Cold Reality of War

I feel as if this war has not affected me directly, but I have seen it take its toll on others around me. My best friend’s family has been greatly affected. Her soon to be brother in-law has been shipped to Iraq two times before and is going back at the end of July this year. I’ve seen her sister when he was located in Iraq, and she was in a constant state of concern. The fact of never knowing what could happen to her fiancé left her very distraught. Their wedding is not planned until May of next year, so she is going to have to endure one more lapse of absence till their wedding day. I could not imagine how much stress and anxiety her sister is going to bear until he returns home once again. Moreover, my best friend’s brother has also been in the navy for a few years. Although he is not in the crossfire of the Iraq War, he is still serving his country and is far away from home. Leaving room for his family and friends to wonder and worry.  I noticed from a few of my friends that have come back from Iraq for a break or for good, seem to have changed. They have a different outlook towards the world and their personalities have changed dramatically. This could have resulted for many reasons. They were put into a real-life video game, where their lives are put on the line every day. Today, there are countless games that try to illustrate warfare. With each game that comes out, they become more intense and realistic, but yet I don’t think this allows one to grasp the real nature of war. In reality, these soldiers are thrown into a world that nothing could prepare them for. These soldiers witness death and destruction and when someone experiences such traumatic events, there is no doubt that there would be a lasting impression. Soldiers of any war have seen numerous things that most civilians have not and they are haunted by these experiences on daily basis. War has many lasting affects that linger long after the conflicts.

The media coverage of this war, I feel has been minimally or perhaps it hasn’t caught my attention often. As a country, I feel that we are out of the loop. We are in fact aware that we are in a war, but not necessary aware of what we’re fighting for.  The United States main purpose to engage in this war was to find weapons of mass destruction. We have yet to find these so called weapons of mass destruction and yet our troops are stuck living in a far away country risking their lives every day. This war has been heavily criticized since the beginning. Many argue that the U.S. rushed into this war and even after 5 years of ongoing battle we have yet to reach our objectives. This may because our objectives are unrealistic or based on false information. I support our troops to the fullest, and I praise them for efforts. I wish everything would come together peacefully, so we could have our soldiers sent home and the Iraqi people could begin to operate their society in a positive direction. But the harsh truth that I face is that optimism does not necessary go hand in hand with the cold reality of war.