Anthony Mackie and Jeremy Renner star in The Hurt Locker
Oscar season and The Hurt Locker‘s nomination for Best Picture has brought the Iraq war back to forefront of conversation. The war is a far-away phenomenon, sometimes begging for and winning very deserved national attention, but more often existing on a strange plane that seems to neither involve nor concern (whether this is true or not) very many of us, and thus evaporates into the grander sphere of our unconsciousness. Sometimes a rush of movies, books, or events will bring it back to the front of our minds and serve as a reminder of what we know is going on, and what we clearly do not.
Since this film has brought the topic back to us, here is some recent commentary on both The Hurt Locker, as well as a few recent articles on the different aspects of the conflict.
Feel free to add your own finds, or thoughts, to the comments if you are so inclined.
Movie Critic A.O. Scott calls The Hurt Locker essentially apolitical.
Two Iraq veterans give their response to the film: here and here.
Iraq vet accused of waterboarding daughter.
An emerging group of new and different soldier-writers.
The G.I. Bill, and adjusting to college after the war.
Tony Blair says he has no regrets about going to war.
NRO’s Mike Potemra gives The Hurt Locker two thumbs up.
On January 1st The Corner wrote happily that there were zero American combat casualties in Iraq the previous month. This website keeps track of all casualties.
The importance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, according to the US Army.
A graduating class of Marines.
Candidate banning in Iraqi elections.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Add my own finds, thoughts and comments? Gladly.
The Corner may derive happiness from putting on blinders with regard to statistics, but let’s not neglect to mention the statistic at the top of the other page you linked to: 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed. That is no cause for celebration. The fact that American casualties are the only ‘casualties’ that are ever discussed in the American media speaks to our racist and imperialist attitudes. Do Iraqis not count as people?
All this death and suffering for a war that was initiated on false pretenses, as we all well know http://projects.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/Default.aspx?source=home&context=overview&id=945 It is unfortunate that Blair, as well as the result of the ruling elite that initiated this event, are being treated with kid gloves for their crimes.
And let’s not forget, our murderous policies towards Iraq began far before Bush II came into office: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1084
Since you mention drones, I feel the need to comment on those as well. Yes, they are important… important for murder. America uses these robots to impose a death sentence on “enemy combatants” or “terrorists” (or whatever bogeyman term is popular on any given day) with no due process and no trial. Imagine if the tables were turned and Pakistanis or Afghans or Yemenis were flying robots over our airspace and killing our political leaders (and whoever happened to be near them at the time) because they thought they were dangerous to their military mission (whether that notion was justified or not). You can imagine how outraged we would be. This is to say nothing of the other “collateral damage” that these drones inevitably cause or the fact that they often seem to miss their “target.” The result? The blood of dead (and innocent) men, women and children on our hands and increased anti-American sentiment throughout the world. (Surprise! When we unjustly murder innocent people, that makes their friends, family and countrymen hate us!)
Even if you think that Iraqis that oppose US aggression are vermin that deserve to be bombed from the sky, consider that the administration revealed that this policy also applies to US CITIZENS. http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/27-9 That is, if the government doesn’t like you, and you are abroad, they reserve the right to kill you — period. When will the insanity end?
All of this happens with our taxes and political support. Shame on all of us.