The One about the Reality of War

Hi all,

I just read a passage in the book I am currently reading, and it made me realize the terrrifying reality of what war is like. Sitting here in my home, watching the Iraq war unfold on the television set, I am not able to comprehend what it is like to be in a war-like situation. It is only through other people I get to know the reality of the situation. I do not believe the media broadcasters a whole lot anymore, from Fox News to Al-Jazeera. Embedded journalists are asked to mention fewer number of casualties than the actual number. Friends in Iraq tell us that a higher number of coalition forces are being killed, but the Western media is downplaying the numbers. Iraqis are going through a lot right now, which I cannot comprehend. I think the following passage gave me a good insight of what it would be like to be in war!

Here is the passage from the book Travelling with Djinns by Jamal Mahjoub, who refers to the Gulf War in 1990 in the book, and could very well apply to the present war in Iraq:

"The war began on television [...]. The picture on the screen was quite hypnotic. Necklaces of dotted light arched slowly upwards into the Baghdad sky. It was like a fireworks display, only more serene, as though it were all happening underwater. It was hard to believe that those graceful sprites were burning-hot pieces of sharp metal, tracer shells capable of killing and maiming. [...]. During the bombing, he said, it was like being in a dream from which you could never wake. Light travels faster than sound. You saw the explosion before you heard or felt it. Buildings, cars, walls, people would vanish in front of your eyes in a flash of light and smoke, and then the shock wave would hit you. He said horror was a physical thing. It gripped your entire body; some people froze, others could not stop moving. Gradually you got used to it, the air raids became part of life, like powercuts, he said. He lost his five-year-old daughter one night when the ceiling of their flat caved in."

Sincerely,

Mansur