Candlelight Vigil No. 221, 5/26/10

"I was afraid I'd miss you," said a 50 ish man, who with his wife, often joins the vigil, as he arrived early. Instead, he was there to start the vigil.

Among the passersby on that clear, sunny 66 degree night were three generations of a family. The joyful, laughing grandparents, a 30 something couple whose smiles beamed ear to ear and a two month old baby boy, in the arms of his proud grandfather, who was happy to show him off.

This infant, wearing a cap too big for his tiny head, and dressed in a teeny checkered shirt, and whose arms stuck out of the blanket he was wrapped in is named "William." As he grinned, droplets of saliva trickled down his chubby chin and with a twinkle in his eyes, he looked at us in fascination.

His mother said his grandfather is named William, his dad is William and now he too carries that name. As the family oohed and awed at him, he cooed back, and it seemed that like his over sized hat, his name would be something he'd eventually grow into.

Meanwhile in Iraq, on Tuesday a band of thieves struck one of the most heavily guarded areas of Baghdad, its jewelry district. With hand grenades and guns, they killed 15 people, wounded others and seized gold, jewelry and cash. Neither the U.S. military nor the Iraq government has explained how the thieves got past the cement firewalls, check points and soldiers.

Last year, $4 million was stolen in a Baghdad bank robbery, and it was later learned the robbers were security personnel to one of Iraq's two vice presidents. There was no indication that vice president was involved.

While in Afghanistan, in its pursuit of the Taliban, the U.S. is preparing a major military assault of Kandahar, that nation's 2nd largest city. The U.S. is receiving little support from the people, some of whom will soon be killed or wounded and others will become refugees, fleeing the violence. Imagine how you would feel if your neighborhood was about to become a war zone.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate was rushing through another "Emergency" war spending bill, this latest one for $33 billion, and they refused to commit themselves as to when U.S. soldiers would be withdrawn. Six months ago when President Obama committed the U.S. to an Afghan troop "surge," he said a withdrawal would begin in July, 2011. Now that date, like so many others in these wars, appears to be meaningless.

For citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan, no-one knows the death toll for all the men, women and children, nor all those who have been maimed, nor how many children have been orphaned. 4,401 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq and 1,000 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan. The number of U.S. soldiers maimed is probably 7 times those figures. As for the U.S.'s private army of tens of thousands of "contractors," no numbers have been released. But whether they are in the regular military or in the secretive private army, their families have been profoundly affected.

But thousands of miles away at the vigil, the most memorable moment came when a small red pickup truck stopped at a red light. Its driver was an 80 ish man, with a long gray Santa Claus style beard and he wore a red baseball cap with long gray hair pushing out from the sides.

As the man read the vigil sign, a gentle smile came across his face and his eyes sparkled with delight, as he raised his right hand and began to wave. And when the signal turned green, he waved again.

If only he had been St. Nick, I would have asked him for the greatest of gifts, peace in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it is a wish whose fulfillment has always been within America's grasp, as it could call for cease fires today, negotiate peace agreements and bring its soldiers home safely to their families. Let us hope President Obama and Congress finally see the light and find the courage to act.

Dick