Iraq a catastrophic error, soldiers pay the price

by Josh Moskowitz

Tuesday, September 28, 2004 00:00

In the past week, two more unfortunate and helpless victims have been beheaded at the hands of one of the numerous insurgent groups setting up shop in Iraq. Two more lives taken in vain. Two more families crushed and destroyed due to an unnecessary and futile war.

At last count, more than 1,000 military personnel have died in the unforgiving and merciless desert sands of Iraq. The dead range from as old as 59 to as young as 18. However, the majority of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice were 18 to 24. Kids as old as you and I.

You can personally view the name, age, hometown, branch of service and date of death of each fallen soldier on the New York Times’ website. The Times has also placed a picture of each dead soldier next to his or her respective vitals.

Upon first glance of the grid that the Times has used to list the dead, feelings of sadness, anger and anguish brewed inside me. One can aimlessly pass from one lost life to another in a matter of seconds. Observe the war-face and marine regalia of 18-year-old Cory Geurin of Santee, Calif. Or stop and gaze at the beaming smile of 20-year-old Frances Veja of Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico.

What sort of justification can be used to explain to the devastated families of the deceased that their sons and daughter’s lives were not meaningless? That they were not taken in vain? Weapons of mass destruction? Greater stability in the Middle East?

Our president has not offered us a single legitimate reason as to why our men and women in uniform are dying thousands of miles from home. Weapons of mass destruction exist in places like North Korea, not Iraq. Diplomatic talks focusing on controlling North Korea’s budding nuclear arsenal have all but died. These conversations are greatly needed as evidenced by North Korea’s main newspaper recently touting its ability to “turn Japan into a nuclear sea of fire.”

The Middle East will remain a hotbed of calamity, tension and unrest, even if Iraq somehow manages to become a legitimate democracy. Ideologues in the Bush administration believed that the establishment of a democracy in a single country would lead to a democratic domino effect throughout the Middle East. Eerily reminiscent of our foreign policy dreams for Southeast Asia in the ’60s and ’70s, dictatorships in Syria, Libya and Saudi Arabia rule with an iron fist and will continue to do so.

Who will pay for this catastrophic error? Our commander-in-chief who lives with the comforts and luxuries afforded a president? Our vice president who guaranteed the presentation of roses to our troops instead of present gifts of AK-47 fire?

Sadly, the price of this war will unjustly be paid with the blood of our soldiers and the inevitable tears of their families. Yet, there is no clear end in sight.

A National Intelligence Estimate delivered a foreboding assessment of the situation in Iraq last week. At best, Iraq will be a nation whose stability remains tenuous in political, economic and security terms for years to come. At worst, civil war will erupt and lead to massive upheaval in a society that is already on the fringes of chaos.

American involvement in Iraq will last for years. Brothers, sisters, sons and daughters will continue to lose limbs, ligaments and their lives. How many more smiles like that of Frances Veja must we lose? Perhaps John Kerry, a decorated military veteran, who knows about unnecessary wars, puts it best: “Who will be the last man to die for a mistake?”

Josh Moskowitz (jmoskowitz@wisc.edu) is a junior majoring in political science and journalism.