Wil's Rant

In what can be described as the standard reporting in Iraq, there are many interesting details that are missing from this article. We know that a Canadian woman was being held. We know that she is now free with at least some help from the American military. The confusing part comes from what she was doing there. Canadian media have been calling her an aid worker. The linked article states that she works for a sand and cement company. I was not aware that there were sand and cement companies that could be called an aid agency, maybe there are. It becomes very difficult to come to an informed opinion about anything going on there when it seems impossible to find two articles that present the same facts. The media would do well to actually investigate this type of reporting in order to provide factual details of whatever incident they are commenting on. In any case, once again we owe thanks to the Americans for whatever role they played in assisting her escape, release, whatever.

While the actions against civilians by the terrorists in Iraq continue, it is hard to imagine that these criminals will gain by their actions in any way. It is true that they gain international attention, I'm not so sure that it is to their benefit. I can certainly sympathize with the people of Iraq due to the horrors they are living with now and in the past. The actions of the terrorists detracts from this sympathy and focus' on the actions of the criminals. This can not lead to any good results for the Iraqi people who these terrorists state they are trying to free from American tyranny. An honorable soldier does not target innocents. A child may be used as a weapon and as a result become a target themselves, this much should be clear. This practice is old and familiar to those fighting in the east. A soldier forced to engage said child does not bear the responsibility for the child's injuries in such a situation. The responsibility then transfers to the group who chose to use the child in this fashion. There really is no such thing as a clean war. Dirty deeds are done on a daily basis by both parties. Many of these deeds can be attributed to the insane circumstances that these people are in. It is not a surprise that a human placed in this position might snap and lose the capacity to act as a civilized human. Only those who have been in war can possibly predict how they will respond. Insane situations create insane people, often to a degree that no manner or amount of therapy can ever heal. In these cases, the real hope for the future is in the children who have an opportunity to grow up in a world without this insanity.