View from the fray

“A good friend of mine asked me point blank if I would be spitting on our troops when they came home,” said Micki Lewis. “This is absurdity. If anyone supports our troops, it is those of us in the peace movement who have supported them before, do so now and will continue to do so after the war is over, unlike our own federal government.”

She cited the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam and depleted uranium in Iraq as evidence that U.S. military leaders don’t support our troops’ health. She cited proposed billions in funding cuts for veterans’ services as further lack of concern.

“Is this supporting our troops?” she asked. “Definitely not.”

Lewis helped organize a recent public debate Monday at Reno City Hall. Armed police officers were everywhere: Five stood outside with a large dog, six more hung out in the City Hall lobby and three officers stood erectly at the rear of the council’s chambers.

In Iraq, U.S. forces had rolled into Baghdad. Soldiers roved through Saddam Hussein’s palaces.

At the Iraq Body Count Project’s Web site, the civilian death toll—as calculated by gathering reports from more than 30 mainstream U.S. and foreign media sources—stood at a minimum of 899 people.

In Reno, a few spoke in favor of war. Reno dentist Gene Yup said he feels humiliated by anti-war protests.

“Most countries don’t like us because we do everything well,” he said. “They’re jealous. We have a chicken in every pot and a car in every driveway. … And if you’re concerned about paying for the war, you can cut out social programs. I’m tired of paying for people I don’t know.”

Most of the attendees were opposed to U.S. intervention in Iraq. Darin Bue, 43, a Reno carpenter, said he’s concerned that U.S. leaders—elected by the few Americans who aren’t disenfranchised—are blatantly violating the U.S.’s own principles.

“The freedom and liberty they speak of is for corporations, not for people,” Bue said. “For them, Iraq is just another bloody conquest in the name of so-called democracy.”

Jim Preston of Reno, a U.S. Army veteran, wondered what country the United States would try to dominate after it conquered Iraq.

“What’s next? Iran … Cuba … France?” he said. “When I joined the Army, I joined to defend the United States, not to invade other countries. What we’re doing now is committing mass murder in Iraq.”

Another U.S. Army veteran, Audrey Burns, aptly described the fears of a soldier on the battlefield, based on her own experiences.

“While we sit talking about this,” she said, “he’s halfway around the world, lying in the sand, worrying about killing the very people that the commander-in-chief has said that we have come to free. … This soldier enlisted for a free college education, not to kill. He will mourn for the lives he has taken, not to preserve freedom, but for oil, hate and greed.”

In Baghdad, American-led forces unloaded four 2,000-pound bombs on a residential area. Saddam Hussein might be dead. Long live Tommy Franks.

Hours later, an American tank fires on the Palestine Hotel, killing two journalists inside.