"It won't be long now," shouted a 60 ish woman with a big smile from the front passenger seat of a small white sedan as it drove by, in reference to the U.S. announced pull-out of 50,000 troops from Iraq this summer.
To her and to many people, the Iraq War is nearly over because it is often invisible in the U.S. media. But at a lower level the death and destruction continues, as does the 7 year U.S. occupation of Iraq.
If the U.S. does withdraw 50,000 troops, it will still have 50,000 there, plus many thousands of "contractors." If you think the U.S. will withdraw all of its troops after building massive military bases and the Green Zone in Iraq, you may want to rethink that position.
The U.S. military doesn't leave. 65 years after World War ll ended, the U.S. still has 40,000 troops in Germany and 47,000 in Japan, and 57 years after the Korean War ended 37,000 in South Korea. 19 years after the Gulf War ended [the 1st U.S./Iraq War], it still has 5,000 troops in Saudi Arabia, an affront to many Muslims, and a cause of 9/11.
Please note that every one of those nations is financially much stronger than the U.S., and has loaned the U.S. government large sums of money so it can pay its bills.
But at the vigil, there were plenty of horn honks and waves of support. And the 50 ish couple that often joins the vigil for a few minutes did last night as well.
"Let me see what I've got," said a tall trim 40 ish man as he read the sign and reached into his right front pocket. "I don't accept donations," I replied with a smile. "But thank you for caring for these people."
"You have to," he answered. "I had an uncle who was one of the 1st black men to fly a B-52. They have a memorial to him in Delaware."
With that comment, he smiled softly, seemingly lost in his thoughts and slowly moved to the traffic signal. When it changed, he quietly walked off into the night. It was a nice way to conclude the vigil.
Dick
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