"I really like that," said a 50 ish woman, as she read the sign just before last night's vigil began. "That is very nice," added her friend.
Those comments helped to get the vigil off to a nice start, a vigil filled with horn honks and waves of support. And it was joined by several people at various times. Among them was a 50 ish couple who often join and who offer such positive energy and words of encouragement.
"You're still out here," called out a 70 ish British woman with a big smile as she walked up with her sister along side her. And the two ladies joined the vigil for several minutes, discussing their dismay at the wars.
As they walked off, up came John Fortier, a Korean War veteran who hosts a nearby vigil every Friday night and has held that vigil since just before the Iraq War began in March, 2003. On July 4th, while America celebrated its Independence Day, he held an added vigil, to remind people of the Iraq and Afghan Wars and the heavy price being paid by those caught up in them.
"Obama had such a golden opportunity to get out of those wars when he came into office," John remarked. "He could have said 'I didn't put us into these wars and I'm getting us out of them.' But he didn't do that."
No he didn't. And on Wednesday evening in Baghdad, a suicide bomber set off an immense explosion that killed 33 people and wounded 108 others, many of them women and children. That was the worst example of a violent day across Iraq that claimed 84 Iraqi lives and injured 169 more.
After more than seven years of war in "Operation Iraqi Freedom," Americans would not be safe to walk the streets of Baghdad, but then neither are the Iraqi people. And the Iraqi government the U.S. keeps in power operates from the heavily guarded U.S. Green Zone.
To date 4,412 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq and 4,730 foreign soldiers in total. Estimates of the Iraqi dead run into the hundreds of thousands and no-one has asked the Iraqi people whether they want this war or the U.S. occupation to continue.
While in Afghanistan on Wednesday, a NATO air strike killed five Afghan soldiers and wounded two others in what was termed "friendly fire." NATO forces are predominantly American. To date 1,162 American have been killed in this war and 1,908 foreign soldiers in total. Those numbers will grow sharply as the U.S. steps up its attack against the Taliban.
Tens of thousands of Afghan men, women and children have been killed in this war which the U.S. calls "Operation Enduring Freedom" and no-one is asking the Afghan people if they want the U.S. to escalate the war or even to continue its nine year occupation.
But thousands of miles away, on a busy Los Angeles area street corner, the vigil continued in earnest. "Did you lose anyone over there," asked a 35 ish woman from her car. "I feel like I lost everyone over there," I replied.
"Your being out here really raises the consciousness of these wars," she responded. "There was a time when U.S. soldiers fought the Germans (and the Germans were defeated in World War 2). These wars don't make any sense."
Shortly after she drove off, a 42 year old woman walked up pushing a stroller with her cute five year old Down Syndrome son and joined the vigil. She had attended the Torrance Armed Services Day Parade & Celebration in May, an elaborate program filled with speakers, marches and fighter jets overhead. This annual event draws thousands of people.
"I support our troops," she said. "But during all this celebration and people, there was this old veteran in a wheel chair slowly moving through the crowd, selling pins and trying to get some money. He looked like he might have been homeless." Her point was that Americans love the pageantry of military celebrations but sometimes don't take care of those soldiers most in need.
It was on this note the vigil came to an end. As we parted company, it was with the hope against long odds that these wars would soon be brought to an end and the soldiers returned home safely to their families.
Dick
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