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Through My Eyes... |
Somebody’s Darlings: Remembering the Cost of War in Human Lives
Oct 28, 2004
By Cornelia Spelman
Over two thousand American soldiers--somebody's darlings- killed so far in Iraq. Thousands wounded.
According to an article in the British medical journal, The Lancet, 98,000 Iraqis have been killed.
The late writer, W.G. Sebald, believed that "War is a battle in which remembrance gets crushed by the desire to forget." (Sebald's odd and fascinating novels are all about memory.) Isn't it crucial that we not forget certain things?
Such as the comments of the military surgeon whose job it was to repair the wrecked bodies of our young men and women wounded in Iraq: "We have had a number of really horrific injuries now from the war. They have lost arms, legs, hands, they have been burned, they have had significant brain injuries and peripheral nerve damage. These are young kids that are going to be, in some regards, changed for life."
For what cause would I, or do you, believe the sacrifice of our sons' or daughters' life, or their mutilation, would be justified? Those who have lost their beloved in this war must, I think, to endure the pain, believe that it was worth it. Surely there are causes that would be. The torture and repression of a people is something against which one wants to take a stand -- but what motivates our government to take that stand in one situation and not in another? The world is full of tyrants and repressive regimes--how are we to choose which ones we will fight against? And shall we decide just by ourselves regardless of world opinion?
We attacked a nation that did not attack us, and that did not pose an immediate threat to us or to international security. We weakened the authority of the UN and international law. These are not the American values with which I identify.
An image that keeps coming to mind is that of the evil flying monkeys, sent out by the bad witch in the movie "The Wizard of Oz"-- it seems that these evil spirits are what have been unleashed by attacking Iraq. We are reaping a terrible harvest of hatred and death.
How do you feel about it? What will you do?