The civilians we killed

If only those who sent us to Iraq lay awake at night

Michael Hoffman
Thursday December 2, 2004
The Guardian


The chaos of war should never be understated. On the way to Baghdad, I saw bodies by the road, many in civilian clothing. Every time a car got near my Humvee, everyone inside braced themselves, not knowing if gunfire would suddenly erupt out of it. When your enemy is unclear, everyone becomes your enemy.
I will not judge the marine who killed the wounded Iraqi. I do not know what was going on around him or what he experienced in the hours before. But I do know what the stress of combat will do. I remember talking to a friend who told how, after a greatly loved lieutenant was killed in Nassiriya, the unit started shooting anyone that got close. I remember when a pickup truck got too close to my convoy, the armoured vehicle up front shot the passenger to get the message to the driver. Just as these marines should face charges, then those that put us in these situations should have to answer for their actions.

In his book The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien said: "You can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromised allegiance to obscenity and evil." This is something people in the US have forgotten after years of watching CNN. War is dirty, always wrong, but sometimes unavoidable. That is why all these horrible things must rest on the shoulders of those leaders who supported a war that did not have to be fought.

I know the commitment it takes to serve your country, but I also know this war has nothing to do with protecting my country. My sergeant put it best a week before we left for the Middle East: "Don't think you're going to be heroes. You're not going for weapons of mass destruction. You're not going to get rid of Saddam, or to make Iraq safe for democracy. You're going for one reason, and that's oil."

more...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1364368,00.html

are going to come home someday. How long will it take to recover from this hell? There were about 260 soldier deaths from Gulf War 1. Today, the figures are over 10,000 because of Gulf War syndrome. How many of the 150,000 soldiers will have those problems? From the Gulf War 1 - 100,000 of them are on disability. 50,000 more have put in for disability. Why are we doing this to people who promised to protect and defend us and our country? The people that started this war, the politicans who keep supporting our commitment, and the people making millions off this should be put in jail for treason.

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