Janese Johnson

While I was waiting anxiously for my son to call from Iraq and tell me he was back at base safe, I really understood, at a level that I have not understood previously, the suffering that we feel at home knowing that our loved one is in harm’s way and could leave our life at any moment.

He called right before he was to leave base for a few days. He could not tell me when he was leaving, or where he was going to; only that he would be traveling off base for a few days.

I then heard that a roadside bomb went off in the area he was traveling in. For days I was torn between knowing that he was all right, and imagining the worst scenario. Friends suggested that I use my intuition to “feel” the situation. When I attempted to feel whether he was OK or not, I came up feeling OK about his situation — but then my mind would kick in again with the fears about my son not being in a safe place. The battle between my motherly worry and motherly intuition continued for days. Then, on the third day, the fear left as quickly as it came, and I knew for certain he was OK.

The intensity of the inner battle and anxiety over whether my son was safe or not brought me to a deeper place of compassion for all the family and loved ones of those who are serving in the Middle East or any unsafe area. I have felt tremendous sadness over the pain and suffering that this war has caused so many. But to experience that level of anxiety every day over a loved one has opened up to me a new level of suffering that so many are experiencing.

In the five long years that this war has been going on, we have lost 4,000 military personnel and 800 private contractors. According to Opinion Research Business Survey in Aug. 2007, there have been 1,033,000 casualties from this war, a number that includes all those who have died because of the war in Iraq; it is not based only on U.S military. We unfortunately do not see the whole picture in the media. We do not often hear about contractor or civilian deaths unless they are already visible in the media.

In fact we have heard lately that the surge is working because of less violence. But part of the decrease of violence has been due to a long-standing truce held by the Shiite Militia led by Muqtada al-Sadr. That truce is now losing ground, as some of the members of the Al Sadr militia are growing more resentful of unfulfilled promises that have been made.

This past week, during the fifth anniversary of our presence in Iraq, violence is rearing its ugly head again. Fighting is breaking out again. Many fear that the fighting will become widespread again. Some say that our presence there is actually causing a growing resentment and anti-American sentiment even among those who have been supportive of our presence there till now, and it is only a matter of time before that resentment explodes.

The reason for our being there seems to change with each New Year; some say we are there for the oil, others say it is because of Israel, and my son has been told that he is there to prevent terrorism from happening in our country.  The State Department recently released a study showing that terrorism has increased worldwide 25 percent in 2006, including a 40-percent surge in civilian fatalities. We cannot say that our presence in the Middle East is helping the “war on terrorism” when there is evidence that since we established our presence there, anger and aggression towards the U.S has increased.

Not only is there more fear in the world, but also many families are suffering in ways that could be prevented. The media are decreasing their news coverage of the war because people are not as interested in hearing about it as before. How sad for the troops and their loved ones to be the ones to remind people that we are having a war in Iraq that seriously needs some attention if we want to have change! Change will not happen if we forget about it.

Recently, when Dick Cheney was in an interview and was told that two-thirds of Americans say that this war is not worth fighting, his response was, “So?” He obviously does not care what two-thirds of Americans feel. Another reply he made when asked about the 4,000 deaths was to effect of, they all volunteered. This seems to me to imply that since they volunteered, and they knew what they were getting into, these soldiers’ deaths do not seem to matter.

Similar to my son, many have enlisted because they were told many things contrary to the experiences they are having. My son was told he could travel the world, and go to college. He was a 19-year-old young man who wanted to do so much in his life, and when the recruiters played on that, he joined up, in spite of what everyone else was saying. Young adults do not necessarily realize or see the whole picture. Many believe what they are told, and want what will help them create the lives that they want.

My son did e-mail me when he got back in safely, and his biggest wish is to come back home. He told me that he feels like “a car engine that has been taken apart and the pieces are lying all over.” He just hopes that he can come back close to being the person he was when he left; he says that a part of him has already died since he has been there.

We can support our troops without supporting this senseless war. Our troops are men and women who are deserving of our highest hopes and aspirations for them. They cannot achieve them living life each day in harm’s way. It is up to us to help stop this Russian roulette with our young Americans’ lives. Our Congress needs to be continually reminded that two-thirds of Americans oppose this war.
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Janese Johnson has been doing intuitive counseling nationally for more than 20 years. She may be contacted at janesej-at-buncombe.main.nc.us.