Dead Boys Coming Home
(Washington) As American military and Iraqi civilian deaths continue to mount at an ever increasing rate, more and more people across the globe… even early supporters of the US search for weapons of mass destruction… are screaming for an explanation as to what, exactly, is the purpose of this mission. As Saddam Hussein does laundry in his underwear… the security forces of the new Iraqi “democracy” are cracking down and silencing journalists in a wave of fear reminiscent of the brutal dictator’s glory days. Is this what we’ve been fighting for?
As the war debt surges past 100 billion dollars… and as the true scope of the US dead and wounded is concealed… future generations may resent being stuck with the tab for this Iraqi-style press suppression. In addition, this correspondent has been shocked by stories from young Marines who tell of glaring shortages in body armor and of being forced to beg, borrow or steal protective reinforcement for their factory deficient transport vehicles. Taxpayers are covering the cost of overages and waste caused by possible fraud committed by some civilian contractors… but we seem to be coming up short when called to protect the life and limb of our most precious resource. Increasingly, this just does not make sense.
As American decision-makers experiment with concentration camp style detention facilities in foreign dictatorships, do we run the risk of loosing all that makes us special? If we have to destroy freedom to “save” freedom, then maybe the bad guys really won. When corporate greed gets paid… but American boys go without basic armor and ammunition… we demonstrate a fundamental shift in moral thinking that is truly frightening. Corporate CEOs and professional war companies get rich… while Joe Dogface leaves his wife at home to worry about the bills and looming bankruptcy. As more and more of our boys come home on leave, more and more are asking openly: What are we fighting for?
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As a writer, Michael David McGuire has covered numerous news and feature stories from across North America, Europe and Asia.
