The War

"Every war is the war for those who fight in it." So said Bill Moyers moments ago on his Bill Moyers Journal. He was referring to the Ken Burns documentary The War being broadcast this week on the Public Broadcasting network. And surely the Iraq War is the war for the men fighting it.

We in America, living our lives with our own daily concerns, often act as if we are oblivious to the reality of death in the middle east. Death comes suddenly there, at night and at day, often with no notice, except for the awful spector which haunts and permeates the very air. I am speaking of Iraq but also of Gaza, of Lebanon, and any place which bears the terror of violence.


To say that we in the United States are fortunate is something of an irony, because our fortune co-exists with our complicity in a policy which has brought devastation to the country of Iraq. It is true that our leaders and our media have lied to us. Yet, unlike in Hitler's Germany we do have the means to get the truth. There is the Internet and there are alternative media. Of course, it is also true that most Americans must work very hard to pay daily and monthly bills. For them, researching world events is a luxury, even if they happen to have research skills.

Thus one must return to the culpability of the press and media. They are the ones who knew or should have known the rationale given for this war was bogus. They knew or should have known this war was illegal under international and U.S. law. Yet, the overwhelming majority opted for position and access to the Bush administration over the truth.

Even as I excoriate the press, I admit I did not do all I could have. Yes, I called my congressmen before the Iraq invasion to express my opposition to the planned attack on Iraq. Yes, I had an "Attack Iraq? No!" bumper sticker. I still feel I could have done more.

A guest on the Moyers program stated tonight that we are seeing the final failure of the Bush administration policy in Iraq as refugees from the forlorn country run out of money and are forced to return. This is a huge and virtually ignored humanitarian crisis which we in America must face.