|
Why I Went to Washington to Demonstrate Against War with Iraq
By Hans G. Reichardt, Torrington
 | | Photo/ L.A. Steel |
|
When the war in Vietnam took the lives of many young American soldiers, young Americans at home took to the streets and protested against this war. At that time, I regarded the antiwar movement as un-American and resented the demonstrators.
Later, to highlight the disaster in Vietnam, former Secretary of Defense McNamara wrote a book in which he admitted that the war in Vietnam had been a mistake—a mistake that cost this nation the lives of 55,000 young soldiers. Sacrificed for what? This number does not include the physically maimed and the mentally destroyed.
Now our President, for whom I voted as a Republican, is talking the "macho" talk of war. Has anyone ever studied history? War is the means of a failed diplomacy, as General Clausewitz said over 100 years ago!
Armchair warriors are talking big about going to war. As 17-year-olds, did they ever have to cower in a foxhole, being scared out of their wits during a grueling night under artillery barrages, and in the morning find their comrade with a slit throat? Have the armchair warriors been in hand-to-hand combat, which is the cruelest of all, in which you are looking into the eyes of a man whom you have just met—the enemy—who is trying to kill you while you are trying to kill him? With my luck, I survived!
I was a teenage soldier in the German Army during World War II on the Eastern Front. I was wounded three times—decorated for bravery. The last wound, which was caused by a Russian explosive bullet, tore away my upper thigh and I still suffer from this injury after 57 years. As a prisoner of war, I was almost beaten to death by my capturers and 20 years later I was still suffering from these injuries. I have paid my dues for failed diplomacy! My conclusion is: War is human insanity!
This is the reason I have now become an antiwar protester and I am proud to be called a "peacenik." I feel that those people who label me a "peacenik" have not personally experienced the brutality of war.
My grandson just joined the U.S. Army. I hope that he will be a peacetime soldier. My son served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force. He never had to see combat, for which I am grateful. My son-in-law, who is a colonel working at the Pentagon, barely escaped with his life on September 11, 2001. He had just left a meeting in the office of the general where the attack plane hit the Pentagon. This general was killed, and my son-in-law's office was totally burned out. For this attack, the President, rightfully, sent troops into Afghanistan. But this war is not finished and bin Laden has not been caught.
It appears that Mr. Bush's real obsession is Iraq. Is he worried about Israel? Or our questionable friends, the Saudis? Israel has nothing to worry about—they have the bomb. Let the untrustworthy Saudis worry a lot! Let's not forget that out of the nineteen hijackers on September 11, 2001, sixteen were Saudis. Why are we not investigating the Saudis? They had to know of the attack. Or are our diplomats afraid of them?
How about North Korea? Arms of mass destruction galore! Our President says: "We can settle this with diplomacy." On the other hand, our Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld says: "We can handle two wars at the same time." Can we? We're calling the Reserves and the National Guard to active duty and shipping them out to the desert. Our army is spread all over the globe. They are stationed in countries we've never heard of.
The war in Afghanistan is not completed and we have sent our troops to fight in the mountains with the wrong shoes, which could not stand up to the rocky terrain, and the wrong bullets, which are armor-piercing and when they hit flesh they go right through, not necessarily killing. Now our army is buying from Germany, on a grand scale, all-terrain vehicles because theirs are better—ours didn't stand up to the mountainous terrain.
And we can handle two wars? Yes, we have the ability to smash half of the earth to rubble. Look at the so-called "daisy-cutter." But we can't do the little things—i.e., getting a stuck economy going; building low-cost housing for the homeless; stopping the flow of narcotics; caring for the narcotic-addicted; protecting our borders from illegal immigrants (50 years ago, I was a legal immigrant); and taking care of the still underprivileged so they do not fall into a life of crime—a long list of what has to be done. Are we doing it?
Now we are heading to Baghdad. Sven Hedin, for those who are weak in history, was a Swedish explorer who wrote the book The Road to Baghdad, in which he told of his explorations and the proud and stubborn people. Now we are on the Road to Baghdad, traveling by air and carpeting the whole place to dust, putting it into ruins with unlimited arms of destruction.
It appears that we do not care how many people will be dying—as demonstrated by General Powell, who did not care how many Iraqis died in the Desert Storm. Iraq is the enemy. We are going to be upset if they defend themselves and our body bags arrive back on our soil—never mind that it will be a glorious victory in which we beat the evil Saddam. Then we will turn around and dump millions of our dwindling dollars into rebuilding the place of rubble. That's the "American way"!
But we still have a weak economy because another Bush is President; the homeless are still with us; unemployment is increasing—I could go on and on, as you all know as well. After all that, we go and look for a new enemy! North Korea? Oh, no. Something smaller—easier to destroy! I cannot wipe out my memories, and I hope I am wrong about the Road to Baghdad.
So, this "peacenik" went with many like-minded fellow Americans to Washington, DC in order to support the antiwar movement. Arriving by bus in 7-degree temperature made us seek shelter in the Union Station, each looking for a cup of hot coffee to warm us up. Even though this demonstration had been announced and denounced by the rightist national radio talk shows, the large cafeteria was totally unprepared for an onslaught of patrons; there was only one woman to serve hundreds of us. No milk for the coffee, not even spoons to stir, and long waiting lines, of course.
Hundreds of protest signs were parked around the tables. As we left the station, one of our fellow protesters was stopped by the police and ordered to turn her sign so that it could not be read by the public. She had referenced Christ on her sign. What's going on? Is Washington, DC a police state?
The Mall started to fill up fast. We, from our bus, lost each other in the crowd (only a few were able to stay together). The demonstration was very emotional for me. So many young people, showing their dedication to avoid war, came from many states and regions. I was not impressed with the speakers presented to us, as they pushed their own agenda. However, the "Good War," as Sean Hannity calls it, was denounced. I participated in the march after the rally and saw the police chasing spectators from the stairs of government buildings, but also witnessed veterans with banners against the war.
It was a long day that I am thankful I did not miss. The rally was an overwhelming sea of humanity which covered the Mall from end to end … from the beginning to the congressional building.
At home the following day, I noticed that the press played down this event and played a "numbers" game. I was there, and I believe that there were more than 350,000 people assembled. The press reported 35,000 to as high as 75,000. When we marched by the Navy Yard, there was heckling going on, and it was being played up by the TV stations.
We have so much to do in our country instead of wasting our human resources and wealth on war. We have to work to be independent from oil, the Evil of it all. We need to be developing new energy sources to allow our homes and cars to be fueled independently. We need to shelter the homeless and stabilize our families. My list seems endless.
Or is war more important because it destroys?
The writer has been living in the Northeast of our country for the last 50 years. He is a member of the City of Torrington's Board of Education, and a member of the Republican Town Committee in Torrington.
| 
)