Introduction

After every great tragedy—the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, slavery, and so forth—humanity makes a pledge to let it be a lesson from which we can ensure that the same mistakes are never repeated. And yet day by day as I sit and watch the news, I can’t help but think to myself: history always repeats itself — a phrase I’ve even listed as one of my favorite quotes on my Facebook profile. I cannot help but notice the eerie resemblances between aspects of the “war in Iraq” and past imperial efforts and injustices around the world—resemblances which the United States either chooses to ignore or is ignorant of; and I would like to believe the latter judging from our unfortunate lack of exposure to the rest of the world and its history. After all, only a few of my twelve years of standard education were devoted to world history, the remaining 75% to the same old history of the U.S. since European settlement, however brief it may be in comparison to much of the world.

Part of our aim in this blog is to reveal these similarities between past colonial endeavors and recent American rhetoric and actions in Iraq using some historical examples from our limited knowledge of the countless comparable instances from history that exist. The hope is that by seeing in the American involvement in Iraq the same actions and motives used in past events that are now deplored, we as Americans will begin to rethink our actions in Iraq and how we approach the world in general.

Let me just say a few words about what this blog is not because we know there are already plenty of blogs about the war in Iraq. It is not your typical blog in that it has a more scholarly feel to it, with plenty of cited references in addition to opinions. Also, this blog will not focus on previous occupations of the Middle East or on the Vietnam War or much on any other popular wars like WWII for that matter—enough people are already making those comparisons. Nor will it focus on showing how the Iraq war or the “war on terror” in general is part of a trend toward American empire by citing examples of the US’s past foreign policy and interventions in other countries. While this may all be true, we feel that it is also being adequately addressed—William Blum’s works, for example, are a good source of such information. We think it might be more instructive to illustrate the point of historical repetition through examples of colonial activities, among other things, that are less well-known and not necessarily related to the U.S. or the Middle East. For one thing, it is probably information that not too many people have already heard before, which is probably why we see similar things happening again. So sit back, read, and hopefully enjoy and learn.

(Note: picture is of the commemorative plaque outside the slave dungeons in Elmina and Cape Coast Castles)