Friday, November 24, 2006

Another Black Friday--in Iraq

I was planning to write a light-hearted piece this morning, Bush, about the beginning of the Christmas rush (did you see some of those clips on television: crowds lining up for hours to be first to hit the stores?) but the truth is, I'm not feeling too light-hearted.

Black Friday over here is supposedly when retailers break into the annual profit zone: Black Friday in Iraq is just another Friday, when the good people begin to bury their dead from Thursday. For us, yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. For them, just another day of slaughter at the market. While we plump turkeys over here were stuffing ourselves to the gills with plump turkey and stuffing, those desperate folks over there were once again busy killing each other by the score. The result? Over two hundred dead, I hear this morning, Bush, at the hands of suicide car bombers.

There's nothing, then, to feel light-hearted about. My mind keeps coming back to this awful truth: we created this mess. Well, no, we didn't create it. The roots of hatred have existed for more centuries than this country has, Bush. But we did trigger the current bloodshed, with our brash invasion and our failure to foresee its consequences. Even if we concede that pre-emptive war was an excusable way to take out a bloody dictator and protect our access to his fossil fuel resources(I don't), the failure to foresee the consequences and prepare for them remains inexcusable.

The responsibility for this dreadful mistake lies at your door, Bush. Is it not now finally time to be accountable?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What is considered 'Black Friday' here is more like 'Green Friday'. Let the money roll! There, I must agree, it is a day of mourning, but then everyday seems to be for them...