US Marine Sergeant: “We are committing genocide in Iraq.”

George W. Bush and his Republican administration should have to wear the war in Iraq when it's all over. He has divided the nation and the world in a way that has not been seen since Vietnam.

 The American people, by giving the Republicans the White House and an overwhelming majority at the House and Senate, have only emboldened an ideologically driven administration to continue on its unilateralist path outside of the confines of international law and the consensus of Western nations.  “Moderates” like Colin Powell have left, while Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and his Pentagon mafia are still around.

 As the unmanned drones fly over Iran today in preparation for what could become another military campaign, the information coming out of Iraq should offer some sobering cause for reflection.

Recently in Vancouver, former US Marine Sergeant Jimmy Massey addressed a small crowd and clearly described US human rights violations and direct violations of Geneva conventions in Iraq. He talked about how the military taught recruits to hate another culture and did not give them the tools to appreciate or understand adequately those who they were being sent to kill and to liberate.

 Massey is a former military recruiter from North Carolina who received an honorable discharge from the US military after being part of the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.  He now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression. On the chalkboard he drew a composite of the checkpoint outside of Rashid Camp on the outskirts of Baghdad, and talked about the different aspects that went in to the decision making to open fire in situations. Even though platoon commanders were trained in the requirements of the Geneva conventions, classified briefings in the field regularly exaggerated claims of insurgents and created an environment in the battlefield where soldiers were shooting at unarmed civilians.  Operational guidelines on closing roads and setting up checkpoints were often times ignored or became de facto places where soldiers were “lighting them up.”

Massey clearly said several times, “We are committing genocide in Iraq.”

He himself said he was ordered to fire on several occasions and in one instance, 30 Iraqi civilians were killed over a 48-hour period.  He says that he along with his fellow soldiers were directly involved in war crimes.