From World Can’t Wait | Original Article

During this pandemic, we call on you to engage in physical distancing with the aim of social solidarity. We choose to say it this way, rather than “social distancing,” because this is what we believe is a crucial concept to live by.

Today is the 17th anniversary of the U.S. attack on Iraq, a horrendous war which continues to this day bringing devastation to the people of Iraq and the whole region.

World Can’t Wait will not be part of any physical gatherings or demonstrations today but we ask you to read the following article and please share it electronically with friends, family and colleagues. It is important that this criminal war be in the consciousness and consciences of people in the United States so that we can act to bring an end to these endless wars of terror being waged on peoples around the world.

12 Ways the US Invasion of Iraq Lives On in Infamy

By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies

Seventeen years ago, the U.S. armed forces attacked and invaded Iraq with a force of over 460,000 troops from all its armed services, supported by 46,000 UK troops, 2,000 from Australia and a few hundred from Poland, Spain, Portugal and Denmark. The “shock and awe” aerial bombardment unleashed 29,200 bombs and missiles on Iraq in the first five weeks of the war.

The U.S. invasion was a crime of aggression under international law, and was actively opposed by people and countries all over the world, including 30 million people who took to the streets in 60 countries on February 15, 2003, to express their horror that this could really be happening at the dawn of the 21st century. American historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., who was a speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy, compared the U.S. invasion of Iraq to Japan’s preemptive attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and wrote, “Today, it is we Americans who live in infamy.”

Seventeen years later, the consequences of the invasion have lived up to the fears of all who opposed it. Wars and hostilities rage across the region, and divisions over war and peace in the U.S. and Western countries challenge our highly selective view of ourselves as advanced, civilized societies. Here is a look at 12 of the most serious consequences of the U.S. war in Iraq.

1. Millions of Iraqis Killed and Wounded
2. Millions More Iraqis Displaced
3. Thousands of American, British and Other Foreign Troops Killed and Wounded
4. Even More Veterans Have Committed Suicide
5. Trillions of Dollars Wasted
6. Dysfunctional and Corrupt Iraqi Government
7. Illegal War on Iraq Has Undermined the Rule of International Law
8. Iraq War Lies Corrupted U.S. Democracy
9. Impunity for Systematic War Crimes
10. Destruction of the Environment
11. The U.S.’s Sectarian “Divide and Rule” Policy in Iraq Spawned Havoc Across the Region
12. The New Cold War Between the U.S. and the Emerging Multilateral World

Read the full article and share it widely as a way to mark this anniversary.