3 posts tagged “war”
We all have our "I remember where I was" moments. For me, it was trying to let Aaron sleep in and me hearing the phone ring at 6 in the morning. Which could only mean one of two things--somebody had the wrong number, or something was wrong. It was Bert, calling us to tell us that something had happened in New York and to turn on the news.
We did, only to see what everybody else had been watching. The towers, in flames. The greatest single national security blunder in our nation's history being played out right in front of our eyes.
The next day was Aaron's Whipple procedure, but that's something I'll talk about later.
Today makes me kind of angry. It makes me angry that this administration took the good will that the world extended toward us and squandered it. We bombed a country that had little to do with the attacks and instead ignored the one country where over 90% of the hijackers came from. Saudi Arabia continues to be one of our country's greatest 'allies' and we continue to wage this senseless, useless war on people who a) had nothing to do with 9/11, b) live in such dire poverty that many didn't even know what America WAS, and c) are peaceful, family-oriented Muslims who are just trying to feed and clothe their children. Yes, there are some who are fanatics (and can't one argue that the people who occupy the White House and most Bush administration positions are religious fanatics for their own God?), but we have yet to capture the mastermind behind the attacks and our focus has become on waging war against a country that had NOTHING to do with 9/11.
But today--today we remember. We take a moment to remember the lives of those who were killed six years ago. We should also take a moment to remember the thousands of others who have died because of our bombs and our machine guns. And finally we need to remember why we were attacked in the first place and do something to make sure that it never happens again.
What a shitty way to end 2006.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military announced Sunday the deaths of two soldiers, raising the number of Americans who have died in the Iraq war to at least 3,000, a somber milestone in the 46-month-old conflict.
The American death toll in Iraq rose to at least 3,000, according to an Associated Press count. The milestone was reached following the announcement Sunday of two additional deaths.
The White House said the president mourned each death but would not issue a statement about the 3,000th.
One soldier was killed Saturday in a roadside bombing in the capital, the military said. The soldier's name and unit were not given.
The Department of Defense said on its Web site that another soldier died Thursday and identified him as Spc. Dustin R. Donica, 22, of Spring, Texas. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
In his New Year's greeting, President Bush noted the continuing violence in Iraq. "Last year, America continued its mission to fight and win the war on terror and promote liberty as an alternative to tyranny and despair," Bush said in the statement wishing Americans a happy new year.
"In the New Year, we will remain on the offensive against the enemies of freedom, advance the security of our country, and work toward a free and unified Iraq. Defeating terrorists and extremists is the challenge of our time, and we will answer history's call with confidence and fight for liberty without wavering."
At least 111 U.S. service members have been reported killed in December, the bloodiest month of 2006. That brought the toll of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 820 in 2006, according to the AP count.
Well, on Vox anyways.
Many thanks to those of you who may be reading this. I'm a big fan of the myspace, but it's been so sketchy lately that I don't really feel like I can post there with any reliability.
My heart breaks for Lebanon today. 60 innocent people murdered this morning while they were sleeping, most of them women and children. While I don't really think what Hezbollah did was right, I think that Israel's heavy-handed and destructive response is far more outrageous and terrorizing. But let's be honest, like it said in today's LAT, the war going on between Israel and Hezbollah are fighting a "proxy" war with Israel representing the United States, and Hezbollah representing Iran.
When the United States first started (the illegal and immoral) bombing of Iraq in 2003, there were comments that the road through Baghdad lead straight to Damascus (Syria, for those of you who may not know). Well, it looks as though we've reached that juncture in our history. I can't believe we're about to bomb the middle east to smithereens...I can't believe there are not more people in this country who are objecting to what is going on against the innocent people in Southern Lebanon who are being terrorized by the IDF.
This is the beginning of world war three.
This is the scariest of times.
