This morning it was announced that the US had finished its planned withdrawal of all of its designated combat brigades from Iraq two weeks ahead of schedule, resulting in about 14,000 troops being withdrawn. Despite this, over 56,000 US troops remain in Iraq who are trained in combat and expected to continue combat operations, and the Obama administration plans to double the number of private military contractors in Iraq to 7,000. Could anyone rational expect there to not be a US military presence in Iraq anytime in the foreseeable future?
In the same stroke, Obama has just authorized an additional $600 million to further militarize the US-Mexico border in response to increasing migration into the US and escalating drug war violence along the border, even as Mexican President Felipe Calderon calls for a debate on drug legalization and former President Vincente Fox openly supports legalization. Both presidents have been staunch allies of the US in fighting the war on drugs, and since 2006, when Calderon entered office and increased pressure on Mexican drug cartels, it is estimated that over 28,000 people have been killed in Mexico as a result of the war on drugs.
In addition to increasing the militarization of the border, deportations from the US have risen for the 7th year in a row to an all-time high of 393,000 in 2009 under the Obama administration. Of those deported, 72% were from Mexico. The deport-and-militarize strategy is not a sustainable solution to illegal immigration, as it does nothing to address the root cause of why these people are coming to the US.
The true source of the problem lies in US polices that have been encouraged in/forced upon Mexico, particularly NAFTA and the drug war. NAFTA essentially implemented US farm policy in Mexico, favoring large corporate monoculture factory farms and destroying the ability of small farmers to make a living. The drug war, as explained above, caused an epidemic of violence in the country. With no way to make a decent wage and rampant, brutal violence, it should be no surprise that some of these people want to come to the US. Yet, as with 9/11, Americans refuse to see that our foreign policy and our imposition of will on others has resulted in backlash against us, so we characterize all Muslims as terrorists and all immigrants as blood-sucking leeches on our community.
It is a shame to see this influence continue to be exerted for no other reason than profit and greed again, this time in India. The Obama administration is reportedly pressuring the Indian government to provide leniency for Union Carbide, the company responsible for massive environmental and public health damages as a result of the 1984 Bhopal disaster and which is now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Corporation, one of the largest in the world. The leverage is coming in the form of US support for millions of dollars of development aid from World Bank loans.
Fortunately, it is reassuring to see some countries take a stand against American imperialism. The Colombian Constitutional Court has recently ruled that a deal that would give US forces access to seven Colombian military bases and permit 800 US troops and 600 contractors to operate with diplomatic immunity in the country was unconstitutional. In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai issued a statement requiring all private security contractors, of which the US employs about 26,000, to cease operations within four months.
No comments:
Post a Comment