Say Love, Not War

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

“There was no war today.”
[Statement in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando; I wish it didn’t occur in a fictional work.]

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,
What if I live this day as if it is a gift from you, and that I must open it now?
This is not merely imagination at work.
This is the profound reality: today is a gift, one of a kind, priceless, full of surprises and delights.
I cannot thank you enough.
Amen

C. Unquoting Jesus:

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."

[I know He didn't say it, but...]

D. Blog: You Call This A War?

Some months ago, we in the US heard a lot of discussion about whether the conditions in Iraq could be described as a “civil war” (now there’s an oxymoron if I ever heard one!). Whatever happened to that discussion? I think we need some further conversation, expansion and clarification, for what we usually hear now is that the US wages a war in Iraq and seeks to get out of it without losing face.

It doesn’t look like a war, not according to any definition of war that makes sense to me. Any “war” ended four years ago, when W’s assertion of “mission accomplished” seemed accurate, in terms of waging an actual war. The defeat of Saddam Hussein’s army and his subsequent capture ended everything that resembled a war between military forces.

Since then, we have seen an occupation of Iraq by foreign powers, principally the US, trying to establish order, with the stated intent of helping a new Iraqi government take over, promoting democracy in the region, and minimizing the conditions that breed terrorism.

Unfortunately, to most people in the region, this situation looks and feels like a foreign imposition, including a puppet government that dares not displease the occupying forces, and a coalition grab for control of precious oil reserves.

Thus, we have insurgency (the frequent term of choice to describe the conflict). The people of Iraq are not at war with the US. They do, pretty overwhelmingly, according to polls, want the occupation to end. Except for a small minority of terrorist actors, this insurgency is not “at war” with the US. They just want US forces to leave so they can determine their own future.

My point? In this country, we should stop using war language to describe our presence in Iraq. The continued use of this language wrongly encourages and bolsters patriotic feelings of current US policy and presence in Iraq. Politicians and backers of the occupation policy should stop deceiving people with war language into thinking our troops are being put at risk to protect the citizens of the US and we should therefore support the military in this war effort. Stop the farce that US military presence in Iraq helps in the conflict with terrorists. It simply gives them more motivation.

Finally, terrorists (so-called Jihadists) should also be called to account for claiming what they do is Jihad. They do not conduct a holy war against “blasphemous infidels.” They slaughter and carry out mayhem against their co-religionists. Not Jihad or war, just murder, criminal gangsterism wearing an ugly mask that makes a mockery of their religion.