Even though it’s my birthday (yay!), I can’t think about this day without profound sadness and prayer for the world as it relates to the war in Iraq. After all, 5 years ago today, the war in Iraq began. I was turning 24 and living in south Texas at the time. My sister came to visit me as I was all alone that week (she made my traditional carrot cake but realised she’d forgotten to buy carrots. So rather than go back to the store to buy the 5 carrots required, she grated almost 55 baby-carrots into the cake batter. That’s love, my friend, that’s love.)
The reason I was alone is that my husband was on a clandestine trip to Beijing to smuggle Bibles and study materials to the underground church. We had no contact for almost 3 weeks as he travelled, preached, prayed and met with other believers. During those weeks, the SARS outbreak occurred in the neighbouring region. And then bombs started to fall in Iraq. Good times. (He told me later about a moving encounter that night, in an underground church. There were a couple of Iraqis there with the Chinese brothers & sisters. Together with the Americans, they met together and prayed for peace. Very powerful.)
At the time, the political climate was so strongly in favour of military-based, unilateral action (especially where I lived). I heard preached from several pulpits that this was “just war” and that it was the “American thing to do”. I remember actually being angry when I would leave church meetings because I felt like it was a lie and wrong. Pamphlets and leaflets stuffed our mailbox. I worked in a military-based bank so I loved and “got” the military, developing an abiding understanding and respect for their life and values. I grieved for what I suspected was ahead for the enlisted, the officers and the national guard. But the feeling since 9-11 was robust, flag-waving patriotism, confusion and murkiness of the lines between being American and being Christian (weren’t they synonymous?) and a general sense of fate, moving the whole thing forward in a perfect storm of circumstances. There was a strong sense that if you “weren’t for us, you were against us”. Everyone was swept up in the propaganda on both sides and it felt inexorable.
I didn’t talk a lot about my sentiments regarding the war at the time. However, I strongly disagreed with the reasoning for the war. I didn’t believe it was a just war at all from a Biblical and traditionally Christian standpoint. I had huge concerns with the isolationist, military isolation policy that the administration was taking. I wished I was brave enough to go to the minimally-attended protests in our area. I prayed a lot. I had a hard time articulating at the time why I was so against this decision. I think I was afraid of what our church and our friends would think of me because “everyone” was Republican and “everyone” was pro-invasion. I felt young and unable to voice my opinions to anyone other than family. I was so uncomfortable and anxious in those months after 9-11 like a lot of people all over the world as we watched this perfect storm gather. The world that I travelled in while living the States changed profoundly in just a few years – from the relative peace and economic stability of the late 90s to the world we now live in – those changes happened quickly. After 9-11, everything shifted including sentiment. I almost felt I couldn’t voice a different opinion because I’d be seen as “un-American” or “unpatriotic”. And I was quietly proud that Canada didn’t send troops to Iraq (we were in Afghanistan and still are, in the most dangerous regions while the rest of NATO buries their heads in the sand but that’s another post) despite the derision voiced by Fox News.
I remember being so moved by Senator Robert Byrd’s speech at that time. A lot has happened since then – denigration to civil war, a struggle for democracy, victories and defeats. Now that the Americans are there, I don’t see how they just arbitrarily pull out on a set-date. The mess has been created so they better help clean it up. But it still makes me ache, makes me sad and is, I believe, a moment in history that will take a long time to recover from. I ache for the men and women and children of Iraq and for the men and women of the military especially. We have no idea what they endure.
Senator Robert Byrd:
I believe in this beautiful country. I have studied its roots and gloried in the wisdom of its magnificent Constitution. I have marveled at the wisdom of its founders and framers. Generation after generation of Americans has understood the lofty ideals that underlie our great Republic. I have been inspired by the story of their sacrifice and their strength.
But, today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned.
Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination. Instead of isolating Saddam Hussein, we seem to have isolated ourselves. We proclaim a new doctrine of preemption which is understood by few and feared by many. We say that the United States has the right to turn its firepower on any corner of the globe which might be suspect in the war on terrorism. We assert that right without the sanction of any international body. As a result, the world has become a much more dangerous place.
We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance. We treat U.N. Security Council members like ingrates who offend our princely dignity by lifting their heads from the carpet. Valuable alliances are split. After war has ended, the United States will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America’s image around the globe.
The case this Administration tries to make to justify its fixation with war is tainted by charges of falsified documents and circumstantial evidence. We cannot convince the world of the necessity of this war for one simple reason. This is a war of choice.
There is no credible information to connect Saddam Hussein to 9/11. The twin towers fell because a world-wide terrorist group, al-Qaida, with cells in over 60 nations, struck at our wealth and our influence by turning our own planes into missiles, one of which would likely have slammed into the dome of this beautiful Capitol except for the brave sacrifice of the passengers on board.
The brutality seen on September 11th and in other terrorist attacks we have witnessed around the globe are the violent and desperate efforts by extremists to stop the daily encroachment of western values upon their cultures. That is what we fight. It is a force not confined to borders. It is a shadowy entity with many faces, many names, and many addresses.
But, this Administration has directed all of the anger, fear, and grief which emerged from the ashes of the twin towers and the twisted metal of the Pentagon towards a tangible villain, one we can see and hate and attack. And villain he is. But, he is the wrong villain. And this is the wrong war. If we attack Saddam Hussein, we will probably drive him from power. But, the zeal of our friends to assist our global war on terrorism may have already taken flight.
The general unease surrounding this war is not just due to “orange alert.” There is a pervasive sense of rush and risk and too many questions unanswered. How long will we be in Iraq? What will be the cost? What is the ultimate mission? How great is the danger at home? A pall has fallen over the Senate Chamber. We avoid our solemn duty to debate the one topic on the minds of all Americans, even while scores of thousands of our sons and daughters faithfully do their duty in Iraq.
What is happening to this country? When did we become a nation which ignores and berates our friends? When did we decide to risk undermining international order by adopting a radical and doctrinaire approach to using our awesome military might? How can we abandon diplomatic efforts when the turmoil in the world cries out for diplomacy?
Why can this President not seem to see that America’s true power lies not in its will to intimidate, but in its ability to inspire?
War appears inevitable. But, I continue to hope that the cloud will lift. Perhaps Saddam will yet turn tail and run. Perhaps reason will somehow still prevail. I along with millions of Americans will pray for the safety of our troops, for the innocent civilians in Iraq, and for the security of our homeland. May God continue to bless the United States of America in the troubled days ahead, and may we somehow recapture the vision which for the present eludes us.
