What if she was your daughter?
September 16th 2007 02:29
cropped image for news
Much has been said and written about American involvement in Iraq. It isn't hard to find opinions, for and against. If a person reads anything I have written about Iraq, it isn't hard to determine where my sentiments lie. But for the purpose of this article, I ask the reader to disregard my feelings as well as their own. Please, objectively read the article, and look at the pictures in order, as the article asks. Then answer the question presented - what if she was your daughter?
Photos of what happens in Iraq that make it into mainstream press in the west are fairly sanitized, especially in America. They rarely show dead bodies closely. We aren't' even allowed to see flag - draped coffins of returning service members who have been killed in action. There are exceptions, like the very well made documentary War Zone Diary by NBC News Middle East bureau chief Richard Engel. If you haven't seen it, do. But for the most part the coverage is fairly tame compared to most of the world.
In other countries media the coverage is more "in your face." Some find that in poor taste, others think that a lack of real war coverage tends to leave a false impression. People might imagine it to be brutal and harsh, but it doesn't give a true sense of what is occurring to only get sanitized news. It has been said that the American media only presents us with the bad news. I would argue that there is very little in the way of good news. As a measure of proof I offer Fox News. Does anyone really think, as supportive as they are of the Bush administration, they aren't looking for some good news stories?
The first photo is of a young girl wounded early in the war from aerial bombardment around the southern Iraqi city of Basra. I found it with an online article by the BBC titled Basra: why they are not cheering. I recommend reading the entire story, it offers some insight to the thinking in the early stages of the war. It was written in the spring of 2003. The caption under the photo reads "images of wounded civilians have been widely shown in the Arab world."
bomb messages
The second photo is self explanatory. It is a common practice for military ground crews to write slogans and epithets on ordnance that is being loaded on aircraft for bombing runs. Photos like this have been shown on world press. Imagine that you saw that photo on the news the day before bombs fell on your city.
Now look at the third photo. It is the original picture, before it was cropped. I haven't been able to find any more information about the girl and whether she survived or not. Take it in, and now imagine. What if she was your daughter?
the uncropped image
Would it matter to you that those who dropped the bomb said they were there to "liberate" you ? Would you care if they were telling you that they would depose your dictator and help you establish "democracy?" Would you just go about your life as you always had, or might there be a change? Might you decide to devote the rest of your existence to avenging the atrocity visited upon your daughter? Might you want to bring some horror to those who visited it upon your house?
Now imagine that you are another relative of the girl - maybe her cousin. After some grieving you came to accept that maybe it was just bad fortune, and you hold hope that things will actually get better in your country. After a few years, you see that the force who promised to liberate you and leave is still there. They have entrenched themselves in your country and seem to be very interested in your oil. You might begin to question, to ask yourself if what has happened to your country was worth what happened to your cousin. Maybe you start to listen to those who speak of the need to fight.
And what if you are her brother. You were in another city studying before the American attacks began. It was your first year, and you still had not completely decided what your course of study would be. You knew you wanted to do something to help your people, they had been oppressed for so long. And the sanctions were causing suffering. You knew you wanted to do something to help your country become self sufficient.
Some of the other young men you knew had more extremist views. You didn't want any part of that talk. You had hope for your country. After your dictator was gone, the country would need educated people. You wanted to be part of a hopeful future.
Then you got the news about your sister. It devastates you, you were always her big brother, you were always her protector. And you blame yourself for not being there for her. You go through the next weeks in a haze, paralyzed by anguish. You see coverage of American television and hear commentary that dismisses civilian casualties as "regrettable" or some other word that cannot begin to describe your loss. And you catch a quote from the American president saying "fight 'em over there, so we don't have to fight 'em here." You wonder who he is talking about.
More time goes on, and you talk to the students who use to speak of the need for "jihad." They tell you of some fighters who have came into the country that have methods you used to think were despicable. In a few more weeks you decide that it is time. You strap explosives to your chest and go.
We have looked at the way one event can make three different people become insurgents or even terrorists. Add to this the sectarian violence now racking the country and it gets even more problematic.
And now, think about my original question - what if she was your daughter? Would the hollow statement "these things happen in war" be enough for you?
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Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
War should always be the very, very, very last resort any country takes because it is something that can't be back tracked. Once it starts you're changing the world forever and it isn't going to ever change back.
People get hurt in wars, yes, but is it worth it that they do? Whats happening here, with these pictures isn't going to be solved by a complete withdrawal, because the war is there and it isn't going anywhere. However it shows that the current administration simply does not know how to handle the war as this has been going on for quite sometime.
It's also clear the US military is incompetant in the sense they're not even trying to minimize civilian casualties. THrowing around words such as 'regrettable' shows how little they actualy care. It isn't regrettable that innocent souls are dying, it's a god damn tragedy! What is it with people that they can easily dismiss something so bad? It doesn't matter if its an inevitablity that civlians die, the fact they're dying is tragic and it should be taken seriously by the military, esepcailly the military because these civilian deaths are directly translating into more enemies, potential enemies and enemy sympathisers.
Whats even sadder is that US troops who die in Iraq seem to carry more weight than civilians. In a way this shows there is a double standard going on in the US public opinion. It doens't really matter that civilians are dying, what matters is Americans are dying.
In a way this may be part of the major problem, the US military is putting too much emphasis in its own soldiers lives than the lives of civilians so much so that 'just to be safe' carpet bombing runs resulting in massive civilian casualties are occuring.
The war is being handled in a very clumsy manner, someone has to do something about it and it sure as hell isn't GWB.
Comment by David
If she was my daughter? I'd probably have to give up blogging?
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Comment by David
Comment by Jeff Musall
And David, the purpose of this post was not to claim any "side" has a better way of killing. It was to bring perspective to the personal level. If war strikes that close to home, it really doesn't matter that much (the motivation behind those who did it)
Comment by D. Armenta
The Florida Keys and Everglades
The Black Sheep Chronicles
What constitutes bad manners?
The male mystique
Debate Fan
Are opinions that lump all Americans into one category any better than opinions that lump all Muslims into one category?
I hold the 9/11 attacks against those who were responsible for them, not the entire Muslim community.
I served in the armed forces for 10 years, but I never humiliated prisoners, dropped an insult-scribbled bomb on anyone, glossed over or otherwise remained unstricken by the killing of little kids, or supported George W. Bush.
I have friends from the United Arab emirates, Lebanon, Turkey, Mindanao, Germany, Japan and Korea...because I don't judge an entire group of people by the actions of some of their countrymen.
Why would I do that? It would be like cutting off my nose to spite my face.
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
I was referring to those who blindly support the war and support george bush and trying to hover around there.
Though its true public opinion in the US is more sensitive to US troops dying to the point the Bush Administration has realized this and in an attempt to keep it from going out of control has banned the photography of soldiers coffins, but you can have such photos of Iraqis who are suffering plastered all over the place which don't create teh same negative sentiment for the war.
That isn't to say all americans see things that way, I just didn't bring that part up, I guess I figured people could conclude that I wasn't trying to generelise, just speak about one particular bunch of Americans (guess I concluded wrong
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
"THrowing around words such as 'regrettable' shows how little they actualy care."
I'm not talking about individual soldiers, I'm talking about politicians and the like. I don't think most soldiers like the idea of killing kids, even indirectly, for more than just the fact its an innocent life lost.
But politicians and such people, to them its just a stumbling block to reach an obstacle, they look at such deaths as minor annoyances, a question they're going to have to answer for the papers/TV.
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
Wars are terrible.. and innocent casualties of war, almost unbearable for any human heart to bear, seeing this little girl included...
War confuses me, because God blessed me with the ability to always see both sides of every situation... often a curse, I do not agree with the wars that continue because of mineral wealth, land rights and politics...*hangs head* but as you see, even here on orble, a few innocent feet would be blown off in attempt to prove sovereignty, such is the nature of the beast for those stuck in polarity consciousness....
If only we could rise above it all and realise we are all in this together... us, them, it's all BS.
A bold post Jeff.
Lilla ...
Comment by John Thomas
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Cut off oil slaes to the west, let Americans suffer. THorns in the side of humanity...
Says your typical idiot residing in the middle east.
Comment by Damo
However I would personally advise against using too many such images to make a partisan political point. They tend to trigger base emotions in some people and even more base reactions in others.
This comes very close to crossing the line between objective truth and propaganda.
Comment by Jeff Musall
Comment by Damo
Just a little advice from someone who has seen images used to show one point by a well intentioned person suddenly have that point hyjacked by a person with an axe to grind.
I was only an opinion and you have every right disagree.
Comment by Jeff Musall
I would agree, photos have power, and can be used for motivations not always good. Still, I feel they can require a person think more than words alone can, at times. Thanks for reading!
Jeff...
Comment by Mister Smith
MRS SMITH
READ THIS
SISTERS IN CRIME
That photo is a shocking reminder of what war actually means. I have never been anywhere near that sort of destruction but I have heard enough about how it totally changes people. We should be shown how horrendous it is but all governments have their agendas and the truth is often an obstacle. I have responded to this post with one of my own, if you are interested in reading:
Really Long Link This is my first attemp at a link so I hope it works