Why?
The question I ask of you.
Where where they?
Those weapons of horrible death and destruction?
Are they smiling at you?
Do they still love you?
Can you sleep at night?
Do you even know a single one of their faces?
I hope your nightmares are as bad as mine.
The food is nicer,
but the blood is just as red.
I wonder if you know how to remove that stain?
You can tell me.
When you find a way.
We can both wash our hands.
Too bad the scars will still remain.
18 comments:
http://electroniciraq.net/news/2020.shtml
sargeant zachary,
are you're doin a good job for anyone???? certainly not for your wife and kids; you're gone, they're scared you're never comin back. the locals want revenge. can you blame them? your "bosses" and the VA and the politicians (us, iraqi, etc) don't care a hoot what happens to you, today, tomorrow or ever.
the iraqis want you out of their country. can you blame them a bit? when you were in high school, butchco started the sanctions. could you volunteer to work at an iraqi diarrhea clinic? you've helped devastate their water supply, poisoned their earth, and now you personally are helping kill their families. they want you away from them immediately. can you blame them a bit?
i don't understand, not at all, what are your objectives in writing. how much more blood do you want on your hands?
are you wrestling with moral dilemnas? we know you miss your family; so what? is any value coming from your actions?
if it's enjoyable to you, this killing of innocents and pandering to "lifers" and butchco thugs, full steam ahead.
if you prefer peace, do something concrete. turn yourself in at the international red cross, or some neutral organization. make sure to let your "keepers" know beforehand you'll be refusing to cooperate with them in the future. tell everyone in blogsphere so the thugs will have less of an opportunity to silence you. don't desert, don't go awol. be careful and stay healthy. tell your story.
if you refuse to help them with their murderous agenda, others will follow you. it's what they most fear.
what will they do to silence you? ostracize you further. send you on dangerous missions. maybe put you in prison for a few months or a few years. "thats what i did in the war, son".
stay safe sargeant. and remember, you're right now in the box you've made for yourself.
http://electroniciraq.net/news/2020.shtml
zack remember to ignore the idiot. i love people who tell other people "what they should be doing" "whats right" yeh easy for that guy to say. your post was painfully beautiful....the nightmares should be for the people who sent you there.
http://expostulation.com/2005/06/24/support-the-troops/
duh
Snag, I agree with what you're saying. But, I'd say "step 2" would be getting rid of the bastards that would wield power over us.
As far as oil goes, the world's supply is due to run out in about thirty-five years. With the current automobile craze in India and Hummers in the states, it might be even sooner. After that, we're done with the stuff.
As for the soldiers, I can't possibly understand the situation they're in, but I sort of hope I would do otherwise.
stop being such assholes to him guys. he has no choice to be there, away from his family, its his job. maybe the reasons we're over there are wrong but he is just obeying orders from his commander in cheif, which in my opinion needs to be impeached, but thats another story. i'm sure none of our soldiers WANT to kill others but if they or anyone in their convoy is in danger they will protect themselves and their brothers in arms. nobody else has any idea what our soldiers are going through so they shouldn't be telling them what to do or how to do it. we should be supporting our troops not critizing them, even if you dont support the war. stay safe zach
Snag, keep preaching it, brother. You are right on. It's a shame something so simple -- being mindful of others and truly compassionate -- is so hard for people to do. We'll keep working on it, won't we?
Take care, Zach -- you are in my thoughts.
Zach, right now the Extreme-Right and the Extreme-Left are busy flaming each other across the internet (and other media) and most of us are caught in the middle - in the crossfire. The Neo-Right claims that you are unpatriotic and a traitor if you question anything that the present Administration says or does, they think that they are better Christians or better morally than the rest of us; The Extreme-Left thinks that anyone in the military is a murderer, all the prisoners in US custody (like GITMO) are poor innocent civilians being tortured, and all the problems in the world can be resolved openly and “diplomatically”. Of course, you being a soldier are especially vulnerable, because you are living it. The rest of us can sit back and turn the channel.
Talk is always easy for all these “keyboard” people (Chairborne soldiers!); These Right-wing Pro-War people need to go down to the recruiting station and enlist in the Army to help out, and the Lefties need to give up their cars and conveniences (since they are preaching oil-shortage and global-warming to the rest of us). Hypocrisy in rampant, and I really admire you for trying to make sense of it in here in an open forum – with your guts out there for everyone to see.
You know, if this country is to ever heal from the current idiocy, people on both sides (and the ones in the middle particularly), need to get off their high-horses, stop ranting at each other, and start looking at hard truth and reality. From what I’ve seen, the Left has an edge in the truth area right now (they do need to stop shrieking), but I've also heard some genuine conservatives, making some statements away from the Extreme-Right “spin-zone”. Of course, our politicians are still arguing over stupid stuff, but the polls are telling them that they better start doing something, or else they will be out of power in their next election. I hope it will be in time to salvage the country.
Here I go, preaching again… Take care of yourself,
Goldberry
Hurria, you are wrong. I'm just going to leave it at that.
Zach,
From reading your posts I can tell we have different political views, but I respect what you do and what you're saying. Stay strong and you'll be with your family soon.
Kristen, you go girl! I couldn't have said it better myself! Ditto on EVERYTHING!
Prayers, love and support Zach to both you and your family.
Hurria;
I disagree with you on many fronts, but myself and I think others (though not the ones who have condemned you) appreciate your perspective. I thank you for frequenting this place and making your opinion known. Most of us DON'T know what things are like over there--please keep helping us understand (but also be careful not to aggrevate people, if you hope to convey understanding, you can't do so in such a way that causes people to dismiss you outright).
To Anon who mentioned joining the Red-Cross...that organization cleans up the world's messes. It doesn't keep them from happening. They pack in your guts and give you a sedative, but they don't hold a shield in front of your guts to begin with. Organizations like the red cross are not at all solutions to this world-wide (and millenia-long) humanitarian issue.
ScottyB
Also, Kristen, many people don't heat their homes with the type of energy obtained in Iraq. Nuclear and Coal power plants don't run off of oil (though, to be fair, people need oil to get to and from work at these locations). Also it is obviously a bad idea to leave the discussion purely up to those involved in combat--they are trained for war, not diplomacy, politics, history and many other subjects that should be part of this discussion. Not to say, of course, that many soliders aren't perfectly capable of diplomacy and history and such, they just aren't usually professionals.
And people, please remember that in Iraq (to all accounts) disobeying orders could have gotten your family tortured and killed (before this war). An American mearly has to face the possibility of a prison sentance. To some Iraqi's that might seem like a cakewalk (especially since our prisons are fairly tame in comparison to some countries)--I don't really know, but maybe Hurria thinks along those lines (Hurria please comment). What may seem horrible to us might be the daily news for others. There is going to be some sort of culture gap between all the different countries involved both in this war and in this discussion.
ScottyB.
Okay, well I hate to be pedantic about this, but the oil argument doesn't make any sense anyway. For the record, I fuel my car when I'm in Canada and not the states. But, to suggest that gas consumption is driving the war is to argue that there was a point at which Bush and company said to themselves: "Jeez, since Americans consume gas, we have no option other than to invade Iraq" which just makes no sense. If that was the case, India and China would have invaded Iraq. No, there are very specific people in command of the United States who are directly responsible for this war.
As for having no sympathy for Zach, I think most of us do have tremendous sympathy for Zach. We say again and again that we condemn the government and not the troops. Again, I couldn't imagine having to be in that position. But, if you post here every day how terrible the job is, and how morally reprehensible the things they're ordering you to do are, and make it sound, essentially, like being in Hell, then don't get indignant if some people say: "Well, jeez, maybe jail would be better. I think your family would understand, and at least, you wouldn't have to kill anyone, or be killed by anyone." That's not condemning Zach. It's just common sense. I understand that it would be the ultimate sacrifice, and I have no way of knowing if I could ever do it. But, don't ask us to say "Gosh Zach, it sounds like you're in Hell. Guess you'd better stay there and suffer." Because, that's not sympathy.
Snag vs. Hurria:
Er... with respect to both of you, there is a difference between Iraqis who didn't protest against Saddam, and Americans who continue to play a part in the war in Iraq. If Zach resists, he can get lots of help which may enable him to get home and out of the military relatively painlessly. At the very worst, he might do some time in jail - not something any of us would want to experience or indeed wish for him, but better than making his wife a widow through his own pointless death in Iraq.
Iraqis who resisted their government's wars got jailed, tortured, their families beaten, threatened, killed in places like Abu Ghraib, where Bush now continues the long tradition. When Iraqi Shias did rise up against Saddam after the last Gulf War, they were slaughtered by Saddam's troops while Western governments let them die.
And why should Iraqis like Hurria spare much thought for their occupiers? The entire Arab and Muslim world knows exactly what to expect from Western allies - from Britain's betrayal of Palestine, Israel's continuing US-funded ethnic cleansing, Iran's years of suffering under the US-supported Shah, to the long years of Western support for Saddam and ongoing support for butchers and dictators in places like Uzbekistan. We have no right to expect them to feel sorry for us after more than a century of butchery and betrayal by our leaders and their local puppets. How many of us (Americans or Brits) would feel sorry for our occupiers and betrayers under similar circumstances?
So urge sympathy for soldiers like Zach by all means, and preach your sincere and laudable message of goodwill and compassion to all, but please don't compare Zach's dilemma with that faced by Iraqis, either under Rummy's old pal Saddam or under US occupation.
Peace to all of you.
Taff
"I think maybe you're having a hard time projecting out beyond a degree or two of the interconnectedness of our world."
First off, I shouldn't have even mentioned the Canadian gas thing. My point, again, was that I don't believe that people who drive cars are complicit in this war, nor do I share your belief that they should be shamed into silence on this board. Nobody can seem to explain why, were the war about oil, it wouldn't have been easier and a hell of a lot cheaper for Bush and Co. to have made friends with Saddam than go to war with him. They did it before. Your answer "well, there are a lot of corporate interests" doesn't really answer anything because war is still far less profitable than negotiation would have been. I hate these people too, but you could at least know your enemy.
Secondly, I'll take your point that it doesn't help anything to post here. Preaching to the choir and all of that. But, you know, sometimes it's nice to know that there is a choir out there. Also, I think you've posted at least three times what the rest of us have! As far as "expressing it in a way that turns one against another" you know very well that I did nothing of the sort. Nor will I dignify that bullshit with a response.
As far as supporting Zach, I've done nothing but support Zach and you, again, know that. It's wonderful that you're willing to "accept responsibility", but you're at least equally willing to tell the rest of us over and over again about how you've accepted responsibility. That's fine. Go on a star-trip. But, your argument that we're all complicit and so shouldn't express our opinions here would be a lot more convincing if you'd heed it yourself.
You know what, Snag? That was pretty harsh of me and I apologize.
I felt attacked and I did not feel that it was fair. I still don't. But, there was no need to attack you. So, I'm sorry.
Hurria you may have been honest in your thoughts, but you're definitely hypocritical, not to mention sadistic.
This is a contradiction:
"I am not a vengeful person, but I would take great joy in watching each of them burn forever in the hottest fires of hell for what they have done."
I just want to say that I hope you find God and forgiveness.
Zach, I hope you find peace in heart and mind and pray you home to your family as quickly as possible.
A quick comment on the Iraqis who didn't protest Saddam's rule: One of our interpreters did just that, and ended up shot in the back and buried alive for his troubles. Luckily for him, he was on the top layer of corpses, and the dirt was packed loosely enough that he could breath for an hour before digging himself out. Some of his family members weren't so lucky.
One of the locally employed cleaners at our FOB has a truly magnificent set of prison tattoos from his time in Saddam's jails. He also has a vast assortment of whip, burn, and cut scars. One of the worst is on his arm. A guard handed him a knife, held a gun to his head, and told him to start cutting. All of his scars and tattoos were acquired before he was 17 years old. As a child, he spent 12 years in prison because his parents were accused of plotting against the ruling regime.
It's easy for us comfortable first-worlders to blame third-world civilians for the crimes of their governments. We've never had to face the sorts of choices that they've had to. In their position, most of you reading this would have done the same.
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