My Thoughts on the War with Iraq

Bishnu Dey

I do not know why this war with Iraq is one I cannot come to grips with! Why do I not feel happy, the way I did when the Taliban regime in Afghanistan was being pounded? There was immense joy in watching the Taliban mullahs being hog-tied and huddled in cages, where they indeed deserved to be! This time around, I watch the TV and see the flashes of the cruise missiles and the bunker-busters and with each strike I grimace. I feel a pain at the sight of the regal buildings being shattered into rock and dust. I look at those broad highways that crisscross Baghdad and deep inside I used to feel a tinge of envy when I compared those with the city of Kolkata, where I spent a part of my early life. But now, all are in shambles and as I hear the screams of those haunted residents of Baghdad and feel a strange empathy for those huddled masses, who are indeed paying a horrible price for crimes perpetrated by their leaders.

This war is not a clash of civilizations as some might wish to portray. To me, this war is the epitome of the degradation of human virtues. It is also beginning of a prolonged struggle for all of us to re-examine our values. Have we all become so desensitized that we accept everything like a horde of cattle being huddled to the slaughterhouse? Where is the outrage, where is the cry of shame? When shall we all be able to stand up to this mindless destruction and say enough is enough?

I am afraid and I am torn apart. I am struggling to convince myself that in the end the sun will shine and bring happiness and peace to all. I strive to ignore the actions of my government against the Iraqi regime. Even as I readily concede that Saddam Hussein is a despot and a cold blooded murderer, I still can't convince myself that these actions justify the untold sufferings that is wrought upon the people of Iraq. I see the pictures of the suffering people and the children and try to imagine what would I have felt if I were in their place? How would I cope with the torments that the nighttimes bring endlessly? I think of the little children and I feel their anguish, I sense their fear, and I imagine their horror with every "successful" strike of the "precision" bomb. What would I have done, if I were there??

I am a citizen of a free nation and I am also a proud citizen of this wonderful country, which I chose to be my adopted motherland. I breathed the air upon arrival to this land many years ago and heaved a sigh of relief; at last I am free! I am free! I was glad to escape from the clutches of the oppressive political system in India run by the Congress mafia, which offered nothing but corruption, despair and pain to its thriving mass of uncounted millions. I was lucky, so I thought when I set foot upon the land of the free and the home of the brave! Home of the brave, yes - but land of the free? I don't know. I am so confused!

I love this country, I love the wonderful people, but I am also saddened that 70% of the people feel that the war is justified. I know how caring the people of this land are, and how much they feel for the sanctity of human lives! But, I am saddened to see the apathy and the general sense of complacency in their display of nationalism at the expense of humanism. Perhaps they are afraid to speak out, perhaps they are apprehensive of letting their feelings known, and perhaps they are like me fearful of being branded as unpatriotic, should they voice their opinion against this mindless war. This war has torn me; this war has shaken me apart.

Little did I imagine that all hopes, aspirations and the tranquility of the 21st century would soon come to a crushing halt as I remained transfixed to the tube, watching the twin towers of human civilization go down in a rubble of smoke and dust, the fateful morning of 9/11. The perpetrators of that horrible crime probably envisioned this outcome and much worse, but did they really care for the untold misery that their brutal actions would unfurl? The hate, the rage, and the lack of compassion implanted and deeply embedded into the minds of individuals through the masterful interpretation of so-called words of Allah, is what opened the floodgates of this calamity that we are all confronted with.

No, all Muslims are not terrorists, nor are they deserving of the scorn and suspicion that many are subjected to. In fact, the Muslims are the biggest victims of the scourge that befall upon them. This is what happens when religion is used as a tool of governance and when people fail to perceive the hidden dangers in allowing the clergy to decide the course of nations. I wonder, how a mass of humanity comprising of a billion plus individuals be so easily be brainwashed by the Kazis, Mullahs, and Imams to accept such degrading, hateful, and intolerant teachings to be the words of God! Wouldn't the believers of Allah now wish that he came down from his heavenly abode riding the timeless "Jibrail" to defend the hapless children of Iraq? Why doesn't he? What prevents him from saving his devoted children who go to sleep and wake up every morning chanting "Allah Hu Akbar", from the suffering inflicted by the "Great Satan"?

This opium of religion is what has brought this scourge upon us all. No one is left unaffected by this war; we are all victims. Some justify this as an act of self-defense; others shy away from taking a stand. I however, feel ashamed that there aren't enough sensible souls in this planet who could stand up and say, let's work together and solve our problems in a manner befitting of human dignity. Unfortunately, the onus of this falls squarely on the shoulders of the Muslims of the world. They have to stand up against their own clergy and uproot them from their lofty perches. The world needs to see the victims collectively voice their outrage against these fundamentalist despots and they will no longer stand by and let these vicious, ignorant barbarians dictate human values to them, while disregarding all norms of civilized life in their pursuit of holy jihad against the "kuffirs", with their one track pursuit of geo-political supremacy.

In the end, I know that my country will be victorious in this endeavor, but this be very costly and there is a hefty price that will accompany this victory. The world is indeed "shocked and awed" by the display of might and superiority of our airpower and technology, but at the same time there will be a chilling effect on the rest of the world as to what this triumph really establishes. Is this the "new world order" that we all talked about at the turn of the last century following the demise of the Soviet empire? I am afraid that now in the eyes of many my country will not appear as a beacon of civility, nor will be perceived as a champion of freedom; rather a bully whose mantra is "my way, or no way"!

In ending, I would like to state unequivocally that I am in full support of the lead my country has taken in eradicating this world of the scourge of Islamic fanaticism. I also support my country's drive in removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. I hope that this war is over soon, and the young soldiers of this land, many of them mere teenagers, return home safely to be with their family and loved ones. I salute them for undertaking the heavy burden of this awesome responsibility. I also hope and pray that the people of Iraq are able to overcome this suffering. If there is a God, may his presence save the lives of the innocent Iraqis.

Published in Mukto-mona Forum

Nalinaksha Responds to Bishnu Dey