Ali Ismaeel Abbas, 12, was inside his home
in Iraq playing with his
sister when an
American missile tore through and exploded
severing both his arms and leaving him crippled for
life .
The military calls it collateral damage
when an errant missile
hits a civilian home.
Oxford defines collateral as
additional but
subordinate .
Are Ali's damaged life
and almost 100 thousand dead Iraqi civilians subordinate to
the human cost of Cheney, Bush, Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld's
grand and outrageous neoconservative oil grabbing designs
in the middle East ?
Look deeply into Ali's sad
beseeching eyes ~ and you are looking into the eyes of
thousands of Iraqi children who are asking ~ why ?
Why do you bomb us and humiliate
us ?
Why do you not protect us ?
Why do you enforce your Democracy
upon us and taint it with your phony hand picked
coalition government ~ which no one believes in ?
Why did you ruin my life and fill
my giant heart with hatred for you and everything you stand
for ?
Look deeply into Ali's eyes and
see the speechless devastating hopelessness and despair
which is the true breeding
ground of terrorism.
Look deeply into Ali's eyes and
see our
own image reflected
~ for we have voted for and financed this Iraqi misadventure
and can no longer avoid responsibility for the untold misery
and despondency we have created.
Yes , the ultimate collateral
damage is our own deteriorated self respect, shame and
standing in the world community ~ and, of course,
additional and subordinate to neocon wishful thinking .
Ali's blood is on our hands and
we have already suffered an immeasurable psychic loss
in Iraq which no amount of White house spin can reverse .
I feel ashamed for my country
when I look into Ali's pleading eyes and I, for one, will
never stop to plead his case before my country and the
world community.
We are all brothers and sisters ~
when will be start cooperating with each other and stop
killing and maiming each other ?
When will we surrender to love
and give Ali back his arms.
ONLY LOVE HEALS
Allen L Roland
