Too Late To Turn Back?

From My Own Little Corner Seems I spoke too soon. Israel agreed to a 48 hour cease fire according to Condaleeza Rice. It lasted less than 12 hours. Hmm. I watch the news and can't seem to wrap my mind around the things that I am seeing. The bodies of dead children being pulled from the rubble of bombed buildings, the massive destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure, the firing of rockets into civilian areas by Hezbollah, the unwillingness of either side to give an inch, and the sheer senselessness are mind boggling. Then there is the damage being done to the environment. The beaches of Lebanon are drenched in an oily mess. This is the result of the bombing of an oil depot in Beirut. Over 15,000 TONS of oil has been spilled, affecting 1/3 of Lebanon's coastline. Fish and birds are dying and the green turtles are threatened. It is almost time for them to hatch and they will be making their way to the water, only to be met with an oily sludge. Clean-up is delayed because of the fighting. The Kuwaiti government is sending equiptment to help, but can't start until the hostilities end. The consequences could be far ranging. And what about the pollution going up into the atmosphere from all the fires that are burning, not only oil fires, but also the burning buildings, furnture, etc? More green house gasses. Think about it. Now, I have some numbers for you to ponder. 2,576 U.S., 114 Britons, 2 Australians, 13 Bulgarians, 3 Danes, 2 Dutch, 2 Estonians, 1 Fijian, 1 Hungarian, 31 Italians, 1 Kazakh, 1 Latvian, 17 Poles, 2 Romanians, 3 Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, 2 Thai, and 18 Ukranians. Total-2,802. These are the numbers of coalition casualties in Iraq as of July 31, 2006 according to a CNN count. In addition there have been 18,988 U.S. servicemen and women wounded and 7 Department of Defense civilians killed. 321 U.S., 1 Australian, 13 Britons, 19 Canadians, 3 Danes, 7 French, 18 Germans, 5 Italians, 1 Norwegian, 1 Portuguese, 4 Romanians, 18 Spaniards, 2 Swedes. Total-413 casualties. 825 wounded. These are the numbers from Afghanistan as of the same date. And then you have to think about the anguish of the families of these brave men and women. Their lives are forever changed and nothing will ever take away the heartwrenching pain caused by the loss of their loved ones. It is a pain that they will carry for the rest of their lives. These wounds on the heart don't heal, they only scab over, and are the most painful. These numbers pale by comparison to the number of Iraqi civilians that have been killed. As I told you in an earlier post over 14,000 have been killed since Jan.1, 2006, but the total number is at least 50,000 since 2003. What about their families? They may not have the same religious beliefs and may not speak English, but they too love their families, and grief and suffering are the same in any language. Not only have the civilians been targets of killings, but also of kidnappings. There are reports of kidnappings, not just of individuals, but of large groups at one time. One such kidnapping happened just yesterday. No one is safe, not even the children. Iraqi civilians are being targeted by death squads, some dressed as Iraqi police, for various reasons-their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and even dress that doesn't meet the standards of the religious extremists. On May 28, a tennis coach and 2 players were shot dead, allegedly because they were wearing shorts. Threats have been made against men to attempt to make them conform to certain hair styles and facial hair rules. In some areas of Baghdad women are prevented from going to the market alone, have been warned not to drive cars, and face harrassment if they wear pants. A headscarf is no longer a religious choice, but sometimes is necessary for survival. Academics and health care professionals are leaving the country. Why? They don't feel safe. Is this the democracy that our men and women are fighting to protect? Are we capable of establishing a democracy amid all the violence? Maybe it is time to rethink our objectives. We are preparing to send more troops into this maelstrom and are postponing the rotation out of the troops that were supposed to come home in August. Instead they will be sent to Baghdad, to help restore peace. I wonder if that is possible anymore. We are continually faced with the reality that we are not winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, and I don't know that it would be possible to leave now, even if we were so inclined. The whole region is on the verge of war and collapse. If that happens there could be no turning back. There may not be any turning back anyway. I wish I knew the answer. But I don't. I only have more questions. Why? Why would people want to kill each other? Why can't they compromise? Why can't there be peace? I don't know. I don't understand. I want a world where we all live in peace and harmony. It is time for change. Think about the changes you can help make happen and then work to make them come to fruition. And most of all, PRAY! Pray for peace. Pray for enlightenment. Pray that all peoples come to the realization that war isn't the answer, it is the problem. May your God bless and keep you and yours.