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Commentary :: International Relations

Letter From the Heart

My son was killed three years, five months, and 15 days ago on the perimeter of an oil refinery. He was the 249th American killed in the Iraq occupation.
When he died I was the only person I knew of who had lost a child in Iraq. He had been in Iraq for less than five months, I could not and would not believe that he had been killed, nor that it had happened so soon after his deployment. It had seemed as if he had just arrived there, we had only received a few letters, a couple of phone calls and now he was gone, in a moment.

At each 1000th milestone we citizens protest, we memorialize, we write letters to editors, congresspersons, senators, clergy, pundits and anyone else we think will listen to us. So on January 2, just six days ago, those despising the occupation of Iraq ramped up to protest. Not to be cynical but I expect everything will die down until the 4000th soldier dies and the cycle will start all over again.

I've had plenty of time to think about my loss, the loss my family has suffered, the incredible pain of losing Evan. The loss is such that no words can describe it. The damage is permanent, time will not heal it, there will be no closure. That's just how it is. This is, and has been, my new reality for three years, five months and 15 days.

As I think about my loss one overriding thought keeps emerging, keeps bubbling to the surface. I fear that we, those who despise the occupation of Iraq, the killing of our future leaders, the killing of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, the desecration of Iraq's religious sites, destruction of the Iraq infrastructure, rape of the environment, stealing of Iraq's resources, that we really have not come to terms with the incredible level of hubris and greed of those steering the occupation of Iraq while creating an economic sink hole in America. We really have not come to terms with who we are dealing with when we protest the occupation of Iraq.

We who despise the occupation of Iraq are not dealing with elected officials who will be mindful of our protests, who will hear and take heed of the will of the American people, to get out of Iraq and end the conflict. It is clear that many Democrats and Republicans are in lock step regarding the continued sacrifice of our young to appease the monster of war and aggression that George Bush has created. We are hearing daily news reports about Bush's surge, anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 soldiers. Isn't this plan the opposite of what the American people are asking their government to do with regard to the occupation? Yet impeachment and cutting off funding for Iraq are off the table, a la Ms. Pelosi. And for this we had an election?

We seem to have amnesia about the reasons given for why we invaded Iraq in the first place. I wonder why the Democrats are not continuously pounding away at the obvious lies for invasion, war profiteering, mass killings of civilians and all the other sins America has committed in the name of "national security." If we were not lied to, then our government is incompetent and we have to decide which is worse, being led by crooks or led by fools.

Are we going to continue to just go along as we watch our next generation of leaders get killed or maimed by roadside bombs, rocket propelled grenades, IEDs, and snipers or are we going to face the reality of our war-for-hire government and put an end to the atrocities? We cannot "hope" away the occupation of Iraq. We cannot wish it away. This occupation is our new reality. The American people own, and are accountable for, the crimes of our leaders, as we move close to the 4th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

We have people leading our government who will stop at nothing to achieve their own greedy ends. Bush's surge will pour more blood on the sandy soil of Iraq, both American and Iraqi. Do we, as Americans, have the will to get out of our easy chairs and SUVs, each and every day, day in and day out, to keep military recruiters out of our high schools and colleges, to push our elected officials to follow the wishes of the American people so that our troops may come home? Or are we going to be satisfied with our new reality as invaders and killers of the helpless.

I'm certainly not happy with my new reality, are you happy with yours?

Jane Bright is the proud mother of SGT Evan Ashcraft, KIA July 24, 2003.

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