Now And Then

I was speaking with a New Zealand colleague of mine this morning about the attitude in States towards members of the armed services. He observed that there seems to be a steady outpouring of support for the individual solders, sailors, airmen and marines, while still being plenty of disagreement over the war in general. It’s seems to be politically correct to protest the war and it’s strategic protagonists, yet crosses a line when the young service members are being maligned. The Kiwi ended the conversation by making comparisons to the 1970s and America’s soldiers returning from Vietnam. It looks as if the America’s anti-war movement has matured in the last thirty years.

A Long Way To Go Yet

Saddam Hussein’s official parade field is nicknamed “Crossed Swords” by Baghdad’s current security community because it’s most prominent feature is two pair of towering swords. The swords are purportedly held in cast replicas of Saddam’s own hands, and crossed at either end of the parade grounds. Of note, the rumor is that both the hands and swords were made in France, the same place that the Statue of Liberty was constructed.

At the base of each of the swords Saddam had built a cascade of helmets; Iranian army helmets taken off dead soldiers during the Iraq-Iran conflict. Each of the helmets has a hole, supposedly from an Iraqi bullet slaying it’s owner.

It’s very grim and somber looking at the thousands of green helmets. It reminds me of the feelings that I had standing next to a mass gravesite at a Nazi concentration camp some years ago. You walk away questioning humanity and wondering exactly how far we have really come as a species.