So Long Ago

I was browsing through my journal and came across this entry from February 23rd, 1991.

War in the Middle East. I have saved the newspapers from the first chaotic week of the war. I wonder why we are at it again? I can understand the evil of Saddam Hussein, so many men are evil, and history shows us that we have no monopoly on it in this era. I was born just before a world war and grew up during the Korean War and the Indo-China war that would come back to haunt us as the Vietnam War. So war is a part of my life.

We seem to be winning, but with the past evils of Saddam Hussein as a reminder, I am not sure of a quick and decisive war. The terror could go on for years. Not because of one man, Saddam, but because the American government has never used its powers to resolve the Palestinian homeland questions. Nor has our government ever accorded dignity to the Arab people. I have a terrible suspicion that this war will bring us a very unpleasant surprise. I hope that I am wrong. I also find the attitude of so many Americans puzzling, so unaware of the reality of war. It’s as if it were a television production, just change the channel and it will go away. So many flag wavers without a clue as to the harsh facts of death on a battlefield. When I was in the Navy, I was so very young and naive, but I did know something of death, I saw it happen in the hospital where I worked, and I saw something, (very little) of the reality of war. The people I talk to today believe in the technology of war. Our weapons are smarter somehow than our enemies, but far away, on the battlefield, where wars are fought, it becomes very personal.

So here we are, 15+ years later.