Three weeks into the war between the United States and Iraq, Iraqi soldiers disguised themselves as citizens and committed suicide according to an editorial titled “The reality of war” on this day in 2003.
The soldiers committed suicide in attempt to stop the U.S. invasion, according to the editorial. The writer’s name wasn’t printed, but they shared their opinion on the war in Iraq and the consequences that come with it.
There are no rules in a war, according to the writer. U.S. troops invaded another country in an attempt to destroy the government, but shocked the public as Iraqi soldiers held up white flags before shooting at marines. War is not a civilized sport, all rules set by the Geneva Convention are ignored and there is no civility when it comes to death.
After the Iraqi soldier suicides, Sens. Arlen Spector and Joe Biden called for an international war tribunal, according to the article. The senators tried for trial against violating the rules of the Geneva Convention. The writer called the trial an “unlikely request from Capitol Hill” because the Bush administration was uncooperative with the international judicial systems.
Americans were the aggressor in the situation, using human instinct to survive and protect their homes, according to the writer. On the other side, the Iraqi army was desperate as the U.S. had bigger troops. Immoral action such as suicide, was to be expected. There was always hatred toward the U.S. despite the laws that are supposed to prevent events like a war.
The week before the editorial was published, the Providence Journal released a photo of an Iraqi citizen who lost 15 relatives during a U.S. strike, according to the article. The writer called war ugly, nasty and brutal, which should have been taken into consideration before invading another country and destroying its capital city.
Today, the U.S. has been in a war for a month and a half, but with a different Middle Eastern country: Iran. Instead of invading the country, the U.S. was striking Iran with bombs and missiles, destroying multiple parts of the Middle East. There is a ceasefire and no accounts of deaths by suicide, but the reality of war is still the same: ugly, nasty and brutal.
President Donald Trump joined forces with Israel for Operation Epic Fury, repeatedly striking Iran since Feb. 28, according to Britannica. However, instead of stopping alleged weapons of mass destruction and terrorist attacks, the strikes have been targeting nuclear power plants. Trump has an absolute lack of pretense for justification.
The government used to have to perform more reasonable stances. Some of the strikes hit vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting the distribution of oil among countries in the Middle East and leading Iran to close the Strait.
The strikes have led to thousands of people dead across Iran, Lebanon and Israel, according to Britannica. Millions of people are displaced among the Middle East, including more than one-sixth of the population in Lebanon.
If Iran didn’t accept a deal that included opening the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday by 8 p.m., Trump threatened to bomb bridges and power plants in Iran, according to National Public Radio.
“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said in the soundbite.
Cultural attitudes toward the Iraq war have shifted overtime. Now in retrospect, it’s mostly agreed upon that the invasion was over false threats in the Bush administration. 23 years later, the U.S. may see more disdain for the Trump administration as time goes on.
