3,000 U.S. troops dead in Iraq

Coffins of U.S. military personnel are offloaded at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware in this undated Air Force file photo

Not in our name
will you invade countries
bomb civilians, kill more children
letting history take its course
over the graves of the nameless

Not in Our Name
January 1, 2007

With the news that 3,000 U.S. soldiers have now died in Iraq we will see many news stories and commentaries about this grim milestone. Protests and vigils will be held, candles will be lit, flags raised and lowered, and the names of soldiers will be read by both supporters of the war and those of us who oppose it.

Very few of these events and reports will include more than a passing mention of the 655,000 Iraqis who have died as a result of the illegal war and occupation. Even fewer will include the names, faces and stories of the Iraqi people. Names like Abeer Hamza, who was raped, killed and set on fire by American soldiers after they brutally murdered her family. Faces of children killed by cluster bombs and their grieving mothers. Stories of hundreds of thousands of nameless Iraqis who have been detained, humiliated and killed over the past few years.

While the Iraqi and American people both see that this war and occupation must end, politicians from both sides of the aisle are now calling for more soldiers to be sent to Iraq. It has been called the “surge” option, and will surely result in a surge in the numbers of wounded and dead.

Our humanity demands that we remember the Iraqis along with the fallen soldiers. We must also support and honor the courageous soldiers who have refused to take part in the bloodshed.

The best way to remember and honor the dead and wounded is to make sure there are no more “milestones”. No surge, no timetables, no phased withdrawals, U.S out of Iraq now.

We pledge resistance.
We pledge to make common cause with the people of the world
to bring about justice, freedom and peace.
Another world is possible and we pledge to make it real.