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April 15, 2003
apologies
NBC news finished off tonight's broadcast with the widely reported story of the Iraqi boy who lost his parents, along with both of his arms, in an American bombing a couple weeks ago. The story centered on how the Iraqi hospital was crowded and "unsanitary" and how he was being transported to Kuwait that night for better medical care. Some branch of the US military was doing the airlifting.
Yeah, this was just another human interest story. And yeah, it was supposed to feel sincere and heartfelt and give us all the "oh isn't war horrible when it hurts children" after-taste.
The real problem with it was what wasn't said or implied. The reporter at the end wishes the boy luck. That boy didn't fucking need luck--he needed not to have his neighborhood bombed and his parents killed and his arms blown off in the first place. The spin of the story was "oh isn't this great that he has high spirits and the military is airlifting him and the Kuwaitis are going to take care of him." No mention of "isn't it horrible that this boy had to have his arms blown off and the skin on a third of his body burned just so we could prove that we're the big dog on the block."
And it's just fucking ridiculous. This 12 yearold boy loses his arms. George Bush's approval ratings go up. Young people, both soldiers and civilians, British, American, Iraqi, etc, are killed and maimed. And for what? To get rid of a tyrant who may have tortured this same 12 yearold boy at some point in his life (but then again, maybe not. One thing is certain: the kid never would have lost his arms and his parents to US bombs if the US had never dropped them)? To intimidate the Arab and Muslim world ("terrorists" in White House venacular)? To wreak vengenance on people who probably didn't have anything to do with September 11th, but who share the same language, skin color, and religion with the people who did?
So I guess I say to the boy that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that my country did this unapologetically and arrogantly. I'm sorry we don't believe in diplomacy, or stealth, but in cluster bombing and invasion. And I'm sorry that you will grow up to hate us, but I understand why.
Posted by me at April 15, 2003 07:34 PM
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