When Will They Ever Learn?

Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan and many others all asked the question as they sang Where Have All the Flowers Gone.

The situation in Iraq really demands that that question has to be asked - again. A Trillion dollars and thousands of US and Iraqi lives lost over the past decade. Those dollars could have been spent on many things here in the US. Vulnerable people's programs and supports were cut. Our economy suffered dearly. But the loss of life is the worst thing that happened as a result of the war in Iraq, including many women and children.

On top of that, after years of fighting, everyone is aware that the premise for the war was bogus, perpetrated by leaders in this country who had their own agenda. They tried to tie it to 9/11 but it couldn't be done other than through emotional tugs. Weapons of mass destruction were identified as existing and an imminent threat. In the end, they didn't exist. What's happening in Iraq is horrific but the reality is that leaders and policy makers in this country have no real clue about the culture and issues that have had factions fighting against each other for centuries. We're so schizophrenic that we're even considering working with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard who Congress has gone on record as recognizing as a terrorist organization. Strange, no beyond strange.

So the question remains, "when will they ever learn?" There have been somewhere around 200 conflicts that the US has participated in since the formation of this country. Some were all out wars and some were smaller conflicts barely recognized as anything more then a blip in history. All of these conflicts had young people who did the hard and dirty work while elected officials and policymakers talked things up and raised patriotic issues. There were soldiers on every side who were heroes in one fashion or another. Reaching out a hand, helping locals impacted by war. There were times when enemies looked each other in the eye and realized something was wrong.

All of this is easy for me. I've opposed war and violence for most of my life. I believe in non violence and think it is a moral choice that people need to make or at least consider. Along the way, I've met and talked to many veterans from different conflicts - WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Most wouldn't speak with bravado about their experiences. Actually, most wouldn't speak voluntarily about what they did and saw. My Uncle Robbie was one of those heroes. He helped emancipate thousands from a concentration camp in Europe toward the end of WWII. He was on the ground with shells flying around him. He suffered the consequences of what he saw for most of his life but didn't talk about it. My great friend Louie who was a navigator flying in a bomber over Italy, Yugoslavia and other parts of Europe during WWII. He didn't boast. He got very thoughtful and said little. My friend Doug who fought with valor in Vietnam. He wouldn't joke about it or make light of it and he suffered from the things he saw. These men understood the question "when will they ever learn?" and they asked it themselves. They did not end up being the breast beaters or war mongers. They were tempered in their view. Many times, their view about war changed with time and expierience. They were smart men.

It's not them we have to worry about though. It's those boasters and saber rattlers, most of whom haven't seen war but have been elected to lead. Be careful as they talk about actions that have to be taken in Iraq. Enough is enough, and yes, when will they ever learn? Soon I hope. In the mean time, wage peace.