America through a glass, darklyby Alan Bisbort - December 15, 2005
I found myself driving behind a car whose entire back side -- bumper, trunk, window -- was plastered with patriotic stickers. Among the visual cacophony, two caught my eye. One read, "My Son Is a U.S. Marine" and the other, "If It Absolutely Has to Be Destroyed Overnight, Call a U.S. Marine."
I have, since then, found myself pondering the psychological gymnastics a parent would have to do before placing these two stickers on their car, side by side. Surely these parents thought about what the stickers were saying, didn't they? As a parent who'd gladly give my life to spare my son's -- and as the son of an Army officer -- I was offended by the juxtaposition. I'm not sure exactly why it offended me. It's one thing to be proud of a son in the military and pay homage to his potential sacrifice, but it's quite another to boast of war's destruction. Are these parents saying they enjoy the fact that little Tommy destroys things overnight? They don't mind that some of those things will absolutely be the homes of families, like their own, who had nothing to do with the alleged fight at hand?
My offended senses were rekindled the next day after learning about a bomb attack in Iraq that left 10 U.S. Marines dead, wounding 11 others. Did they really, absolutely, have to be destroyed overnight? It's no surprise that this deadly attack took place in Falluja. Falluja, just the sound of its name evokes godforsaken places like Guernica or Chechnya. It was here, in November 2004, that American military forces conducted the most massive, concentrated offensive in the war. In the course of the Blitzkrieg, hundreds of civilians were killed. It has since come to light that U.S. forces employed WP (white phosphorus) shells, an incendiary device banned by international treaty for use against civilians. WP causes the sort of terrible burns from which only death is a relief. Women and children were hit by WP shells. This was done in our name.
And you wonder why the people in Falluja and the surrounding province of Anbar (where, in the last nine months, 205 American soldiers have been killed) are still pissed?
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