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Imagine if all American Indian nations pulled together and pulled out of the Bush wars!
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 tribes initiated
peace councils and 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 58,191,000 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.â?Ts 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.
any 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 deathâ?"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 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
peopleâ?"who are familiar with broken promises and
treatiesâ?"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@ku.edu
www.ku.edu/~insp
Deb McIntyre, Director
South Dakota Peace & Justice Center
PO Box 116
Sioux Falls, SD 57101
www.sdpjc.org
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