"5 YEARS OF WAR.“ Thus is the dark anniversary noted on the front page of The Denver Post (19 Mar 08). These bold-lettered words are superimposed over a dream-like photo of a masked and helmeted (presumably U.S.) soldier. The picture is sectioned into four horizontal bands of color. In the first, at the top of the photo, "5 YEARS“ stands on a field of red (the color of blood?). Then comes a strip of "real“ color. On the third band down, "OF WAR“ stands on white (purity? surrender?), that contains ghost-like graphics of palm trees. The bottom band of the photo is also "real“ colors: dark, dark, dark tones on gray.
The text under the photo voices the difficult and disturbing emotions evoked by this anniversary. "A faraway fight, a far-off end. On March 19, 2003, U.S. military forces led an invasion against Iraq that toppled its murderous dictator Saddam Hussein and routed his powerful army. But quickly enough, the American occupiers found themselves facing another enemy: a growing insurgency that fought back with acts of deadly and unpredictable violence, sparking a protracted war that continues today. On this fifth anniversary, Americans take stock of this long conflict that has killed at least 3,988 of their countrymen, reflecting on the history, the hurt and the many ways it has changed many lives.“
Five years of war. We were told it was to make real the dream of Democracy for the people of Iraq, as well as to make real the dream of enhanced security for Americans. It was to be a quick war, with American technology assuring easy victory. These were the official dreams, even if not grounded in reality.
Now, five years later, these dreams have turned into a waking nightmare of the worst sort. Many dreamers of the Official Dream refuse to reality check what pursuit of their goals has resulted in. But reality checking is vital, so that the United States might wake up from this nightmare and end this dream of war.