by Ed Kinane,
Voices in the Wilderness

The war hits closer to home. In our local Syracuse paper we read that Army National Guard soldiers from Central New York are now training for upcoming duty in Iraq.

I try to imagine these young men — and women — in that hellish situation there. I wonder who will help them understand the people they are “liberating.” I wonder who will help them understand why and for whose benefit they are risking their lives. I wonder who will equip these soldiers for the sacrifice they — and their families — are making.

I wonder who will — who can? — answer their questions honestly.

In thinking about these brave soldiers, I have a fantasy: it’s that we could meet. We have experience and perspectives to share. Since February I’ve spent five months in Iraq. I lived in Baghdad, but also traveled to Kurdestan, Mosul, Basra and the Kuwait border. I lived there through the pre-invasion terror and the terror of “shock and awe.” More recently I was there under the Occupation — with its own kind of terror.