Rural America Dies For Bush's War in Iraq

[Jcrowley]

The Forgotten American Dead
Rural America Pays the President's Price in Iraq
By Tom Engelhardt

When we hear about the American dead in Iraq, we normally learn about the circumstances in which they died. Last Saturday, for instance, was, for American troops, the third bloodiest day since the Bush administration launched its invasion in March 2003 -- 27 of them died. Twelve went down in a Blackhawk helicopter over Diyala Province, probably hit by a shoulder-fired missile. Five died under somewhat surprising and mysterious circumstances. They were attacked in a supposedly secure facility in the Shiite city of Karbala by gunmen who, despite their telltale beards, were dressed to imitate American soldiers and managed to drive through city checkpoints in exceedingly official-looking armored SUVs. They could, of course, have been members of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, but were probably Sunni insurgents from a neighboring province. The rest of the Americans in that total died as a result of roadside bombs (IEDs) around Baghdad or fighting with Sunni insurgents, mainly in al-Anbar Province. The Pentagon announcements on which such news is based are usually terse in the extreme. The totals, 29 dead for the weekend (as well as hundreds of Iraqis), did, however, become major TV and front-page news around the country.

These deaths are presented another way in the little, black-edged boxes you see in many newspapers. (My hometown ledger, the New York Times, has one of these almost every day, placed wherever the humdrum bad news from Iraq happens to fall inside the paper and labeled, "Names of the Dead.") These, too, are taken from the Pentagon death announcements, which offer the barest of bare bones about those who just died. But they do tell you something that should be better noted in this country.

Take the Pentagon announcements for Iraq "casualties" from January 11th through January 23 -- 21 dead in all, 17 from the Army, 2 from the Marines, and 2 from the Navy (one in a "non-combat related incident" in Iraq, the other in Bahrain). Then just check out their hometowns. Remove a few obvious large metropolitan areas, or parts thereof -- Boston, El Paso, Jacksonville, Irving (home of the Dallas Cowboys), and Irvine (California) -- and here's the parade of names you're left with:

Temecula (California), Henderson (Texas), San Marcos (Texas), Lawton (Michigan), Cambridge (Illinois), Casper (Wyoming), Richwood (Texas), Prairie Village (Kansas), Ewing (Kentucky), Wisconsin Rapids (Wisconsin), Redmond (Washington), Peoria (Arizona), Brandenburg (Kentucky), Sabine Pass (Texas), and Cathedral City (California).

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http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=160190

[Fovea]

1. I agree

though prairie village is suburban Kansas City on the Kansas side. It is a wealthy community.

[Igel]

5. And Peoria, AZ, is a fast growing

suburb of Phoenix.

[bullimiami]

2. speaking of... How offensive are those army commercials where a black kid

is talking to a parent about how the military would be such a good option for them and it encourages the parent to 'listen'.

remember, this government doesnt give a flying fuck about you or your kids. it is not the time to be signing your life away.

[Donnachaidh]

4. they are ALL offensive, AND being shown on stations that these kids watch

Comedy Central, SciFi -- talk about really targeting your audience.

[LibDemAlways]

7. "signing your life away" Absolutely!

A week ago a local kid from my area was killed in Iraq - 20 years old, a Marine. The paper said the 2005 high school graduate joined right after graduation because he wanted to "go after those responsible for 9/11." How naive was that? Where were the adults in his life to point out that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and that his very real sacrifice would be for oil and corporate profit? Didn't they owe it to their son to be informed and to inform him?

Now he's laying in a box while his classmates are in college or learning a trade or even working at the mall. And for what? Nothing.

At the movies these days there's a National Guard ad that often precedes the film showing the proud reservists helping out during national disasters. No mention of being shipped to Iraq as cannon fodder. And yes, those ads targeting black kids are obscene.

Every kid deserves the opportunity to achieve his potential. No kid should be sacrificed for a neocon wet dream.

[havocmom]

3. Consider also that many reservists and Guards from small communities

are likely to be first responders for emergencies in their rural communities. Lots of reservists and guards have the training which makes them ESSENTIAL to the safety of their communities. How the hell are we safer with them in Iraq, giving cover for the biggest heist in history?

We know our fallen. They are neighbors, kith & kin. And it is having one hell of an impact on what people in rural communities think about this war. Sure, there are those few die-hards who will not face reality and still support the idiots in the junta, but most have seen the light.

When you start burying kids from your tiny community, and no one can give you an answer as to why, it brings the issue home. The GOP is losing ground in the heartland as we walk back from small cemeteries.

[porphyrian]

6. I'll kick that. - n/t