Independence Day
Happy July 4th.
I've been thinking about what "national independence", i.e. sovereign self-government, should mean for any national group. I can support it for the US citizenry only by also supporting it for Iraqis and Palestinians, and only by also working to see the US citizenry make meaningful amends to both the indigenous peoples of this land and the descendants of those enslaved people whose coerced, unpaid labor built so much of the "national" infrastructure here in the US East.
However, even with all the problems of its misinterpretation and mis-implementation, the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776 remains an inspiring text:
- We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [and women] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Rule by a foreign military organization is very different from any form of rule that derives its powers "from the consent of the governed." Did the January 30 election in Iraq provide an indicator that the Jaafari government has "the consent of the governed" in Iraq? It could have done so-- provided Jaafari were free to exercise the normal rights of a sovereign power in his own country. But heisn't. He is evidently constrained from doing so by the US military's exercise of its powers throughout Iraq, accountable only to Washington and not to the "elected" leadership of Iraq.
Thus far, the vote of January 30 has had its democratic content subverted.
... For a really great take on the meaning of July 4 in our present era, check out Matt's great post on the "Today in Iraq" blog today. Read that one and weep at the march of human folly (and indeed, probable criminality) in today's United States...
Meanwhile, back in the 1776 text, check out how many items in the "bill of particulars" articulated therein against the British Crown could be applied today to the US's practices inside Iraq:
- ... He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
- For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
...
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages [a little bit of rhetorical overkill here-- then and in any present application], and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation...
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us...
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.
And as with relations among individual people, so too in relations among states the highest degree of equality of rights, reciprocity of respect, and willingness to engage in respectful cooperation with others is what makes for a healthy global society.
In other words, what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. If the US citizenry has any right to sovereign self-government, then so too should all the other peoples of the world. Especially those currently chafing under foreign military occupations either run directly by the US or strongly supported both financially and politically by the US.
I wish to know if the US independence done by what some like to say these world
“Mindless and irrational violence with no moral bounds based on multiple, vague, and constantly changing ideological justification.”
OR
“ 'insurgent'-derived violence” has killed far more civilian than the invader Britt’s troops.
Helena if you excuse me I have an idea I am happy to join these guys arguing on the Iraq problems I am happy to join them to a visit to Iraq and take them to show them real life in Iraq now, show them different locations from south to north I had some friends in Hilla, Basra, Musle Baghdad.
This may be all out of date now.
DECLARATION OF REVOCATION
by John Cleese
To the citizens of the United States of America: in the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today.
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories.
Except Utah, which she does not fancy.
Your new Prime Minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP, for the 97% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a Minister for America without the need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded.
A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
(There follows a long list of rules, including requirements to spell and pronounce English correctly, to cease playing gridiron and adopt proper football, to re-label so-called "beer" as "lager," etc.)
16. Tax collectors from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776).
Thank you for your co-operation.
John, the Tony Blair part is certainly out of date. He's preparing to be humiliated again at the G8 summit. The man is a mystery to me.
George the Third vs George the Second
I thought you and your readers might like a New Zealand perspective after your recent visit Helena. This is largely reposted from something I buried at the end of an Independence day forum on "Truthout".
From down in the part of the world I inhabit I thought I'd write (a day late sorry) and reassure you and your American readers that folks down here do realise there are still Americans who care and think about the rest of the world. That's despite how your foreign policy makes you look. We still don't tar you all with the same bush.
Indeed many of the Americans that now settle here in record numbers make a real contribution. Most seem to enjoy practising Americas early ideas about justice liberty and freedom for all in the relatively supportive and unpolluted environment our little democracy is blessed with, where I live in New Zealand.
Most of us down here still admire and continue to model ourselves to some degree on your great country's past ideals, the courage and vision they represented at the time they were expressed. Fortunately the past cannot change, and you have very right to celebrate Independence Day for what it is. Over the last few 4th of July's in N.Z. there has been a screening of the movie "Independence day" on July 4th, where America leads a global coalition of the willing to deal with evil aliens who have weapons that threaten the entire planet, and which of course don't really exist. We love a joke down here.
Many of us though, are dismayed that because you folk got free of George the third in 1766, the empire of GEORGE THE SECOND now threatens the liberty of the entire world. The foreign and other polices (e.g. environmental) of George II's empire do not just constitute a threat to one country, but to every nation in the world and every man woman and child in it. That is not really all that funny and; well, can I American readers you how do Americans think many of us in the rest of the world feel about that?
We are also a little sad that once America more recently helped free us all of the soviet threat, the corrupt and clearly oppressive regime that in its own rhetoric used to label Americans as "imperialist aggressors", that this label of theirs appears to have become in only a decade or so after the cold war ended not just justifiable but very accurate. "Two wrongs don't make a right", as we used to say.
Good luck restoring democracy in the most powerful country in the world. I hope you and your fellow Americans find fitting ways to honour (apologies for my kiwi spelling) America's past. And not just on July 4th. I hope this for your sake and the sake of little democracies everywhere. And, (belatedly) have a nice day!
Cheers
Whoops sorry my typo liberated America 10 years earlier than the actual 1776. No offence intended to either side. The pen is obviously mightier than the sword.
"He (Jaafari) is evidently constrained from doing so by the US military's exercise of its powers throughout Iraq"
It is the insurgency that is preventing the operation of the Iraqi government. Who do you think you are fooling?
And Jaafari's consent of the governed has absolutely nothing to do with the degree to which he can "exercise the normal rights of a sovereign power". The consent is of course there even when the means may be constrained. You are making no sense at all today, Helena.
And the rest of you post makes even less sense. The US is not eating out the substances of the Iraqis, for one.
And so on.
The US is not eating out the substances of the Iraqis, for one.
Gee. I just now finished reading an article in the London Review of Books about the US handling of Iraqi funds.
On 12 April 2004, the Coalition Provisional Authority in Erbil in northern Iraq handed over $1.5 billion in cash to a local courier. The money, fresh $100 bills shrink-wrapped on pallets, which filled three Blackhawk helicopters, came from oil sales under the UN’s Oil for Food Programme, and had been entrusted by the UN Security Council to the Americans to be spent on behalf of the Iraqi people. The CPA didn’t properly check out the courier before handing over the cash, and, as a result, according to an audit report by the CPA’s inspector general, ‘there was an increased risk of the loss or theft of the cash.’ Paul Bremer, the American pro-consul in Baghdad until June last year, kept a slush fund of nearly $600 million cash for which there is no paperwork: $200 million of this was kept in a room in one of Saddam’s former palaces, and the US soldier in charge used to keep the key to the room in his backpack, which he left on his desk when he popped out for lunch. Again, this is Iraqi money, not US funds. . .
The ‘financial irregularities’ described in audit reports carried out by agencies of the American government and auditors working for the international community collectively give a detailed insight into the mentality of the American occupation authorities and the way they operated, handing outtruckloads of dollars for which neither they nor the recipients felt any need to be accountable. . .
No Preference:
If the problem with British administration of the 13 Colonies was simply that one of the appointed Governors was not accounting for funds, or was stealing money, there would not have been the need for a Revolution. There would simply have been a call for an investigation and perhaps a call to have the governor removed.
A big problem with British rule of the colonies was that the legal taxation authorized by King George was too great. This does not correspond to the situation in Iraq.
Also, King George intended that Britain would reign over the Colonies forever, where US intends only to help with the transition.
Hope this helps.
WarrenW
"The US is not eating out the substances of the Iraqis, for one."
Can you stop these lies and listen.
UN and many others came forward and telling damming stories and evidences that a lot of the Iraqi money handled by US is misused in fact looted...
During Paul Beremer III, US$9.0 Billion missing from Iraqi money it's vanished no one know no Iraqi was in charge of that money so YOU can not tell us that Iraqi theft that money. It's clearly US corruption and theft.
Then Bremer admitted that some contractors presented a lists of name for employers far from the reality! (They are so honest contractors hired by USAD OR State department) So stop denying, your followers are layers and thieves.
UN also admitted there are misuses of Iraqi money before (by Saddam) and after the invasion...
I would like to add that when US troops entered Baghdad on first days the hunting for the money which the Reserve Iraqi Bank manger as she appeared on TV said that one Billion taken by Saddam son, US forces found that money in addition to more billions founded in the Sddam's palaces and others (when US captured Saddam they found US$750 Millions with him) I personally counted at that time about US$8.0 Billions taken from Iraqis money, where is that money?
The other stories came from our friends and from some news (Arabic/ English) when US troops went to each Iraqi homes to search for any weapons.... or in fact to check every Iraqi, there are many Iraqi saying US forces theft their money, jewelry and other items Iraqis cannot compliances.
Many times there are many occasion that US forces stopped the Iraqis to check cars when found money they just taken it no one can complains this many times happened specially to the farmers when delivering their products to the market and return back with the money (of course there are no banks they can trusted).
Can you stop lying and listen and don't be FOOL in all your comments....
I don't know, Warren. I link to a very detailed and explicit article about how the US is in fact "eating out the substances of the Iraqis", and you say well, that doesn't matter. No, that doesn't help much.
You ought to pay attention to Salah's accounts of looting of ordinary Iraqis by some US troops. That's something he's more likely to know about than you.
Warren dont despair you were an immense help to my day and thank you. I had no idea that the American Revolution was mostly about tax cuts. I was going by that 1776 list of fairly serious sounding grievances about roaming mercenaries , murders and unjust imposed judges etc and that great American constitution with the "all men are created equal and have all these rights" hoopla. But that was just good marketing? Well, (as they say) what a "storm in a teacup"! I laughed out loud in relief. America's birth you tell me was in reality just as dismal as its current decline into the abyss. I guess thats more plausible than my idealisations. And if Americans(?) tell me this, then who am I to argue? I also didn't realise that occupations "planned" to last under 10 years at a point 2 years into the invasion of the other country were somehow OK. Is that because this occupation is mainly about asserting dominance and harvesting money and obviously not about obtaining land to permanently settle and develop? And that's better or less imperial? Or do international crimes have to be committed over longer than a decade to count? The later defence was not available in Nurnberg in 1945. Probably the shabby old UNs fault.
Also, King George intended that Britain would reign over the Colonies forever, where US intends only to help with the transition.-WarrenW
And the transition would happen when in Iraq? I sorta thought it did in June 2004, but I guess I was mistaken. I guess that was the "phony transition" to preceed the real one.
Susan,
June, 2004 was the first phony transition. January, 2005 was the second phony transition. And there will be a third, fourth and fifth phony transition until the U.S. is forced out completely and for good.