By Bill Hackwell on December 30, 2015
Ryan Endicott speaking at an anti- war rally in Washington DC, March 19, 2011, photo: Bill Hackwell
The much touted capturing of the Iraqi city of Ramadi by the Iraqi military this past week may have been a momentary victory for the Obama Administration’s current strategy in Iraq but it came at a big expense. While ISIS may have been pushed out of Ramadi the city has once again been leveled thanks to more than 600 U.S. airstrikes, hitting about 2,500 different targets, over the last six months.
According to Iraqi defense minister, Khaled Al-Obeidi, over 80% of Ramadi is destroyed. This aerial bombardment tactic is a favorite of the Pentagon going back to the Vietnam War when a similar strategy of destroying the town in order to save it was implemented. No figures of civilian casualties for the taking of Ramadi have come out but Lina Khatib a researcher for Arab Reform Initiative said, “this approach has a very high cost in material and human casualties.” Over half of the market and government buildings in Ramadi have been smashed into rubble.
It should be remembered that Ramadi like Fallujah has never recovered from the devastation of the U.S. invasion in 2003. It was in these two cities where the Iraqi resistance was the strongest and the U.S. military response the most brutal.
Here is a comment by Ryan Endicott a former U.S. Marine who was in the occupation of Ramadi in 2005.
“Ten years ago I was a Marine infantryman occupying Ramadi, Iraq. I stood post at the government center and patrolled the streets daily. I witnessed firsthand the brutality of the US occupation as I walked past the schools covered in bullet holes, the streets covered in burning trash, and as we kicked in doors tearing families apart. I also witnessed something that to this day stands as the most powerful force I’ve ever experienced in my life; the heroism of the People of Ramadi. Resistance runs deep in their blood.
The love of their city, their people, and their freedom is something every Woman, man, and child in Ramadi is willing to fight and die for. After 10 years of brutal US and ISIS occupation, I’m proud to see the People of Ramadi are still fighting and they are winning. Long live their struggle. From Ramadi to Baltimore, from Palestine, Afghanistan, and Iraq to Ferguson, LA, and NYC, when people are occupied, resistance is justified.”
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano