Steele on the Ongoing Carnage
From the Guardian’s Jonathan Steele comes this updated front-line report from the hospitals of Baghdad: Bombs silent, but the children still suffer.
At least six children were wounded by cluster bombs this week and taken to the Kadhimiya hospital because it is nearest to where they live. Clutching his mother’s hand as he lay on a mattress, Ali Mustafa’s head is half hidden by a bandage. He is a “post-war” victim. The five-year-old was playing with his brother and two friends earlier this week when he picked up an odd round object. It was an unexploded cluster bomb, one of thousands that lie around Baghdad. It exploded in his hands, blinding him. His legs, scarred with shrapnel, will heal but Ali Mustafa’s sight will never return.
So, the horrible human cost of the war continues to mount. And why, again, was it that 5-year-old Ali had to pay this cost? To take away Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction? To punish him for his involvement in 9/11?
Oh, wait. I remember. It was for freedom. Hear that, Ali? I know you’re not having a good time at the moment, but guess what? You’re free!
Gah. I can’t joke about this. It’s not funny.
I’m sorry, Ali.
