Iraq Not a "Single-Issue" For Those Hurt Most

[Bob Geiger]

The numbers are so sterile and have become overwhelming: Close to 2,600 American troops are dead and well over 19,000 have been wounded, some in ways that will forever change their lives. Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed in an Iraq war, without reason or end, that has been waged by the Bush administration since March of 2003.

The financial costs of the war -- estimated so far at anywhere between $300 billion and $500 billion, depending on your source -- have usurped almost any domestic concerns that might otherwise be dealt with and the increase in the federal budget deficit will certainly go on to haunt the next generation of Americans. The country's global reputation and esteem, gained by toil and blood by so many of our countrymen, have been trashed to an incalculable degree.

In this election season, you can also look for Republican candidates to label as a "single-issue candidate," any opponent making a central issue of George W. Bush's Iraq fiasco, its hideous consequences and the GOP candidate's complicity in all of that.

But the Iraq war is in fact the defining issue of this young century for Americans. That focus should be on solutions to domestic issues and the true danger posed by international terrorism, but it isn’t -- it's all about dealing with an Iraq quagmire that is bankrupting us, dividing our people, uniting our enemies, prompting more terrorism and distracting us from real domestic imperatives.

Let's also not forget that the Iraq war has nothing whatsoever to do with fighting terrorism.

And almost every day, the Defense Department issues another news release detailing the death of yet another man or woman serving in uniform and the macabre tote board that characterizes our Republican-led government ratchets up once again.

Let's bring those hard numbers into very-specific relief, by looking at some real human beings and the sad reality of just a few of the young people who have died in Iraq in the last 10 days.



Joshua Ford, of Wayne, NE, was killed on July 31 during combat operations in Al Numaniyah. He was only 20 years old.

A member of the Nebraska Army National Guard, Ford graduated from Pender High School in 2003, where he was an avid artist and actor, and was on his first tour of duty in Iraq.

Both the young soldier and his father, Lonnie Ford, had bad feelings about the danger Joshua faced as a truck driver in Iraq. The younger Ford even made a video 'will' for his friends in the event he never came back from his first tour of duty

“I think he had a feeling, I think he honestly did,” said Lonnie Ford, adding that he too did not believe that Joshua would make it back to Nebraska. After talking to Joshua recently on the phone, Ford went to his wife and said that "He’s not ever going to come home. I have a feeling.”

Joshua leaves behind a young fiancee, his parents and three sisters.

“He was a very caring individual who loved life,” said the soldier's father. "It is now the time to grieve, but I know in my heart Josh would want us to live life to the fullest.”



Hai Ming Hsia, 37, of New York City, grew up in a Chinatown housing project and was on his second tour of duty when he was killed in Ar Ramadi on August 1. Hsia, who joined the Army at age 33 to help support his newborn son, was riding in a combat convoy when an explosion ripped through his vehicle, killing him instantly.

According to Hsia's mother, Nelida, 66, Hsia went into the Army because he knew he could not support his son with his job as a security guard. He had been there for three years, had his tour extended yet again and had only returned to Iraq a month ago after being home briefly on leave this summer.

"He didn't want to go back," said his mother. "He already missed out on so much with his son and his life, especially with his son. They were inseparable. He took him everywhere when he was home. He was his life."

Said his father, Ting Fang, 78: "He was my only baby, so I have a pain in my heart."

"President Bush took away my son, my only child," Hsia's grieving mother declared. "Now I have none."



Ryan Jopek, 20, of Merrill, WI died on August 2 in Tikrit when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit

"I didn't want him to go, but he was proud to serve his country," said his mother, Tracy Jopek. "He was the greatest kid you ever had, always smiling, loved his family, loved his friends. He loved life and he was excited to be coming home."

The young Army gunner had been in Iraq for almost a year and was on his final convoy security mission when he was killed.

"That makes it tougher, that he was so close to coming home," said his mother.

Jopek, who had just graduated from high school in 2004, had completed one semester at the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County when he was called to active National Guard duty and had hopes of becoming a park ranger.

"He'd brighten up the room every time he came in. He was a fun-loving kind of guy," said Janet Wardall, a high school algebra teacher who had Jopek in class as a senior. "He had everything going for him. It is a great loss to our entire community. That's for sure. A wonderful young man."



After defying death last year in the form of a direct gunshot hit that was stopped by his body armor, 21-year-old Jason Hanson of Forks, WA was killed when a bomb-weakened wall collapsed on him while he conducted combat operations in Al Anbar province on July 29.

Hanson, who had just married his wife, Maria Farias, one month before he was deployed, was shot in the chest by a sniper while "walking point" on patrol in June and was spared when the bullet lodged in his armored vest.

His mother, Carol Hanson, was in the process of preparing a care package for Jason that included Johnny Cash CDs -- her son was a huge fan of Cash's -- when two Marines approached her house last week.

While she thought at first it was a mistake and that they were at the wrong house, his mother said "I just knew when I looked at them that my world stopped being perfect."

He would have been 22 in October.

These are tiny descriptions of big people and they don’t do justice to their sacrifice or to the loss suffered by their families and their communities.

Now, try multiplying those snapshots of grief by 2,600.

The numbers are daunting and they are cold. And they do nothing to convey the real human tragedy brought forth by this war. That makes it easier for us to become numb to carnage and bloodshed that continues to come at us from a war and a Republican government that has yet to explain the necessity of this bloody mess with anything but excuses, spin and lies.

And that is why, to many Americans, and especially to the families that have been hurt the most, the Iraq war is not a single-issue.

It is the only issue.

You can reach Bob Geiger at [email protected].

[ananda]

1. I'll wager that..

.. most of those "hurt most" voted for Bush and/or GOP candidates.

[welshTerrier2]

2. those online "lefty extremists"

thanks for posting this thread ... maybe instead of tossing labels at so many of us they'll find a little of their own humanity and reflect on the almost endless depth of the tragedy that Iraq has been and still is ...

fwiw, here's a thread i wrote a while back with a very similar title: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/welshTerrier2/62

[KKKarl is an idiot]

3. They are tragic

When you think of how their lives have been wasted on one man's desire to show he was not wrong. How does George Bush go to sleep ar night knowing he was wrong in going to war over non-existent WMD's? You know people say: "Clinton had to same intelligence". But I say in reply he was not stupid enough to use that questionable intelligence to go to war.

[Totally Committed]

4. Thank you for a very moving and inspiring blog entry...

My heart goes out to each and every family who has lost a son or daughter, a neice or a nephew, a brother or a sister, a cousin, a friend or a neighbor to this horrible occupation. Whether they died, or were maimed physically or mentally, they all belonged to somebody, and they were all our fellow citizens. May they all find some measure of peace, and may their families remember them always with love.

TC

[femmedem]

5. Here in CT, when the newspapers endorse Lieberman

they often say that although many people disagree with the Senator about the war, the Democratic party is a big tent, and to throw out an incumbent because of a single issue would show intolerance.

Intolerance.

Why should I tolerate thousands of people being killed and maimed for no damn good reason? Why? Can someone please tell me what's tolerable about that?

[smoogatz]

6. Funny, when wingnuts vote based on a single issue (abortion),

they're called "values voters." When Democrats in CT vote against Lieberman because he's got his tongue up Bush's ass, they're "intolerant."

[Tom Joad]

7. Not a mere issue among many for Iraqis, either. They want

the US out. NOW.

I could imagine the conversation decades ago...
Yes, we shouldn't have invaded, we are being met with fierce resistance, but the autobahn is doing wonders for our country. Why are people so upset over a single issue?

[rjr10036]

8. Gay mass murder in Iraq

Brit TV tonight delves into how the Bush approved Iraqi
constituion "legalizes" gay murder


http://rjr10036.typepad.com/proceed_at_your_own_risk/2006/08/gay_mass_murder.html

[Donald Ian Rankin]

9. Sigh.

What I'd really like to do with this thread is merge it with one of the threads arguing that gay rights are non-negotiable, and one of the ones arguing that nothing is as important as being pro-choice, and one claiming that the economy and helping the poor is all that matters, or that preventing climate change is.

Iraq is a very important issue. So are lots of others. The title, "Iraq Not a "Single-Issue" For Those Hurt Most" could be applied to any issue - there are some people for whom each of these is of overwhelming importance.

[mkb]

10. War, Money, and Hoping for Something Better

     The real question to be asked and answered is who and how
many people "know" the underlying truths and
meanings about war, and life?
     Trying to stop war is not easy, because not everyone who
professes to want peace really does want peace, and the people
who both care for progress and have a deeper understanding of
reality are in the minority.  I try to give clues to help
people understand some unmentioned fundamentals when I write,
because first, bludgeoning people with abstract ideas often
confuses those who I think are really good people, and second,
my understanding is also limited as well.  There are I
believe, a variety of explanations for why things happen, and
hopefully good people will discover as many as possible to
minimize the bad and maximize the good in life.
     Take the way you read, for example.  Words can be read as
a whole, or understood more deeply with etymological
understanding, and also possibly as code or by analyzing the
process of creating letters and language, which I think should
be seen as symbols.  There is understanding in each of these
approaches, and the more complex and difficult ways of reading
will yield a more thorough understanding of the material.
     I have mentioned Stan Goff in my writing before because I
read his website often and I am reasonably sure that I made
progress in my understanding relating to his work, including
the book "Sex and War".
     There are different characteristics that people have, I
think that should be clear.  My aptitude mentally I think is
reasonably good, but I don't think I think as FAST as others. 
Hopefully those that can read and think fast will make good
use of my contribution.
     My interests have centered around history and politics to
a large degree for some time, so I think its right that I
state my beliefs herein.
     I don't think I've wasted my time the last couple of
years studying communism and left politics.  I guess it's good
to interject that money IS the root of evil.  Stan Goff, as a
good example of a fairly far left political opinion maker, is
someone who I think will appeal to many decent people who have
not reached a level of sophistication and complex
understanding to criticize him.
     I think the best short and mid term approach to politics
well meaning people can take is a moderate center or
center-left equilibrium.  I think it's good to reinforce the
idea that Stalin was evil as well as Hitler, because well
meaning people are likely to consider the arguments that
attempt to justify Stalin's actions.  There are
"smart" people who can make those arguments fairly
convincingly.  Goff is one such person.
     Even if you never look at things from etymology or code,
you can still understand that a few glaring weaknesses or
flaws in an otherwise "smart" persons opinions will
cause you to be properly critical of their work.  I did
research that I believe to be true regarding solar power which
contradicted Goff's assertion that it isn't viable.  I also
found psychologically depressing his piece called "Death
and Settling for Less" which did not allow the
possibility of humans progressing indefinitely, including
space travel.
     So for the time being, center or mildly center-left
politics seems our best hope, even though it will not solve
all of the problems, including war, that we face.  There are
no easy answers for well meaning people, but there is hope and
evidence of long term progress.  I hope that people can find
contentment as they struggle for a better world.  The process
of positive change is many times hard and difficult, but I
think worthwhile.