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Photos from IraqSince the beginning of the Iraq War, the Librul Media has been taken to task for reporting only the bad news. Why don't they ever talk about the good news? Some would say because there is so little of it. Some would say because violence sells -- "if it bleeds, it leads." Some say because the Librul Media is out to discredit the Administration's well-intentioned invasion which will turn around any day now. Regardless of the reason, all that bad news does make one forget that the soldiers who are serving over there are human beings, and most of them are just struggling from day to day to remain human under terribly adverse conditions. In a lot of cases, that means being friendly with the locals. This link will take you to a slide show of GI's getting friendly with the locals. Try to ignore the comments until you've looked at a few pictures. Does the feeling that these soldiers are human beings creep into your consciousness? Then look at the comments. How are you affected?
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propeace quoteIn the presence of a man or woman in whom all hostility has died, others cannot be hostile. In the presence of a man or woman in whom all fear has died, no one can be afraid. daily ombeyondanandarecent blog posts
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Re: Good Posts!
This suggests to me that the perpetual American presence in Iraq is acceptable as long as there are some smiles to be found amoung the death and destruction.
You've got a point there, artie. But I urge you to consider: to whom is that point meaningful? Not to you, certainly. To you, and to any Peacemaker, it is an empty argument. Peacemakers recognize that it is the smiles that have value, not the war.
These photos are selling the war not to peacemakers, but to warmakers. And it is exactly as you say, it is because the other arguments, the ones about Right and Truth and Defending Our Freedom, the other arguments just don't work any more. It is their first step on a long road to Peacemaking, a road that you, and I and many others have already traveled some distance in our lives.
We can't expect them to catch up with us all at once. But it is an opening, an opportunity, for us to find common ground with our fellow citizens, and to counter the Orwellian precept of "War Is Peace" with a 300-times repeated photojournal that clearly says NO! Peace is Peace. Even when it is wielded by warmakers. Peace is Peace.
in the minds of the warmakers
These photos indicate that the warmakers view success to some degree in terms of sharing smiles, which is different from success in terms of domination. My statement is not to claim that there is no will to dominate. It is to indicate the subtle shift in focus. What we focus on expands, so I'm happy to focus on smiles and recognize others for doing so.
Peace to you.
Jason.
Re: Good Posts!
And that, right there, is a sure sign of our progress in shifting the frame. The warmakers are beginning to adopt our frame in their definition of "mission accomplished." They have begun to "sell" the war on our terms.
Is "selling" war with a rhetorical frame of any kind a sign of real progress? I would think that using smiling faces to sell war is even more sinister than selling war with phoney stories about WMD and people who hate us for our freedom.
This suggests to me that the perpetual American presence in Iraq is acceptable as long as there are some smiles to be found amoung the death and destruction.
Re: Good Posts!
And that, right there, is a sure sign of our progress in shifting the frame. The warmakers are beginning to adopt our frame in their definition of "mission accomplished." They have begun to "sell" the war on our terms.
Good Posts!
Thanks for your comments. I'm glad some folks are taking the time to look at these photos. I hope they are having an impact on your thoughts about peace and peacemaking.
I understand the discomfort with the presence of weapons, and I too wish that these same smiles were being shared among civilians trained in peacemaking rather than soldiers trained in warmaking. But couldn't they in fact be the very same people inside? I look at those faces and I think "these people are doing what makes them feel good right now. When they are using their weapons, they are not feeling nearly as good."
Bear in mind, Jason, that Iraq is a deadly place, bristling with weapons, not at all like your insulated little New England town, and in the context of the violence that permeates their lives, the weapons being carried but not brandished by the American soldiers is not nearly as jarring to them as it is to you.
Susan I'm so glad that the photos brought some joy into your life. They did mine as well. These photos are being held up as examples of "what is going right in Iraq", and they are photos of Peacemaking. Our philosophical rivals, our moral opposites, who purport to be Warmongers, are holding up Peacemaking as an example of what is going right in Iraq.
Steve
=========
Our lives begin to end the moment that we become silent about things that matter. (Martin Luther King Jr.)
Pictures From Iraq
Steve, your timing was perfect. These pictures were just what I needed to pull me out of the slump I was in as a result of seeing the Abu Graib pictures. I don't think I could have gotten through my DoP Campaign presentation with a smile on my face if it hadn't been for the sanity that came with the balance that came with these pictures. I did, however, make the same observation as Jason: Uniformed men bristling with weapons are not the way I would like to be represented to the people.
I did as you asked and went back to read the comments, too. At first, I was angry that people were making capital for their own agendas. But I have to say that I now have more compassion for the media than I did before. Sure, they're not showing these pictures, but I'll bet they're not showing the Abu Graib pictures or the pictures that show the effects of our depleted uranium or white phosphorus munitions, either - not that I'd want them to, at least not in prime time. So maybe they really ARE taking a safe, middle-of-the-road stance!
Editor, propeace.net
Operation Have a Nice Day
Certainly the humanity of the soldiers does peak through in their smiles. I'm glad that such moments have occurred in Iraq, and I hope for more and more smiles in all Iraqis' futures.
What is jarring about the photos is the presence of weapons in every single one. To smile in the midst of such a show of force requires detachment. That detachment can either come from being jaded and callous, or from being serenely peaceful, as a child might be.
The captions read like a strange code language. There is no hint of compassion or understanding in the text at all. And the silly "operation" names like Operation Virtual Pencil. What?? I guess that's to be expected from humanitarian work served up by the U.S. Department of Defense. It feels a bit obscene to me.
Now I would like to see pictures of smiles and enjoyment with unarmed Americans. Where are the peacemakers' pictures?