Southwestern College Collegian

Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Personal Column

When comparing loss of life, America has nothing on Iraq. Since the war began in March of 2003, 4,488 American soldiers have died. The Iraqi people have lost 20 times that number. An organization called Iraq Body Count calculates the mortality rate in Iraq. It is based solely upon confirmed violent deaths. A running estimate is updated every day. According to the website, somewhere between 80,000 and 90,000 Iraqi citizens have died since the war began. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has conducted additional studies. Most of their surveys showed the mortality rate to be higher than the estimate of Iraq Body Count. I will always support our soldiers. I find their deaths undeniably sad and frustrating. The American lives that have been sacrificed during the course of the war are invaluable. But the Iraqi people have lost so much more. I am upset that even one person has died in this pointless war. Thousands of people are dying. And I don't know why. Does anyone know the truth about why we are fighting in Iraq? Maybe all wars are this way. But I am frustrated because no one will give an honest answer about why 82,000 innocent civilians have died. They are people just like you and me. And yet, they continue to be killed. They have no voice. People don't know that so many of them are dying. And that is not right. I will not claim to know why our government wants us to fight. But I will tell you what they are not fighting for. They are not fighting for freedom. If our government is such a huge advocate of freedom and liberty for all, why haven't they created a master plan to impose freedom upon all nations that need it? Why just Iraq? And if our government really cares about the people of Iraq and their freedom, then why aren't they keeping track of the number of innocent Iraqi civilians who have died? In March 2002 General Tommy Franks was asked how many Iraqis had died since the war began. He said, "We don't do body counts." He should have just said he didn't know. Because the lives of the Iraqi people didn't matter to him. Does anyone in America care about these people? The nation's motto has become "Ignorance is bliss." Americans only care about themselves. As long as people are able to do what they want they are happy to sit back and give the government free reign. But the government shouldn't hold all of the blame. We are just as guilty. If you saw a man beating a woman to death in the street outside of your home you would be obligated to help. If you didn't, you would be partially responsible for her death. This war is the same way. Four thousand soldiers have come home in boxes. At least 82,000 innocent people are dying for nothing. And the citizens of America have done nothing to stop it. Our country is currently trillions of dollars in debt for this war. The price of oil has gone up. But none of that should matter. I am ashamed of my country. When did life become worth less than a barrel of oil? Since when has it been acceptable to force a nation to die for freedom they never asked for? We are willing to sit back and allow our government to persecute other nations in the name of freedom.That is not acceptable. At least 82,000 lives have been lost in this War On Terror. This is war. It's real. Even if I can't see Iraqi people dying, I know that they are. I also know that those are 82,000 lives that can't be given back. As Americans, we are required to hold our government accountable. People need to begin to care about what is happening in areas in the world other than America. And they need to do it soon.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools