Memorial Day: Remember *ALL* The Dead
We mourn the over 1,600 Americans (1656 as of this post) who have perished in Iraq since the beginning of the war in April, 2003. Who knew that 69 Americans have died in Iraq this month? We've heard NOTHING about this - for shame on our media.Also, we remember those who have perished in Afghanistan - 184 now - as well as the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have given their lives so that we would not have to over the years.
But read this post - it really made me think hard about the silliness of war and how not to conduct world affairs. Also, this quote was horrific; I can only hope that this US soldier's attitude is atypical:
"In Ramadi, the capital of central Anbar province, where 17 suicide-bombs struck American forces during the month-long Muslim fast of Ramadan in the autumn, the marines are jumpy. Sometimes, they say, they fire on vehicles encroaching with 30 metres, sometimes they fire at 20 metres: 'If anyone gets too close to us we fucking waste them,' says a bullish lieutenant. 'It's kind of a shame, because it means we've killed a lot of innocent people.'"Kind of a shame, killing the people you're trying to democratize, but after awhile, says the same lieutenant, "It gets to the point where you can't wait to see guys with guns, so you start shooting everybody..."
- The Economist, via James Wolcott: Kind of a Shame
Holy crap that's rediculous.
posted by jimboses @ 9:58 PM
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