St. Petersburg, Fla.

I was amazed to learn of the massive bombing campaign south of Baghdad. I want to hear more about this. In January, 1972, I refused duty in KC-135 tanker training after a year in Vietnam flying C7A cargo planes, because I did not want to go back to Southeast Asia as a tanker pilot air-refueling B-52s and the massive air-war arsenal we had planted inside Thailand. I saw no purpose in it. While I can believe that this kind of air war was justified against the Axis powers in WW2, I do not see how this kind of savagery is warranted against villages in Iraq, any more than it was warranted in eastern Cambodia, Laos or any part of Vietnam. We, in fact, have become the Axis power that we defeated in WW2. We are the invader, the terrorist from the sky. It is so easy to drop bombs in this type of situation. One only feels the release of weight as the aircraft naturally climbs upward, then it's back to the base for a shower and the club, time to read the Bible, shoot pool or have a drink.

I made a drawing about ten years ago, called "Fear and Loathing on the Bombing Trail," and placed it into the members' exhibition at the St. Petersburg Art Center. I noted with some amusement that it was positioned low on the wall, at the eye level of children.

Jim Willingham
Vets for Peace/Vietnam Vets Against the War
02/24/2008 @ 7:22pm

Bath, Mich.

Thanks to Tom Engelhardt for writing stories like this so those who still care may be reminded of the actions being taken in Iraq in our name by the US military. It is hard not to conclude that the "War on Terror" is an "endless smorgasboard" enabling perpetual war. For whatever reason, the extent and consequences of the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan is the most hidden and secretive I have ever seen. All executed every day without a vigorous outcry from citizens. Are we so uninvolved? Are we so uninformed? Are we so callous? Are we so jaded? Are we so cowed by fear? Are we so inhumane? Are we so comfortable? Well, history teaches what happens to civilian populations who look away while the military might of their nation is directed at the "enemy" civilian population in a far-away place. Thus are the seeds planted for the next Guernica, the next Hiroshima, and the next 9/11.

Tom Hardenbergh
02/12/2008 @ 10:21am

Riverside, Calif.

A hundred thousand pounds of bombs seem rather excessive for a ground support mission, and would argue for area bombing as opposed to ground support for infantry. Area bombing in WWII targeted civilians as well as infrastructure. While collateral damage does occur in ground support missions, they do tend to have a limited target area. Killing civilians is not the intended purpose. It is quite true that the lack of boots on the ground will increase the use of firepower, but there is no excuse or need for area bombing.

Pervis J. Casey
02/08/2008 @ 2:58pm