Monday, July 14, 2008

When American bombs drop on wedding parties...

It was a tribal affair. Against a picture-perfect sunset, before a beige-colored cross and an altar made of the very Texas limestone that was also used to build her family's "ranch," veil-less in an Oscar de la Renta gown, the 26-year-old bride said her vows. More than 200 members of her extended family and friends were on hand, as well as the 14 women in her "house party," who were dressed "in seven different styles of knee-length dresses in seven different colors that match[ed] the palette of… wildflowers – blues, greens, lavenders and pinky reds." Afterwards, in a white tent set in a grove of trees and illuminated by strings of lights, the father of the bride, George W. Bush, danced with his daughter to the strains of "You Are So Beautiful." The media was kept at arm's length and the vows were private, but undoubtedly they included the phrase "till death do us part." 

That was early May of this year. Less than two months later, halfway across the world, another tribal affair was underway. The age of the bride involved is unknown to us, as is her name. No reporters were clamoring to get to her section of the mountainous backcountry of Afghanistan near the Pakistani border. We know almost nothing about her circumstances, except that she was on her way to a nearby village, evidently early in the morning, among a party 70–90 strong, mostly women, "escorting the bride to meet her groom as local tradition dictates." 

It was then that the American plane (or planes) arrived, ensuring that she would never say her vows.

More...

See also: Tyler Ziegel, or what war does to you...

And this: British troops accused of sexual assault on 14-year-old Iraqi boy...

And this: Condoleezza Rice: I Am Proud Of The Decision To Invade Iraq

And this: Bush's War on Children in Iraq...


No comments:

Post a Comment