A letter from CWer Steve Baggarly

I wanted to share this short, poignant assessment of US attacks on Libya from Steve that came across the CW listserv this morning.

http://articles.dailypress.com/2011-03-21/news/dp-nws-edt-letstue-0322-20110321_1_civilians-modern-war-tax-dollars


To the editor,


A rationale often used to justify our going to war with Libyan Col.
Muammar Gaddafi is that he must be stopped from killing civilians.
Would that we were that concerned. For almost ten years in
Afghanistan, eight in Iraq, and several in Pakistan, US forces have
been ceaselessly killing civilians. The very decision to engage in
modern warfare means we've made our peace with the large scale killing
of civilians. Invading and occupying countries with unseen and unknown
enemies means our troops are permanently in atrocity producing
situations, with every civilian a target. War from the air or via
cruise missile means adopting "acceptable" civilian death rates in
pursuit of high value targets. Not only have we killed 10's or 100's
of thousands of civilians (we purposely don't keep count), but have
maimed, tortured, driven mad, made into refugees, or traumatized with
midnight home invasions, millions more.


Now at war in a fourth Middle Eastern country, and with Special
Operations troops in secret wars around the globe, the words of Martin
Luther King, Jr. are still true, that "the greatest purveyor of
violence in the world is my own government." The alternative to the
massacre of innocents that is modern war is to study and practice the
relentless nonviolent resistance that King, Jesus, and Gandhi gave
their lives for; to disarm and organize ourselves instead to lead the
world in overcoming evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred
with love; refusing to kill, no matter the cost.



Steve Baggarly
NORFOLK CATHOLIC WORKER
1321 W 38TH ST, Norfolk VA 23508
Ph: 757-423-5420 I