Her name is Pauline Hickey, and she has joined the ill-fated group of parents who have had thrust upon them the unnatural and heartwrenching act of burying their own children. Sergeant Hickey was not supposed to be outlived by his mother, it's just not natural you see, for parents to outlive their children, it's just not fair. But when he was killed in Iraq four months ago, Pauline Hickey found herself watching in disbelief as her son's body was lowered into the ground.
It's a scene that has played out 2,296 times in the United States, but it's also played out 103 times in Great Britain. The pond that separates our two nations seems more like a reflecting pond in the context of the Iraq War. Both Tony Blair and George Bush misled their nations into the war. Both plotted to push a flawed WMD story, and both have come under fire for their post-invasion actions. Neither Bush nor Blair has attended a single funeral for a slain soldier. And now, both are feeling the stinging rage radiating from families who have suffered the ultimate sacrifice.
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George Bush had Cindy Sheehan. Now, Tony Blair has Pauline Hickey. Today, she
published a letter to Mr. Blair. She also marched with other grieving families today to Downing Street to
deliver messages to Blair. She has requested a meeting with the man who chose to send her son into battle. But like countless other requests made by other parents in her position, Hickey's plea for a meeting has fallen on deaf ears.
I'd like to quote from Hickey's letter because while it is directed to Tony Blair, the pain expressed in it is universal. The problems she addresses are those we have been furiously trying to bring to light here in the states. Those of us who make similar points on this side of the pond are labeled traitors and defeatists who only voice our concerns out of a so-called "anti-Bush" sentiment. But as this letter proves, our concerns are shared by others around the globe:
Does the British government not have a duty of care to the troops in Iraq? My son had to purchase his own boots before going out to Iraq as the standard army-issued boots were unsuitable and melted in the intense heat. The British troops were known to the American troops as "the borrowers" due to their lack of equipment and short supplies. When the death of the 100th soldier was announced on television, I was appalled to hear that instruction had come from you not to hype up the significance of the number. If this is correct, you have little humanity and do not deserve an army who are not able to question the politics and decisions made, but have to go where they are told. I was interested to hear about Maya Anne Evans, who was arrested for peacefully reading out the names of the dead soldiers, including my son, at the Cenotaph. She was arrested by 14 police officers, received a criminal record, and was fined £100.
A Ministry of Defence poll found that up to 65% of Iraqi citizens supported attacks on British troops, less than 1% thought allied military involvement was helping their situation, and 82% were strongly opposed to the presence of coalition troops in their country. For nearly two years, the British public has been inundated with US and British "exit strategies". You should not need such a strategy when the above statistics speak for themselves, and the Iraqi people want us out.
It is time to bring the troops home and let the people of Iraq decide their own future. The west cannot enforce a democratic government upon them. The occupation of Iraq has not achieved anything positive; the people are in a worse situation now than under Saddam Hussein. We have lost 103 dedicated soldiers. They died in a war based on lies, for nothing, and it has robbed them of a future.
It's addressed to Tony Blair, but it speaks for all of us who, three years into this war, are still demanding answers. Oh, and one small difference between Blair and Bush: Blair actually has responded to a family's request for a meeting. Blair's signed response: "I am afraid a meeting with you will not be possible."