by James Glaser
April 14, 2003

Sunday morning the Secretary of Defense was telling America that those Iraqi leaders we can't find are fleeing to Syria. In the afternoon President Bush is telling America that Syria has chemical weapons.

All over Washington, politicians and pro war pundits are beating their chests and crowing about our victory. Many, like Donald Rumsfeld are comparing this victory to our victory over Hitler in World War 2.

Comparing Saddam to Adolph is quite a stretch. I can think of no one that thought Saddam Hussein and Iraq would win this war. I can think of no one who thought they even had a chance against us.

This war proves without a doubt that that Iraq posed no threat to the United States or even Iraq's neighbors. Thousands and thousands of people were killed for the illusion that Washington created about Iraq's military prowess. Even some of our own troops that actually fought in this War are calling their time in combat a "slaughter."

Today General Tommy Franks talked about our defeating Iraq's Navy, Air Force and Army. I must have missed those navel battles and I never heard that Iraq put a plane in the air. Yes we did win this one.

Sometimes I wonder which war our leaders are watching. I know which one the rest of the world is seeing and that is the war that produces the horror seen in Ali Ismaeel's eyes. Ali is that 10 year old boy that lost both of his arms, was burned badly, and had both of his parents killed. American Media let Ali slip through our censorship, while the rest of this world has been seeing other children like him each and every day of this war.

That little boy was not a special case, as the horror of war has struck thousands of Iraqi children. What do you think happens when a little child has to go through weeks of bombing around the clock? Every day hearing about some one dying or seeing their friend wounded in the most horrible of fashion. Whole sections of their city made into rubble, sometimes with body parts sticking out of those piles of debris. Even if not wounded physically these children suffer a shock that can be with them for life and remember it isn't over yet.

What do you think happens to the woman about to give birth when the whole world is turned upside down and hospitals are looted of everything this women needs?

What do you think it is like for a child to live in a city that has fallen into anarchism. Looting and burning going on all around you. People getting hurt and no hospitals. What about the children that have to have a limb amputated and there are no anesthetics nor pain medication?

Yes we have won this war, at least the battle portion of it. Now comes the real test. Those in Washington that have never been to war are now filled with blood lust. They once again want to, from Washington, throw our troops into battle. It looks like Syria is the target this time and Donald and George are starting to whip up the masses for some more killing. We haven't even finished in Iraq yet, but Hey, we have the troops over there already, let us not waste them.

If we look at how we have handled the post war time in Afghanistan we are looking at years before we can send troops off to conquer new lands. American Soldiers are still getting killed and wounded in "postwar" Afghanistan. The only trouble there is that those we fought have never given up. Sure we bought a presidency and paid off War-Lords, but some of them no longer like us and all of that Opium money looks better than that of the Americans. We think we can buy the whole world, but sometimes there are people that money does not work on. Beside that, we never did get Mulla Omar, nor Osama Bin Laden. We haven't even got Saddam and the President is threatening Syria.

In President Bush's State of the Union Address, he states specifically that Iraq had 25,000 liters of Anthrax, 38,000 liters of Botulism Toxin, and 500 tons of Sarin, Mustard, and Nerve gas. 500 tons is 1,000,000 pounds. Now all through this War and before it started we had satellites, U-2 spy planes, and Special Operations troops watching Iraq day and night. Now we are told that Iraq has slipped past all of our guards and has moved not only these weapons, but most of their leaders into Syria.

Today we got back our seven Prisoners of War and I am elated by that. America has suffered so far, about 120 killed and I think 500 wounded. Not that many unless you are the parent, wife, husband, or child of one of those lost. In that case this war was just as expensive as World War 2. Those that lost their sight or limbs will suffer for the rest of their lives. Later on we will start to see casualties that are caused from living in the horrors of war and we still have to worry about another Gulf War Illness.

The Iraqi people have lost somewhere between 1500 and 2000 killed and that is just the innocent civilians. Untold thousands were wounded. It was reported on Friday that one hospital had thirty five deaths that day and there are thirty three hospitals in Baghdad alone. Fighting and bombing is still going on. No doubt tens of thousands of Iraqi fighters died and many will never be found. When a 2000 pound bomb hits a troop emplacement all that can be seen of those troops is a "red mist." We may never know the true figures of Iraqi military or civilian dead and wounded, as General Tommy Franks said, "We don't do body counts."

We now know this war is going to be a devastating loss to the Iraqi people. We also know that this war proves to the world that Saddam Hussein and Iraq were nothing to be afraid of. We have seen how well President Bush and his media have been able to work up the American public into believing that Iraq was a mortal threat to our way of life.

Now we will see this process repeating itself in the words used on Syria. A few months ago America was praising Syria for their work on the War on Terrorism. Today starts a new story.

As I have said, the rest of the world was not watching the censored war that the American public saw. There are even warnings to the American public before any picture is shown on TV, that might offend our delicate sense of morality. We in America are lucky in the fact that War has not come to our shores in over fifty years and to the Continental United States in living memory. September 11th, was just a one time attack, in a real war that goes on 24/7.

As I said, America is lucky we have never seen war, but at the same time we do not understand what we are doing when we let loose those Dogs of War.