Hey DU: Where was/is this passion for Iraqi civilians?

[jackstraw45]

I remember people upset about the war in 2003, wrangling over whether we should be there. But many here are going blue in the face over civilian deaths in Lebanon and tearing each other apart at DU. I think about a dozon posters are ready to enlist with Hezbollah.



Just a reminder that about 40,000 innocent Iraqi CIVILIANS have been killed over the past few years during the US attack and occupation.

On July 21, 2006 US forces fired on an apartment building in Baqouba killing six civilians, including two women and a child.

Haditha: 24 iraqis (including 11 women and children) slaughtered.

Lebanon claims that Israel has killed 750 civilians since the attacks began last month

According to CBS news, the WEEKLY civilian toll in Iraq TODAY is more than that.

Let's not forget Iraq.

[liberal N proud]

1. It has moved to Israel

Iraq, the forgotten war!

[MrSlayer]

2. It's here and always was Jack.

Go back through the archives it's always been there.

[jackstraw45]

4. I respectfully disagree...

Just look at the threads on Israel/Lebanon...

People are bursting with anger/frustration.

I remember people lamenting the loss of life but nothing like this.

[MrSlayer]

9. Well again I would direct you to the archives.

Hundreds of threads featuring the dead Iraqi children. Along with the obligatory "Bursting into tears" and "Not in my Name!" lamentations. This is fresh so it might seem to be more than it was for Iraq but it was every bit as prominent. That's how I remember it.

[tnlefty]

11. Yeah, really. I downloaded a lot of those images and put them on my

kitchen bulletin board just so that any of my Bush** supportin', war supportin' relatives or neighbors who came into my house would see them. I've used those in signs along with flag draped coffin images on signs in peace rallies.

My outrage is alive and well.

[bigtree]

3. I haven't seen your moniker on any of my Iraq threads

who the hell has forgotten Iraq?

[knowbody0]

5. i think watching Lebanon and Israel

is having an effect. war is war. dead is dead. civilians of no threat to anyone blown to pieces is not justifiable by anyone.
we see now 24/7 of the Crisis in the ME, and know 6,000 Iraqis died in the last two months.
it may only be subliminal, but it is having an effect.
that we argue here about who is right over there is what confuses me. and the bs about the "enemy" hiding among the residents - WTF? rules of engagement to stay in their barracks?

[oberliner]

6. here is that CBS news article

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/01/notebook/main1856826.shtml

Reporter's Notebook: Iraq Fatigue

It's the first day of another month: pay day for Iraqi police and soldiers. In an upscale part of Baghdad, officers file into a bank to collect cash to pay their men. It's not a lot of money for men taking a lot of risk. A car bomb suddenly explodes. At least 14 people are killed. But news of the attack barely registers in many of America's news outlets.

[DireStrike]

7. Because lebanon is "happening now".

The situation is in its early stages, and I think psychologically people assume that others are not as committed to it yet. The best chance to stop it is now.

Iraq... we've tried and tried. The best chances to stop it came and went several times. Outrage takes mental energy.

[gratuitous]

8. Maybe because we weren't getting pictures from Iraq

After all, our embedded reporters were just taking pretty pictures of the flashes in the sky over the Iraqi cities. The Bush administration, in concert with the major media, didn't allow pictures of our victims to be broadcast 24-7 all over the dial.

But yes, there's a lot of outrage in my little corner of the world over the tens of thousands of Iraqis killed in my name with my tax dollars, people who never did anything to me, and who couldn't get away from or fight back against the bombs our star-spangled, freckle-faced men and women in uniform were raining down on them.

I'm not happy about any of these murders and atrocities.

[Zomby Woof]

10. We have plenty for ALL victims of war

One is spread out over 3.5 years, the other is recent. But to deny that DUers as a whole lack compassion for the victims of war, or that some are dispensing this compassion in amounts 'more equal' than others, is disingenuous and... tactless.

[stepnw1f]

12. Where Have You Been?

I've seen plenty on here...

[Minstrel Boy]

13. Thousands of hearts have been breaking here for three bloody years

for the Iraqi people. Why would you think they haven't?

And of course, Lebanon is now, and represents a dangerous escalation towards the generalized Middle East War the neocons have been drooling over. So naturally many of us have a sense of urgency about this.

[MadMaddie]

14. We have been lamenting over the murders of the Iraqi...

civilians for a long time....and the deaths of our soldiers and the crimes of the * cabal....and the list goes on.....

[melnjones]

15. Well...one problem is

that the majority of civilian deaths in Iraq right now are Iraqis killing Iraqis. Of course we set the situation up as it is...but that doesn't change the fact that they are killing each other. It's hard to blame one side or the other in that circumstance, and at this point there isn't a whole lot that we CAN do. Keeping our troops there causes problems. Bringing them home tomorrow would cause problems. We've just royally effed up on that one.

With Lebanon and Israel, it still seems there's a tiny bit of hope...if we could just support a cease-fire. That hope is waning each day, however, as more and more Lebanese decide to side with Hezbollah. Soon that situation may look equally hopeless, and then our attentions will change to something else that is still new.