The Iraq War: Explaining it to a 7 year old...

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

http://saneramblings.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=208&sid=8dc3ab89c66ce2a93e92cda03221cd64

Dear Reader, This Open Letter may be helpful to you in explaining the Iraq war to your children, grandchildren or to others, a war they often hear about but few understand. WARNING: Please be advised this is a strong, graphic letter describing some horrific images from the war.

Dear Keoni,

Because you're only 7-years-old, we are very protective of you and don't want you exposed to the world's problems. But because the Iraq war is so much in the news, I've written this personal letter to briefly discuss it with you.

As a 2nd grader, you sometimes get into an argument with another child. But soon the argument gets settled and no-one gets hurt.

But unlike 2nd graders, Presidents have weapons and armies and when they get mad some use those weapons and armies to kill or hurt others. Our President is doing this in Iraq.

By his actions our President has set a terrible example for you and for the other children in the world. He uses violence to try to make people do what he wants them to. But Keoni this causes others great pain and it plants the seeds of anger in them and the desire for revenge.

To show you how it affects Iraqis, picture a little girl named Zia, like you also 7-years-old and in the 2nd grade. She is a pretend little girl but her life is like the life many Iraqi children your age live.

Because of the war there is a shortage of food and clean drinking water so Zia and her family, along with most Iraqi families are often hungry and thirsty. Because her little tummy aches from hunger, her parents do everything they can to get her more to eat, but sometimes they just can't.

The war has also created a shortage of doctors, because many are afraid of being kidnapped for ransom and have fled Iraq. There is a shortage of medical supplies because they are often stolen and sold in the black market by families desperate for money.

So if Zia gets sick or hurt, it is difficult for her to get treatment. She may die from hunger, disease, or a lack of medicine.

Zia seldom watches TV or plays computer games because there is not much electricity, nor is there much electricity to run the refrigerator so it is hard for her parents to store their food. Her home is often dark at night for there is not much electricity for lights nor for air conditioning or fans when it gets hot.

In the distance, Zia often hears bombs explode and feels the ground shake as if an earthquake had just rattled her home. And she hears the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire. This scares her but there is not much her parents can do to protect her from it.

Last week, U.S. soldiers kicked in her front door and burst into her home with their guns pointed at the family as they looked for gunmen who had fired on them. They shouted for everyone to get on the floor and they put a gun to her father's forehead and demanded information he didn't have....

(continued here: http://saneramblings.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=208&sid=8dc3ab89c66ce2a93e92cda03221cd64