Hollow words

I came across this report on a debate over the significance of U.S. military deaths in Iraq reaching the 2,000 mark, courtesy of the Voice Of America. Three items, out of many cited on both sides of issue, stood out to me as being of particular interest.

Jim Phillips of the conservative Heritage Foundation offered the following cold assessment:

"I think in historical context it's not a huge number," he noted. "I expected at least 2,000 to be killed in the opening weeks of the war, partly because I expected Iraqi chemical weapon attacks. I think Americans have become too used to antiseptic wars, the two wars in the Balkans and the first Gulf war, and perhaps were taken a little bit by surprise by this."

Though I abhor the implication that we should blithely accept any number of needless military deaths, I would have to say that Mr. Phillips raises a surprisingly good (and, I'm sure, unintentional) point about our attitudes toward modern warfare.

The detached, video-game society that is modern America does expect antiseptic warfare, conveniently forgetting that armed conflict is about one thing, and one thing only. Killing. Whether that killing is depraved or precise, from miles in the air or up close and bloody, the enterprise of war is an orgy of death and brutality. It is a damning sign of mankind's failure to think and act with... well, with humanity. It is a descent into the bestial mindset of "kill or be killed."

This is something we need to remember clearly and vividly, instead of allowing ourselves to become desensitized to the horrors and "expected" losses of combat. This is why we should view the 2K milestone as a turning point for our opinions on Mr. Bush's inexcusable little escapade. This is precisely why war must always be undertaken as a last resort, and not something into which we enter lightly or willingly.

It's also why I agree wholeheartedly with the outlook of retired U.S. Army Colonel Paul Hughes when he says,

"It's not the number of 2,000, it's the number of one, because we've lost a comrade, a buddy, a friend, somebody who was in our family..."

The final comment of note, I think, comes from mister "stay the course" himself. George the Younger once again remained on message, stating,

"Our nation has made a clear choice. We will not rest or tire until the war on terror is won. The defense of freedom is worth our sacrifice."

Were this being said by another man in another situation, I'd have to echo my Red, White, and Blue support. The defense of freedom really is worth our sacrifice, in scenarios where it is actually being threatened.

But read the memo, Georgie - everyone else has apparently received it. Iraq has nothing to do with the war on terror. It is you, Mr. Bush, who have exacerbated anti-Western feeling and deadly terrorist activities around the globe. And in a debate over the meaning of 2,000 young men and women dead, your repetitive, disingenuous talking points are a pathetic justification for the slaughter of so many.

Time to end this madness, before the families of the next 2,000 are forced to hear those same hollow words.