More Dissent, More Censorship

Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches

A quarter of a million people jammed the streets of the capital this past weekend, as Mr. Bush conveniently found himself visiting the US Northern Command’s HQ in Colorado Springs.

While veterans from the current debacle in Iraq and scores of military families who oppose the Bush Junta joined the throngs of protestors in Washington DC to express their dissent, there were other goings-on related to Iraq while Bush had his photo-op in Colorado.

A contractor I know working in Iraq wrote me recently. He gives me periodic updates about how life is on the base where he works in support of the military. He wrote:

"Another convoy hit hard - 3 drivers killed and many others wounded - I don’t know if it's my friends yet. They don't like to advertise these kinds of things much around here because they cause the exit planes to fill up - the only problem is, there are more plane loads waiting in Houston [to come here]. The gullible waiting for their chance at the tarnished brass ring. [Me and my friends] agree this countries' policies of oil have led us down the path of Armageddon."

At least 1,917 US soldiers have died in Iraq now, 16 just in the last week. At least 10 times that number have been wounded for life, both physically and psychologically.

Thus, it shouldn't come as a surprise that so many people marched in the capital this weekend, nor that so many of them are veterans and family members who have simply had enough of this. The people I spoke with at the demonstration expressed feelings of anger and impatience towards this so-called administration.

So it shouldn't have been a surprise, either, to have seen a sign in the demo with a little pretzel drawn on it which read, "Give the pretzel another chance!"