Too close for comfort...

Published on April 10, 2004 By dharmagrl In Current Events

I just got news that a base in Baghdad where we have friends stationed at has been bombed. Many troops have been injured, and one Airman is dead. Trying to get more news is incredibly frustrating; no-one's saying anything. I'll just have to wait like everyone esle to find out who it was; if it's one of 'our' guys.

This is a little too close for comfort. We all spout off about how the casualties of war are necessary losses in the pursuit of world peace and freedom...but when it happens to YOU, to people YOU know...it suddenly becomes tangible. Dave's done plenty of stints in the desert but we've only ever come close to this kind of situation before: he had left Khobar Towers a couple of weeks before the bomb went off. We had a friend there then; he was working the LE desk at the time so managed to give us a call and let us know he was ok. This time the phone has been silent...(not that anyone from there called me anyway)..and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. If someone from here had been killed or injured, surely the jungle drums would have been beating before now? I hope so.

I was explaining to Shea why we had troops over there. She didn'g get why we were being bombed. I said it was because there were people who lived there who didn't want us there. Her response to that was "So why don't we just leave, then? If the people don't want us and they're killing our guys, do we really need to be there? What are they doing for us that's so important that we have to stay there and let Americans get bombed like that? Don't the President know that that's someone's Dad that got killed? Or doesn't he give a care that some little kid is going to be an orphan this easter?"

I didn't know what to say.

Comments (Page 6)

dharmagrl

on Apr 13, 2004

Thanks, Muggaz.

I don't think that Dan will agree he was condescending, though. Whatever. I'm done arguing about it.

citahellion

on Apr 13, 2004

Apparently I don't check in often enough to carry on anything resembling a conversation in these comments... however, I will reply to MadPoet41 (BTW, quoting doesn't seem to function for me either):

MP41 said, in response to my phrase "Making the world a safer place":
Anytime human beings are being slaughtered~no matter which side you are on~the world IS NOT a safer place.

I hope you would agree that the less slaughter is going on, the safer the world is? Then the fact that Iraqis are no longer dying in droves to satisfy Saddam's power plays, or to slake his lust for inflicting pain, or for whatever other reason he had tens of thousands of people killed, demonstrates that the world is indeed safer overall. It is indeed unfortunate that Americans are now the target of some attacks, but as Brad points out in another article, we took this risk now in order to avoid having to take a larger risk later.

debidoll

on Apr 13, 2004

You're right, Dharma, that you do start thinking differently when it hits close to home. My son has been stationed at Ft. Irwin in California for a year now, and has recently re-inlisted (BAH!)......his decision, but troubling to me. I guess chances are that he will be shipped to Iraq somewtime next January (if we are still there, which we probably will be for much longer than that). I am TRYING not to worry before hand, but I keep thinking of him there in the desert like a stitting duck waiting to get picked off, and it's maddening. So many horrible things can happen, too numerous to mention. So right now, it may not be the "right thing" to say, or "politically correct", but I am going to quote tangled wishes when she said, you know what? Fuck Iraq, and while I'm at it, fuck that bastard George Bush and the horse he rode in on.

MadPoet41

on Apr 13, 2004

So right now, it may not be the "right thing" to say, or "politically correct", but I am going to quote tangled wishes when she said, you know what? Fuck Iraq, and while I'm at it, fuck that bastard George Bush and the horse he rode in on.

So now I am quoting the truthful and brave person who quoted the very truthful and very brave Tangled Wishes~because I agree w/both of you 100%. My only regret is that I waited this long. And I think that's because I am still rather a newbie here at JU, and I didn't wanna step on too many toes? Because I have so much respect for most of the bloggers here, and really would like to be able to keep coming back? Because I STILL say this is the smartest and coolest site I have ever chatted on before. MANY very good folks at JU. However, I do think Dharma's feelings regarding this matter really should be what we're talking about here~that's the main thing. Not this endless "who's right, and who's wrong?" So I'm not gonna comment further on this political bombshell here. It just isn't fair to Dharma. At all.

~MadPoet

Tangled Wishes

on Apr 13, 2004

ahhh!!!

Okay. First of all.

I agree with you totally Dharma. You are like my... big sister with less problems who is nice and understanding and insanely intelligent. It TOTALLY sucks that people have been killed in Iraq.

And secondly, I would like to say my God, people read my blog. And agree with the totally leftist (????) views that I have about Bush and Iraq.

And thirdly, I apologize for this being confusing. I'm drunk.

~Anne

Dan Kaschel

on Apr 13, 2004

I was condescending. Condescension is a literary tool.

Dharma does care what I think of her a little... we're friends, and friend generally do.

~Dan

dharmagrl

on Apr 13, 2004

Yes, Dan , I DO care about what you think of me, that's why all this was made so much worse. If I didn't give a rats ass it wouldn't have bothered me quite so much.

Anne....I don't know what to say, except 'thank you'.

Muggaz

on Apr 13, 2004

Dharma does care what I think of her a little... we're friends, and friend generally do

Friends generally dont take the tone you took either...

I guess it's all water under the bridge now...

BAM!!!

One man

on Apr 14, 2004

Amazing to me what this has turned into... I wonder if it would have turned out differently if it had been catagorized under Blog or hmm personal relationships even?

To me it seems very inappropriate for anybody here to have been so critical of thing said in this article. Anybody who took the time to read it carefully could have recognized this is not a news brief, or a political statement, Dharmagrl said it herself:

This article was my way of expressing my feelings about the war, about my children's concerns and my momentary lack of wisdom and inability to answer their questions. It was NOT intended as a forum for a political debate...

I haven't seen any apologies yet, but I really think some are due to her. If I sound like your mother then good. Mama always did teach some good lessons about courtesy and manners.

chiprj

on Sep 30, 2004

Wow... You posted this before I came to JU and I'm glad you brought it to my attention. I can't imagine how tense the waiting must have been. I've lost friends since I've been in the service but not under these circumstances. I have friends in Iraq and Afghanistan and I'm torn between checking the casaulty rolls on a daily basis and being afraid of what I'll see there. And that's just in general. I can't imagine how much harder it would be if I knew that a strike had happened exactly where someone I know was located. Thank you for sharing this with me.

dharmagrl

on Sep 30, 2004

I can't imagine how much harder it would be if I knew that a strike had happened exactly where someone I know was located. Thank you for sharing this with me.

Thank you for reading it...I spent 3 days not knowing who, trying to find out who, worrying about who it might have been. I knew most of the squad from when i was Key Spouse for a prior deployment, and had made friends with them, their wives, and in some cases their mommas. I knew their kids.....and all I could think about was widows and orphans and broken-hearted mothers.

Texas Wahine

on Sep 30, 2004

Bless your heart, dharma. It is maddening knowing that stuff is going down where "our" guys are. When something happens in Kirkuk or Balad or Bagram or Kandahar, my heart races and I have to fight back the tears. You have amazing strength.

dharmagrl

on Sep 30, 2004

When something happens in Kirkuk or Balad or Bagram or Kandahar, my heart races and I have to fight back the tears. You have amazing strength.

No, WE have amazing strength. We're in this together, you know. We're both military wives.

Dave has to go next spring....and if I'm honest about it, I have to say I'm terrified.

crazy lady

on Oct 29, 2004

My husband is headed out Dec. 1st, this year. Very scary indeed.
I get asked almost constantly about it now. I try to put it in the back of my mind, but the question start bringing up the emotion...
I have loved ones there now. We too have had to sit on the edges of our seats.

In conversations I have with family members, at those moments, are filled with emotion... a lot of emotion.
But after a few hours and the calm starts to flush back over, those conversations turn in to the proud family members we are. I knew that my hubby would have to go eventually. He made his final decision to join right after 9/11. That is why he wanted to go. So that wouldn't or couldn't happen again. He wanted to be a part of it. We had talked about it (joining military) for a couple of months before 9/11, but there was no holding him back after that! I love him for that. And I know that my views about what we are trying to achieve over there will not change.

When we have told some people about him leaving the responses vary, but the most common, are the ones for support. Those are the ones we hold on too.

Our son knows the dangers and may not completely understand, but if something were to happen to Dad, I will make sure he knows how important this was to his future.

There are a lot of Iraqis that appreciate what we are trying to do.

I do wish the best for you and yours and to ALL military families.

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