[Published in The Texas Observer prior to the March 2003 U.S. invasion, then revised]
We, the children of Iraq, bear witness to the end of war.
Gone are the days of constant bombardment in the name of war.
Gone is constant destruction of civilian buildings and shelters in the name of war.
Gone are the days burying soldiers alive in the desert in the name of war.
Gone are the days of destroying entire towns and villages in the name of war.
Gone are the days of destroying factories and hospitals in the name of war.
Gone are the days of destroying crops and livestock in the name of war.
Gone are the days of destroying cities in the name of war.
We, the children of Iraq, bear witness to the end of war.
And yet the destruction continues under a different name or no name at all.
Can we be thankful to lack chemicals for sanitation due to sanctions?
Can we be thankful that our hospitals run short of medicine due to sanctions?
Can we be thankful that our hospitals cannot operate incubators due to sanctions?
Can we be thankful that our electric grids cannot be fully repaired due to sanctions?
Can we be thankful that our economy, our lives have been wrecked due to sanctions?
Can we be thankful to die en masse due to sanctions?
We, the children of Iraq, bear witness to the end of war.
And yet the deaths are mounting under a different name or no name at all.
We are dying by the hundreds of thousands.
And it is not war. It is policy.
And it is not our policy.
It is yours.
And now again you threaten war.
To control our oil.
To run our region.
And it is not our war.
It is yours.
And now you have brought us war.
And the deaths mount by the thousands.
And by the tens of thousands.
And it is not our war.
It is yours.
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