What Kinda Heaven Are These Killers Dyin' To Win

Posted by Campbell at Thursday, May 10, 2007

Iraq.

I won't claim for a mere second that I can conjure up any answers to the debacle that is our presence in our Iraq. However, there are a few things that I do know. On the morning of September 11, 2001, I left my apartment in Brooklyn and headed to work. After about 15 mins. on the train, a fellow passenger tugged on my shirt and motioned towards the World Trade Center. This was right after the first plane hit. I made it through Manhattan, stepped onto the city streets at Columbus Circle, and thus began perhaps the worst day in American history. I saw tears everywhere. I saw confusion. I saw absolutely empty streets. I saw firetrucks racing downtown. I saw thousands of people helplessly trying to reach loved ones on their cell phones. I saw the second tower collapse alongside about 500 people at the CBS building on 57th Street.

When I finally walked into my apartment in Brooklyn at about 230am I found it impossible to sleep in my bedroom. I watched the news for about two hours, turned off the television and curled up on my couch. All morning fighter planes swarmed around the city. The noise from the jets could be felt in my chest.

I am not in favor of war. However, after witnessing what I saw in New York City that day, I stood completely behind our decision to go into Afghanistan. Maybe I don't necessarily believe in an-eye-for-an-eye, but here I wanted revenge. A friend who worked in World Trade Center 7 told me about the people diving out of the Trade Center windows. It was horrifying. I wanted someone to pay.

When we swiftly moved through Afghanistan and turned our eye on Iraq I was confused. I felt that the job was far from done in Afghanistan. And that's where Al Qaeda were. I didn't get it. What role did Iraq play in this? None. But when you witnessed what New Yorkers and others across the country witnessed on September 11th, it was easy to be duped. Our president took advantage of those vulnerabilities and convinced a terrired nation that Iraq not only had something to do with September 11th, but that they were coming next.

It's now six years after September 11th. Those behind the attacks are reforming in Afghanistan and we've created perhaps the biggest foreign policy calamity in U.S. history by invading Iraq. I hear the Republicans and Democrats bicker about the best way to now handle Iraq. And there is none. If we stay, more Americans and Iraqis die. If we leave, the region could truly explode into chaos. There are no answers.

What is George W. Bush really fighting for? Is it our safety? I highly, highly doubt it. Had that been his goal, we would still be in Afghanistan. We would still be rounding up Al Qaeda. And we would still be a nation that garnered respect from the rest of the world.

I'm at a loss. About 20 minutes ago I was lying in bed listening to music when the line, "What kinda heaven are these killers dyin' to win" came through the headphones and inspired me to write. Can you answer that question? I certainly can't.