By Katie Hartsoe ‘06 News Staff Reporter
Frankly I’m surprised that more people haven’t done something. Maybe they’re afraid of being accused of having no patriotism or being anti-American. Maybe they just don’t know the scale of what is happening. But the fact still stands: 2,105 Americans and between 27,101 and 30,545 civilians have died in Iraq since the war began on March 19, 2003. This in a war for which President Bush was quoted saying there would be no casualties and most Americans thought would be over as soon as it had begun. Instead we are reminded every day the price we pay for our ignorance. So why hasn’t anyone done anything about it?
I’m going to be perfectly honest; when it was announced that we were going to war with Iraq I couldn’t have cared less. It was March break of freshman year and I was in Florida and didn’t want anything to interfere with my beach time. Like many Americans, I assumed the troops would roll in and roll out and that would be it. I never questioned the administration’s causes for going to war or their bypassing of the UN. I am beginning to regret this ignorance and apathy, as are many Americans, because it has cost thousands of people their lives.
Iraq is this generation’s Vietnam, so why aren’t more people concerned about it? One reason for this is that we are not going through the kind of social revolution that rocked the 1960s, when students our age started protesting the war and our involvement. So many young adults do not know or understand what is happening in Washington or how it affects them. In some respects Americans feel separated from what is happening “over there” because there is no draft and, for many, it’s not their kids who are fighting; during Vietnam men lived in fear of being drafted to fight a war they didn’t believe in. So as a result of this “not my problem” mentality, many casualty figures are just that: figures.
Although the media allows average citizens unprecedented access into the lives of soldiers and military personnel, national media still only present one side of the picture; rarely are civilian deaths reported with the same attention and care given to those of the military. It is only when many die that the media start to care. Therefore, many Americans are blind to what we are actually doing over there. For every insurgent we catch or kill, there are countless other families who are torn apart when an innocent teenager or parent is killed by an American. Occasionally, an entire family has been slain because their car did not slow down at a checkpoint because of a misunderstanding or lack of communication. This “collateral damage” more than anything else is the cause of the Iraqis’ hatred of the United States and their action against us. They did not ask us to come and overthrow Saddam and install a democracy, so we are viewed as invaders. We swooped in to “save” them from an oppressive dictator only to murder their family members and endanger their lives in the process with no hope of peace in the future.
Like Vietnam, Iraq has turned into a war without a cause. The Vietnam War started to prevent the spread of communism in Asia and to protect the lives and freedoms of the South Vietnamese. Or so they thought. The Iraq War, excuse me “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” started to prevent Saddam from building and using weapons of mass destruction and to protect the freedom of the Iraqi people. Or so we thought. Top officials in Washington have acknowledged that our basis for going to war was sketchy at best and the government should have spent more time thoroughly confirming all the facts before they dropped the bombs. This attitude of “oops, we screwed up, but at least the Iraqis can vote!” is in insult to the men and women fighting. Some soldiers have admitted they don’t know what they’re fighting for or why they’re still over there when they were promised a short tour of duty. And they keep dying and will keep dying unless something is done.
To put it crudely, the American government has screwed over the Iraqis. Most Iraqis admit that they would prefer Saddam to the mess that is their country now the United States has “rescued” them. Yet we are still there and will be unless we do something. I know withdrawal is not likely in the near future but that doesn’t mean we should sit back and wait for it. Take a cue from Representative Murtha who recently called for a House vote for the immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq. A hawkish Vietnam vet in his 70’s who enjoys enormous respect on defense issues, Murtha is the unlikeliest candidate to call for such action. Although the measure failed miserably, it doesn’t mean we should to stop caring; instead we should make our opinions heard. We are the next generation; do we want to be remembered as the one who did nothing? Writing a letter to your Senator or Representative, going to a rally, or simply being informed will show the government that what they are doing is not okay. Do not forget the men and women dying for no reason when you vote or form an opinion. Whether you support the war or not the fact still stands: thousands of Americans are being killed for a cause that has ceased to be worthy. DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN. Do not let our Vietnam go unnoticed.
