e find ourselves bogged down in the kind of sectarian violence that results in wholesale death on a daily basis. Thirty-three deaths would be considered a good day by Iraqi standards. Our continued presence there only serves to intensify the fighting. Our soldiers have done all that was asked of them. There is no more for them to do, other than to come home. This is not about winning or loosing. We lost when we diverted attention from the real terrorists, al-qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. We lost when we committed to the kind of nation building that George Bush said that he would never do. George Bush has shown himself to be a pathological liar. He lied about our reasons for going to war, and he is lying about why we coNow that the shoe is on the other foot, we as a nation find ourselves morning over the tragic events that took place on the Virginia Tech campus, much like we did on Nine-Eleven. The kind of wonton violence that occurred on both occasions happens in the Middle East with regularity, but we don’t recognize nor feel their pain. There are no sympathetic headlines or television news packages, with logo laden graphics and theme music for their victims. While we may sympathize in passing, we don’t empathize until moments like these, when the shoe is on the other foot.

On the same day that a mentally disturbed madman killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus and took his own life, five suicide bombers in Iraq killed 200 people and wounded over 100 more. So consumed were we in our national grief over the loss of the 32, that the carnage in Iraq, barely rated a mention. As a nation, we are so far removed from the pain of others that we have become pariahs. No Agnes, they don’t hate us because we’re free, they hate us because of the things that they see. They hate us because we seemingly have a blind eye when it comes to the suffering of others. For years, the Palestinians have fought on land that was taken by fiat and given to Israel. They have struggled against Israeli oppression. They have fought to reclaim some semblance of their human dignity. With but few exceptions, we have supported Israel, their oppressor. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we underwrite Israeli aggression. Rarely, if ever, do we rein them in. The world witnessed this in Lebanon, where we allowed the Israelis to wreak havoc on the Lebanese infrastructure and population. It wasn’t the United States that put Israel in check; it was Hezbollah. Too often, we act as if Israel is our only friend in the Middle East. Unfortunately, this is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Our preferential treatment towards Israel is at the root of all of our problems in the Middle East. Israel is the exception that proves the rule that there are no permanent enemies or friends, only interests. Instead of being fair and balanced, we have been extremely one sided. In the immediate aftermath of Nine-Eleven we had the sympathy and support of the entire civilized world. Under the unwise leadership of King George, we squandered what support we had, when we chose to preemptively strike Iraq, though they clearly had nothing to do with Nine-Eleven. Our first pretext for war was that Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which if given the chance, he would use against America. When we failed to find the weapons that we alleged were there, the goal became to dismantle Saddam. We killed his two sons Uday and Qussay and flushed Saddam out of his spider hole, but we remain in Iraq. Now the goal is to bring some semblance of stability to a regime that in reality we put in place.

In the midst of all of this, we find ourselves bogged down in the kind of sectarian violence that results in wholesale death on a daily basis. Thirty-three deaths would be considered a good day by Iraqi standards. Our continued presence there only serves to intensify the fighting. Our soldiers have done all that was asked of them. There is no more for them to do, other than to come home. This is not about winning or loosing. We lost when we diverted attention from the real terrorists, al-qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. We lost when we committed to the kind of nation building that George Bush said that he would never do. George Bush has shown himself to be a pathological liar. He lied about our reasons for going to war, and he is lying about why we con

e and wounded over 100 more. So consumed were we in our national grief over the loss of the 32, that the carnage in Iraq, barely rated a mention. As a nation, we are so far removed from the pain of others that we have become pariahs. No Agnes, they don’t hate us because we’re free, they hate us because of the things that they see. They hate us because we seemingly have a blind eye when it comes to the suffering of others. For years, the Palestinians have fought on land that was taken by fiat and given to Israel. They have struggled against Israeli oppression. They have fought to reclaim some semblance of their human dignity. With but few exceptions, we have supported Israel, their oppressor. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we underwrite Israeli aggression. Rarely, if ever, do we rein them in. The world witnessed this in Lebanon, where we allowed the Israelis to wreak havoc on the Lebanese infrastructure and population. It wasn’t the United States that put Israel in check; it was Hezbollah. Too often, we act as if Israel is our only friend in the Middle East. Unfortunately, this is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Our preferential treatment towards Israel is at the root of all of our problems in the Middle East. Israel is the exception that proves the rule that there are no permanent enemies or friends, only interests. Instead of being fair and balanced, we have been extremely one sided. In the immediate aftermath of Nine-Eleven we had the sympathy and support of the entire civilized world. Under the unwise leadership of King George, we squandered what support we had, when we chose to preemptively strike Iraq, though they clearly had nothing to do with Nine-Eleven. Our first pretext for war was that Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which if given the chance, he would use against America. When we failed to find the weapons that we alleged were there, the goal became to dismantle Saddam. We killed his two sons Uday and Qussay and flushed Saddam out of his spider hole, but we remain in Iraq. Now the goal is to bring some semblance of stability to a regime that in reality we put in place.

In the midst of all of this, we find ourselves bogged down in the kind of sectarian violence that results in wholesale death on a daily basis. Thirty-three deaths would be considered a good day by Iraqi standards. Our continued presence there only serves to intensify the fighting. Our soldiers have done all that was asked of them. There is no more for them to do, other than to come home. This is not about winning or loosing. We lost when we diverted attention from the real terrorists, al-qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. We lost when we committed to the kind of nation building that George Bush said that he would never do. George Bush has shown himself to be a pathological liar. He lied about our reasons for going to war, and he is lying about why we co

r not, we underwrite Israeli aggression. Rarely, if ever, do we rein them in. The world witnessed this in Lebanon, where we allowed the Israelis to wreak havoc on the Lebanese infrastructure and population. It wasn’t the United States that put Israel in check; it was Hezbollah. Too often, we act as if Israel is our only friend in the Middle East. Unfortunately, this is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Our preferential treatment towards Israel is at the root of all of our problems in the Middle East. Israel is the exception that proves the rule that there are no permanent enemies or friends, only interests. Instead of being fair and balanced, we have been extremely one sided. In the immediate aftermath of Nine-Eleven we had the sympathy and support of the entire civilized world. Under the unwise leadership of King George, we squandered what support we had, when we chose to preemptively strike Iraq, though they clearly had nothing to do with Nine-Eleven. Our first pretext for war was that Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which if given the chance, he would use against America. When we failed to find the weapons that we alleged were there, the goal became to dismantle Saddam. We killed his two sons Uday and Qussay and flushed Saddam out of his spider hole, but we remain in Iraq. Now the goal is to bring some semblance of stability to a regime that in reality we put in place.

In the midst of all of this, we find ourselves bogged down in the kind of sectarian violence that results in wholesale death on a daily basis. Thirty-three deaths would be considered a good day by Iraqi standards. Our continued presence there only serves to intensify the fighting. Our soldiers have done all that was asked of them. There is no more for them to do, other than to come home. This is not about winning or loosing. We lost when we diverted attention from the real terrorists, al-qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. We lost when we committed to the kind of nation building that George Bush said that he would never do. George Bush has shown himself to be a pathological liar. He lied about our reasons for going to war, and he is lying about why we co

we had the sympathy and support of the entire civilized world. Under the unwise leadership of King George, we squandered what support we had, when we chose to preemptively strike Iraq, though they clearly had nothing to do with Nine-Eleven. Our first pretext for war was that Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which if given the chance, he would use against America. When we failed to find the weapons that we alleged were there, the goal became to dismantle Saddam. We killed his two sons Uday and Qussay and flushed Saddam out of his spider hole, but we remain in Iraq. Now the goal is to bring some semblance of stability to a regime that in reality we put in place.

In the midst of all of this, we find ourselves bogged down in the kind of sectarian violence that results in wholesale death on a daily basis. Thirty-three deaths would be considered a good day by Iraqi standards. Our continued presence there only serves to intensify the fighting. Our soldiers have done all that was asked of them. There is no more for them to do, other than to come home. This is not about winning or loosing. We lost when we diverted attention from the real terrorists, al-qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. We lost when we committed to the kind of nation building that George Bush said that he would never do. George Bush has shown himself to be a pathological liar. He lied about our reasons for going to war, and he is lying about why we co

e find ourselves bogged down in the kind of sectarian violence that results in wholesale death on a daily basis. Thirty-three deaths would be considered a good day by Iraqi standards. Our continued presence there only serves to intensify the fighting. Our soldiers have done all that was asked of them. There is no more for them to do, other than to come home. This is not about winning or loosing. We lost when we diverted attention from the real terrorists, al-qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. We lost when we committed to the kind of nation building that George Bush said that he would never do. George Bush has shown himself to be a pathological liar. He lied about our reasons for going to war, and he is lying about why we continue to be in Iraq. This is about oil and nothing more. We must not forget for one moment that, underneath the cornpone and folksiness, George Bush and Dick Cheney are oilmen. As their nefarious plan continues to unfold, we are left to quietly morn the loss of loved ones who were mercilessly placed in harms way

Those who object to our continued presence in Iraq are labeled cowards who want to cut and run. The argument that everything would fall apart if we were to leave Iraq precipitously provides the rationale and argument for our continued presence there. If we can morn for ourselves, why do we find it so difficult to feel the pain of others? I’ve lost count of how many days have elapsed since the President’s declaration of “mission accomplished”. I’ve lost count of the lives that have been lost each day after that declaration. We mourn for the young folks who lost their lives at Virginia Tech. Do we also morn for the innocent Iraqis who lose their lives daily and are made to live in fear because of our occupation? Do we morn for the Lebanese who are struggling to put their lives back together in the aftermath of the merciless Israeli onslaught, which we sanctioned, by saying nothing? Do we morn for the Palestinians who are killed on a daily basis at the hands of the Israelis and are refugees in their own land? Despite our protestations of never again, we can’t find it in our hearts to mourn for the people in Dafur, who are victims the Sudanese government’s program of sanctioned genocide.

We lose 33 people at Virginia Tech and we go on a morning binge. We cause the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and we barely notice. What is wrong with us as a nation? Have we no thread of human decency left? It’s clear that the President doesn’t. He stubbornly insists on us remaining in Iraq. American soldiers die daily. Innocent Iraqis die daily, yet we are being told that we are making progress. The President has labeled Iraq as Ground Zero for terror. “We’re fighting the terrorist over there so we don’t have to fight them here,” the Presidents frequently says. That has not spared us from terrorism over here, as Virginia Tech and the Amish shootings have shown. Now the shoe is squarely on the other foot.

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