December 11, 2006

Where will we put the Iraq Memorial?

Eventually, there’ll be a memorial to the men and women who died in Iraq, so where do we put it?

Should we annex land in the capital so that veterans and family members can flock to Washington DC to see the etchings on a marble wall that are the last memento of a friend or comrade?

Should we build a little park with Sycamore trees and disabled access so the thousands of amputees, paraplegics and trauma victims can huddle together while they try to cope with the surge of emotion; or amble about in stunned silence trying to make some sense of what they’ve done, or what they’ve seen, or what they’ve lost?

I have an idea. Let’s tear down the rot-iron gates surrounding the White House. Let’s remove the cement abutments and the cyclone fencing.

Let’s put up a 10 ft high crescent of black marble on the White House lawn skirting both sides of the presidential walkway. That way, we can be sure that any future president will be forced to pass by the stone monuments that bear the names of the men and women who lost their lives in Bush’s Folly.

We need a proper burial for the people who gave their lives in Iraq. They had nothing to do with the policy and they deserve our gratitude.

Why were they flown in from Germany in the dead of night? Why were they hidden from the public?

Are their deaths just an "inconvenience" for the Pentagon warlords?

Or was it because the photos of 3,000 flag-draped coffins didn’t fit with Rumsfeld’s public relations strategy; a strategy designed to make butchery look attractive and patriotic?

Rumsfeld made that decision. Rumsfeld decided that Americans who were killed in action should be treated like lepers. He decided that they should be buried without fanfare.

It’s a disgrace.

We should bring them out. We should put their caskets on caissons and march them down Pennsylvania Ave so that people can see the terrible cost of Bush’s war. They didn’t start this war; they only served in it. They are the blameless victims of Bush’s insatiable ambition. They deserve better.

They have nothing to regret. They served their country and they paid the price. So, why are they being shunted into graves without proper tribute?

Is it because their deaths’ could erode popular support for the war?

It’s outrageous. These people gave everything and now they're being discarded because they can't be used as part of some shabby promotional scheme.

Every generation makes blood-payments for the fools it puts in office. Ours is no different.

The war in Iraq is winding down and the nation needs to take stock of its losses. We need to remove our dead from the shadows and let everyone see the real price of arrogance.

We have destroyed Iraq, killed our young people, and created a legacy of hatred towards America. We’ve been led into a moral swamp by demagogues and liars.

We need a memorial to remind us of our stupidly, our inaction, and our indifference. Tens of thousands died needlessly because we were unable stop Bush’s senseless war.

We can only blame ourselves.