"The war in Iraq gets plenty of media coverage," said a 65 ish woman sternly, with a look on her face as if she had just sucked a sour lemon. "The soldiers are not invisible and their families are not invisible. I saw somewhere that in Orange County [CA] they're even going to build a hospital for the soldiers, mostly for the soldiers coming back from Iraq.
"Now we're going to have a lot more soldiers in Afghanistan," she stated proudly, as if a show of force would do something good. But as she thought about it for a moment, a look of alarm came over her, as if she'd just seen a puppy about to run across a busy highway. She then stared silently at the vigil sign.
Last night, Pacific Coast Highway was thick with traffic and many a head turned in curiousity to see what this vigil was about. There were also ear piercing honks of support along with waves and thumbs up from people who appreciated the vigil.
For Iraqis, it was a rough week as every day the death toll grew. On Monday, 45 Iraqis were killed and 96 were injured, the large majority from two bomb explosions west of Baghdad. And today, 22 Iraqis were killed and 44 were injured, most of them from explosions near a maternity hospital in Baghdad.
Meanwhile, tensions are rising as the 94,000 Sunni fighters paid by the U.S. military to switch sides and stop killing U.S. soldiers and instead kill Al-Qaeda gunmen are growing angry with the Iraq government and the U.S. military. These Sunni gunmen played a crucial role supporting the U.S. "surge."
These Sunnis are called the "Awakening Council" or "Sons of Iraq," and the U.S. told them last year they'd be hired by the Iraqi government in lieu of remaining on the U.S. payroll. But after months of promises so far only 5,000 have been hired and most of those men are owed back pay. Iraq has a staggering 40 - 50% unemployment rate and these 94,000 Sunni fighters are depending on being hired and paid so they can support their families. From the reports I've seen, they're heavily armed, frustrated and angry.
In the U.S., on Feb. 27 President Obama cast aside candidate Obama's promise to end Iraq combat in 16 months by vowing to end it in 18 months, but he also added qualifiers allowing up to 50,000 U.S. combat troops to continue to fight, but under different names such as advisory or assistance brigades. There will be no near term end to the war, which the U.S. apparently intends to fight until at least the 12/31/11 date negotiated by President Bush. Mr. Obama didn't say what he intends to do with the 180,000 U.S. mercenaries also in Iraq provided by Blackwater and others, but presumably some large number of them will also stay.
In Iraq, last Friday thousands of Iraqi protesters marched in Baghdad and in other Iraqi cities to mark the 6 year anniversary of the U.S. invasion and occupation of their country. They burned U.S. flags, while they shouted "no, no for occupation." Little of this was shown to the American people.
In Torrance, California this weekly candlelight vigil continues, and other vigils do elsewhere. While some people such as the 65 ish woman referenced earlier see no need for vigils, the death and destruction in Iraq seems endless and sadly, the U.S.'s nearly 8-year-old war in Afghanistan is about to escalate as well. It has already spread to Pakistan.
Why these wars are being fought is not clear but the ever mounting toll of death and destruction and the massive waste of money and other vital resources is clear. The "war on terror" has made terrorists of all the combatants and in the blood soaked soil it is sowing the seeds for future wars.
Dick
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