The Blind Leading the Naked

Even though Bush’s private little war in Iraq is looking more and more like his own Vietnam (razing Falluja to save it, for example), the lack of news and visuals from the frontlines of our so-called “war on terror” continues to help tamp down the level of outrage and shame all Americans of good will should be feeling. Yes, it is particularly dangerous for non-Arab reporters to venture out of their compounds in Baghdad to independently witness and document what is really going on in that country (and the vengeful nature of the current administration apparently helps to keep news editors stateside in check, too), but shouldn’t we be demanding much more from the news agencies (and our own government), so we can at least be aware of what the rest of the world, particularly the Arab world, is seeing on their TV screens and thinking about us?

To state the obvious that still needs stating, this is not a bloodless or victimless war, and we can’t keep pretending that everything is fine and dandy there because Rev. Bush and Grandpappy Rumsfeld tell us so. Innocent people continue to maimed and killed in our names (for what?). And many people in the Arab world will want to exact their revenge on us. Having seen some of the horrifying images of the dead and wounded in Falluja – pictures rarely printed or broadcast here – I can’t say that I blame them. If it were my kid (and I have two young ones) lying in that hospital bed with one leg blown off by an American bomb…well, let’s just say that it’s not hard to image how easy it is for the Iraqi insurgents to sign up new recruits every day.

By the way, did you know that as of November 15th 38 American soldiers have been killed in the Battle of Falluja (and 275 wounded)? I didn’t, as this bit of news was buried in this NY Times article. Are we honoring their sacrifice by keeping them largely out of sight (and mind)?

And did you know we have no reliable information about how many insurgents were killed in Falluja (or escaped), or how many civilians perished in the fighting (hopefully most fled the city prior to the shooting)?

We only know what the Pentagon and White House want us to know. And that's not good for our democracy.