Amos ... Again, you give me things to think about. "The slaughter ... is too overwhelming to be looked at a second time." I agree with you, that that is all the more reason that it must be examined.

When I was a teenager, my Father (bless his wonderful soul) hired many returning returning WW2 veterans. As the "bosses son", learning my craft under his guidance, I worked alongside many of these men. I was cautioned never to ask one particuliar carpenter, who's name I am ashamed to admit that I don't remember even though I still see his face, about his war experiences. This particuliar man took an interest in me and we became friends. One day, I made the mistake of asking him about what he saw as a soldier in the "Battle of the Bulge." He sat me down on a saw horse and started to tell me. In a very short time, he became so upset that he was crying and ended up sitting on the floor of the house we were building. When my Father returned to the job site and saw what was happening, he rushed over and helped him into his truck. He drove the poor man home and came back to the jobsite. He made me drive the carpenters truck to his house, even though I was only 14. That night, Dad and I sat up quite late talking about what war can do to good people.

I fear that now, in Iraq, we are just creating another generation of soldiers experiencing a situation that will be hidden, again, in future generations.

Am I making any sense here? Bob