Letter: Beyond the abstractions of war are human lives

In the present debate taking place concerning a possible war with Iraq, many grand-sounding phrases are used. Politicians talk of "security" and "threat"; President George W. Bush speaks of the "will and whims of a ruthless and aggressive dictator." But when we push past the abstractions of war or peace, America versus Iraq, terrorism and tyranny, we are left with living, breathing human beings.

Before committing ourselves to war, we need to look closely at the implications of such action. If we are willing to attack Iraq, then we must also be willing to face up to the reality of the innocent Iraqi family, cowering in their home in fear of American bombs, feeling their house shake and the bricks fall on them as a misfired missile strikes. We have to accept the responsibility for a young innocent child choking to death as she is buried under the dust and rubble that used to be her home. We must agree to make Iraq's children orphans and Iraq's wives widows, all in an attempt to protect against the possibility of that happening to our children and our wives in some unspecified future.

We have to believe that American lives are intrinsically worth more than Iraqi lives. And we need to be willing to say to American men and women, "yes, this cause is worth dying for, or perhaps worse, worth killing for. Yes, we want you to look another human being in the eye, whom you have never seen before, and we want you to ram a bayonet into their stomach. We want you to push past their cries for mercy, to look at their trembling body, and continue to stab until the life has drained from them. And we want you to carry that memory with you always."

This is what we must be prepared to accept when we speak of the abstraction of war. It is a lot to ask, so let's think very carefully about this and not rush into a war we do not need.