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Paula Span has written an eye-opening account for The Washington Post of the many military families who are now going public with their opposition to the war. It's recommended reading.
However, the story, as have virtually every other of the hundreds of stories written since the U.S. and its Coalition of the Willing, neglects to include the many thousands of innocent Iraqis who have been killed or wounded in the past year as a result of the conflict.
I sent the following letter to Ms. Span:
Ms. Span,I found compelling and moving your story in The Washington Post about military families who are now coming out in opposition to the war in Iraq. But your otherwise well-written story contained the same misinformation (if I may be allowed to term it so) found in most of the hundreds of other Iraq-related stories published since the invasion was launched: It included only American casualties in the cited numbers of dead and wounded.
Given that even the most hawkish members of the Bush administration would agree that it was Saddam Hussein and his supporters, not the Iraqi people, who were -- and are -- our enemies in this war, the many thousands of innocent Iraqis who have been maimed or killed since we invaded certainly deserve to be counted, to be remembered, to be mourned.
I urge you, Ms. Span, to consider remembering these victims, too, in future stories about the war in Iraq. We should surely mourn and honor every drop of American blood shed in Iraq, but we should also endeavor to remember the many thousands of innocent Iraqis who have suffered or died as a result of our actions.
Thank for your time and consideration in reading this note.
Sincerely,
Brett Leveridge
New York, NY
I don't in any way mean to single Ms. Span out; she's hardly alone in focusing solely on US casualties. But I'm resolved to endeavor to contact journalists when I'm able to urge them to reconsider the nature of their casualty counts. The Bush administration insists that the Iraqi people are not our enemies; given that, it surely behooves us to remember those among them who have suffered and even died since March 20th of last year.
If you agree, I urge you to contact Ms. Span and other journalists with your thoughts on the matter.
Here's an update: Ms. Span responded with a gracious note acknowledging that the issue is a legitimate one -- one that arose during the Vietnam War, too, she says.
Perhaps, if enough people get involved in raising this issue, we can help effect a change in how the media reports casualties during armed conflicts. I'll have more thoughts on this later.
Posted by brett at 03:57 PM | TrackBack