This will mark the first of some 8-10 journal entries (not consecutive) that I will be devouting to the War in Iraq. I fully think it is time for those of us who are opposed to the war to speak out even more vocally than we have before.
At the outset of the war in 2003, I wrote a letter-to-the-editor of "The Roanoke Times" stating that there was no way an outside force could unite major ethnic divisions between the Shiia, Sunni and Kurdish sectors of Iraq. I also pointed out there were many geopolitical problems in pre-Saddam Iraq.
The instance I used was an incident my late uncle Ilhan Gokbudak, who served as a Turkish diplomat in Iraq circa 1968. He witnessed a mass hanging of individuals who were accused of spying for the American government. The hangings took place somewhere in the middle of Baghdad, and they were a public event meant to deter anyone from undertaking such activities.
I strongly feel that virtually all of my concerns have come true in some form or another. The only exception is the Kurdish province which has remained relatively stable, but I also feel that is subject to change. And, when it does, Kirkuk could become the next Sarajevo.
Additionally, Turkey is becoming concerned over the increase in Kurdish separatist PKK militias in southeast Turkey. These incidents have made Ankara chose the controversial course of sending in troops over the Iraqi border.
In the hamlet of Brookneal, Va.,some 30 miles south of Lynchburg, the family of Christopher Edward Murphy, 21, buried their son recently. Murphy died in Iraq on May 12. He was one of four U.S. soldiers who were killed when their convoy came under fire in an area south of Baghdad.
Murphy's funeral was held at William Campbell High School, and it was covered by the area's local weekly newspaper "The AltaVista Journal." In his article about the funeral, Martin Fisher wrote that Murphy graduated from WCHS in 2004 and he played on the school's state champion football team.
His mother Rosemary Balium told the paper that Murphy freely chose army life:
"He was very proud to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces and he chose a military career."
Murphy was buried in his #75 football jersey.
His sister, Shawnee Murphy, told the Journal about how her brother liked to play with Star Trek action figures as a child, especially his Enterprise spaceship.
Murphy was on his second tour of duty in Iraq.
He was buried at Arlington National Cemetary.
While assuredly Murphy's family feels differently about the war than I do, I respect the pain they are going through and his service in the military.
But, there will likely be even higher number of U.S. casualties in the coming months, and the hollow Fox News commentary that this war is somehow protecting us from terrorism is going to grow increasingly tiresome as the days, months and years go by.
Links:
http://www.altavistajournal.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice
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