (AP News, 2/10/08)
  • The U.S. military has admitted to killing four Iraqi family members and wounding another. (Democracy Now, 2/5/08)
  • US kills 9 Iraqi civilians. (ABC News, 2/3/08)
  • "The killing of innocent civilians is policy," veteran Mike Blake said. "It's unit policy and it's Army policy. It's not official policy, but it's what's happens on the ground everyday. It's what unit commanders individually encourage." (News10Now, 1/19/08)
  • At least 121 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have committed a killing or been charged in one in the United States after returning from combat.  Victims included a 2-year-old girl slain by her 20-year-old father while he was recovering from wounds sustained in Iraq, and a man who was stabbed and set afire by fellow soldiers a day after they all returned from Iraq. (MSNBC, 1/13/08)
  • US soldier says he randomly shot at Iraqis. (AP, 1/10/08)
  • Afghan Civilians Were Killed Needlessly, Ex-Marine Testifies. (NY Times, 1/9/08)
  • 2 Children Die in US Raid in Afghanistan. (AP, 11/2/07)
  • Stop bombing us, Afghan president tells U.S. (CBS, 10/26/07)
  • U.S. says Iraq airstrike kills 11, mostly civilians. (Reuters, 10/23/07)
  • Iraq Says Civilians Killed In US Raid. (LA Times, 10/22/07)
  • AP: Iraqis Say U.S. Targeted Civilians in Air Attack. (Editor & Publisher, 10/5/07)
  • Soldier: I was told to shoot an unarmed man - and his sergeant laughed and told the trooper to finish the job as the man convulsed on the ground. (USA Today, 9/28/07)
  • US air raid in Baghdad kills 10 civilians. (Herald Sun, 9/28/07)
  • Army snipers hunting insurgents in Iraq were under orders to "bait" their targets with suspicious materials, such as detonation cords, and then kill whoever picked up the items (AP, 9/25/07)
  • Pattern Cited in Killing of Civilians by US Troops. The killings include the drowning of a man soldiers pushed from a bridge into the Tigris River as punishment for breaking curfew (AP, 9/1/07)
  • Soldier: Sergeant beat Iraq detainee with bat. (MSNBC, 8/13/07)
  • About 50 Afghan civilians wounded in US-led airstrike. (BBC, 8/3/07)
  • Jury finds soldier guilty of rape, murder in slaying of 14-year-old Iraqi girl and her family. (AP, 8/3/07)
  • Marine convicted of murdering Iraqi man. The marine hatched a plan to kidnap and kill a suspected insurgent from his house. When they couldn't find him, they instead kidnapped a man from a neighboring house, dragged him to a hole and shot him. (CBS, 8/2/07)
  • NATO will try not to kill so many civilians in Afghanistan (Herald Sun, Australia, 7/30/07)
  • A soldier charged with premeditated murder in the death of an Iraqi shot the man several times with a rifle before ordering a subordinate to do the same, according to an Army document filed (USA Today, 7/29/07)
  • Pentagon: U.S. troops shot 429 Iraqi civilians at checkpoints in past year (McClatchy, 7/11/07)
  • Iraqis Say 18 Civilians Killed in Airstrikes (AP, 7/21/07)
  • 2 U.S. soldiers charged with murder in Iraq (Reuters, 7/19/07)
  • Marine ordered Iraqi women and kids shot, squad member testifies (Int'l Herald Tribune, 7/17/07)

Since 1990, at least 530,000 Iraqis have been killed by U.S. led wars and sanctions:

  • Marine: Beating of Iraqis routine. In one incident, Marines dragged an innocent man from his house, fatally shot him, and then planted an AK-47 near the body to make it appear he had been killed in a shootout (Guardian, 7/15/07)
  • US/NATO killed more Afghan civilians than did Taliban in first six months of 2007 (LA Times, 7/6/07)
  • U.S. soldiers killed four civilian members of the same family during a raid, an Afghan rights body said (Returers, 6/29/07)
  • US Air Strike Kills 25 Afghan Civilians, including 9 women and 3 babies(Guardian/UK, 6/22/07);  90 civilians killed by US/NATO in past 10 days(CBS, 6/23/07).
  • U.S. forces 'mistakenly' killed seven Afghan police and wounded four (MSNBC, 6/12/07)
  • Marine describes massacre of Iraqis - testifies that he watched his squad leader shoot dead five Iraqi civilians who had surrendered. (Sydney Morning Herald, 5/11/07)
  • US-Led Raid Kills 40 Civilians in Afghanistan. (Reuters, 5/10/07)
  • US helicopter attack in Iraq kills a number of children at a primary school. (BBC, 5/8/07)
  • An American commander in Afghanistan has said that he is "deeply ashamed" by the killings of 19 Afghan civilians by US Marines in early March. (BBC, 5/8/07)
  • One in ten troops admit abusing Iraqis. Two-thirds of Marines said they would not report a member of their unit for killing or wounding an innocent civilian. Less than half believed that non-combatants should be treated with dignity and respect.  (Wash. Post, 5/5/07)
  • 13 Afghan civilians die in US raid (The News International, 5/5/07)
  • US soldier disparaging Iraqi children on video (YouTube, 5/3/07)
  • Raid kills Afghan civilians - Hundreds of infuriated protesters carrying the bodies of five Afghans killed in a U.S.-led raid - including the shrouded corpses of a woman and teenage girl - blocked a highway in eastern Afghanistan with rocks and felled trees, denouncing their government and demanding an explanation (AP, 4/30/07)
  • A U.S. Marine unit broke international humanitarian law by using excessive force during a shooting spree last month that left 12 people dead, an Afghan human rights group said (ABC, 4/14/07)
  • Army sergeant guilty of negligent homicide in deaths of 3 Iraqis (MSNBC, 3/17/07)
  • The U.S. military asserted that an American soldier was justified in erasing journalists' footage of the aftermath of a suicide bombing and shooting in Afghanistan (AP, 3/10/07)
  • US Forces Kill Another 9 Afghan Civilians in Bombing Raid (BBC, 3/5/07)
  • 16 Civilians Die as U.S. Troops Fire on Afghan Road (NY Times, 3/5/07)
  • Air Force officer found guilty of raping 4 men (AP, 2/27/07)
  • Second Iraqi woman says soldiers raped her - assault was recorded on a phone camera (Wash. Post, 2/23/07)
  • Second Iraqi woman says soldiers raped her - assault was recorded on a phone camera (Wash. Post, 2/23/07)
  • U.S. airstrike kills 45 civilians in Iraq (MSNBC, 2/8/07)
  • Army recruiter arrested for sex with minor (TampaBays10, 1/19/07)
  • A Marine corporal pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering an unarmed Iraqi civilian last year, and said he and other servicemen went after him because they were "sick and tired of getting bombed." (AP, 1/18/07)
  • US troops kill Iraqi family of 4 (IHT, 1/1/07)
  • Afghans protest killing of 2 civilians by US troops (Daily Telegraph, 12/31/06)
  • "I know that he shot at innocent civilians." Did an American fire on Iraqis for sport? US security contractors allege their supervisor was 'out of control' (MSNBC, 12/23/06)
  • A Marine Corps squad leader was charged Thursday with murdering 12 people and ordering Marines under his command to kill others during an incident that left 24 civilians dead in the Iraqi town of Haditha last year(CBS, 12/21/06)
  • Iraqi Red Crescent says U.S. forces threaten their work more than insurgent attacks (CBS, 12/15/06)
  • US forces accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians in Ishaqi (Bangladesh News, 12/8/06)
  • Military to charge five US Marines in killing of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq(CNN, 12/6/06)
  • US Marine sentenced to 40 years in prison for raping a Philippine woman(Telegraph UK, 12/5/06)
  • US forces destroyed two buildings west of Baghdad, killing six suspected insurgents, two women and a child, the military said (LA Times, 12/4/06)
  • US troops opened fire on a minibus, killing four passengers; in another incident a US airstrike kills a baby (Reuters, 11/23/06)
  • US soldiers taunt Iraqi kids with bottle of water. (YouTube, 9/14/06)
  • US soldier admits killing family after raping 14 year old girl. (Guardian, 11/14/06)
  • 17 Marines' conduct in Iraq investigated. (AP, 11/8/06)
  • Cameras Show Army Recruiters Misleading Students. (ABC, 11/4/06)
  • Third Soldier Charged With Rape, Murder. (CBS, 10/28/06)
  • NATO Bombs Kill Scores of Afghan Civilians. (Reuters, 10/26/06)
  • Coroner: US killed British TV reporter. (ABC, 10/13/06)
  • Judge Orders Release of Abu Ghraib Child Rape Photos. (Editor & Publisher, 9/29/06)
  • British soldier admits war crime. (BBC, 9/19/06)
  • More than 100 young women who expressed interest in joining the military in the past year were preyed upon sexually by their recruiters. Women were raped on recruiting office couches, assaulted in government cars and groped en route to entrance exams. (AP, 9/20/06)
  • Mortar bombs kill family in Iraq's Baquba, 8 dead. (Reuters, 9/27/06)
  • Army is considering court martial for Specialist Suzanne Swift who went AWOL after being sexually harassed by a superior and coerced into a sexual affair with another. (Wash. Post, 9/19/06)
  • Death Penalty Urged For U.S. Soldiers - Army Investigator Recommends Death For Troops Involved In Deadly Iraq Raid. (CBS, 9/2/06)
  • 2 Marines admit to abducting, killing Iraqi. (LA Times, 8/31/06)
  • Almost 20 percent of the female cadets at The Citadel last spring reported being sexually assaulted since enrolling at the state military college. (AP, 8/24/06)
  • Afghan Says U.S. Forces Killed 8 Civilians. (AP, 8/24/06)
  • More than 100 young women who expressed interest in joining the military in the past year were preyed upon sexually by their recruiters. Women were raped on recruiting office couches, assaulted in government cars and groped en route to entrance exams. (AP, 8/20/06)
  • Marine Officer Called Haditha Routine (Wash. Post, 8/19/06)
  • US bomb kills 12 Afghan cops; Karzai 'shocked, angry' (BBC, 8/17/06)
  • Brutal US attack on unarmed Afghans captured by photos (Independent UK, 8/8/06)
  • U.S. soldiers took turns holding down and raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdering her and her family (updated: MSNBC 8/7/06, original:6/30/06)
  • GIs encouraged Iraqi detainees to flee and then shot them down as they ran (Wash. Times, 8/5/06); also accused of killing blindfolded Iraqis(MSNBC, 8/3/06)  
  • Six Marines charged in Iraq assault (MSNBC, 8/3/06)
  • Col. Michael Steele, whose "heroics" were portrayed in the movie "Black Hawk Down," is under investigation for allegedly encouraging his men to go on a killing spree (ABC, 8/1/06)
  • Sergeant witnessed a deliberate plot by his fellow soldiers to kill three handcuffed Iraqis... The squad leader threatened to kill anyone who talked about it. (NY Times, 7/28/06)
  • Accused troops: We were under orders to kill. Soldiers say officers commanded them to ‘kill all military age males’ in Iraq. (MSNBC, 7/21/06)
  • Afghans say civilians killed in U.S. force bombing. (Reuters, 7/11/06)
  • 15 Afghan civilians killed in US strike. (The News- Int'l, 7/6/06)
  • Neo-nazi hate groups are infiltrating the military. (NY Times, 7/7/06)
  • US military admits killing "non-combatant" in Iraq. (Reuters, 6/28/06)
  • US admits that 350 innocent Iraqis were killed by US troops on checkpoint and convoy duty last year. (ABC, 6/25/06) (second paragraph)
  • Thirteen Iraqis (in Baquba) Killed in Alleged US Fire on Poultry Farm.(Reuters, 6/20/06)
  • US Army Charges Three With Murder in Iraq. (AP, 6/19/06)
  •  US Troops Accused of New Murders in Iraq. (Agence France Presse, 6/7/06)
  • A U.S. artillery round landed in an inhabited area of Iraq on Friday and police said afterwards that two civilians were killed and four were wounded in a blast, the U.S. military said. (Reuters, 6/4/06)
  • New 'Iraq massacre' tape emerges. The BBC has uncovered new video evidence that US forces may have been responsible for the deliberate killing of 11 innocent Iraqi civilians in the town of Ishaqi last March. (BBC, 6/1/06)
  •  8 U.S. Troops Face Murder Charges - April Shooting Death Of Iraqi Civilian Pinned On 7 Marines, 1 Sailor (CBS, 6/1/06)
  • US forces killed two Iraqi women one of them about to give birth when the troops shot at a car that failed to stop at an observation post. The pregnant woman was being rushed to the maternity hospital when the shooting occurred (ABC News, 6/1/06)
  • The US, reversing an earlier denial, admitted that US troops fired at a crowd in Afghanistan which had gathered after a US military truck lost control and struck 12 vehicles, killing one person and injuring six. The ensuing riot ended with 20 deaths (Washington Post, 6/1/06)
  • 11 die in Afghan clash amid claim U.S. killed 34 civilians (AP, 5/27/06)

The "Pentagon has evidence that its Marines deliberately murdered at least two dozen unarmed civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha last November" (CBC, 5/26/06)  (Related: Iraq Prime Minister: GI's habitually attacking civilians;  Iraqi Girl Tells of U.S. Attack in Haditha; "Bloody Scenes Haunt a Marine"; Photos Indicate Civilians Slain Execution-Style)

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