Published on Peacework Magazine (http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org)
What Would It Be Like if the US Were Iraq?

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Authors: American Friends Service Committee [3]
Inspired by "If the US Were Iraq" by Juan Cole, this text is part of the "Dreams and Nightmares" exhibit currently on tour with the American Friends Service Committee's traveling installation, Eyes Wide Open.

Full Article:

What would the US look like if it were in Iraq's current situation? The US population is more than 11 times that of Iraq. At a conservative estimate, war-related violence killed 360 Iraqis during the week of June 19-26 this year, proportionally equivalent to 3,960 Americans. What if 3,960 Americans -- more than were killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001 -- died in car bombings, grenade and rocket attacks, machine gun spray, and aerial bombardment each week?

The Evening News: Capitol Under Attack

The death toll is rising as major attacks continue in the Northeast cities of Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore. The White House and other buildings near the National Mall remain under mortar fire. Employees at the State Department, White House, and Pentagon consider it too dangerous to leave their compounds for visits to the suburban enclaves of Crystal City and Alexandria.

Reporters for major foreign television and print media remain trapped in Washington, DC and New York hotels, unable to safely move more than a few blocks and dependent on stringers to know what is happening in Oklahoma City and St Louis. Eyewitness accounts and visits to the Midwest take place only when reporters travel embedded in with occupation forces.

Guerrilla Forces Control the Heartland

Every city in the US has experienced a crime wave, with thousands of murders, kidnappings, burglaries, and carjackings. An estimated 275,000 guerrilla forces control Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Denver, and Omaha. Local police and federal troops are unable to enter these cities, and the head of security for Washington DC was recently assassinated.

In the last year, the Secretary of State (Condoleezza Rice), the President (George W. Bush), and the attorney general (Alberta Gonzales) were also assassinated.

The occupation force continues to bomb Billings MT, Flint MI, Philadelphia, Watts in Los Angeles, Anacostia in Washington DC, and other urban areas, attempting to target "safe houses" or "criminal gangs." Hospital sources report that the majority of those killed are civilians.

The Response

When the National Council of Churches called for a popular march of civil resistance tens of thousands of believers converged on the National Cathedral to stop occupation forces from demolishing the historic church in their effort to pursue Christian militia armies.

Commercial air traffic has come to a virtual standstill. Major roads are also extremely dangerous, especially I-95 from Richmond VA to Washington DC along with I-95 and I-91 to Boston.

New York City has only four hours of electricity a day. Unpredictable service forces factories to regularly grind to a halt and air conditioners to fail in the middle of the summer from Houston to Miami. The Alaska pipeline is bombed and disabled monthly. Unemployment hovers around 40%.

Several months ago, municipal elections were canceled and the new president quietly installed friends as governors. Two appointed governors -- in Montana and Wyoming -- were assassinated soon after taking office and several others resigned after their children were taken hostage by guerrillas.

Displaced by the violence, about 16.5 million people have become internal refugees, and the same number have fled into Mexico and Canada.

From Issue 378 - September 2007 [4]

Regions: Iraq [5] United States [6]

Categories: 2.04.06 exposing realities of life in the military [7] 3.05.06 social transformation [8] 4.01.03 protest art, music, theater, etc. [9] 4.05.01 noncooperation - social events, customs, & institutions [10] 5.16.03 countering hegemony [11]


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[1] http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/forward/724
[2] http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/print/724
[3] http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/authors/american-friends-service-committee
[4] http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/issue-378-september-2007
[5] http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/geography/asia/western-asia/iraq
[6] http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/geography/americas/northern-america/united-states
[7] http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/taxonomy/term/243
[8] http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/category/3-working-peace-conflict-transformation/3-05-peacebuilding-creating-systems-and-cultures--0
[9] http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/category/4-nonviolent-action/4-01-nonviolent-protest-and-persuasion/4-01-03-protest-art-music-theate
[10] http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/category/4-nonviolent-action/4-05-social-non-cooperation/4-05-01-noncooperation-social-events-custom
[11] http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/taxonomy/term/400
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