Ramblings of a Sane Man - Death Lurks In The Shadows

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

Ramblings of a Sane Man - Death Lurks In The Shadows
http://www.saneramblings.com

The pistol was pressed firmly against the teenage boy's head. "Are you in al-Qaeda," screamed the U.S. soldier with his finger touching the hair trigger.

"No," the trembling boy replied, gasping for air. The soldier stared intensely at him and then slowly lowered the gun. As he did, the boy collapsed on the floor of his parent's home.

Moments earlier the soldiers had kicked the door open and burst in through the shadows, heavily armed, nerves on edge and ready to fire.

As the boy lay shaking on the carpet, the troops kept their weapons aimed at the boy's family while two of the soldiers carefully walked the home. The women living there pleaded with the soldiers not to hurt anyone and they clung tightly to the children.

Finally the Sergeant motioned to the soldiers to cautiously back out of the house and move on to the next one in this house to house patrol. In an instant gun fire from the shadows could hit them or they could step on a trip wire and trigger an explosion.

"They're filthy, smelly, ignorant people," one soldier snapped to another. "I don't know what we're doing here." "We're doing our duty," said the other soldier as he looked into the shadows around them, his trigger finger ready to fire his weapon.

For the U.S. soldiers, it's an endless series of life threatening patrols searching for enemies. But unless those enemies confront them, it's hard to tell who the enemy is because so many innocent looking people are fighting the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, while others want to kill U.S. soldiers or mercenaries who they believe are responsible for the deaths of their loved ones.

To the U.S. soldiers, anyone may suddenly try to kill them and they must be on guard at all times. No-one ever says "yes, I'm your enemy" because it could mean instant death or they'd be taken away for torture.

At days end, the U.S. military said "11 militants were killed," and confirmed a U.S. soldier had also been killed. They didn't define "militant" nor indicate how many people had been seized, jailed and tortured or how many had been injured. Instead, the military spoke of "a reduction in violence."

"The surge is working" claimed a major U.S. presidential candidate with a false sense of bravado. "We're going to win." He didn't define "win" but when he visited Iraq, he had to be escorted by a small army of U.S. soldiers before he'd briefly venture out on to a heavily secured Baghdad street.

Meanwhile as they do each day, U.S. patrols cautiously left their heavily fortified bases and looked for more "militants," "insurgents," "jihadists," al-Qaeda, the Taliban or whatever the military calls them.

Nobody should live in violence, and it is especially hard on children. But death lurks in the shadows for everyone. Iraq's prime minister often stays behind the heavily armed, barbed wired, towering concrete walls of the Green Zone and recently Afghanistan's president was nearly shot by gunmen.

If the U.S. government, which caused these wars would call a cease fire we could resolve our issues and live together in peace as brethren consistent with the religious beliefs of all the combatants. No longer would death lurk in the shadows for anyone.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

1. "The surge is working" claimed a major U.S. presidential candidate with a false sense of bravado"

It should be called what it is - a disaster