Reposted in support of Cindy Sheehan, mother of Specialist Casey Sheehan, who was killed in action in Iraq on April 4, 2004, and other military families who have lost loved ones in the war. Cindy and relatives of other fallen soldiers are camped outside George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, drawing the nation's attention to the senselessness of the killing and destruction that continue unabated. Scroll down for comments from Cindy and others from my interviews with them in August 2004. A version of this piece originally appeared in my column in two installments (September 4 and 18, 2004) when I was an editorial columnist for the Asheville Citizen-Times.
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I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.
--Dwight David Eisenhower

I am a war president.
--George W. Bush, 2/8/04

Nobody wants to be the war president. I want to be the peace president.
--George W. Bush, 7/20/04

Have you noticed how American casualties in the continuing war in Iraq are no longer front-page news? Though the total number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the post-war occupation creeps inexorably toward 1,000, many of us have turned our attention elsewhere or have just become indifferent. I didn't watch a lot of the Republican National Convention in New York City this past week, but the official speakers I heard certainly didn't spend much time talking about the total American, allied and Iraqi deaths in our nation's "catastrophic success" in the Middle East.

On October 12, 2002, I wrote about the unconvincing arguments then being provided by the Bush administration to support their proposed preemptive strike against Iraq:
1. Iraq's "capabilities in the field of chemical and biological agents' and "aggressive nuclear weapons program." (Vice President Dick Cheney, 8/29/02).
2. "... contacts between al Qaeda and Iraq that can be documented ..." (National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice, 9/25/02)
3. Iraqi involvement in the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. (Vice President Dick Cheney on numerous occasions)
4. A war that against the Iraqis would be a "cakewalk" (Kenneth Adelman, former assistant to Donald Rumsfeld and Defense Policy Board member, 12/6/01)

Of course, the Senate Intelligence Committee Report, the 9/11 Commission Report and experience have exposed all four of these administration arguments as figments of someone's imagination. Most likely bogus intelligence from Iraqi exile Ahmed Chalabi and his minions, a group that had everything to win and nothing to lose by feeding the White House what the neocons wanted to hear.

In the final paragraph of my October 12, 2002 column, I wrote, "Our president has said that we must protect our nation by eradicating the designated 'evil ones' of the world who threaten our safety and security. The real evil that must be confronted, however, is any human's willingness to put the life of man, woman, or child in harm's way without exhausting every conceivable avenue for reconciliation."

And putting the young men and women of our armed forces needlessly at risk is exactly what this administration has done. We have now lost 978 American lives. At last count 6,916 more have been wounded, some so severely that normal lives will be impossible. And according to Iraqi Body Count, more than 11,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed.

Having lost the initial rationale for his war of choice, President Bush belatedly claims that the liberation of the Iraqi people was worth the cost we have paid and continue to pay in American lives. Is the world a better place with Saddam Hussein behind bars? No doubt about it. Was this endeavor worth the lives of our young men and women? A number of the families whose loved ones have died in Iraq say absolutely not!

I have had the opportunity to communicate with a few of these families by telephone and e-mail over the past few weeks. Below are some of their comments.

Jane Bright, West Hills, California, mother of Army SGT Evan Ashcraft, who was killed in action in Iraq when his Humvee was hit by enemy fire on July 24, 2003:

"There are no words in the English language that can adequately describe the pain that the loss of my son has caused. The world has lost a citizen of high intelligence, a gifted musician, a kind, perceptive loving young man. The loss of Evan and so many young men and women like him is a loss to our country and the world. They are our future and we are standing by and watching our young die....

"Several months ago when George Bush was performing his skit for the media in which he was looking under his desk and under chairs for weapons of mass destruction, I was horrified by the insensitivity of his performance. I thought to myself, here is the president of the United States making a joke out of a pre-emptive war and laughing about WMDs (weapons of mass destruction), the basis for going to war, a war in which my dear son died, over 1,000 coalition troops have died and thousands of Iraqi civilians have died. How dare he! I would like George Bush to perform that skit in front of the parents and other loved ones of those who have been killed, and we will let him know how funny his skit is."

Roxanne Kaylor, Clifton, Virginia, mother of 1st LT Jeff Kaylor killed in an explosion in Iraq on April 7, 2003:

"I am beyond words to express my fury over the latest revelations of how the Bush Administration/CIA manipulated, covered-up, and lied about data to make its case for war.... When you feel betrayed, when you believe that something or someone you love has been wounded and cheated and lied to, the fury that floods a mother's heart is unstoppable.

"I am so ashamed to be considered an American at this point. I don't even say the Pledge of Allegiance or sing any patriotic songs about our country.... Bush and company say they love America, but they don't love its citizens. I don't think you lie to people you love. I don't think you send them off into dangerous situations on the basis of murky, cobbled-together information that isn't really information at all. I don't think you keep them scared all the time. I don't think you threaten your citizens by saying you are either with us or you are a terrorist....

"We let this government lie to us and we did nothing about it. How could the Congress, the American people, and especially the press have been so stupid to have believed the propaganda of the Bush administration and not demand authenticity? I want my America back from those Bush and company thugs!"

Nadia McCaffrey, Tracy, California, mother of SGT Patrick Ryan McCaffrey, killed in action in an ambush in Iraq on June 22, 2004:

"I'm pretty tough, and I think I'm going to be OK, but the loss is really hard. I thought it would get easier with time, but it's not. The pain is worse now than it was at first. Patrick was my only child, and now he's gone....

"Patrick signed up with the National Guard the day after the 9/11 attacks because he wanted to help his country in the event of natural catastrophes or more attacks on our country. But he quickly became disillusioned with U.S. operations in Iraq. After his first mission he called home and he said, 'I have no idea why we're here.... The people (Iraqis) hate us. They insult us. They throw things at us.' He was deeply hurt and his voice was very heavy.

"After that Patrick turned to the Iraqi children. He was asking us to send him cookies, candy, powdered Gatorade, and also toys that he could give the children. In one of the last e-mails that I got from him, he asked for a box of deflated soccer balls with a pump so he could give them to the kids. There is a picture with Patrick glowing with joy sitting on top of a Humvee holding some flowers that the children had given him. This picture was taken not even an hour before his death. Now it appears that he was killed by the very Iraqis he was training."

Sue Niederer, Pennington, New Jersey, mother of 1st LT Seth Dvorin who was killed in action in Iraq on February 3, 2004:

"I feel that Mr. Bush and his administration have been deceitful, have lied to us, have total arrogance about them. And my feeling is that Bush is an absolute coward. He is disgrace to this country because he cannot take the time because of guilt to face the parents and relatives of the fallen soldiers. I think this shows a total disrespect for the fallen soldiers....

"Donald Rumsfeld said that the troops are fungible, fungible meaning you lose one life, you get another one and put them in there. Lose one, throw another in. My son is not fungible. I asked Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ), how many wives, husbands and children of U.S. congressmen and senators actually are in a war zone in Iraq. You know what he told me? None. Let the president and senators and congressmen send their children over there to fight this war and see how they feel then. Nothing will ever ease my pain."

Jean Prewitt, Birmingham, Alabama, mother of PVT Kelley Prewitt who was killed in action in Iraq by enemy fire on April 6, 2003:

"I saw the two soldiers in the hall where I worked. 'Please tell me he's just wounded,' I cried. 'Please tell me he's wounded.' They took me to our district manager's conference room and said that Kelley was hit by shrapnel and must have bled to death. After that one of the hardest things was telling my mother. She saw me and said, "What's wrong?" And I told her it was about Kelley. She asked, 'Did he get hurt?' And I said, 'Yes, ma'am, but he didn't make it; he died.' She said, 'Oh, God, not my baby. I wish it had been me.' And she really meant it.

"One of the worst things after that was seeing Kelley for the first time. But I'm so glad I did; at least he didn't get blown to pieces.... He was such a handsome man, but it didn't even look like him except for his head and his short hair.... Time does take care of a lot of wounds, but it'll never take away the pain that I feel.

"I visit Kelley every day. A friend of mine from Georgia and I went over there today. And I talked to him and cleaned his grave off. I take a brush and paper towel and water and clean the marker. At first I didn't speak out against the war because I believed President Bush. But after Thanksgiving (2003), I began to learn that the information Bush gave us was not correct and that that country (Iraq) was not an imminent threat to us. TV announcers casually say there were two more soldiers killed over there. And you think, 'Well, there's two more families going through what we're going through.' And their lives will be changed forever for no reason except President Bush's ego."

Renee Stratton, Hart, Michigan, sister of SGT Todd Robbins, killed in action in Iraq on April 3, 2003:

"I can't stop crying when I think about my nephew, Todd's 15-year-old son, who has been robbed of his father forever.... I'm sorry if I sound selfish, but when you are asked to give up your loved one for the country of Iraq and its people, it doesn't make sense to me.... My family will live this nightmare until the day we die.

"There has been much talk about the media showing coffins, names and faces on TV. Bush stated that he wanted to protect our families' privacy. I guess he can't understand what it's like to have your loved one come home in a box.... When the media prints four died today in Iraq, you can't understand what that actually means until you see the casket.... I will forever remember the casket that was flown home to us with a body we couldn't say goodbye to because it was in pieces and unrecognizable."

Cindy Sheehan, Vacaville, California, mother of Specialist Casey Sheehan, killed in action in Iraq on April 4, 2004 in an ambush:

"When we met with President Bush after Casey's death, our family decided we wanted to tell him what an amazing person Casey was. So we took pictures of Casey when he was a baby and when he was in the Army. We just wanted to honor Casey's memory. I did tell President Bush how awful it is to have a child die, and he said, 'I can't imagine your pain.' And I said, 'I think you might be able to imagine it a little bit. You have children. Just think of what would happen if one of your daughters died.' Then I said, 'Trust me, Mr. President, you don't want to go there.' And he said, 'You're right; I don't.'

"I think he (Bush) rushed into this war before he had all of the information. I believe that this (the invasion of Iraq) had been planned before 9/11. And when 9/11 came, this administration saw it as an opportunity to invade Iraq. But I don't think they had any plans for the occupation. And that's when my son was killed--two weeks after his arrival in Iraq--by the followers of Muqtada al Sadr.

"Parents with kids over there need to start talking to their senators and congressmen about getting the VA (Veterans Administration) better funded for when their children come home. The ones who come home are going to be wounded mentally and emotionally. They're seeing a lot of things that are really affecting them. There are going to be thousands coming back from this war that are going to need lots of counseling and support."

Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son?
The torrential rains of a mother's weeping will never be done
They call him a hero, you should be glad that he's one, but
Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son?
--From a poem by Carly Sheehan, Casey's sister

Celeste Zappala, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, mother of SGT Sherwood Baker, killed in action in Iraq on April 26, 2004 while providing security for the Iraqi Survey Group as they searched for weapons of mass destruction:

"On Monday April 26 just before 7:00 p.m. a man carrying a notebook appeared on my front porch, at first I thought he was selling magazines, then I saw his medals and I thought maybe he had come to tell me something about the election the next day, then I began to understand why he was standing on my porch. 'Are you Sherwood Baker's mother,' he asked? 'Are you Sherwood's mother?'

"I began to scream and scream and scream. He had come to tell me, that my dear Sherwood--only 30 years old--my sweet and noble son--had been killed in an explosion in Baghdad that morning.

"Sherwood was the first Pennsylvania national guardsman to die in combat since 1945. Like so many other members of National Guard units in our country, he joined to protect his community, to earn some extra income and to help to pay off his student loans. He, like so many never really expected to be sent to war, but when the call came, he like so many, faced danger and honored his oath. He did not waver; he was committed to the men he served with....

"Let us resist the language that just numbers them all casualties. They were someone's beloved, and they will never touch their face or hear their whispered words of love again. Let us not be lulled into thinking of the dead Iraqis as collateral damage; think of the mother who grabbed her baby daughter and in vain lay on top of her to protect her at the first sound of a bomb. Think of a little boy's hand searching for his brother amidst the rubble. Think of the last breath of my soldier son.

"Heavy and terrible losses, never to be replaced or made right. Wounds on the living souls of hundreds of thousands to be carried all of the rest of their days. Time will move on; events we can't foresee will dim the memory for some. And some will count their profits and call the war good and easy. And if the dead could speak to us what would they say? Kill more? Harden your heart with hate? Or would they say to us, please, war is not the answer; find another way?

"Let us not romanticize this war in any way; let us look at the carnage with eyes wide open and tell ourselves and our leaders, please, we insist, find another way."

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
--Dr. Martin Luther King

Resources

Bring Them Home Now, www.bringthemhomenow.org. A campaign of military families, veterans, active duty personnel, reservists and others opposed to the ongoing war in Iraq.

Eyes Wide Open, http://afsc.org/eyes/. The Eyes Wide Open exhibition is a multimedia journey through the words, images, and sounds of the Iraq war.

Military Families Speak Out, www.mfso.org. An organization of people who are opposed to war in Iraq and who have relatives or loved ones in the military.

Tragedy Assistance Programs for Survivors, www.taps.org. TAPS provides a wide variety of programs and information to survivors, military and casualty personnel and others.

Veterans for Peace, www.veteransforpeace.org. Veterans working together for peace and justice through non-violence.