Annie Morrissey's post today on her thoughtful, spiritual blog soundingbalance is about "speaking the Truth: genocide in Iraq." She said some things that have needed to be said for a good long while now. Since the powerful aren't saying them, it's up to those of us with "eyes to see and ears to hear" to speak our truth, so I'm going to follow her lead and try to speak mine now.

The men, women and children of Iraq are now in a living hell. We have created this hell for them, or rather George W. Bush and his coterie of blind hawks did and we failed to stop him. We did not care enough. And here is the worst of it: there was absolutely no need for the invasion, no need for this hell to be unleashed. I think of our own Civil War. As Americans then suffered physical pain, loss of loved ones, fear, economic deprivation, it was at least their own war. The Iraqi people had this hell forced on them when they were doing no harm to anyone. Nothing at all. Then came American bombs, and occupiers with armor and powerful weapons speaking a foreign language taking over their cities, in many cases ridiculing them, abusing them....men, and even women and children, were thrown into foul prisons where atrocities were committed. And that was just the beginning. And now the experts say it will only get worse, and no one can fix this, and all these people can do is despair. Despair on top of despair on top of despair: children blown up, women raped, husbands and fathers and sons kidnapped, or arrested, or tortured, and killed by the thousands upon thousands upon thousands....

We started this atrocity. For no reason. For reasons that were lies. The blood and pain of these people is on our hands and should be on our minds day in and day out.

We can speak. We can pray for them and their children.

Speak. Pray. And join forces with any of the many individuals and groups who are working to impeach Bush and Cheney. No positive change can happen until they are gone.