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Source: The Libertarian Institute
Fallujah Is Not a Presidential Victory Lap
by Jim Bovard | August 30, 2023
Some viewers had the impression that DeSantis was a Seal, but he was actually a Harvard Law School graduate who was a Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) alongside the Seals. DeSantis was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and 2008, during President George W. Bush's "surge" (intended to postpone the obvious failure of the war until after Bush's second term ended).
The American troops that Bush sent to Iraq were injected into a conflict where it was often nearly impossible to distinguish friend from foe—what author Robert Jay Lifton labeled "atrocity-producing situations." Invoking his time in Fallujah, DeSantis may be confident that few Americans recall the carnage that preceded his time there.
Fallujah was hammered by two U.S. assaults in 2004. The first attack was launched in April 2004 in retaliation for the killings of four contractors for Blackwater, a company that became renowned for killing innocent Iraqis. After their corpses were dragged through the street, the Bush administration demanded vengeance.
President Bush reportedly gave the order: "I want heads to roll." He raved at Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez during a video conference, "If somebody tries to stop the march to democracy, we will seek them out and kill them! We must be tougher than hell!…Stay strong! Stay the course! Kill them! Be confident! Prevail! We are going to wipe them out!"
U.S. forces quickly placed the entire city under siege. The British Guardian reported:
Please go to The Libertarian Institute to continue reading.
Source: The Libertarian Institute
Fallujah Is Not a Presidential Victory Lap
by Jim Bovard | August 30, 2023
Des Moines, Iowa, USA - August 12, 2023: Florida Republican Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis greets supporters at
the Iowa State Fair fair side chats in Des Moines, Iowa.
In the first 2024 Republican presidential debate last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis touted his time in Iraq. "I learned in the military, I was assigned with U.S. Navy SEALs in Iraq, that you focus on the mission above all else, you can't get distracted," he declared. Later in the debate he stated, "I'm somebody that volunteered to serve, inspired by September 11 and I deployed to Iraq alongside U.S. Navy SEALs in places like Fallujah, Ramadi…"
Some viewers had the impression that DeSantis was a Seal, but he was actually a Harvard Law School graduate who was a Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) alongside the Seals. DeSantis was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and 2008, during President George W. Bush's "surge" (intended to postpone the obvious failure of the war until after Bush's second term ended).
The American troops that Bush sent to Iraq were injected into a conflict where it was often nearly impossible to distinguish friend from foe—what author Robert Jay Lifton labeled "atrocity-producing situations." Invoking his time in Fallujah, DeSantis may be confident that few Americans recall the carnage that preceded his time there.
Fallujah was hammered by two U.S. assaults in 2004. The first attack was launched in April 2004 in retaliation for the killings of four contractors for Blackwater, a company that became renowned for killing innocent Iraqis. After their corpses were dragged through the street, the Bush administration demanded vengeance.
President Bush reportedly gave the order: "I want heads to roll." He raved at Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez during a video conference, "If somebody tries to stop the march to democracy, we will seek them out and kill them! We must be tougher than hell!…Stay strong! Stay the course! Kill them! Be confident! Prevail! We are going to wipe them out!"
U.S. forces quickly placed the entire city under siege. The British Guardian reported:
"The U.S. soldiers were going around telling people to leave by dusk or they would be killed, but then when people fled with whatever they could carry, they were stopped at the U.S. military checkpoint on the edge of town and not let out, trapped, watching the sun go down."The city was blasted by artillery barrages, F–16 jets, and AC–130 Spectre planes which pumped 4,000 rounds a minute into selected targets. Adam Kokesh, who was present in Fallujah as a Marine Corps sergeant, later commented: "During the siege of Fallujah, we changed rules of engagement more often than we changed our underwear. At one point, we imposed a curfew on the city, and were told to fire at anything that moved in the dark."
Please go to The Libertarian Institute to continue reading.
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And they haven't stopped:
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