Just One U.S. Soldier Outweighs 'Tens of Thousands' of Iraqis

The life of an American soldier is more important than the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqis. This is not a personal opinion, but one based on facts and truth. Simply put, everyone knows what was done by American forces after one of their soldiers was kidnapped in central Baghdad’s Karada district. They rushed to launch search and rescue operations, prevented people from leaving their homes and searched inside each and every house.

For this operation they massed thousands of troops, hundreds of vehicles and dozens of aircraft, and asked all of their local collaborators to dig up any information that could lead to the location of the kidnapped American soldier. Based on newly-uncovered intelligence, American forces then widened the scope of their operations and redoubled their efforts. The Americans didn’t hesitate to bomb residential areas and homes during these operations, resulting in the deaths of Iraqis – all in an effort to find one kidnapped American.

But that’s just one side of the equation we are discussing. The other side is the issue of the kidnapping of tens of thousands of Iraqis over the past few months. They are tortured and killed, and their corpses are thrown into waste dumps, rivers and onto sidewalks. And although the occupation forces know the areas where the kidnappings take place and know that torture and murder is occurring, they take no action. Out of the tens of thousands of Iraqis that have been affected by this blind violence, the Americans haven’t moved a muscle to search for a single one. But when one U.S. soldier is at stake, the Americans mobilize all of their energies and resources to find him, since he is more important, better and more refined than all of the Iraqis who died and are still dying from the wave of kidnapping and murder that is claiming Iraqis by the thousands.

American forces have stood silent and U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has ignored the very organized daily acts of kidnapping, torture and killing which unfolded after the February events in Samara. The destruction of the Golden Dome Mosque of the Two Imams was part of a very precisely thought out and well-executed plan to create a schism between Iraqis. Since then, the occupiers have stood watch while “killing according to ID” establish itself [Editor’s Note: Killing people based on their Shiite or Sunni identity]. To create additional tension and chaos, the occupier stands by while kidnapping and torture takes place, and implies that the perpetrators are motivated by a native sectarian culture. This is what has set Iraq ablaze. Over recent months, which have witnessed the worst of the murder and torture, U.S. forces have done nothing to prevent or even contain it. To Iraqi eyes, that means this was planned and executed by the occupier and those who collaborate with and execute his plans, which are to dismember Iraq. It is Iraqi unity itself that threatens to defeat the entire American agenda.

If Iraqis want to see the truth and grab hold of it, they should take a closer at this simple equation, which proves that one American soldier is better and more important than all Iraqis put together. This is clear to all with eyes to see.