The War Zone

I saw War Zone Diary last night. It was only an hour long but I think, in that hour, something in me was transformed. I don’t agree with war I think in most cases, especially with this one, it’s short-sighted.

Richard Engle's documentary was deeply disturbing. I have an image flashing over and over in my head of bloated, faceless, blue and red bodies lined up in the sunshine. I keep seeing that man shaking around that severed hand screaming about the injustice that Americans have inflicted on the Iraqi people. I can’t escape the river of blood washing out the door of the mortuary, really just a room piled high with bodies bound at the hands and ankles.

I know that our soldiers and reporters are risking their lives, but I’m not sure for what. I didn’t get a sense from the documentary that the soldiers have a clear sense of purpose either, other than they feel like they are doing their part to protect the American people. And, in some very important respects they are. I just can’t find the point, I can’t find the reason behind such pain and destruction. It’s so hard to fathom that this pointless war is still raging four years later.