kadmium

It’s a been about an hour or so since we were officially notified that our armed forces had begun bombing Baghdad. It’s a sad day, but on the flip side, the ANWR section of the budget bill got axed. Maybe things are slowly starting to turn against the administration.

In the meantime, I’ve added a few external links to the menu on the right:

• Alaskans for Peace & Justice
  This group has been doing a lot of really good public awareness work in Anchorage and a few other towns and cities in Alaska. I went to their meeting last night, and I was very impressed by the passion of most of the people there.
• http://iraqbodycount.net/
  Maybe a little morbid, but I think it’s critical that this kind of information be right there in the public’s face every single day.

I haven't checked out those links yet, but I'm in total agreement with you about this war, aka invasion. The link to Cook's resignation is appreciated too. Extremely well put.

Now, in addition to the disgust I feel over invading a country without actual provocation, in a time and place that has such a high chance of creating further problems/enemies, there is the press to be annoyed with. I find the coverage very difficult to get a handle on because so much of it is provided by so-called embedded reporters. This leads to a lot of small picture, breathless, Scud-stud recounting of events punctuated by inane questions and comments about how soldiers feel. Well, how do you think they feel? One report irked me today when the reporter said something about US troops taking out enemy elements. Taking out enemy elements? Why not just say what's happening without retreating into soldier speak (for which we can count on a seemingly endless parade of retired generals, colonels, captains, etc), i.e. US troops killed several people who wanted to kill them. On a similar note, I'm amazed that there is such a shocked, indignant reaction to the Iraqi taking of US prisoners and putting them on camera. Why is anyone surprised? And why do people react with shock to US soldiers dying? What did they think was going to happen? This is war, and its ugliness knows no bounds. Of course people are going to die, and in horrible, excruciating ways. Did the country forget that when it answered the polls supporting Bush's crusade?

This venture has been described by many as one of the biggest political gambles a President has ever undertaken. That may be true, but, to me, it also ranks with one of the most nakedly evil ventures a President has ever undertaken. Amazing what a poorly designed ballot in one state can lead to.

Comment posted by BKM | March 25, 2003 04:01 PM

this is 4 katie 8-kinson!!! i seriously owe u a letter from long ago. i now live in germany. this was the only way i could reach u via the net . ja, the war. keeping a low profile here. many neighbors here r from irak area...not like alaska. so, write back ififif this gets to u!!!from mary

Comment posted by mary villesvik!!!! | April 1, 2003 12:04 AM