A mosaic of soldiers who have died in Iraq:
Original Source. Mirrored here in small, medium, and large sizes. The largest is about 4.4 megabytes and you can clearly make out each face. It’s also good to take a step back from the screen.
Might be worth mentioning, that all of the pictures must be on there two or three times (There are 31 across by 47 down which means 1457 pictures.) I believe there have “only” been around 500-600 soldiers that have died. It’s still a moving image, though.
My hair is standing. I feel chilled.
That is really sad to look at. Imagine how many family members are behind each of those photos.
FREEDOM ISN”T FREE!!!! You idiots would probably have objected fighting the Japs during WWII as well. Try watching the History Channel once in awhile instead of MTV.
No, “George”, Cheap Oil isn’t free. And more of those faces died *after* Dubya declared victory from a staged photo-op on an aircraft carrier. No end is in sight and no plan is in sight either.
Freedom isn’t free, yes. But that’s no excuse to go throwing your currency away on speculative deals.
Cool image, Matt.
Thank you. What an incredibly moving image–I am in serious awe!
Its a sad picture but you need to look at the whole picture… how many people died in vietnam? WW II? WW I? the Civil War? our troops have done a hell of a job there so only 600 have died.
With an average loss of over one soldier a day, and estimates of the US presence in Iraq running from 18 to 24 months before we can even consider pulling out, it does not really matter much that images may have been used three times. This powerful image is as much a comment on the future as it is the situation to date. With other nations responding to the democratic will of their citizens and getting the hell out of Iraq, American families and friends can expect a greater number of US soldiers and civilians being sent to Iraq in airplane seats and coming home in body bags. To the clever tyke who commented about “Freedom isn’t Free,” how ignorant to compare to WW II and Japan. Along with the History channel, you might want to crack a book. Iraq has yet to attack the US and this bombing raid and occupation is not about Freedom. And bravo on elevating the conversation, “Japs…” do you use the terms: “chinks, spics, kykes, wops, huns and niggers” too? Nice work on the image Matt
To clarify, the image is not mine and I did not make it. I got it from the source indicated.
An amazing picture. I have added a link to it from my chart of US military deaths in Bush’s Iraq Crusade.
I wonder if the same person who made this will do one of Saddam Hussein using the faces of all people of Halabja? On March 16th 1988 5,000 innocet civilians, 75% women and children perished in a Chemicla attack ordered by Saddam. Check it out http://www.kdp.pp.se/chemical.html
Freedom isn’t free, its bought with the blood of sons and daughters. The men in the photo above willingly paid that proce without question.
NICE MOZAIC!
I’m glad we have the freedom to speak our minds in this country. We can give our opinions, protest things we disagree with, criticize people; even the president, without the fear of retaliation. We can even make mozaics of people we think are responsible for the death of our soldiers. Personally I give thanks to these brave soldiers who gave their life up to free others, so that they too may have the ability to give their opinion, protest things they disagree with, criticize people; even their president, WITHOUT THE FEAR OF RETALIATION!.
Wow I think we’re on to something! The Iraqi people now have the same kind of freedom to criticize just as we do, and believe me they’re using it.
War is unfortunate no matter who initiates it. Somebody’s husband, Wife, Brother, Sister, or Son dies, and in some cases whole families; our troops are no exception.
Maybe the author of this mozaic should have done a mozaic of Saddam and all the people he’s killed, and while he’s at it make one of Hitler, Stalin, Milosevic, etc…and the list goes on….. (you get the point). Instead of wasting countless hours making a mosaic of an “opinion” (albeit respected), maybe do something constructive like helping Our Troops stay alive. Forget politics for one bit, besides we’re already in this mess, and focus on the important things. Who knows? maybe you can make a difference in one soldiers life so that he may not loose it and come back home. I put my money where my mouth is (so to speak). I am a volunteer for an organization call Operation Gratitude we send care packages to the troops to boost their morale, and maybe keep them alive in the process. Remember some of these guys out there may think no one cares and give up. Don’t let your political opinions get in the way of helping our husbands, wives, brothers, sisters or sons. Who knows maybe someone will make a mozaic of the counless people who care (it’s gonna take a whole lotta pictures!).
I agree that it is unfortunate that the dead are used to make a political statement. It just seems wrong to use them in that manner if the families weren’t contacted for permission (out of common courtesy at least). As for the effectiveness of the image… It is just propaganda, and one’s response will depend on your position. So I don’t see it as changing any minds - just reaffirming those which have already decided.
As an aside: why do people respond to trolls like the poster identified as “George Bush”? Internet flames are so childish.
SW - You said other countries are getting out. So I guess you will vote for Kerry who promises to keep us in. It’s the Dems who want to repeat the same mistakes of Vietnam - send in more troops, push back the date for self rule. Kerry’s got some nerve, he voted for this action now he’s saying it was a mistake. Someone should take make a picture with his face on it.
This is the problem with discourse in the US today. You comment on the ineptness and fallacy of the president you are no longer permitted to call yourself an American. It is also assumed that your opinion is invalid because you belong to one political party or the other. Folks, its not the party, it is the idea that matters. America is not a political party it is an ideal built upon ideas.
There are republicans that criticize Bush, and just because I criticize him does not mean that I am a democrat or bound to vote for Kerry. There is no logical tie between countries pulling out of Iraq and me voting for Kerry. I am not going to take the bait and try and defend Kerry’s record on anything or try to speak for the man, that is his job between now and the election.
I think the recent public polls in the US prove my point. It is not a majority of Americans that want to vote for Kerry, it is a majority of Americans that want anybody but Bush, something that seems to be lost on BOTH the major parties.
You can not dismiss my ideas by labeling me democrat, republican or whatever political group you do not belong to, if you are going to do it, do it with the brilliance of your thought not the stigma of your label.
A mosaic of Saddam Hussein using his victims sounds like a good idea, if possible it should be done.
However Hussien’s tyranny does absolve Bush from his actions, lies and caviler attitude with America’s soldiers. Freedom and democracy for the Iraqi people were not the reasons Bush, Cheney and Powell gave in front of US citizens and the world for waging war. It was to remove WMDs and protect America (and the world) from terrorists. The freedom of the Iraqi people is only a rationalization after 1) no evidence that Hussein was responsible for 9/11 was found, and subsequently 2) no evidence of WMDs was found. *Terrorism* has all but disappeared from the standard Whitehouse sound-bites for the press, we are now *freedom fighters.*
Sadly, as Clark testified, despite the valor of these soldiers, exactly because of this war-president America is no safer from terrorism today than it was on 9/11.
These people in Falluja that we’re attacking are no threat to the USA. Just shows how far out of hand this conflict has become.
Maybe the author of this mozaic should have done a mozaic of Saddam and all the people he’s killed, and while he’s at it make one of Hitler, Stalin, Milosevic, etc—and the list goes on�..
Every life is sacred, every death a tragedy. As a free nation, founded on this principle amongst others, we have a duty to ensure this remains true for us. Yes, from Iraq to Afghanistan, from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, from Hitler’s Germany to Stalin’s Soviet Union, hundreds of millions of lives have been destroyed by crooked rulers, megalomanic dictators, or thoughtless commanders.
Instead of wasting countless hours making a mosaic of an “opinion” (albeit respected), maybe do something constructive like helping Our Troops stay alive.
As a former member of the armed forces, as someone who subscribed - and subscribes - to an ideal that includes my death for a cause I deem just and worthy, I don’t think of this mosaic as a “waste”. These men and women in uniform, these soldiers, died to disarm a dictator who needed no disarmament. The man who sent them there, pictured as a mosaic comprised of their images, has yet to honor one of them by attending their funerals. The man who smiled, when he cried “bring it on”, the man who smiled, when he announced, a few days ago, he’d expect more of those deaths as the deadline draws near. This mosaic shows whose lives have been destroyed to allow this man to smile. It shows someone who cut their danger pay, their salaries, and who is unwilling to pay their injured brothers and sisters in arms enough to live after they lost limbs in a war, this man wanted to be “brought on”.
This mosaic shows more than just a bunch of DDSs (dead and disposable, served), it shows what he, who is nothing but a mosaic of other’s sacrifices, is made of.
Forget politics for one bit, besides we�re already in this mess, and focus on the important things.
I am not a politician. I am a soldier. For me, the accountability of a commander in chief is the most important thing.
Who knows? maybe you can make a difference in one soldiers life so that he may not loose it and come back home.
I would hope to make a difference in more than just one life. I would hope, that I am able to show, why those men and women died, able to show their need for adequate armor and training, able to show, that I care about their safety and their lives.
I do this, by exposing those who endanger them. I do this, by exposing those, whose decisions and words created a situation you so aptly describe as a “mess” up there. A mess it is, indeed.
I put my money where my mouth is (so to speak). I am a volunteer for an organization call Operation Gratitude we send care packages to the troops to boost their morale
I applaud your efforts, and I bow before you. You, like the men and women in Iraq, are a hero in my book. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and - as a veteran, soldier, and human - will hold your name in the same esteem I hold the names of my living and fallen brothers and sisters.
I must, however, as you this one thing - if, as a soldier, I had to chose between someone sending me a care packet and someone lobbying my fellow Americans to show who got us into this mess, hoping the next commander in chief will not deny my request for a kevlar vest and more diplomacy instead of “bring it on <smirk>”, I would chose the latter.
My morale will improve in either case, yet having a psychologist on staff in my unit, a kevlar vest that could have saved so many lives, and the knowledge that “up there”, someone acts to reduce violence rather than dismissing it as necessary, might do even more the trick.
Don’t let your political opinions get in the way of helping our husbands, wives, brothers, sisters or sons. Who knows maybe someone will make a mozaic of the counless people who care (it’s gonna take a whole lotta pictures!).
If someone does, I will print it and hang it in my bedroom. There is a lot of good will and support out there, that can REALLY help our troops. You are one of those people. Flags on SUVs and “bring it on”, however…
It’s so sad …
This use of photographs can’t remotely be compared to the shame of President Bush using 9/11 as a backdrop for his ads. What’s more, this is exactly the kind of thing the administration doesn’t want America to see, which is why the press has been excluded from documenting the return of the wounded and dead. If you want to see coverage by a truly ‘free press’, look at the BBC’s reporting of the war both in Iraq and in military hospitals here (or refer to the network coverage of Viet Nam). Now that’s unbiased.
The sad fact is that people still equate supporting the troops with supporting the President. The troops have no choice, it is their job. Ours is to ask important questions. We fought a great war against a regime that didn’t tolerate dissension. Unfortunately the Republicans have never been very adept at planning wars, Grenada being their claim to fame. This war violates basic military principles, which call for contingency plans to be in place before the commencement of hostilities. Our Commander in Chief must at least be held to the same standards as a field commander. By that measure, even Eisenhower would have been relieved if he had committed such gaffs in WW2.
The real tragedy here is that poor leadership and our misguided efforts to impose democracy on a country that has never embraced it, will ultimately result in the deaths of enough of our men and women to require a mosaic of larger proportions.
I feel for all these soldiers because I too was a soldier for 25 plus years. I knew when I enlisted into the military that I may have to sacrifice my life for my country and would do so to preserve the freedoms that we have today. When I hear people complain about the lives that have been lost, it saddens me and doesn’t make the family of a lost soldier feel any better knowing that some of our fellow citizens are complaining. We need to honor those families whose sons or daughters made that ultimate sacrifice so that “WE” could live in a free country and express our opinions. We all need to sit back and enjoy what we have because of Soldiers like the ones above who weren’t afraid to sacrifice their life so we could live ours.
A very moving image. Regardless of what you think about war with Iraq, the lack of planning that went into the post-War period is scandalous. There is no doubt we are in a quagmire now: it’s a bad situation, but it will be worse if we leave.
It’s interesting that several posts below that seem to be supportive of Bush are inadvertantly comparing Bush to Saddam, Hitler, Milosovic, etc. I believe the Bush is in the same category as these ruthless and single-minded rulers. Bush has not made our country safer, he has not made freedom for anyone. He has ignored diplomacy, democracy, and has sought to wage war and make his friends rich at every turn. This war, like all wars since WWII (which was the last *real* war) is all about empire building, and was completely optional and has lined corporate coffers with BILLIONS of our tax dollars, along with the blood of people who are the true patriots - our soldiers.
The blood is on Bush’s hands and this image brings that point home better than anything I can think of.
First of all I want to say THANK YOU to our brave soldiers that have lost their lives as well as the ones that are still fighting and the ones that have came home. Not just anybody could do their job. This picture is really moving and it makes people sit back and think about everything that iraq is costing us. I wish Bush would let our troops come home and then come up with some kindof game plan and let everything settle down then go back with peace efforts. Watching the people of iraq celebrating over them ambushing a SUV and mangleing two of them so bad is something that we need to think about. Our Country is stronger than that but our Country is smarter than that too!
Really moving image. Thanks so much for posting it!
To Beau and his post # 16
Saddam did a lot of his killing with weapons we gave him, knowing he was not a nice guy. We gave him technology for the chemical weapons. Apparently we didn’t really worry about what he was going to do with them. And our soldiers who died did have questions. Mainly, “Why are we here?”
I wont to thank all the guys that have been in iraq fighting for us i have a brother over ther fighting for us we love you timmy
That would be a moving image… if it didnt have the face of Bush on it.
It’s Bush’s face that makes it moving, jp! How symbolic. This is really moving me. RespeKtion.
I am sicken when I hear about the invasion in Iraq. The 12 year of sanctions against Iraq caused 1.5 MILLION women and children to lose their lives. Holliday once said that this was a genocide when he stepped down in 1998. Remember, iraq only has 24 million people. To lose 1.5 million in 12 years is like america losing 20 million in the same time span.
If muslims did that to america (which I hope to god they never do), I would hijack a plane and crach it in mecca.
The only right thing that bush, cheney, powel, rumsfield, and ashcroft have done to this point is place saddamn hussien behind bars. Now they need to place themselves in the same jail cell as mr. hussien for the rest of their lives. And condi should have an adjacent cell.
I am ashamed of being an american right now. I am ashamed to see 500+ faces that will never be with us again. I am ashamed to see the thousands upon thousands of innocent iraqis dieing in their own country. We are losing the battle on terror. I hope that my brothers and sisters recogonize this and vote against mr. bush.
There have been some comments to the effect that the war in Iraq requires unquestioning patriotism as in WWII. Simple consideration of history will show there is no valid comparison between these conflicts. However even if one were to grant the comparison as valid (which I do not), it is interesting to consider that patriotic soldiers fighting and dying for Germany and Japan might have appreciated some dissent at home.
Dissent and protest are not unpatriotic.
Notice the comment #8, He calls everyone idiots, last time I watched the history channel I learned that Japan actually attacked us!!!I don’t remember Iraq doing that.
There have been 748 coalition deaths, 645 Americans, 59 Britons, five Bulgarians, one Dane, one Estonian, 17 Italians, two Poles, one Salvadoran, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and four Ukrainians, in the war as of April 8, 2004. The list below reflects the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors whose families have been notified of their deaths by each country’s government. There have been 2,988 U.S. troops wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. This list is updated regularly. For a look at the casualties by age, gender, race and service branch, click here.
I agree that the pretext for the Iraqi war (part 2) was poorly presented and probably based on false intel. However, the US does not have the luxury of becoming involved only when attacked. It’s a very different world today than in 1940s; no nation can hope to win in a military confrontation w/ the US (if this wasn’t true North Korea would have tried something by now - as well as a while host of others.) So if the US is never attacked, under what circumstances is it “appropriate” for us to become involved? Food for thought: the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide was observed this past week: 800,000 people killed in 100 days, 8,000/day. Hutsie extremists were responsible for this tragedy (which, WWII buffs, has been described as MUCH more efficient butchery than the Nazi death camps in terms of deaths/day.FYI.) No Western nation intervened at the time, mainly because none were “attacked” by the extremist Hutsies. Is it “right” for a nation founded on the ideals of individual freedom and justice & which has the means to save even a fraction of those lives to stand aside and do nothing? (This is not a Clinton-bashing post - he did both good & bad things while in office & this situation came to light after the Somalia/Mogadishu debacle.) On a smaller scale, if you see a person getting mugged on the street and you can help, you will, right? Even if the possibility of your own injury or death cannot be ruled out? This is NOT a nation of such cowardice. A human life is a human life - it is amazing to me that people can get soooo upset about 600 soldiers dying in a war over the course of a year (people who knew DARN well that that’s a risk that comes with the job) but few people if any are outraged by the 43,000 civilian Americans killed in the last 12 months in car wrecks for no good reason. They say that nationwide seatbelt laws could save 12,000 peaople /yr. So why doesn’t someone make a clever mosaic of Bush’s face w/ pictures of THOSE dead? The answer is simple: people hate Bush for political reasons only & use the so-called “body-count” as an excuse. We as Americans should hold our leaders to task for crimes THAT MATTER - the Social Security/Medicare timebomb, an almost insurmountable deficit/debt crisis, irresponsible Congressional spending, government intrusion into our daily lives (privacy, anyone?) an incomprehensible and bloated tax code, and all the Americans who die preventable deaths… Al Quaida, Iraq, and terrorism are small potatoes in comparison.
I know far more people who’ve been killed in cars than those killed in Iraq or as a result of terrorism.
So be honest here: what ARE the most important issues facing America in this election year? And are any of the candidates focused on those issues? C’mon, give the REAL “George” a good answer…
Now if you could create one out of the over 10,000 Iraqi civilians that we’ve killed since our invasion - that would REALLY drive home the sad reality of war.
You really should credit the creator of the image. It’s Joe from over at American Leftist
http://amleft.blogspot.com/archives/2004_04_01_amleft_archive.html#108112087436221697
Dejah, I link to the source in the post itself. I’m mirroring it here because I think it’s significant and that site has had bandwidth troubles.
In response to “Beau”
Since you bring up the Saddam’s chemical attack on his own people, as a way of deflecting criticism of our moronic President, let me pose some questions :
1) What did Ronald Reagan, as President in 1988, do following Saddam’s gas attack on Halabja? (Answer: He vetoed a bill (The Prevention of Genocide Act of 1988) to impose sanctions on Iraq for its use of chemical weapons.
2) What was Collin Powell (then National Security Adviser) and Dick Cheney (then a Republican congressmen’s reaction? (Answer: Secretary of State Colin Powell orchestrated Ronald Reagan’s decision to give Hussein a pass for gassing the Kurds. Dick Cheney could have helped push the sanctions legislation but did not.)
2) Did George H.W. Bush as Vice President, or as President cut support for Saddam after the chemical attack, and before Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990? (Answer: Classified documents obtained by The New York Times show a long-secret pattern of personal efforts by Bush to support and placate the Iraqi dictator. Repeatedly, when serious objections to helping Hussein arose within the government, Bush and aides following his directives intervened to suppress the resistance. [Frantz and Waas, "Bush Secret Effort Helped Iraq Build its War Machine," Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1992] .
3) Where was the public outrage of George W. Bush (the current President) at that time (Answer: He wasn’t
outraged, because Saddam was our ALLY at that time).
4) Why use these chemical attacks as a justification for war FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER IT OCCURRED? (Answer: because you need a rationalization to send hundreds of Americans to their deaths)
5) Where was George H.W. Bush’s outrage over the use of chemical weapons against Iranian forces during early 1986? (Answer: He wasn’t outraged).
6) Where was his son’s outrage? (Answer: See #5)
7) Why don’t you mention this in your excoriation of Saddam? (Answer: You probably weren’t even aware of it).
(see: http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/03/02/08_gassing.html)
“Comment by Beau — Wednesday April 7, 2004 @ 5:09 pm ”
I wonder if the same person who made this will do one of Saddam Hussein using the faces of all people of Halabja? On March 16th 1988 5,000 innocet civilians, 75% women and children perished in a Chemicla attack ordered by Saddam.”
> It’s interesting that several posts below that seem to be supportive of Bush are inadvertantly comparing Bush to Saddam, Hitler, Milosovic, etc. I believe the Bush is in the same category as these ruthless and single-minded rulers.
Except for the whole genocide thing… Regardless of how bad Bush is/has been at planning and carrying out this war, he doesn’t have evil intentions.
> Bush has not made our country safer, he has not made freedom for anyone.
Not made our country safer? Now, you can argue that our actions have provoked increased hatred (which is a pretty obvious and universal point… you can’t attack someone without making them angry), but he has greatly increased security. And he has brought freedom for the Iraqis…. has he not?
> He has ignored diplomacy, democracy, and has sought to wage war and make his friends rich at every turn.
I don’t think he’s in this for his buddies… is there any evidence of that?
> This war, like all wars since WWII (which was the last *real* war) is all about empire building, and was completely optional and has lined corporate coffers with BILLIONS of our tax dollars, along with the blood of people who are the true patriots - our soldiers.
Completely optional? Well, I assume that you would oppose any military action that is not necessary for the survival of the United States? Then I guess I’ll rest my point.
> The blood is on Bush’s hands and this image brings that point home better than anything I can think of.
Maybe I agree with you… but you’ve gotta put it in perspective.
I find it troubling… the division we have in the U.S. these days. The hatred of Bush is also troubling. I have never seen so much hate. I DID NOT like Clinton one bit but I certainly did not let myself get to the point of hating him. His White House shenanigans didn’t do us any favors, for our young people or for the world outside looking in. IMHO most everything that is being laid at W’s feet to handle now began while Bill was trying to get himself out of hot water… either Hillary or his real estate venture Whitewatergate. Personally, I admire W. for doing what he says he is going to do. He told the Nation that this would take time. It saddens me that when our country (troops) needs our support the most, that political sniping and negativity rule. Our society is the “I want it now” society. Roll in, defeat their army, roll out. It doesn’t work that way. Patience is a virtue and unfortunately a lot of the U.S. is not as virtuous as it once was. So we have been there a year and a Free, Safe, Secure, Democratic society has not been established yet? Oh yeah roll in roll out… In all honesty, look into yourself and ask yourself “how long should it take? How long did I think it would take?” A year is nothing in the big picture. Look at the growing pains our own country is still going through. I am sorry, very sorry for the loss of lives in whatever theater, and my heart goes out to the families and friends of those lost. I really believe it is not for nothing. I heard a letter (email) read on the radio from a Marine, written yesterday 4-8-2004. He said that the Iraqi people are behind them (us). That they cheer them and want to shake their hands when they are out on patrol, and that unfortunately, as it is here in the states, anything good, moral, or pro-U.S. pride or nationalistic is not to be reported… a minority can create a big fuss in the media so that it seems that what we are told and shown in the media is “the norm”. According to his letter the latest Fallujah violence is not the norm. He said they (the Army and Marines) do over 1700 patrol missions a day… A DAY. So yes the problems are there in pockets but for the most part Iraqi’s are starting businesses etc and enjoying what is so new to them… freedom. Lastly, I just saw a graph showing how many new jobs there were in March. Who could have kept a growing economy post 911? Not W, not Bill either. I admire Bush he makes me proud of him for sticking to his guns whereas Bill did not. And George Washington #40 I agree with your post.
Take care…
I am a Brit. I was and still am againt the war. Bush is a murderer. There has hase been no evidence to support his claims of “wmd” or that Iraq adied in 9/11. This sudden change from “search for WMD to make Arerica free” to “Freeing the Iraqi people” just stink of 1984, where the Party change history at a whim.
And also, I can’t see how attacking Iraq can help keep America safe. If killing thousands of innocent Iraqis, hundreds of soldiers, enflaming violence in the Middle East and creating a new civil war to deal with will keep America and the West safe, then well done George and Tony, I love ya!
Everyone knows that to keep control of an empire and to stabillise it, there needs to be a common enemy for the empire and the citezens to hate and fight against, whether it be eurasia, terrorism or eastasia, I don’t know. guess Bush attacked the wrong enemy.
I am impressed with the low numbers of person’s killed. I am also aware that it seems to be backfiring in that the lownumber of deaths allows each death to be much more personal and thus disturbing.
I wonder why none of the news organizations give a longer historical picture. Months ago a historian on a public radio station talked about the pressure put on Truman by the British to overthrow Iraq. When Britain had to set Iraq free because administrating coloinies had become too expensive, Iraq nationalized it’s oil companies. Britain wanted them back and wanted the USA to stage the coup. Truman refused, but in 1953 Eisenhower, the only Republican I’ve appreciated, ordered the overthrow of the new democracy. The first attempt failed, but the next day the USA operative was successful in getting rid of the Iraq leader.
There must be some 60, 70, 80 year old Iragi people who are aware of our long involvement in Iraq government. It certainly makes this a tinder box. In the mid 60’s it was my father’s opinion that the near East was the most likely spot for the start of the next world war. We need to be very evenhanded in Iraq to forstall the posinbility of a major war. I hope we are not too late. JW
to comment #38,
Iraq DID in fact attack us first. On the evening of March 17, 1987, an Iraqi fighter pilot in a FRENCH plane fired two FRENCH missiles at the frigate U.S.S. Stark in the Persian Gulf. The first Exocet’s warhead, in typical FRENCH fashion, failed to detonate. The second did explode, ripping a ten-by-fifteen-foot hole in the hull. Thirty seven sailors were lost that night. A request was made to two Saudi F-15 fighters in the area to pursue the Iraqi Mirage, but their controllers claimed no authority to allow them to do so.
R. Reagan and G.H.W. Bush responded to this action boldly and decisively. They immediately demanded that the evil, insane, and Hitler-like dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, lauch an investigation to determine the cause of this friendly-fire incident.
And they demanded he apologize, or we wouldn’t sell him any more helicopters or “dual-use” chemical manufacturing equipment for “insecticide”.
Strange as it may seem, I found very few people who remembered this incident at the beginning of Gulf War I, only three years later. By then,everybody knew that Saddam had always been evil. Must have been the damn ‘librul’ media.
Related to comments #17 and 50, I find it ironic that we read references to freedom of speech and “librul” media, when the US military shuts down a Shiite newspaper in Iraq. Were they publishing anti-American rhetoric? Most likely, but what kind of example are we setting for democracy when we silence the critics. Of course, what can we expect when the recorded public comments of a Supreme Court justice are erased by US Marshals (http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/04/09/scalia.tapes/index.html).
George Bush and the entire Halliburton organization deserve to be tried as war criminals. Never have so many greed driven monsters been in the halls of power at one time. They are a disgrace to the honest and proud people of the United States.
I would like to make a small comment here. This may or may not seem obvious to anyone at this point, but the point should be made.
Why is it that Bush supporters do not leave an email address, a name, or a website?
I would like someone to fill in for that. Is it embarassment?
hugely sad pic. “freedom isn’t free” what a brainless comment from an obvious chickenhawk. I can smell them a mile away. love to wave the flag but never swore to carry it.
Veterans For Peace
Why is it that Bush supporters do not leave an email address, a name, or a website? I would like someone to fill in for that. Is it embarassment?
I am a Bush supporter on many issues - including the War On Terrorism and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The fallen men & women died while helping to shape the world into a safer place — attempting to secure the blessings of liberty for others, as was done for Americans centuries ago. Those who have died during the last year will not be forgotten - they are heroes.
And I *did* leave my name, address, and e-mail.
A stark reminder that war isn’t a video game, it is the loss of one person’s life, plus another person’s life, plus another person’s life, plus another person’s life …etc.
#47
Let’s keep partisanship out of this.. You really don’t want to compare the presidencies of Clinton and Bush.. seriously, you don’t.
Now, why do you continue to say that Bush “sticks to his guns” and “does what he says”? Its quite the opposite my friend. Bush said he would use war as a last resort. He did the opposite. Bush declared last May the end of major combat. 80% of the soldier deaths occured since then.
The problem is that too many Americans rely solely on the US media giants for their source of information. The great thing about the internet is that alternative news is easily accessible. IndyMedia , The Independent (UK), and if you like talk radio (alternative opinions of Rush Limbaugh) Air American Radio. I don’t think the American public is as dumb as many foreigners make us out to be. But far too many do nothing else but watch Fox news and CNN all day; eventually ideas like “no way to prevent 911″, “war in iraq is going swell”, and “protesters are unpatriotic” get force fed into your minds, and the same people subsequently come to rehash what they heard on TV here on this blog.
welldone!
Little David was in his 4th grade class when the teacher asked the children what their fathers did for a living.
All the typical answers came up — fireman, cook, policeman, janitor, journalist, salesman, doctor, garbage man, lawyer, etc.
David was uncharacteristically quiet, so the teacher asked him about his father. “He’s an exotic dancer in a gay cabaret and takes off his clothes in front of other men and they put money in his underwear. Sometimes, if the offer’s really good, he’ll go home with a guy and make love with him for money.”
The teacher, obviously shaken, set the other children to work on some exercises and took David aside, asking, “Is that really true about your father?” “No,” said David, “He works for the Bush
administration, but I was too embarrassed to say that in front of the other kids.”
After all we’ve been thru as a Nation, Isn’t it sad we have to keep doing it again and again…..Bless them all, and those to fall in the future.
What is GW doing on his ranch on “vacation” while there is a hostage situation with 30 hostages representing the Coalition forces, including americans, being taken?
Is this the image you want of a president “doing his job”??
I think not.
Next, while we are talking honestly here about some of these recent issues, I will seek to remind America about the GULF WAR 1 VETERANS.
We need to build Another Wall - next to the Vietnam Memorial (with the names of 58,191 dead and mia) - for the Gulf War 1 Veterans who, every day, are quietly passing away from illnesses acquired from their service in Daddy’s war — as of 2000, over 12,000 deaths….
And yet nobody wants to talk about those Gulf War 1 Veterans.
Where were they on the CNN and main news channels while the drums were beating for war??
HIDDEN. HIDDEN FROM PUBLIC VIEW.
AND BEING DENIED APPROPRIATE MEDICAL CARE BY THE VA AND DOD FOR THEIR ILLNESSES.
WHY?
BECAUSE IF YOU, AMERICA, REALLY KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO THESE GULF WAR 1 VETERANS,
YOU WOULD NOT HAVE STOOD FOR THIS WAR.
YOUR IGNORANCE AND LIES ARE ASTOUNDING — ESPECIALLY TO THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVED YOUR COUNTRY AND ARE BEING DISRESPECTED IN THE MOST DISGRACEFUL WAY.
FRONT LINE - FOOT SOLDIER VETERANS KNOW WHAT HAPPENED - DETONATING CHEMICAL WEAPONS BUNKERS 12 FOOTBALL FIELDS LONG IN KAMASIYAH WITH WEAPONS THAT SAID “MADE IN THE USA” —
YES, THE USA MADE THEM — AS RUMSFELD MET WITH HUSSEIN, THANKS TO THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION –
AND THESE FRONT LINE SOLDIERS STOOD UNDER THE TOXIC CLOUDS OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONRY, WEARING T-SHIRTS AND SUNGLASSES, HAVING THEIR PICTURES TAKEN…
ALL HAVE DIED FROM HIDEOUS BRAIN CANCERS FROM THE TOXIC FALLOUT,
AND YOU, AMERICA, IN THE MEANTIME WANT TO “LECTURE” THE PUBLIC ABOUT “SUPPORTING THE TROOPS”???
GET REAL.
YOU ARE THE ONES THAT LIE — AND LIE OPENLY AND LIE RIGHT THROUGH YOUR TEETH (WHICH WILL END IN THE BACK OF YOUR THROATS ONE DAY SOON)
ABOUT SUPPORTING YOUR VETERANS.
AS YOU NEVER HAVE — AND THOSE BRAVE GULF WAR 1 VETERANS — 12,000 + AND COUNTING DESERVE TO HAVE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR THEIR SACRIFICE –
A SACRIFICE WHICH YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND.
AND UNTIL YOU REPUBLICANS SEND YOURSELVES TO THE FRONT LINES OF COMBAT AND SEE WHAT WAR IS REALLY LIKE,
I SUGGEST THAT IN THE NEARBY FUTURE WHEN CIVIL WAR BREAKS OUT HERE AT HOME THAT YOU TAKE YOUR KIDS AND YOUR PRO-WAR SELVES AND GET DRAFTED OR ENLIST.
ENLIST BECAUSE YOU LOVE GW SO MUCH AND TRUST HIM.
WELL, IF YOU TRUST HIM SO MUCH, BE OUR GUEST, COURTESY OF GULF WAR 1 VETERANS — GO ENLIST AND COME HOME SICK AND SUFFER THE WAY THEY DID.
THEN MAYBE — JUST MAYBE — YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE CRUELTY OF YOUR IGNORANCE.
— A PROUD GULF WAR 1 VETERAN AND ADVOCATE AGAINST OCCUPATION OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY WHEN WE TAKE AN OATH TO PROTECT OUR LAND HERE AT HOME — NOT TO OCCUPY FOREIGN SOIL.
Allow me to enter the fray with my thoughts.
I make no apology for my support of our President George Bush and his efforts to fight terrorism and to disarm Saddam Hussein.
Let us not kid ourselves with this image, you had a partisan political message that you wanted to espouse and so you did ..at the expense of our brave, men, women, both young and old.
If one of those in your mosaic was a member of my family, I would personally sue anyone I could for the use of their picture, in the furthering of your own political beliefs.
You are not unpatriotic to disagree.
You have a right to say whatever you want to say.
You can speak out against the president of the United States of America, with your falsehoods, half-truths or downright lies.
That is what these brave soldiers, whom you have shamelessly used in your political statement signed up to do.
IF ANYONE IS ANGRY, THEN LET IT BE THEM?..AND THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILIES.
I think there can be no misunderstanding that our political beliefs are different as well as what it takes for America to survive in these times we live in still I think you?ve got it wrong, and I’m not afraid nor ashamed to speak out about it.
I’ll just not use the pictures of men and women, who JUST MAY NOT AGREE WITH WHAT YOU ESPOUSE!
In fact, let those who are going into harms way, speak out.
Polls have shown us time after time, that our military men/women overwhelmingly support our president and the war efforts??..as well as the majority of American citizens.
You are liberal, which means you are a democrat don’t be ashamed of what you are, even though some of you have tried to escape that mantle still you are liberal and liberals think anyone that believes other than how they believe are stupid and need liberals to think and act for them??.
Where are the families of these brave men and women who have been unwillingly fitted into your liberal leaning ways to make a statement, which they may not have agreed with?
Now, I will address certain comments throughout the posts.
#12 S.W., who must believe that everyone has a right to express themselves and their beliefs and I suppose, supports the shameless depiction of these brave men and women in this picture as though they agree with this argument??yet, he calls someone ignorant, because what they see, read, watch and believe are something different.
Once again, we see the absurdity of the democratic party which is always crying ?we have a right to disagree???.yet when someone does it, they are condemned as ignorant.
S. W., you sound so superior when you tell George, I think it was, ?you might want to crack a book?.
Well, I?ve cracked few of our history books and they are filled with references to ?chinks, spics, kykes, wops, huns and niggers?.
Whether you like it or not, it?s part of history??..unless, of course I?m sure you liberals would love to change it, nonetheless, it?s written.
#20. My friend S. W. again is simply wrongheaded!
No one says you don?t have a right to call yourself an American, QUIT WHINING!
We say you shouldn?t use the images of the dead to condemn a commander in chief, unless you their permission.
You said, ?its not the party, it is the idea that matters. America is not a political party it is an ideal built upon ideas.?
What rock did you crawl out from under?
I believe you insinuated someone was ignorant???.?
There are 2 political parties in America and they are what runs, rules and determines the future of America with THEIR IDEALS.
And you are simply wrong when you write, ?it is an ideal built upon ideas?
No, it is a country, founded and built upon the constitution of the United States.
Good ideals and good debate??.good men and women who are willing to sign up to defend and protect their nation at the command of their commander in Chief.
You must really think that all soldiers are stupid and can?t speak for themselves.
Why not speak about what you know and let them, if they are unhappy and disgruntled speak for themselves?
Quit whining??.no one is ?dismissing your ideals??.aren?t you speaking your piece right now?
We are simply doing what you say we have a right to do??DEBATE THE ISSUES!
You are so condescending with statements ?do it with the brilliance of your thought not the stigma of your label.?
Why is it, that you think everyone is stupid or ignorant that doesn?t agree with you?
Why is it, that you insist they answer your stupidity with brilliance, which you yourself allude to have, by using a few fancy words, yet your argument is filled, simply with your own beliefs?
With dripping sarcasm, I say, ?Wow, your really brilliant to believe that everyone should see life like you do!?
#26. Mr. Brodey, your wrong.
The troops do have a choice, not one of them were retarded when they signed up for the military. THEY MADE THEIR CHOICE AND KNEW THAT POSSIBLY THEY MAY HAVE TO GO AND FIGHT AND POSSIBLY DIE!
You have the audacity to speak about planning a war?
Oh, yes, I?m sure FDR had a contingency plan when we were attacked at Pearl Harbor.
And I?m sure that Presidents Kennedy and Johnson had good plans.
And President Clinton had a good plan when he bombed the baby food factory. (Which I supported him against my republican friends for this action).
The facts are.
Nixon got us out of Vietnam.
George H. Bush got us out of Iraq once and left it in the hands of the United Nations to finish?..WHAT A JOKE!??and silly people want us to put it back in their hands again?..so they can push paper again, while thousands of people die!
All you liberals think there should be some kind of end game for a war??and we are still in Germany??after how many years of planning, work and war?
The fact is, there are just some things you can?t plan.
32. Dan???.how dare you speak for the dead!
Give us proof, that ?our soldiers who died did have questions. Mainly, ?why are we here?.
I CALL YOU A LIAR????.BUT I WILL ASK YOUR FORGIVENESS SHOULD YOU GIVE PROOF OF YOUR STATEMENT!
I anxiously await to read your proof!
#36. If your ashamed move, no one’s stopping you!
Even in our worst days of America? I’ve always been proud to be an American and of the country I live in.
Because we, like no other country in the world, will right our wrongs, though it may take some years and some heartache.
Like no other country in the world we have given to help every nation in the world.
#48. RG, the Brit
We are thankful for your opinion, but we don’t live in Great Britain, we overthrew your tyranny, many years ago.
We are happy being Americans now and I hope you are happy being “Brits”
So let’s keep it that way!
You take care of over there..and we will take care of over here.
Just remember, you would be speaking German, if it hadn?t been for my grandfathers and uncles.
You state “Bush is a murderer”
Please you’ve overloaded on fish and chips and the monarchy?
Yes, if anyone knows how to keep an ‘empire’ stable, it should be you guys.
#47. And John, how is it exactly that 9-11 could have been stopped?
And where is it, that it was written, besides by you that war in Iraq is going swell.
I’m sure in the recess’s of a deluded democratic mind but I?m willing to see your evidence unless it comes only from between your ears.
So, is the war wrong?
Depends upon your political leaning.
Is Protesting wrong?
No.
Are those who disagree with the war unpatriotic?
No.
It?s America and we have a right to disagree and speak our piece and that?s what we are doing here??even on this liberal web site, that has shamefully placed the pictures of our dead servicemen in the middle of their own political beliefs without their permission as if those who died would agree, when in fact, I think that the majority of the military would take the opposite opinion if what you have espoused.
Respectfully,
John
Post #23 by Jonas M Luster was extremely moving, and touched me as much as the mosaic does.
Everyone who is posting about “freedom isn’t free” and who mistakenly thinks that things such as this mosaic somehow “hurt” our soldiers should read his post.
Thank you Jonas.
“Freedom isn’t free”
While these men and women are dying in Iraq, we are losing our rights to freedom of assemby, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion…
You say that freedom isn’t free. I say, “what freedom?”
-Abbie
If we do not win in Iraq, regardless how we got there, we will have to fight these extremist muslims on our land. Do you want that? The war in Iraq is necessary. Unfortunately men get killed. But, more men and women and children will be killed in *OUR* country if we do not stop these maniacs.
I don’t understand the arguement for ‘freedom’. If Iraq needs freedom, then why not Rwanda during the slaughter there? How about any other countries that have the same issues right now? What about soverignty? Who has the right to decide to invade someone elses ? Unilaterially?
It’s all questions that have an obvious answer.
It made my hair stand on end. The body count numbers don’t make it sink in just how much completely needless suffering there has been, how many families have been torn.
I really liked the mosaic.
I have been building a memorial of my own to the casulties in the Iraq adventure. When I started to work on it, I wanted to make an overtly political statement about the Bush Administration’s foolishness. But I also wanted to build a memorial that would allow those on both sides of the issues to be able to come to it and literally come face-to-face with a part of the cost. Ultimately I have just posted a photo, name, age, unit, hometown and cause of injury for each casulty along with two poems and the title that simply states “In Memory of those who died in Iraq.” I have put it on display at the last three weekly peace vigils in West Hartford, CT and it has been well recieved. My goal is that I would like to have 100 similar ones built and on display across the country by Memorial Day. More about this can been seen at the following two links: http://www.tariffville.org/iraqmemorial.htm and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iraqmemorial . The Yahoo group will shortly have the MS Word file and construction plans. Please view the Group and post a comment there if it is appropriate.
Those who see it bring their own perspective to it …. but …. they must acknowledge it … which should open a crack in the psyche of the pro-invasion viewers where they would need to stop and say “Its sad but it was worth it because … because … now why did we do this again?”
No matter what your personal opinion of our acting Commander in Chief, no matter what your political affiliation, one thing is unchangeable at this point. The pictures depicted here show a very harsh reality. That reality is that every one of those faces, and the responsibility for their deaths, is on the head of one man. Does anyone honestly think that this man sleeps well at night holding that responsebility? Whether or not you like the man, ask yourself this question; Could I make the correct decision given the same circumstances, and would my decision be supported by everyone, or even by the majority of those millions who depend on everything I do. As you critisize his decisions and damn him as a man, ask yourself what resposebilities you take to bed with you at night. How would handle the task of deciding whether you should send american men an women to a foriegn country to fight for “ANY” reason, whether good, bad or indifferent, knowing that untold numbers of them would not be coming back to their families alive? And how would you handle the consequences if you failed to act in this situation and that your failure to act, cost hundreds, thousands, or even millions of lives. It’s quite convienient for you that you have the luxury of sitting back and passing judgement since you are not saddled with that responsebility.
Reagan - Clinton - Bush, no matter which one is, was, or who will be president in the future, there will always be those that dislike them. It comes with the job. But who of you could do it better? And who of you thinks that any person with the desire and ability to be elected president of the United States of America, would take that office without the intention of bettering the lives of americans. Would you? The person in that position shoulders the burden of the problems of every american citizen and is looked to for the solutions. Could any one of you carry that burden. I couldn’t, wouldn’t want to. The last time you screwed up, was the whole world watching and waiting to judge you?
Emotionally devastating. So many young men, women whose families will never see them again.
All for Oil and Israel’s security.
What a waste.
I feel like I’ve been kicked in the stomach.
I haven’t found him yet, but one of my former students is in the mosaic. His name was Josh Hurley, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, where I teach. It broke my heart to learn that he had died, a very sweet kid who helped finance his education in ROTC, was commissioned, became a combat engineer and died when his Humvee hit a roadside munition. I used to play basketball with him twice a week for nearly three years. Always had a smile on his face, never cursed, never got angry. I have other former students there now and I worry and pray for them all. I supported the war because of the WMD claims, but now we know that it was a big con game. We’ve spent $100 billion, lost over 600 dead and over 3000 wounded and the end doesn’t seem in sight. Sad and infuriating.
In reply to Mr. Paul Lacourse comment number 66. We have radicals of every persuasion in this country as it is. A few more of Muslim, Christian or Purple People Eater bend is not the problem. We have men women and children in this country who die every day at the hand of thier fellow citizens. Thats alright though isn’t it? So long as they were our own and certainly not a muslim or foreinger its just another day at the office. We have problems we refuse to face such as an education system that gets teachers for the lowest bid, cancer, AIDS, homophobia, racism of every incarnation, sexism, fanaticism, and a slew of mind twisting double standards and social pressures that warps our children into striving for some “perfect” that does not exist and not one of those things was imported from Iraq. And, yes I’m going to say it… Niether were the twisted individuals who killed themselves in 9/11 because they believed they were right. Iraq is not the problem. The people whose hearts are twisted by hate are the problem. If we hate them back we become as twisted at them… and then we have truly lost the war. You’re so worried about the women and children here, but you forget that women and children exist and have been killed in Iraq. Oh wait… they’re not ours so its ok, right? Just a sad side effect of War that ~they~ have to deal with and mourn for, right? And on top of that they’re probably not Christian either. So who cares.
Concerning the picture itself: I do not personally see it as a work that points a finger at Bush… though that may have been the intent of the artist. I do not know what s/he intended or what it meant to them. All I know is what I take from it and that is that no matter how you feel about our commander in chief, the use of the images, whatever it is a statement of historical fact. Records are kept of the people who die in war and the date coincide with things like Christmas, Joe Shmoe’s getting a promotion and who happened to be President at the time. Whether the President was wrong or right these men and women who gave thier lives are connected to him and his time as President. Its like me thinking of WWII and not thinking of Hitler and in turn Normandy and by association my grandfather. I see this image as a matter of fact statement of something we have no real contol over. People will think of thier son/daughter/friend/etc. and think “they died doing A and Mr. B was president at the time.” Its not so much about blame as it is about the mark that will be left on history.
What a sad comment……….any one of those people was worth more than 100 bu$hs. God save us!!
AS of April 9, 2004, there have been 753 coalition deaths, 650 Americans, 59 Britons, five Bulgarians, one Dane, one Estonian, 17 Italians, two Poles, one Salvadoran, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and four Ukrainians, accprding to CNN.
George W. Bush has yet to appear at the funeral of any. No proper reception has been given to any of the dead heroes arriving at Dover. The tens of thousands of Iraqis dead aren’t even considered as human deaths by our authorities.
I don’t see any pictures of the relatives of George W., Dick Cheney, Daniel Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, and all the rest of the administration, plus the congress people in the mosaic. Nor of the Democratic Party’s apparent nominee for president. Of course, some of them served in previous wars.
Cut the crap Republicans. If you’re not pissed off, you’re not paying attention. Bush always does the opposite of what he says he’s going to do when it has to do with helping anyone beside his corporate cronies.
G.W.B. says his favorite philosopher is Jesus Christ. Can anyone imagine Jesus whispering into Bush’s ear…”Ok, here’s how you take care of the terrorists…kill them all and don’t worry about the innocent people you kill in the process.”
“And here’s how you help the poor, the sick, and the elderly…bankrupt government social programs by giving outrageously huge tax breaks to the weathiest 1 % of Americans who don’t need it and hope they’ll reinvest it.”
Republicans…you win the award for Head in the Sand.
Signed by a proud liberal ashamed of our appointed emperor who has no clothes. [actually the clothes on his back cost as much as many Americans make in a year. Many of them found themselves in G.W.B.'s war in Iraq because it was the only decent paying job they could find. Do you think his kids will volunteer for the front lines? Can you say class war?]
One final comment. I wasn’t a big fan of Clinton but can anyone seriously tell me that a lie about a blow job that didn’t get anyone killed is worse than the multitude of lies from W. about why we invaded Iraq?
Dear God, please make the Bushies go away.
Many people don’t realize that the 500-600 death count (American soldiers only) EXCLUDES US soldiers who are wounded in Iraq and die later of their wounds. If such Iraq-war casualities were included, the number of deaths would be closer to 1200 American Soldiers.
I think it’s another travesty of the Bush administration that they do not recognize and count those ‘delayed’ Iraqi-caused deaths.
Bush isn’t Republican. He’s Corporatarian.
These are Bush’s corporate One World Order private soldiers, not ours. They do not defend our “freedom”, they do not defend the Constitution and they sure as hell don’t defend our homeland -witness 9/11. They, along with Bush do the bidding of the Illuminati who have always financed both sides of every war including our Revolution. They print our money in their private Federal Reserve Bank and charge interest that will never be paid off–they own every one of us. When they form the “American Union” next year we will all officially be their slaves and will have the same economic, social and political status as any other 3rd world country. Bush and his military have sold all of us out–every General and Admiral has been bought and paid for and no longer have any interest in defending the people of this nation because that does not enter into the equation. Get it?
I am moved by this mosaic; yes, but not in any “patriotic” way! I am insulted that someone thought it in some strange way appropiate to use photos of dead soldiers to compose this soul-less man’s contenance!!! It’s revolting! The blood of these young people is on his hands, and on the hands of all his OWO cronies!
Boys and girls do you duty. You have a choice. Maybe you would like a photo of the three thousand murdered by Bin Laden at the Towers? Wake up America. The President of the United States of America is doing his job. His job is not to roll over and play dead for the Islamics like Clinton did. His job is to protect and defend this nation. The Generals who planned D-Day were willing to sacrifice 10,000 American lives to get a toe-hold in Europe and put an end to Hitler. There is a price to pay. If you won’t pay it, get out of the way and let others do it for you. Those young men and women gave their lives in a noble cause. They hold a place of honor in American history. We will not forget them. May God Bless and Protect America.
Should have used pictues of dead babies in Iraq. Then they could have made portraits of the whole administration.
Strange there are no children of the policy makers among the dead in Iraq…Even Al Gore served in Viet Nam. And Iraq is turning out to be yet another Viet Nam. Don’t we ever learn? if the US troops withdrew and were assigned to make the USA impervious to attack (9/11/01) the cause would be better served. When the Sunni and the Shiites are joining forces, having been enemies forever, against the USA, then we must withdraw. And do it NOW before more Americans pay with their lives for Bush’s re-election war.
To all those pointing out Saddam’s use of chemical weapons against the Kurds:
Do a little research. You may be surprised to find out which country (and political party) helped put Saddam into power, armed his regime, provided the “crop-spraying” helicopters….and then after the atrocites, vetoed a UN resolution that sought to condemn the chemical attacks.
I am an Arab and I am grateful for George Bush administration for showing the Arab and Muslim world the true face of imperialism. This is not about spreading democracy in a third world country. It is simply greed and colonialism.
Many years ago, my grandfather (who fought in WWI) told me only old men should fight wars. Then the old politicians would be reluctant to send soldiers into battle. It is so sad that so many young men and women have died because an old man (George W.) was obsessed with finishing something an older man (George H.W.) started. It is even sadder that the resolution of this mosaic is certain to improve as the situation in Iraq degrades.
Somebody wouldn’t be editing the comments to take down the ones that excoriate the producer of this mosaic, would they? Naw, that would be childish. Surely he is so firmly on the side of God and the angels (or deity or non-deity of your choice) that there could be no better proof of it than to let dissenting opinion stand so that everyone can see how wrong the whiners are?
Right?
This isn’t democraticunderground, right?
Bush is a realist - He understands that “Peace” is the woerse enemy of the United States Government. With peace
at hand what would happen to all the Bases and the Military Personel around the world, not to mention the so called Defence Industry. Let’s be realistic, the only reason for being in Irak is Oel. I fail to understand how any
person, specially christians can vote for such a despicable cretin. You cannot not fight terrorists with conventional armys, period.
The best of intentions don’t mean a thing unless put into action. Everyone would like to see more liberal govenments in the middle east , especially in Iraq considering their political history, but how is this communicated to the people when their movements are restricted, they are arrested with no charges being laid for months before being released with no explanation about why they were arrested in the first place, and a government with a majority of politicians who were exiles for 20-30 years and largely unknown to the citizens . The previous way of governance(excluding Saddam) cannot just be torn down and replaced that easily because it is a reflection of the culture as a whole. Governments do not shape the character of the people, more so in democratic societies as the polititians activley court the populations support , but are reflections of common culture and community. We can’t be speaking to the iraqi people about freedom if we are also killing their women and children. How would you feel in their position?. How can they trust that we really want to help them?. If the deaths of 3000 americans is a day of mourning for the world, how can the deaths of over 10,000 CIVILIANS( not including iraqi soldiers or insurgents or the wounded) , be considered a liberation by the people who still suffer the casualties of that freedom?.
My oldest son-not yet 21-fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He told me when he got home: “Dad, it’s a stupid war, on behalf of an ungrateful people.” Please, please, please join me in bringing change to America in November, 2004. Keith Hubbard, Boones Mill, VA
“Does it take a death to learn what a life is worth?” Jackson Browne
Those men died so all of you would have the right to complete about our great president’s polices. Let’s see if the person who created this has the guts to create one of Saddam out of all the Iraqi’s that he killed or one out of Bin Laden made up of the 9-11 victim’s. Wake up and smell reality all you liberals!!!!
Amercian Bad Ass meant to say “complain” instead of “complete” but was completely right!!
For those of you who agreed with this mosiac and disagree with Bush’s polices, look at this website:
http://www.kdp.pp.se/chemical.html Now are you awake????
“Our great president’s polices”
His policy was to lie to the world about weapons of mass destruction that do not exist.
His policy was to break UN Resolution 1441, and invade Iraq after they disarmed.
The reality is 670 Americans are dead, for a war that’s end did not justify its means.
Means : “And our mission is clear, to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.” - George Bush http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030322.html
End: No weapons were found or destroyed. The people of Iraq are not free in their own democracy, and Saddam Hussein never supported the terrorist groups who attacked the United States.
Yes, Saddam did kill, yes Saddam did maim, but two wrongs will never make a right, and this war was wrong, because lying is wrong and breaking UN Resolutions is wrong.
I am not an American. I’m from Northern Ireland, which over the years has sickened me by the way a tiny minority of narrow-minded, uneducated, prejudiced idiots have managed to project the image to outsiders that my country is infested with stupidity, just because it is they who make the most noise. What I see from America, a country which I hold very dearly in my heart, a mecca (oops!) for all things cool, free and righteous, is that you guys are now suffering from the same problem, albeit on a much larger scale, and one that could bear devastating consequences to both your own country and to everyone else’s. Let me tell ya if you can’t already see- Good ol’ U.S. of A is no longer the land of the free. By that I don’t mean to offend, I’m just stating a fact which, thankfully, most Americans already know. Don’t believe me? One word- Florida. Ring any bells?
Yes, you CAN indulge in open, honest debate, but that privlege is not exclusive to Americans. From Canada to Cameroon, from Japan to Jordan, from Iceland to Israel, people sit in cafes and bars openly voicing their opinions.
And its a free world to do so, so long as you dont rattle the cages of THE POWERS THAT BE. Governments everywhere try to influence their people. Its what keeps their wheels a-turning. But when they wield unlimited money, power and influence on their country’s media, this is known in the business as PROPAGANDA, a nasty ailment thats very difficult to cure.
So be good Americans, stand up for what your country is supposed to represent to the rest of the world, dont
be complacently fooled into thinking yours is the only free country in the world- cos it’s slipped way down the
rankings. I dont care too much for politics, but I’d hate to see Bush and his band of greedy, brainwashing corporate facist cowboys get re-elected, cos I dont think America or the world could stomach another four years of their lies.
So when you vote, do what you see right, but dont trust electronic voting machines. They tried them in Ireland and there was uproar cos they’re so easy to scam, and we know who’ll be the ones to turn it to their advantage!
May democracy prevail in November, and God bless (The real) America!!!
In the Agatha Christie book, Ten Little Indians, (also titled “And Then There Were None”) various profiles of murderers are given. 10 of them, in fact. Each committed a different ’style’ of murder. One of the murderers was a veteran of World War I….. and the person he murdered was a soldier serving under him. He sent him into battle into a situation that was impossible for him to escape. Nobody suspected it was murder- nobody KNEW that the young man had been having an affair with his wife… but Agatha Christie, back in the 1920s, when the book was written, classified the unnessary sacrifice of a man in wartime as a MURDER.
So do I. These men were murdered; for gain, and profit. I believe Agatha Christie would agree.
In her novels, the murderer is always found out and exposed; I believe real life will catch up with Bush in this way also.
Also, those that say “look at how many people died in World War I! World War II! Vietnam!” You’re just rationalizing. A death is a death is a death… and they are all unavoidable, and unexcusable. CNN did a story last week on 5 soldiers who were recently killed at age 18…. do you think that because 40,000 soldiers died at age 18 in vietnam, we ought to wipe out the equivalent number, just to equal that total? Do you think it makes it ANY less horrific to the families of those 5 soldiers?
No… all life is precious. All unnecessary death is wrong, and lamentable.
And to those of you who DO compare this war to vietnam, know that it is starting out exactly like Vietnam did. The first three years of vietnam saw only 300 fatalities… and then escalated… and escalated… We have already passed the mark of 3 years in Vietnam. War is seductive.
Another thing proving war is seductive is the fact that we might have avoided World War II altogether if Theodore Roosevelt had not pushed so hard for an unconditional surrender from Germany after world war I. We were so angry at them, so upset, and so intent on making them PAY…. (What Teddy Roosevelt was urging) that when they offered peace talks in 1917 we wouldn’t have it. No, we had to CRUSH THEM AND THEIR ECONOMY. Which lead, of course, to deep depression, financial crisis, and… the rise of Hitler.
No war is unavoidable. World War II wasn’t, but we were so stupid, we decided to push the German people down so low that they couldn’t really get back up again… without following the dreams of a madman. Whoops- hello Atomic bomb and nuclear age.
Perhaps it would have been more appropriate if this had been the image of SH or OBL ?
It is a shame people should waste their time compositing political attacks at the expense of others.
Just one word to the guy who is talking about halabja. Go and ask Rumsfled who gave saddam the capability of chemical weapons and the green light to use them the way he wants and against anyone he dislikes. Maybe you will be disappointed and then surprised to know the answer !! saddam was just the actor who played halabja and others scenes, the real criminals were his producers and directors !
This is particularly saddening for me, as one of the people in the mosaic (2nd row from top, 15th from the right) was a friend and classmate of mine, Matthew Milczark of Moose Lake Minnesota. And if a new one is made, with more faces added, yet another friend and classmate of mine will be included in that mosaic too.
How long will this keep going on?
(1) What evidence is there that the photos in the montage are actually photos of members of the military who were killed in Iraq?
(2) What are the sources of the photos?
(3) If the photos are genuine, did the publisher obtain permission to publish the photos? If not, why not? If so, from whom?
(4) It is noted that there are far more photos than there are casualties. This is deceptive. Why the deception?
Lastly, a comment: If the photos that are not duplicated to fill out the picture actually are those of casualties, this is an example of the extremes to which some will go, regardless of the pain that they might inflict, to assert a political point. Those who are responsible for its publication should be, but I think are not, ashamed. There are some in our society who believe that, so long as they are righteous, can, without censure, do anything at all — however distressing to their victims.
Pictures are from here I think: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/
Very good work. It moved me to tears. GWB will not be getting my vote.
Sweeeed-a
71 - wake up
I’m an Israeli - I still remember the first gulf war and the scud missles that landed in here during one month.
your argument of entering this war for protecting Israel is thick, ignorant and deluded.
Let the reasons of entering gulf war I be what they may - the patriot missles America posted here is gratefully
what helped us defand against that …but let me remind you that iraqui attacks on Israel started after the war began.
Now don’t get confused…let me remind you or anyone who may aggree with you that world terror/Al quaida has allready became a well established reality all over the world -
Remember september 11th? the terror acts in Indonesia ? the bombing in Madrid last month?
no more blaming the Israeli - palestinian conflict on any attrocity that strikes the world.
88 - as a former soldier in the army - I couldnt agree with you more
I think using the dead to make a picture/political statement is pretty tasteless and trivializes their families suffering, however I believe the question Why Did We Go To War In Iraq?is a valid one that should be examined more closely. Here are the reasons I’ve heard, first 3 are the official reasons given by the US & UK governments.
Number 1. 9-11 / defeating �terrorists�There is absolutely no evidence that Iraq was in any way linked to AL Quida. In fact there’s a lot of evidence, from speeches by Bin laden himself to views expressed by people familiar with the region that Al Quida and Saddam Hussein were mortal enemies. Bin Laden wants to have a strict Islamic nation, and dictators, esp. ones who are “western” and suppress Islam in their own countries are definitely the antithesis of that. Additionally Bin Laden wants more of the wealth of a these countries to go to the general population, rather than a handful of “westernized” strong men, as was the case in Iraq with Saddam (and which is also the case in many countries in the middle east). Please understand, I’m not trying to justify Bin Laden, but its important to understand that there’s NO CONNECTION what so ever between 9-11 and Iraq.
Additionally, there’s very little evidence to suggest that there was any terrorists supported/present in Iraq under Sadaam. Again, I’m not trying to justify Sadaam, just explain the situation.
Unfortunately, for every innocent Iraqi bystander killed by the US in Iraq, there’s a pretty potent seed of hate towards the US and other “coalition” countries being sown. If anything, this leads to the world being less of a safe place (at least for US/Europeans/Japanese) than before the war. Our actions in Iraq are creating terrorists where there previously were none.
To get back to the main point, just about anyone familiar with the region knows that there’s no links between terrorism and Iraq, so this can’t have been the reason.
Number 2. WMD As it now turns out there were no WMD in Iraq, but this couldn’t be guaranteed before the war. However, enough other countries, from Iran and Pakistan to North Korea HAVE WMD, so its remains a mystery why these weren’t also attacked? Of course, now that the actual “evidence” that was used to justify WMD claims is being exposed as seriously tenuous at best, one has to conclude that WMD wasn’t the main reason why we went to war.
Sadaam’s a bad guy, OK everyone knows hes a complete evil psycho, but he’s not unique in this. Evidence from Putin’s brutal suppresion in Chechnia to Kim Ill Sung starving the North Korean people prove this. So the reason for invading Iraq can’t be just Sadaam.
Here are another couple I’ve heard form various sources
Revenge for Bush seniors “defeat”? Bush Sr. set out to do what he wanted to do (free Kuwait), and although he had to deal with Sadaam then hurling insults at him after wards, I don’t believe this could have been a motive for taking whole countries to war (at least I hope to hell it wasn’t).
Oil I don’t know enough about the world oil situation to judge this, there may be some validity to this argument. If this is the case I just wish that they’d have said �Hey everyone, if we can’t get cheap oil, our economy will crumble and you’ll all be unemployed and the country will go to hell so we have to go to war to protect our interests�. This would have been easily understandable and would have made the reason clear from the beginning. I should point out I don’t see anything particularly objectionable about this, without oil western economies would go down the tubes and people in modern industrialized countries (of which I am one) standard’s of living would dramatically decrease. However, if this is the reason then I really hate being lied to and treated like a numbskull (see first three reasons listed above).
Maybe access to cheap oil isn’t the reason, and there’s some other explanation (maybe Bush/Blair just wanted to go down in history for having done something?).
Anybody have any other suggestions (and, please no aliens/UN black helicopters/ Jewish conspiracy theory crap).
JB
Very creative. How moving. Photoshop and a mosaic of photos apparenty used as an oblique indictment of the president.
At 160×200, the number of PIXELS in this photo represents close to the number of American casualties in southeast Asia during the last four years of the Johnson administration. If LBJ had attended each of those funerals for one hour, sequentially, that time would amount to four straight years.
Now, some would try to make an image of President Bush with a mosaic of the 3,000 killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Any meat eaters out there? PETA would probably make a beautiful likeness of your own face from images of the thousands of slaughtered cows that you’ve ingested.
Oh, that eeeevil president with his greedy motives: blood for oil, tax breaks for the wealthy while millions of poor American kids starve to death, taking away all of our privacy, and exporting millions of high-paying phone sales jobs. So many causes out there. Let’s see some really creative photos now, folks - perhaps naked bods on hillsides spelling out slogans denouncing imperialism.
So many people could do a much better job as president without putting American soldiers’ lives at risk for “nothing.” The whole world hates us, or wants us dead, for not leaving those harmless, misunderstood, despotic regimes alone. And the United Nations has done such a wonderful job dealing with them.
We’d be so much better off if only we played nice, didn’t “put those murderous regimes in power in the first place,” rolled over and exposed our bellies, and listened to the campus intellekshuls who study such things and know what’s best for us.
Wake up to your OWN conscience. Stop being “moved” from your center by contrived images, and start being motivated by your own Creator-endowed common sense. Start with how you react to the fascist regimes within your own family. If everybody did, NOBODY would be subject to the Saddams, the Osamas and the Hitlers.
What peace and freedom that would be.
Now you need one for Conde Rice, and Dick Cheny
Just a comment on the creation of the mosaic: Nobody spent thousands of hours carefully arranging pictures, nor is there any deception intended by the duplication of some images. Mosaic images like this are created by a program which analyzes the desired picture for color, brightness, etc., then picks images out of a collection supplied to it which match the color values of that part of the source image. There clearly weren’t many images that were mostly white — primarily some black-and-white photos — so there’s a lot of duplication in Bush’s collar. On the other hand, there were a lot with much the same skin tone as Bush, so there’s a lot more variety on his face. Nothing mysterious or sinister about it.
There used to be a lot of big talk from the right about being responsible for your actions.
So why are these GOP monsters passing on the cost of their war to a generation that
hasn’t been born yet? The responsibility talk must have been nothing more than a way
to convince stupid shallow people to vote for them. It worked. It will work again in November.
I am very sorry that soilders died and I pray for the families of the lost love ones, but these soilders have faith in there missions and died for our freedom present and future. Yes I support the President in this war and even if they never find any weapons of mass destruction it was still worth going in and taking Saddam and his VERY evil sons out or out of power. Any one that is trying to act like a hippie from the 60’s and 70’s need to get a life and a job and stop spending time slamming our President with this mosaic. I don’t think anyone can fatham what it takes to run a country and protect the very freedom you take for granted.
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