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War, War, War See other War, War, War Articles Title: Wars, lies and lyrics Home » Blogs » Imperium Wars, lies and lyrics By Marwan Bishara in * Imperium on August 4th, 2010 . Share Marwan Bishara explains why a week after their publication, the WikiLeaks Afghanistan war documents are neither shocking nor surprising. File 3286 Photo by EPA Surprise, surprise ... the US government did not tell the whole truth, yet again, about its war conduct, and indeed misled the public about the true record of the war. I personally have not met anyone who has been shocked by the revelations in the documents published by WikiLeaks, but many are surprised - not so much by the novelty of it all, but rather by the mundane repetition of more of the same deception. It is déjà vu all over again. Governments lie, especially about war and violence. And the media as well as the elites remain numb and indifferent until their wars go sour and begin to hurt at home as we saw in Iraq after 2005 and today in Afghanistan. Unlike what mainstream conventional media would have you believe, democratic governments are worse at lying than autocratic or totalitarian ones. Because unlike their democratically elected counterparts, autocratic or totalitarian governments just do not have the same need for it because they do not seek public approval or ratings. In fact, the more accountable they are to their citizens, the more sinister and dangerous are the leaders' lies. By mere definition of their jobs and scrutiny of their parliaments, democratic and especially Western leaders generally have more leeway in foreign than domestic affairs, and tend to exercise it to solidify their leadership. Western media preoccupation Alas, the discussion over the last few days did not delve into the futility of the war and its horrific human ramifications, but focused instead on whether the leaks could harm Afghan informants or compromise US national security. This preoccupation by the Western media places a large question mark over their journalistic objectivity and stance towards the war. If somehow the names of Taliban informants were revealed, would the Western media also worry about their safety or would they ask for their heads? The last time I checked, the media's role was to reveal the truth by exposing the facts. But have we? Have we truly exposed the sham and spam behind the decade-long war? As Lesley Gelb, the former head of the Council on Foreign Relations and one of the authors of the Vietnam war 'Pentagon Papers' that first underlined the failures in Indochina, put it, the similarity between the US wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan lie in the fact that the US could not win or withdraw. Instead, another war enters the chronicles of history, like its predecessors, on the basis of lies and deception, and continues on the basis of arrogance and hegemony: 'Empires don't cede willingly to those it demonised as barbarians.' History of US wars But it is becoming ever more evident that the US will have to cut its losses and withdraw sooner rather than later. That is why the best thing the Obama administration can do is to embark on a grand regional diplomatic initiative involving Pakistan, India, Iran etc. - just as the Nixon administration did by opening up to China and the Soviet Union to cut its losses in Vietnam. If anything needs to be learned from Iraq and applied to Afghanistan it is the Baker-Hamilton Commission's recommendations, not the inapplicable military lessons. Until then, a more sobering view of the history US wars comes not from leaks and media reports, but rather in lyrics. Bob Dylan's With God on Our Side summarised two centuries of war. As you read it and preferably hear it, you will notice that the lyrics finish in the early 1960s. Perhaps you could write back to me with your suggested update to the lyrics ... With God on Our Side By Bob Dylan Oh my name it ain't nothin' My age it means less The country I come from Is called the Midwest I was taught and brought up there The laws to abide And that land that I live in Has God on its side. Oh the history books tell it They tell it so well The cavalries charged The Indians fell The cavalries charged The Indians died Oh the country was young With God on its side. The Spanish-American War had its day And the Civil War too Was soon laid away And the names of the heroes I's made to memorise With guns in their hands And God on their side. The First World War, boys It came and it went The reason for fighting I never did get But I learned to accept it Accept it with pride For you don't count the dead When God's on your side. The Second World War Came to an end We forgave the Germans And then we were friends Though they murdered six million In the ovens they fried The Germans now too Have God on their side. I've learned to hate the Russians All through my whole life If another war comes It's them we must fight To hate them and fear them To run and to hide And accept it all bravely With God on my side. But now we got weapons Of chemical dust If fire them we're forced to Then fire them we must One push of the button And a shot the world wide And you never ask questions When God's on your side. Through a many dark hour I've been thinkin' about this That Jesus Christ Was betrayed by a kiss But I can't think for you You'll have to decide Whether Judas Iscariot Had God on his side. So now as I'm leavin' I'm weary as hell The confusion I'm feelin' Ain't no tongue can tell The words fill my head And fall to the floor That if God's on our side He'll stop the next war.
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