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Deja Vu

Most of us here remember the Gulf War by television footage of grainy, night-vision warfare. More of a blurry video game with running commentary from correspondents in hotel rooms than an actual war. I personally remember the day bombs started dropping clearly: We ate microwave pizza that night and worried about whether or not my mother — who was in the Air Force — would be sent into the world of stealth bombers.

The latest report from CNN.com says that two Marines were shot in Kuwait on Oct. 8 during a training exercise, specifically they were “practicing urban warfare tactics.” There are a number of things that I find incredibly sad about this story. First of all, the marines who were shot down had no way of defending themselves. Not only is the U.S. government amassing troops in the Middle East against the advice of most of the world, they are putting these soldiers (our fathers, friends, sisters, uncles) in grave danger. Also, the assailants who were killed by U.S. military police were just 28 and 21 years old. Hopefully this shooting, being dubbed a terrorist act by the Kuwait government, won’t be some kind of trigger that will add more oil to the already slippery slope our country is flailing down.

This past Sunday, Oct. 6, marked a year since we first started dropping bombs on Afghanistan. San Francisco saw hundreds come out to our own protest in Union Square, organized by the growing Not in Our Name coalition. The protest seemed to be somewhat of a free-for-all concerning progressive issues with speakers addressing everything from the longshoreman strike to threatened art spaces. Yet, this gathering of bodies seemed to generate hope for change.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has even stepped up to address the threat of war. This week, the board passed a resolution urging Congress to oppose military action in Iraq. Two of the supervisors opposed the resolution, with Tony Hall saying, “Our jobs don’t say we have anything to do with international affairs.” Way to provide leadership Tony — just stick your head in the sand.

Local APA leaders need to follow that of the majority of the supervisors and speak out against these crucial decisions that are being made in our name, without our consent.