What are We Really Doing in Iraq?

Those servin’ in the forces will tell you, that goin’ to war and seein’ your men drop like flies is unbearable. Yeah, getting close to the men in your company isn’t the
best idea, cuz’ most of the time, your settin’ yourself up for a-lot-a hurtin’. Truth is, there are no pleasant sights in war, and that goes back for hundreds of years. All the blood, violence and havoc around you makes a person sick. But as a woman who served in the Iraq war during the twenty first century, I saw the parts of war a female has never experienced before. No, it’s not just being behind enemy lines, or seeing the men in your unit being shot down. No, it’s not only that. Even though all that blood I see dripping from American soldiers gives me the chills, what really gets to me is witnessing these helpless Iraqi children, caught in between in dangerous blood battles.

Yeah I’ll admit, the U.S armed forces have been doing pretty fine for themselves. As of now, May 2008, America has been lucky to only loose 495 causalities. In my opinion, that’s 495 too many I’d say. But what shakes me up even more is the number of Iraqi civilians who have been killed- about 85,000 innocent men, women and children. I’m not tryin’ to be naive. I understand war is a bad thing-I mean, anyone who’s gonna fight for their country has to be prepared for these kinds of things. And yes, I do understand that those from the Middle East scarred our country on September 11, 2001 and wiped out over 2,700 innocent Americans. Yeah, that’s all perfectly clear, and obviously I am willing to fight for my country. Despite all that, it kills me to know that we are partially to blame for those children in critical condition or even worse, dead. One of the moments that made me realize how big of a problem this was becoming was a man holding his dead baby up in the air, killed by an air strike.

Whether it is an American child or an Iraqi one, none of it’s right. Children are children, and should not be affected by the mistakes his or her country makes. I mean growin’ up in Chicago I could never, and I mean never imagine what it would be like to live in fear. It seems crazy to me that It just breaks my heart when I see these helpless children in these conditions.

Seeing a child hooked up to life support and breathing tubes hurts me more than seeing my close friends who are serving in our forces in their 20’s and 30’s who are in those situations. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not some sicko against America, and my heart does break when I see my own men and women being killed. I’m just bein’ 100% honest with ya. No American vet’s are telling you the harm we’re really causin’ over there. War aint’ nothin’ except sadness in my eyes although some probably will disagree with me- Hey maybe even you do? Maybe you’re thinkin’ right around now how I seem like a head case that only feels pity for these Iraqi children. Well, guess again because that is not how I feel.

I mean if you don’t believe my reasoning, I’ll set aside how we’re hurtin’ these children, and convince you of how we’re trying to help them as much as we can to give them something in return. I never saw a soldier purposely hurt a child, and if that crazy son’ of a …. well if that lunatic ever did he’d be just as sick as those terrorists we’re over there fightin’ for in the first place. Here are some pictures of soldiers in my company. One of which is Danny, a real nice guy. He decided to take a break and show these kids some fun by playing soccer with them. He wanted them to know that America ain’t a bunch of lunatics and devils comin’ to kill em’ all. In fact, we all did want to make them understand we are good people. Actually, some of us grew fond of them. They were great little kids that could really be somethin’ in life I’d say. I tried takin’ pictures of these kids to prove to everyone back here in America that Iraq is not all bad and 100% nut cases. I wanted pictures to give me some fond remembrance of my time over there.

As you can see, no soldiers want these horrific things to happen to these kids. No one really understands the background of war unless you’re there, not even these damn politicians. No one sees inside the lives of the people livin’ where we’re fighting. Yes, all fine and dandy when we’re reaching out to these young kids. It is just amazin’ to me how I can go from seein soldiers and Iraqi civilians in peace, to what us being there is causin’ for them. And to add to that, not only is us bein’ there not only harmin’ the innocent kids, but innocent parents. We’re causing trauma. Probably the worst scenario for a parent: to hold their young lifeless child in their arms.

Comin’ back to Chicago in 2006, I was a different woman than I was when I left in October of 2004, about a year after this all began. Not only did the army train me to be a stronger person, but I’m more aware about the tragedies of war. Not only does war kill the brothers and fathers, aunts and sisters, nieces and nephews and friends and spouses our country, but even those on the enemy’s side who don’t deserve it. This war story ain’t told to gross you out or make you feel guilty. This war story is told to inform America. To inform America that war truly is unbelievable. That we’re fighting and taking the lives of several children who haven’t even lived their life yet. We’re killing and hurting innocent women and men who have nothing to do with terrorists and 9/11. Yes we are sparing many American’s lives, but we are forgetting about those we are taking. The sadness of war aint’ just about soldiers. At least, it ain’t to me anymore. Now, I have a whole different reason why I want this damn war to end. I want it to end to save the children and bystanders who are murdered frequently. I want this war to end to save our American soldiers. And most importantly I want this to end because I have been there, and experienced about as much sadness as any person in this world should experience in a lifetime.