Few Americans are noticing

This is a letter to the editor sent to the Charlotte Observer in September 2012.  It was never published.  

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An innocent man died in Guantanamo recently.  He spent a third of his life there, was cleared for release, and was not allowed out.  Like so many hundreds of thousands, he found the ‘freedom of the grave’ thanks to US policies, after years of horrific abuse and torture. 

People in Iraq, especially children, are still suffering horribly from our war of aggression and occupation of their country.  Cancers and birth defects are exploding. 

An Iraq War Veteran, Joshua Casteel, recently said this:  "I have a certain sense of relief that I get to share in the sufferings of the Iraqis. We were conducting those burn pits in agricultural fields.... Americans are gaining awareness of the impacts of burn pits on soldiers, but not the impact they will have on Iraqi civilians."  This veteran died of cancer last month, which he thinks came from his time in Iraq in 2004. Yes, we bring the ‘freedom of the grave’ even to our own.  I think he was wrong that Americans are gaining awareness of what is happening to our veterans, however.  Very few Americans are noticing or caring about Iraqi children or US veterans, as far as I can tell.