"I knew noting about Iraq and the politics of war. But what I did know was that in all human hostilities animals have suffered horrifically and often anonymously. Unable to flee or defend or feed themselves, they either were slaughtered wholesale in the initial assaults or died agonizingly from thirst and hunger later, locked and desperate in their cages. Or worse, they were callously shot by blood-crazed soldiers just for the hell of it.
"It happened when the Iraqis invaded Kuwait; it had happened in Kosovo; it had happened in Afghanistan.
"In fact, the awful images of the Kabul Zoo crippled in the aftermath of the Afghan Taliban war still haunt me. When the American forces liberated the city from the Taliban, they found the last remaining lion, Marjan, alone in his filthy cage. Starving and dehydrated, he had shrapnel embedded in his neck and jaw and was half-blind from a grenade attack and riddled with mange and lice. It was too late to save him."
This of course hits home with me.
All animals affected by war are victims. Including those that are trained to aid in the violence.
"An Israeli army dog attacks a Palestinian woman as soldiers carry out an army raid in the West Bank village of Obadiya, near the Biblical town of Bethlehem, 21 March 2007. According to eye witnesses the dog saw the woman from across a field and ran towards her, as Israeli soldiers tried to control the canine. The Israeli military carried out several raids into the Israeli occupied Palestinian West Bank, arresting Palestinians and killing one man in the northern city of Nablus." (Courtesy of Ghetty Images)
"A U.S. soldier holds a dog in front an Iraqi detainee at Abu Ghraib prison on
the outskirts of Baghdad in this undated photo." (AP/The Washington Post)
"An unmuzzled dog frightens a detainee at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Two military dog handlers told investigators that intelligence personnel ordered them to use dogs to intimidate prisoners." (AP/The Washington Post)
Food for thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment