Passing 2,000

By Celeste Zappala and Anne Roesler
t r u t h o u t Perspective

Friday 28 October 2005

The number of US soldiers killed in the Iraq War is passing the 2,000 mark.

The number is passing 2,000. Just a number? Perhaps ... In Iraq, another soldier teetered on consciousness, drew the last breath and was gone. And all the hopes that rode on him and all the prayers that followed him from all the people who loved him are done.

Somewhere in America, relatives will get phone calls asking them to come and sit with a father who is too numb to cry, pick up the children because the widow is inconsolable. They will be called to witness the agony of another American family who has lost their soldier to this reckless war. Somewhere in a funeral parlor, a small grieving group will quietly gather and shake their heads, and through bitter tears ask why this has happened to their friend. A brave and decent American will be laid in the ground, along with his or her future. Another family will mourn the empty chair at the holiday table and every celebration for the rest of their lives.

We belong to military families who understand the true costs of this war. Celeste's son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, was killed on April 26, 2004, while protecting the Iraq Survey Group as they looked for the weapons of mass destruction - long after everyone knew there were none. Since his death, 1,280 more Americans have died in Iraq, along with countless Iraqis. Many more have been wounded in both body and soul. The justifications given for this war have been exposed as lies. But the litany of excuses is still repeated by the President: 9/11, links to al Qaeda, weapons of mass destruction. Somehow, the President's response to the daily death toll of Americans and Iraqis is to stay the course, while more and more Americans ask daily, Why?

For Anne, the war is an ongoing threat. Anne's son, a Staff Sergeant in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, has spent more than 550 days in Iraq since the invasion and is currently serving his third tour of duty there. Prior to his recent deployment, he said, "I don't know what the mission is; I haven't known for a long time." By the spring of 2003, he knew that there were no weapons of mass destruction. While he was angry that he'd been sent to a war based on lies, he hoped that he'd be part of something positive in rebuilding the country. He was in awe of being in Iraq, in the cradle of civilization, where even the dirt smells different. But things rapidly spiraled downward: "We've opened up a hornet's nest, and there's no putting them back." As the months passed, and he saw the futility of American troops being in Iraq, he couldn't wait to return home. "I'm tired of putting kids in body bags," he said.

Unfortunately, he was redeployed after only 7 months back in the US. Upon returning to Iraq he described the increasing chaos and not knowing who the enemy was. He returned from this tour a very different person than he'd been before. The war and the atrocities he'd witnessed took a heavy toll. It was only months before he was redeployed for the third time. Before he left, he said, "If I come home this time, it will take me years to get over it." It will indeed take this country and Iraq decades to recover from this war. President Bush says we must fight our enemies abroad in order to prevent them from harming US citizens at home, but who is the enemy, really? We are creating enemies in Iraq daily as we occupy the country and as Iraqis continue to die. Having our troops remain in Iraq is the equivalent of pouring fuel on a fire.

It is too late for the 2,000 families. They are forever tied by grief to the disaster that is the Iraq War. Saving the lives of those who are still serving or about to be sent to Iraq is the urgent mission of all military families who ask: how many more of America's sons and daughters should we sacrifice for a war based on lies? How many more should we allow to return home maimed and broken? How many more families will hear the worst news of their lives, before America says no, we will no longer quietly comply.

Anne's son wonders, Do the American people even care about us? Military Families Speak Out members do care, and that is why they speak out in support of the troops, the truth, and our responsibility as a nation to end this reckless war. The Administration says we can't get out yet. When will it be time? If Anne's son is the 2,010th to die, or the 2,020th or No. 2,100, will they, with nothing at risk, be able to look her in the eye and say that it was worth it?
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Celeste Zappala of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the mother of Sgt. Sherwood Baker, who was killed in Iraq in April 2004. Anne Roesler of Saratoga, California, is the mother of a soldier who is currently serving in Iraq. They are both members of Military Families Speak Out, an organization of over 2,500 military families opposed to the Iraq war. www.mfso.org.
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