"...What I am really not sure about is whether I have seen a liberation or an invasion." - Ryan Dilley

"...This war went very well for the coalition, and this highly intrusive press arrangement served them, because it was largely reporting on success - dramatic movement, collapsing Iraqi formations and so on.

"If things had gone very differently, perhaps in Whitehall and in the Pentagon they would not have been quite so enamoured with this system." - Jonathan Marcus

"...Both independents and embeds can complement each other, and help to provide a balanced and wide-ranging perspective." - Dumeetha Luthra

"...The imam was extremely welcoming, serving fish and rice to both of us. But he made clear that he felt it was now time for the British to leave his country." - Andrew Harding

Quotes from BBC reporters' final thoughts from Iraq...

"I feel bad about all the looting that happened here at the museum, but we were fighting, and you have to kill the enemy before you can move on to peacekeeping and stabilisation.

We're guarding this place [the Baghdad Museum] now, but I know that Iraq is sort of the birthplace of civilisation so I hope I can see some of the artifacts before I leave here..."

A soldier from the area I come from (he's from North Dakota) talks about why looting happened under his unit's watch; they were some of the first into Baghdad...

"These people were no fans of Saddam...The majority of people were happy that things have changed, but many felt that somehow their own pride had been stepped on in the process, most vividly symbolised by the bombing and then the subsequent fall of Baghdad."

A BBC series entitled My War shares experiences from many perspectives, concerning the recent war (and now 'rebuilding') in Iraq...

Back-to-Iraq's Chris Allbritton has been back in the states now for a week or so. Today, he finally gives us a summing up as he sees is right now. He'll be back there again, he says, to check in the rebuilding of the country.

I have a hunch that Iraq has gotten a bit under Chris' skin in more ways than one. Just reading about it through his words has brought it much more alive to me. I think I understand just a little bit better now why my son-in-law Meran misses his home so much. It's a very beautiful country with wonderful people. But then, I rather think you can say that about every place on this planet.

It may be a tired phrase, but it is a 'small world after all...'

"The work of people calling themselves Christians in countless wars, religious persecutions, and exterminations just since the Renaissance dwarfs the volume of spilled blood in all the rest of human history. The Holocaust, the African slave trade, and the extermination of many aboriginal peoples were the work of people calling themselves Christians."

It greatly saddens me when I read such comments because they ring true. I'm a Christian, but I'm ashamed of what that represents to most people. I'm no better than any other Christian, nor than any other human being. Yet I feel distanced from the established Church, for reasons like this, among many others.

I know in my heart that more Christians need to really think about what they're doing and saying. Otherwise, they're totally missing the point of what Jesus taught. There's a big responsibility being twisted and wasted, all the while missed opportunities and time slips on by. How do we get past it? Usually it takes pain. A lot of pain, reflection, and time. Even then, sometimes we blow it.

In the meantime, I will continue to stumble along in the dark with the rest of you. And be a thorn in side of whoever may be reading this...including myself (ouch)...

Yes, there are many individuals and organizations that work in anonymity and truly demonstrate compassion. Our troubled world testifies that there are not enough, however.

As this article says (from which the above quote is from), there are no hands clean in history. Atrocities have been perpetrated in the name of every religion including Christianity. Arrogance, hypocrisy, moral superiority/ambiguity...this is the face that many see when they think of Christians. No wonder some people decide that Christianity - that any religion - is unworthy of their consideration...

...and what about this? Oh, we should be so proud...

What is going on here? From first-hand information in this article, it appears that our military targeted journalists.

I've long ago decided I'd rather have a simple funeral. The practical side of it, of spending a lot of money on a dead body and a box that will hardly be seen and just rot, has always seemed ludicrous to me. If the living need to remember me AND spend money, then I'd rather see them hold a good old-fashioned Irish wake, have a few drinks on me, and talk the night away...

Personally, I'd rather have the Direct Cremation ($790) special...

The Kurds are coming back to villages in the north of Iraq that they were driven from years ago. The current residents, former nomadic Arabic tribes - forced to settle on these lands - do not want to go; they have nowhere to go. Tensions have already erupted in deaths.

How often do we give much more than a passing thought (if that) to the daily realities of a war's aftermath, far removed from us?

They had returned to their home after 16 years in exile hoping the future was brighter. A day after they returned that future was blown to smithereens by the side of a dusty road in the blinding flash and explosive roar which crippled their son.

[From Playing with Death, by By Stephen White And Colin Wills]

"...No man is an island; whether we wish it or not, we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, and to see them unhappy throws into relief our own happiness, just as the sight of their triumphs can plunge us into melancholy"

"...No filmed bombardment can reproduce the effect of actual falling bombs, of the bodies of loved ones dug from the ruins. This is doubtless one of the reasons why wars, the most abundantly represented events in the history of mankind, still continue. We never seem to know them well enough."

[From a book review by Tzvetan Todorov, of Susan Sontag's book, Regarding the Pain of Others]

...the ultimate cause of all wars and human misery is the parental holocaust of children throughout history--an untold story of how literally billions of innocent, helpless children have been routinely killed, bound, battered, mutilated, raped and tortured and then as adults have inflicted upon others the nightmares they themselves experienced.

[From Psychohistory: Childhood and the Emotional Life of Nations...]

"In this time when a citizenry applauds the liberation of a country as it lives in fear of its own freedom, when an administration official releases an attack ad questioning the patriotism of a legless Vietnam veteran running for Congress, when people all over the country fear reprisal if they use their right to free speech, it is time to get angry...

"...Our ability to disagree, and our inherent right to question our leaders and criticize their actions define who we are. To allow those rights to be taken away out of fear, to punish people for their beliefs, to limit access in the news media to differing opinions is to acknowledge our democracy's defeat. These are challenging times. There is a wave of hate that seeks to divide us -- right and left, pro-war and anti-war. In the name of my 11-year-old nephew, and all the other unreported victims of this hostile and unproductive environment of fear, let us try to find our common ground as a nation. Let us celebrate this grand and glorious experiment that has survived for 227 years."

[From Tim Robbin's April 15th speech given at the National Press Club]

This article provides graphic descriptions of ground combat, as well as reactions from the men who perpetrated the actions. Read what the men themselves say about what they discovered war to really be like in their experience...

These local governments are standing up against what they consider ill-advised law at best, outright liberty-stealing at worst. This is when our rights mean something, when we have to THINK about them, and DEFEND them. Defending them doesn't just mean fighting a war with guns, it's also fighting with our intellect, words, and will...

Looting...as American as Apple Pie...

Chris Allbritton bids a fond farewell from Iraq...

It’s been a truly fantastic journey and I am sincerely grateful to everyone who donated, read, sent in feedback, argued on the comment boards or wished me well. While truth may be the first casualty in war, I hope I was able to save a small shard of it. But it’s hard to say. Many times since I’ve been here, listening to the claims of Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Turkomen or Assyrians, I’ve thought that there is no such thing as Truth, only myths that people tell their children to get them through to the next generation. History doesn’t exist here, at least not in the American sense; the past is never really past and history isn’t something that happened long ago; it’s very much alive and kicking. In this ancient place, a land of empires, gods, gardens, wars, blood and beauty, at the heart of it, you will find only stories. I hope I’ve been able to bring a few of them home to you.

[From today's final dispatch, A Farewell to Arms, from Back to Iraq.com...]

In a memo sent two weeks before the fall of Baghdad, the Pentagon office charged with rebuilding Iraq urged top commanders of U.S. ground forces to protect the Iraqi National Museum and other cultural sites from looters.

"Coalition forces must secure these facilities in order to prevent looting and the resulting irreparable loss of cultural treasures," says the March 26 memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times.

The Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA), led by retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, sent the five-page memo to senior commanders at the Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC)

Two weeks later, American forces pulled down the giant statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad to cheering crowds, and in the days that followed, looters pillaged Baghdad...

..."It's a tragedy and a disaster for our image and for rebuilding Iraq," said one official from ORHA. "And it could have been so easily stopped.

[From Troops were told to guard treasures, by Paul Martin, Washington Times]

I am this week's Fargo Film Fanatic...

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT look anything like the picture - I have no doublechin, and I don't usually have a half-asleep letcherous grin on my face!

In a followup to the recent looting posts, here's an article reporting that the chairman, and two members, have stepped down from President Bush's cultural advisory committee over the handling (or lack thereof) of protecting Iraq's cultural heritage...

It's going wrong, faster than anyone could have imagined. The army of "liberation" has already turned into the army of occupation. The Shias are threatening to fight the Americans, to create their own war of "liberation"...

...The Americans have now issued a "Message to the Citizens of Baghdad", a document as colonial in spirit as it is insensitive in tone. "Please avoid leaving your homes during the night hours after evening prayers and before the call to morning prayers," it tells the people of the city. "During this time, terrorist forces associated with the former regime of Saddam Hussein, as well as various criminal elements, are known to move through the area ... please do not leave your homes during this time. During all hours, please approach Coalition military positions with extreme caution ..."

So now – with neither electricity nor running water – the millions of Iraqis here are ordered to stay in their homes from dusk to dawn. Lockdown. It's a form of imprisonment. In their own country. Written by the command of the 1st US Marine Division, it's a curfew in all but name. [From Robert Fisk's column...For the people on the streets, this is not liberation but a new colonial oppression]

We are handling the peace all wrong. It's parental, condescending, and patronizing. To me, common sense would have dictated a lot more preparation with the actual people likely to lead post-Sadam. How hard can it be for our country's intelligence to identify such people? Then again, maybe I give them too much credit. Know the culture, and don't just talk to politicians, but the religious leaders. We may not like how the state and the mosque intersect in Islamic countries, but it is their reality. We need to respect it with more than lip service...

An article about what Iraq's new freedom means to the Iraqi people...and the possibilities of what it can mean throughout the Arab world. I like this man's positive attitude. I hope more will see from this point of view...

"What we are seeing today will sow the change of attitude. For the fall of Baghdad will be a catalyst more significant than the fall of Tehran to mullahs, for the reverberations of this new "revolution of freedom" may lead to freedom of 250 million Arabs in the middle east...Our children should live with a dream to develop to their full potential. Let's resist those who encourage children to be used as cannon fodder to kill and maim other innocents. We are all connected. Our destinies on this beautiful planet are common. Our mother earth shrieks with the pain we inflict on her. The fall of Baghdad should be is an occasion for a road map of peace and ushering of new era of common respect of all nations." [From The Myth of Hatred is Dead , by Iqbal Latif]

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world...

I thought it couldn't get any worse when I heard of the looting and destruction of the Baghdad Museum.

I was wrong.

"So yesterday was the burning of books. First came the looters, then the arsonists. It was the final chapter in the sacking of Baghdad. The National Library and Archives ­ a priceless treasure of Ottoman historical documents, including the old royal archives of Iraq ­ were turned to ashes in 3,000 degrees of heat. Then the library of Korans at the Ministry of Religious Endowment was set ablaze.

"I saw the looters. One of them cursed me when I tried to reclaim a book of Islamic law from a boy of no more than 10. Amid the ashes of Iraqi history, I found a file blowing in the wind outside: pages of handwritten letters between the court of Sharif Hussein of Mecca, who started the Arab revolt against the Turks for Lawrence of Arabia, and the Ottoman rulers of Baghdad.

"And the Americans did nothing..."

"And now, for something completely different..."


I can relate to this. I've had a fantastic sex life, but I've also had periods of celibacy (granted, I was single and alone at the time...) But I relate to the concept of celibacy within relationship. This article is a perfect example of how two people who love each other evolve into celibacy for very practical reasons, and how they find out it's not that bad after all...in fact, it has it plusses and not just minuses...

This article has got to be the scariest thing I've ever read.

For more about the "Family", see:

- Records of the Fellowship Foundation - Collection 459, archived at the Billy Graham Center

- Evangelism vs. Evangelization

Also, a book excerpt about how "...peacekeeping tenets of key religions can be brought to bear in...ongoing conflicts around the world." More (Chapter 1...)

Although combat in Baghdad is virtually over, carnage continues as civilians are cut, gouged and killed when unexploded munitions in city neighborhoods suddenly detonate, often in the hands of people who don't know what they have innocently picked up. An alarming number of Iraqis being injured and killed are children, who are drawn to the small, grenade-like explosives that can look like toys, said doctors and parents.

These kinds of situations, the reality of war's aftermath, are what everyday citizens of Iraq will have to contend with not just for the short-term, but for the long-term. War can never be what it once was. Now the whole world is watching. Now the ethics of war, if there is such a thing, will have to balance the effectiveness of weapons and campaigns against the inevitable innocent victims more so than ever. It's time to work as hard for peace as it has been for war. For those that don't, we need to make the parties responsible for crimes against humanity accountable...

An Iranian American son talks with his parents in Iran about how Iranians are viewing the Coalition (read: American) military action in Iraq. They say people are calling Bush a Messiah. But then, they are viewing America through those damned rose-colored glasses of the potential emigrant. The son goes on to contemplate how America could really help...

America can help Iran only by leaving it alone. Let what is happening happen. I find it odd that America preaches democracy and occupation at the same time. I just don’t see how the two can happen at the same time. And by occupation, I don’t necessarily mean a military one. I am talking about the occupation of a country’s sources of wealth. A country cannot be a democracy if its people don’t have control of its economic system. I don’t see this happening in Iraq and it won’t happen in Iran if America is going to be the courier of change.

Just the other night at my Mideastern-themed dinner party, the guests were all talking about America's track record, which is very poor in this 'helping' area.

To my fellow Iranians who are intoxicated by the fantasy of the Yankee liberator, I’d suggest a quick look eastward toward Afghanistan. What happened to the rebuilding of that country? There are reports of Afghan police leaving their posts because they have not been paid for months. The Taliban is regrouping and opium production is on the rise. America has failed to keep its promise to rebuild Afghanistan. I would ask my people to take a close look at Latin America. Examine Haiti and Granada, Chile and the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Nicaragua and on and on. Where was America, the Liberator when millions were being slaughtered in Somalia and Rwanda?

What can I say to that? The guy is right...

Promises made to a little boy...whatever their motivation, are adding up to plain old exploitation.

I'm still laughing...

Following up on my Audblog from Saturday, here are more details on the cultural atrocities being allowed in Iraq:

From History News Network comes this story, "The pillaging of the Baghdad Museum is a tragedy that has no parallel in world history; it is as if the Ufficci, the Louvre, or all the museums of Washington DC had been wiped out in one fell swoop. Some compare the event to the burning of the Alexandria Library..."

From the Washington Post, Looters Destroy What the War Did Not

Iraq Liberated...from its culture & history.

As I said in my audio post, I felt like crying when I first heard about the looting. It's now becoming apparent it's even worse than first thought. Many have dismissed initial reports as exaggeration, but it's becoming clear they were understatements if anything. I also said I was ashamed. I am now more angry than ashamed after reading this: "...archaeologists had supplied our military and civilian authorities with a ranked list of cultural sites that were to be protected once the war broke out and it is our understanding that the authorities agreed to guard these sites once they were under their control. It is both a tragedy and a disgrace that our forces were not prepared to control Iraqi cities once they had abolished local power, and hence did not fulfill that promise."

When an aide told Bush last week that Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had fired a verbal warning shot at Syria, the President said: 'Good'. [From Bush Ready to Fight on Two Fronts, by Ed Vulliamy, The Observer]

Is the United States the next Roman empire? Are we going down a road already trod by Great Britian? Are we using the excuse of global terrorism - something that many point out, with some good logic, has been a reaction to our historical meddling and arrogance to begin with - to further alienate and destablize the rest of the world? If not, we're making a very good appearance of doing so...

God bless Canada, home of my birth...the mounties are ready and willing to help the Iraqis bring order to their chaos...if Bush asks.

Unbelievable. Another reason to seek information from various sources. Do NOT believe everything you read carte blanche, no matter where you read it. Don't believe me. Believe your common sense, after doing whatever careful research you can do. It's the least any of us can do - i.e., try to be as best informed as possible...

Well...that's okay...

Everyone is blaming everyone else.

Controlled chaos, to coin a term, is the rule of the day in Iraq. We're there, we have theoretical control, but there are example after example of situations existing or building between various groups that spell serious trouble for the rebuilding of Iraq. If there is a plan here for helping the Iraqis rebuild their country, am I missing it? Is anyone listening to the Iraqis themselves? "Is anybody out there?"

"There's a growing sense of resentment among all ethnic parties toward the U.S. because of this failure to provide basic security in the wake of Saddam's ouster." [From today's dispatch by Chris Allbritton, Back-to-Iraq.com; to learn more of the complexities facing post-war Iraq and the groups at the table demanding power, take a peek at today's report...]

audblog audio post

I am ashamed of my country's priorities...

ADDENDUM:

Today, worse news comes about the atrocities being committed against Iraq's antiquities...

The Iraqi city of Mosul has remnants of the ancient city of Nineveh right outside its gates. Just this week, U.S. Marine were in the city of Hillah, where there are still ruins of ancient Babylon. The depth of history in this country is overpowering. Iraq [Mesapotamia] has been called the "cradle of civilization", suspected geographical location Genesis' Eden, as well as the home of one of the oldest-known cultures, the Sumerians.

There has been concern throughout the conflict for the safety of museums, archeological sites, and the artifacts they contain; that concern continues as recent looting threatens this heritage.

At this point, it's probably a good idea just to tell you that I don't believe what anyone is telling me at face value. The Kurds, deep in their hearts, really do want an independent Kurdistan and this talk of federalism is the practical side of Kurdish nationalism. If they thought they could get away with it, they would bolt Iraq and never look back, I think. The Turkomen don't really feel that threatened, but they see the Kurds with their new buddies, the Americans, and worry they'll be left out of any settlement and development plans in the north. So, they're trying to play the Turks off the Americans to keep the Kurds in check. And the Turks ... Well, actually, I believe them when they say they're worried about their security. They're a truly paranoid bunch. [From today's dispatch Politics as an Extension of War, Back-to-Iraq.com]

All the positioning and bickering reminds me of the scene in "Lawrence of Arabia" when Lawrence is in the room with the large round table, surrounded by shouting tribesman all insisting on their terms, after the fall of Damascus. Let's hope things go better this time...

A map with a good breakdown of the ethnic groups in Iraq...

Librarians: Big Brother is here

"Across the country, in a movement that belies their staid image, librarians are rising up in anger and rallying against a law the Justice Department calls one of its most important new tools to help catch terrorists before they strike..." [From the Washington Post, Librarians Make Some Noise Over Patriot Act, by Rene Sanchez]

While I'm glad to hear that librarians are bringing more attention to this alarming situation, I'm still quite upset that we've allowed ourselves to get into this mess. The Pandora's box of decreasing personal freedoms has been opened. It won't be closed unless we fight for it to be. Who will join the fight? Will we just all sit back and let the erosion continue in the name of security?

There are two fat canaries in the lobby, the Kurdish version of a chemical weapons early warning system. One is called Diehard Two, the other is Diehard Three. Diehard One died relatively recently, though from overfeeding, not gas.

A self-described jaded Western journalist reports cautiously about Kurdish fighters' celebrations. The partying is not just about now, but about the future possibilities. Will the Kurds be savvy enough to maintain the momentum of self-determination they have started since the first Gulf war? Self-determination doesn't necessarily mean an independent state, but there are some Kurds who would argue for that. Neighboring countries such as Turkey fear domestic problems from Kurds within their borders inspired by the Iraqi Kurds. I'm curious what is happening behind the scenes...are there strong enough Kurdish leadership to make a difference for themselves?

The Kurds, working with coalition forces in Northern Iraq, are making good progress in securing their historical territory, including the oil fields that would enable them to rebuild and grow. (If Turkey has its way, however, it won't happen...or it will happen only with a fight...)

My sister called me just now as I was writing this to say that local Kurds, refugees from Iraq, are on local radio right now, sharing how their relatives have been calling them with the news, how everyone is so excited. Freedom from oppression is making everyone drunk with the possibilities before them. Those of us that have never lived under such circumstances can only imagine...

"...In spontaneous demonstrations of joy, people in the Kurdish city of Irbil ran into the streets, and drivers and bicyclists beeped their horns. The cars flew flags and scarves in yellow, the color of the governing Kurdistan Democratic Party in the western sector of the Kurdish autonomous zone." [From USAToday.com]

A Tale of Liberation

'It was a normal Kurdish house and we sat on low pillows, and it wasn't long before glasses of juice arrived, along with 50 older men who wanted to listen and talk. They reminded me of prisoners of war who start to talk about what had happened and then can't stop.

'It was impossible to get it all, because these stories went back decades and they were talking about villages in a way that made the places seem like dead relatives. The men were worshipful when they said the names of the places where their families used to live. Most of the men I spoke to were, like the weeping, happy Zedu, originally from Kandala, a village where people grew olives. When I paused, a man sitting in the room would say, "Please, ask us more questions." They wanted to start at 1975, when their villages were mostly depopulated, so I let them. In a way, it was a collective interview about how they had come to be in Mahad...'

[From Salon.com - "Am-ri-ka! Am-ri-ka! Am-ri-ka!", by Phillip Robertson]

Today, Kurdish journalists spoke out in a very blunt but honest way about journalist integrity, freedom of the press in general, and heavily criticized Arab media being negative and counter-productive to the nation-building facing the peoples of Iraq. "While the Kurds are justifiably proud of the media freedoms they enjoy in their region, this statement shows the depth of support for the war among the Kurdish leadership. That support is reflected among average Kurds, as well," comments Christopher Allbriton of Back-to-Iraq.

My daughter and I spoke yesterday about how Meran (among others of his family) has difficulty voicing that they are Kurdish-American Muslims. "A lot of their peers condem them for categorizing themselves this way," says Eva. "They all feel strongly about their religion, so to deny that aspect of their identity would be inconceivable, yet at the same time they are proud of their Kurdish heritage; yet unlike their peers they do not limit their identiy to just their ethnic background. They feel that their heritage is a sign of the beauty of creation, God making different cultures, languages, etc. Therefore, to them acknowledging both aspects of their identity is not a contradiction. Now if you ask most Kurds, they acknowledge that they are Muslim and most will pray and fast. But when you get into a deep conversation about their beliefs, loyalties, etc., they reveal that for most their religious beliefs do not run deep, and they are more passionate about nationalist ideas and the concept of Freeing Kurdistan."

No other member from Meran's family felt compelled to do what he's done. Some may have, as I mentioned before, if family commitments allowed. But even so, there are many who could. I think that says a lot about Meran. I cannot speak for him, but from what Eva said above, coupled with his personal loss those not so many years ago of his parents and brother...his love of his homeland...yes, it's not so hard for me to understand at all...

...500 military headstones that have just arrived in Baghdad from England already bear the names of soldiers killed in action in Iraq. But these troops died in an ill-fated, little-remembered attempt at "regime change" nearly a century ago.

Ah, yes...the chess pieces of the game change, but the game remains strangely familiar...

My partner Christopher has a brother leaving for Kuwait on his way to Iraq on Wednesday...

"We arrived today in Arbil, the seat of the Kurdistan Regional Government, to find a city on edge and in mourning. An American fighter jet had just hit a convoy of peshmergas and U.S. Special Forces in a friendly fire incident that left at at least seven Kurdish fighters and possibly three American troops dead. Also killed were several civilians, including the translator for BBC’s John Simpson, Kameran Abdulrazzaq..." [From today's Back-to-Iraq dispatch]

I can't help but think of Meran, my son-in-law, when I read this. He will be going doing a similar translator job somewhere in the same region...

This is why I'm financially supporting Christopher Allbritton as an independent reporter in Iraq...

"...Twenty Kurdish soldiers running toward us through a field, a field we had just crossed, is a retreat, and the invisible thing making them run is fear and something else, and just behind the fear there are other men coming who are herding them with machine guns and rifles and rocket-propelled grenades -- Baath party members or Fedayeen Saddam, because who else would do something that bold? Sion is also sure the peshmerga coming across the field represents a retreat, and just as we figure this out, the state of the world does its silent flip from OK to not OK, and then the shooting starts, bringing with it all the attendant demons of the air and their hideous sounds, cracks, zips and detonations."

A Salon journalist reports from northern Iraq where he's hanging out with the Kurds...

A great photojournalist is a victim of a landmine in Iraq...

Note: This Iranian photographer - Kaveh Golestan - was one of the first on the scene, within hours, of the Halabja gassings of the Kurds in 1988. Some of the most memorable images from that tragedy were taken by him...

CLOSING THE CIRCLE
By Chris Ambrose

Abdul wept.

The small boy before him, sunken dark eyes, hollow cheeks, was dying. He was poisoned, as were many of the village's children, by the strange sickness, the wasting away, the slow agonizing deaths.

The boy held out a heavy cigar-shaped piece of metal he'd found in the desert, near one of the ruined tanks.

Abdul would grind the depleted uranium slug, grind it and mix it with the explosives in a mortar shell. He'd return the favor of the slow death when the invaders returned.

Most of all, he would avenge the death of this boy, his son.

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Chris Ambrose is an Affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association
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© 2003 Chris Ambrose

I'm speechless...or in this case, wordless...this essay in support of the war is so well-written, historically-rich, I'll have to read it several times to take it all in...

Calling home...

[From L. T. Smash]

"Our example of wartime sacrifice has been the generation that fought the Second World War. I won't even try to compare the sacrifices they made to what we're making now. There is no comparison. But I'd like to point something out. In those days of clarity, the men and women the nation admired most heard their nation's call, dropped what they were doing and signed up for service. People who had brilliant careers and plenty of money and who could probably have avoided it were among the first at the recruiters' desks. Movie stars and musicians set the example. This generation of kids who serve do so in spite of the example set by our cultural icons. I think that says a lot about them."

[From From the Front: Letters from Captain Steve, "...a Captain in the Air Force stationed at Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia."]

I spoke with my daughter and son-in-law tonight. Meran said he wasn't nervous. He sounded resolved, certain that what he was about to do was the right thing. Maybe a bit of his confidence was to help Eva and his sisters feel better about it and not worry for him, but I think he truly believes he should be doing this. I asked both Eva and Meran how much they think the boys understand. They both agreed that they dont really understand what is going on...Eva said that when Meran was gone before for his initial screening a few weeks back, Salih asked the second day he was gone, "Where is Baba?" Right now, we're all trying not to think about 'what if's' and how hard it will be for everyone. So many of the same stories are happening in families all over the world. I think things like how this isn't anything new, that before this war there was so much suffering in this world and there will continue to be after this war. We are all so myopic, but then to a degree we have to be. It would be overwhelming to take it all in...or would it? Would it be overwhelming, or healing? Would we become more compassionate for one another? One can only hope...

"Freedom for Kurds seems always to be a dream for this people, and it’s a sad one for seemingly being out of reach. There’s a wistful tone when they speak of northern Iraq, which they never call Iraqi Kurdistan, as if they can’t bring themselves to say the word for fear it will disappear in a cloud again. The Kurds of Iraq have created something wonderful the Kurds in Turkey feel, but it is a fragile thing, protected only by the United States and Britain for as long as it’s useful to them. After Saddam is gone, what then?"

[From Diyabakir sadness, Back-to-Iraq]

The United States, and its coalition forces are just starting their long journey into night with the war. Iraqi citizens, however, have been contending with war and sanctions for a generation. Families there, especially the women, are beyond the point of losing hope. They '...cannot see tomorrow...' [From BBC World Service interviews of Iraqi women]

My partner's brother is leaving soon for Kuwait. He's part of the 142nd Engineer Combat Battalion of the North Dakota Army National Guard. They're saying this unit will be called up for a year minimum, and could be extended another year if necessary.

He's just one of many whose lives are turned upside down by all of this. Nothing new to this world, but new to many individuals this time around...