Po naključju mi je prišla v roke posebna izdaja Newsweeka. Voices of the Fallen. Skoraj v celoti sestavljena iz pisem ameriških vojakov, padlih v Iraku. Objavljenih s privoljenjem njihovih družin.

We have collected the correspondence of American soldiers at war in Iraq, accounts written not for the public but for those they loved—wives, husbands, children, parents, siblings. Each of the warriors whose words are excerpted here died in the line of duty. Each of their families chose to share their stories with us, and with you. /…/ For the first time in the experience of any living American, we have sent an all-volunteer force overseas to advance our interests for a prolonged period, and virtually nothing has been asked of the vast majority of those who do not have loved ones in the line of fire. The bargain is hardly fair. If we take the president at his word, the men and women of the armed forces are fighting and dying over there so that you and I will not have to face mortal danger over here. The administration may be right about this; it is impossible to know now. As wrong as the White House has been about the premise of the war (the presence of weapons of mass destruction) and about the way we would be received (as “liberators,” in Vice President Dick Cheney’s formulation) and about the conduct of the conflict once Saddam fell (we were unprepared for the sectarian bloodbath), history moves according to its own rhythms, not according to news cycles or presidential terms. Despite the depressing state of play on the ground, things may yet turn out better than most Americans suspect—or fear. The families who co-operated with NEWSWEEK did not do so to make unified political statements; their views are as divergent as the broad public’s.

Na spletni strani Newsweeka je dokumentov še več kot v tiskani izdaji. Honored dead. In čeprav ni mišljeno, da bi bila korespondenca mrtvih ‘obtožnica’, je prav to. Žalostna in srhljiva hkrati.

Army Maj. Michael Mundell
one of at least 3,230 Americans who have died in the struggle for Iraq. He was 47 years old and left behind his wife, Audrey, and four children, all under 18.
Sept. 14, Fallujah
Audrey once asked me what the attitude of the troops is over here, about the war, about the President and so on. I have to say, it’s pretty darn cynical. You can’t see what we see every day (like today, dead kids [killed by an IED]) and not get a little cynical about it all. High-minded political phrases sound pretty hollow out here. Our standard joke is “we are doing (whatever it is) as our part in the global war on anti-terrorism.” This isn’t to say that any of us doubt that we are doing the right thing—we don’t. It’s just that things look a lot different down here at the point of “W”’s spear. The ones at home rattling the loudest saber aren’t here helping load dead kids into an ambulance. WE are. And that just sucks, I gotta tell you.
Nov. 8, Fallujah
One more thing. I hope that no one is making any decisions about the war based on what I am saying. I don’t know what’s going on in Baghdad or Ramadi or Mosul or anywhere else. You all have more access to news than I do. I can only tell you what I see, hear, think or experience. I don’t have the vaguest idea as to who is winning this war, and I don’t care. My job is to bring home my boys and I will do whatever I have to in order to accomplish that. Lance Corporal Danny Catron, all of 19, his wife /18/ and their new baby are counting on me not to screw it up here. I could care less what is going on in Baghdad. Or anywhere else.
Mundell, 47, was killed by an IED in Fallujah on Jan. 5, 2007. (Corporal Catron is still serving in Iraq and is due to return home soon.)

Pisma iz Iraka. The War In the Words of the Dead. V besedah, sliki in zvoku. Obtožnica nikogar in ničesar poimensko, obtožnica ‘kar tako’.

Video:
March 25, 2007: Army Cpl. Stephen M. McGowan prepared this PowerPoint presentation to educate American children.

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