The War in Iraq: Rhetoric vs. Reality (2003)
More and more I feel like what I see and what I hear are looking at two different things. I hear about an inspiring victory, I see a huge army with massive weapons and technology invading a small country and beating its irregular army. I hear about precision bombs, I see that thousands of innocent Iraqis have died. I hear about how some one – or country – shouldn’t take in less income than it makes, I see our executive branch decreasing income while adding billions to its expenses for defense and payments to coalition countries and rebuilding a country we destroyed in the first place. I hear about jubilant Iraqis, I see people desperate for food, manipulated for photo ops, hoping to draw the attention of the people who occupy their country. I hear about liberated Iraqis, I see people without food or water or medical supplies – and no integrated plan to help them – forced to scramble in a state of anarchy. I hear about compassion, I see an attitude which encourages dividing the world into good and bad, us and them, unwilling to make even the most rudimentary effort to understand the values of another society. I hear about united support, I see deep anxieties and reservations about what will happen next. I hear that the peaceniks were wrong, I see fulfillment of their direst predictions about starvation, revenge and exploitation with no effort to end them. I hear that victory proves the invasion was right, but I still don’t see any evidence that “war is the answer.” I hear we stopped a terrible scourge, but I still don’t see any evidence that there were weapons of mass destruction or plans to attack anyone. I hear about supporting the troops, I see brave, self-sacrificing young people put in harm’s way in my name and forced to police, even kill their fellow human beings at the command of people who never even served in the military. I hear about being secure from terrorism, I see people losing freedom and repression of information in areas having nothing to do with security. I hear about the victory of democracy – and I do believe democracy and capitalism offer the most to the most people – but all I see these days is the self-serving side of capitalism.
Sally MacEwen
Sally MacEwen