Image via WikipediaFor the husband who told his wife I love you one last time before his plane went down in a field, for the wife who stopped in the stairs to call her husband to say I will love you forever, for the mothers and fathers who kissed their kids goodbye the morning they died, for the policemen who rushed in with the firemen to help get others out only to die themselves, for the soldiers who fought back and lost their lives. today, tomorrow, ten years from now, we will remember.
This statement was posted on my Facebook page by a well-meaning friend on the morning of Sept. 11, 2011, to commemorate the tenth anniverary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and Pentagon.
While I agree wholeheartedly with these sentiments and vow that we will always remember that terrible morning when a country lost her innocence, this is not the whole, complete story. We must not forget some of the hideous results that followed that horrible day.
We went to war with a country that had nothing to do with the events of Sept. 11. We went to war based on lies.
In Iraq alone, since March 19, 2003 when the occupation of Iraq began, there have been 4,474 members of the military who have died. Of those who survived, 320,000 veterans have significant brain injuries. How many came home missing limbs? How many committed suicide?
Yet, that pales in comparison to the loss to the Iraqi people killed due to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. That staggering number of dead is upwards of 1.4 million people, which also includes mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, and brothers. There were also 348 journalists and 448 academics killed in Iraq. This is according to the website, http://antiwar.com/casualties/list.php
I for one, will not forget them either. Nor will I forget that they were murdered as surely as the victims in the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93. The worst part is that they were murdered in our name.
These staggering numbers do not even include the invasion of all other Middle Eastern countries in what has resulted in the longest and costliest military action in our history. I cannot even conceive of the financial price we've paid, because frankly, when it comes to trillions of dollars, I just can't get my head around that.
So on this solemn day, isn't it time to consider that perhaps there is a better way to solve our problems? I mourn for the loss from that horrible day, but I also weep for those who have died because of it. I certainly hope we remember the entire story.
