Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Bush Ignores the Very System that Produces Civilian Deaths

Dear President Bush,

What results from returning soldiers with post traumatic stress syndrome to the front lines in Iraq? Is it not predictable that individuals will see a threat where none exists and act inappropriately? This is not to justify such behavior, but to put it in the context of the system your administration designed.

The news says “you are upset” with the Iraqi killing reports. Are you upset they were reported at all? Had that been confidential information would the Justice Department be looking to charge those reporters with a crime?

As Iraq degenerates into a violent free for all, the last thing the U.S. needs is for the Iraqi people to see every American soldier as an assassin. They already see them as bullies for their night house tours that end with the kidnapping of teenage males and the ransacking of their property.

That two women, one pregnant and about to give birth were killed at a U.S. manned checkpoint today adds to your woes. Her brother speeding to the hospital did not see the soldiers. Afterwards the brother said "God take revenge on the Americans and those who brought them here. They have no regard for our lives."

If you want innocent civilians to not die at the hands of our soldiers, stop the war. You might need to stop it sooner to save all concerned should both stories feedback on each other to incite a national rage.

No comments: