Out of Iraq Now - I Mean It

I haven’t thought of myself as squeamish and I haven’t felt sick by the Internet before but, then again, I never came across anything like this either. I am writing this because you ought to know I have been there, not because I want you to go yourself. This information might not be new; it is perhaps me who has been in a blue bliss of ignorance. I would regret if others were left there too.

A blogger linked to a site with an awkward set up: troops in war zones get free access to its adult content if they upload their own images. At least the odd setup could be worth a mention, perhaps? At best, there could be some informative dispatches, like Kevin Sites in my blogroll. At worse – that question were not present. I noted but ignored a general warning. I learned that the site could be restricted soon, so I thought this is urgent; just give me another cup of coffee. I wish I never had it.

The site is bizarre. I did not know such places existed. I had imagined worse places, but as an exchange site for pictures of wives and girlfriends it is freaky in its own way. Each member has a profile-ranking. One was called “I got laid once,” a lesser being “I am here to masturbate.” To enter the Iraq-Afghanistan forum, you do not need to register in that system, at least for now it is unrestricted.

Next to links about horny this and sexy that are the macabre pictures of deadly horror. It is perverse; wicked, to say the least. Horrors can be perceived, not everything has to be accessed with our own senses. These people have created an orgy in death. They are having a great time photographing it and sharing the images with their friends and the rest of the world. All the time they are laughing, bragging - about remnants of mutilated bodies.

All photographers seem to have been up front; they are not just someone coming in hours after the battle action. I never quite comprehended the current discussion about soldiers, blogging and cameras; why they should have permission to photograph, comment and distribute whatever they can when they are on a military mission; a right not taken for granted at ordinary workplaces.

Yet, if it wasn’t for those cameras we wouldn’t know about the abuse in Abu-Gharib. The pictures I’ve seen today will perhaps also serve a purpose. It is a testimony that quite a few people on duty in Iraq are not fit for service. They should not be near any mission objective of peace and nation building. They are taking pride and joy in death and demolition when they ought to just endure it. They’re laughing at scattered brains and split faces, cooked bodies and broken limbs. They ought to feel sorry things did not end in any other way. They should want to know who that person was, his name and why he had to die. It is called humanity. A military without it is corrupted and will fail; failure means no chance to succeed. That is why it is time for the USA to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan. You had your good-doing chances and you blew them.

We might argue that this is the way soldiers react, deal with a cruel reality and have been formed. I would say they were the wrong stuff and got worse in a flawed organization with corrupt leaders. Countries that honor such personnel upon their return are tacitly acknowledging its own wrongdoing.

I know you will not leave because no one else will take over. I regret that. I wish we had a United Nations who could draw the world’s forces together. Until today I thought you would be able to change the UN to become just that kind of organization, who could accomplish such missions. Now I am convinced you have lost your credits. Not because of the sick pictures alone, but because you have lost the greater part that is so much more than the sum of the individual contributions. Piece by piece you have ceased to be a mission.

Piece by piece you have reduced yourself to a simple state of nations.

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