To Die in Vain

Most people realize that life is an important gift. It is the essential gift. It should not be taken lightly. It should be lived to the fullest possible extent, and should only be risked and sacrificed for a valid, meaningful reason.

The recent death of Navy Corpsman John Daniel House reveals that some of the soldiers, sailors and Marines who are currently fighting, being wounded, and dying in George's war in Iraq believe they are being sacrificed for nothing, that they're dying in vain.

The local ABC affiliate here in the Tampa Bay area aired part of an interview with John's parents on their noon broadcast on January 27th. In it, his father read from a letter he had written them. In the letter, he wrote that the deaths and sacrifices being inflicted on them in Iraq are 'for nothing.' (I've tried to locate that quote all over the web and at ABC News, but I can't find it. Maybe they already flushed it down the Memory Hole.)

In one report that made it to the web, also from ABC, John is quoted as writing, 'I don't think this war will ever end. Like my brothers, I can't understand it, but they'd do anything for me.'

The coldhearted, soulless politicians who start unnecessary wars to promote their political careers, as Bush has done in this unnecessary war in Iraq, know that once the fighting starts, they have captive participants because of the loyalty the individual fighters feel towards one another, once the political prostitutes throw them into harm's way. Iraq is a perfect example of this. The lie told by the government and its mouthpieces, the politicians, about Iraq's WMD, ties to al Qaeda, and connection to 9/11 are now fully exposed as being false. Yet, the fighters fight on. Why? Primarily, because of love of their fellow soldiers and Marines. This point is brought out by John's above statement, '. . . they'd do anything for me.' In another quote, he wrote that he knew his Marines so well, he could identify an individual Marine in the dark by his mannerisms. He went on to write that he didn't know what he'd do if he lost one of them. This is the kind of love the government likes to play with and manipulate for selfish and negative purposes. It almost brings tears to your eyes, but as I've heard said before, it's better to get mad than sad!

The individuals who make up the military must know that their sacrifices are all in vain. Every arm or leg lost, every gift of vision that is destroyed, every life wasted, are all for, as John wrote, 'nothing.' Sure, the war helped Bush gain support from Jewish voters, but that's not why so many have given so much in this Iraqi war. I'm sure not one soldier or Marine would have gone to Iraq if the truth was told, and they knew the reason for their deployment was to help Bush win reelection.

The neocon war pigs, who are big promoters of this insanity in Iraq, are losing ground in their mantras. Their first mantra to be destroyed by truth was, 'We must disarm Saddam of his WMD!' The next to fall was, 'You can't tell me the world isn't better off without Saddam!' Just a simple comparison of Iraq before the invasion and after the invasion will make that crystal clear. Also, this neocon mantra attempts to shift focus from the original WMD, al Qaeda, and 9/11 lies. Now, the new mantra seems to be we can't say the loss of life and limbs suffered by US troops is in vain! Why not??? It's true! It is wrong to keep pretending that something is right when it's been proven to be wrong. If Saddam had really been a threat to the US, and if Iraq had been tied to the attacks on 9/11, (even if it had been true that Iraq had WMD, that would not have been a reason for war. Israel is known to have WMD and no one is calling for a US invasion of Israel), then the losses of US military members would not have been in vain. But the lies told to start the war, lies told by Bush and gang, make sure the losses are for nothing of value, thus, they are made in vain.

John House had a son born while he was in Iraq for Bush and Israel. He will never see his son. His son will never be able to get to know his dad. John's wife will have to raise their son alone. Will John's son, when he turns 18, be sent off to die in vain as his father was?

Hopefully, the love and comradeship enjoyed by individual soldiers, sailors and Marines will cause them to put their comrades before the politicians. If they organize and refuse to follow orders that do not conform to their oath to defend and protect the US Constitution, the war will soon be over. And future wars the neocons and politicians have in the works, wars against Syria and Iran for example, will not happen. If comrades in arms take that action today, lives, like that of John's son, will be saved tomorrow.