Helpless in Never-Never Land

Since 9/11, when less than three thousand American civilians died in a suicide attack on the World Trade Center, George W. Bush has used this event relentlessly to press for endless war and the gradual destruction of our Constitution. He still apparently is able to obtain a response from Americans when he speaks (misspeaks would be a better characterization of his oratory) by repeating the mantra of "9/11, 9/11, 9/11." Now Rudy Giuliani, the then Mayor of New York City, is chanting this faux-religious chant in his attempts to gain the presidency.

While we have known how insane this is for some time, Americans are almost totally oblivious to the carnage that occurs on a regular basis in Iraq. This particular paragraph struck me in the "ho-hum" news piece that purported to report good news:

Figures compiled by the AP from Iraqi police reports show that 1,586 civilians were killed in Baghdad between the start of the offensive and Thursday.

That represents a sharp drop from the 2,871 civilians who died violently in the capital during the two months that preceded the security crackdown.

Do I need to remind myself and others that there is no difference between the people that died in the World Trade Center and the 4,457 that died in Iraq over four months? These are men, women and children, just like you and me, who have been caught in a situation of our making. They are, in a large part, innocent victims of civil strife generated by our presence there.

I feel absolutely helpless in the face of this horror. I was led to believe that voting for Democrats in the last election would change things. It has not. It is all smoke and mirrors and words. And there are no options except to see this played out over the years. Damn.

(Oh, and:

Outside the capital, 1,504 civilians were killed between Feb. 14 and Thursday, April 12 compared with 1,009 deaths during the two previous months, the AP figures show.

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