As I've watched the TV news coverage of the war in Iraq over the past few days I've had a few thoughts about how it is to see the war live on camera. I find that I mainly watch Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC because their coverage is 24 hours a day. They also have fewer commercials. I think that this is one of the most surreal events thus far for me...watching a live report from an embedded reporter with a unit deep in Iraq that has been taking fire, and then to see a commercial for new cars or deodorant or fast food. We sit in the safety of our homes while watching soldiers being shot at, in danger, and then we can watch as corporations try to sell us the "latest thing" - it is just a bit disorienting.

My opinion on the use of "embedded" reporters is that it is essentially a good thing. I don't think there is anything else that could give the average American a better idea of what these soldiers go through, of what parts of the war are really like. The caveat here is that what we see is only small bits and pieces of a very large war. There is a tendency to think what we see is all that is happening, and if we think that is true, then we can be surprised when we hear of some major development in another part of Iraq. But in general, the live reports coming in as troops advance into Iraq are absolutely fascinating, scary, shocking, heart-warming, and informative, depending on the report. I think I most appreciate the reports that inform me about some aspect of the military or of war that I never knew before. Watching the other night the feed from the reporter with SkyNews, a British news station, I was intrigued by how carefully and slowly a "skirmish" between Marines and Iraqis progressed. I think because of the movies, movies about war, my impression has always been that if there was a confrontation between armies, the action would happen very quickly. Like, they would see the enemy, target their weapons, and shoot and it would be over. But this incident went on for hours, with careful maneuvering, additions of tanks to the area to add firepower and also proceed in a way that kept the Marines safer. At one point in watching this long live report, I found myself getting up for a snack, feeling like it was boring - then I caught myself thinking that and was horrified. Here I was watching soldiers in danger, Iraqis getting killed, buildings being destroyed, and because of the classic American short attention span, I thought it was boring! Now granted I only had that thought for a moment, and felt guilty for having it for hours afterward, but still...it pointed up to me how much I didn't understand about military actions and how even the way the war is being reported, with live info and constant updates, had influenced me into wanting an immediate result.

Of course, all this is leading up to my main point, which is a statement I've heard mentioned over and over again - that this war is like none other in history. The way in which I've heard that statement most often used is in regard to the television coverage, how we have never been able to see action live as it happens, or get information about conflicts so quickly. I've also heard it used to drive home the point of how superior our weapons technology is now, with bombs guided by GPS, stealthy airplanes, the use of computers for targeting and communications and much more. The bombing of Baghdad being called "shock and awe" (a phrase I am heartily sick of!) is also used in relation to this being a war like none other.

However, my take on this is that yes, this war is like none other in history, but for a very different reason - and the reason is that I don't think there has ever been a war where the dominant military force tried so determinedly to avoid collateral damage, to avoid killing or harming non-combatants. As one reporter today stated outside Nasariyah, if the US military wanted to just get through here (where a variety of battles have raged for the past 24 hours as control of two bridges is exchanged between sides), the US could have just dropped a lot of bombs and cleared out all the opposition fairly easily, and probably with less harm to our troops. But if they did that, there would be high civilian casualties. In the hours-long report I watched mentioned above, I'm sure it could have been resolved much more quickly if a bunch of bombs had been dropped - but again, it would mean more civilian casualties, more damage to the infrastructure. Troops have been ambushed and wounded, even killed, when approaching Iraqis appear to be surrendering. If we had a policy of just shooting any Iraqi seen approaching, there would likely be less military casualities - yet our goal is not to kill every Iraqi but to give them a chance to surrender. Have you ever heard of such a war? I watched footage from airstrikes shown at today's CENTCOM briefing, showing how carefully bombs are targeted that are being dropped on Baghdad - how the bombs destroyed the building of Iraqi secret police, but nothing else nearby was destroyed, with even the walls around the building still left standing. This is unheard of in any military conflict.

I know there are a lot of people against this war, people who see the US as trying to "take over" a country, steal its oil, destroy the Muslim religion, and so on. But I don't think you can really take that view if you watch the TV coverage closely and let yourself see how carefully our military is executing this war, carefully in terms of taking care of civilians. I will not enter into the argument here about whether or not we should be having this war to begin with, but I do think since we are now in this war, we should all do what we can to be supportive of the military troops that are over there. We are in it now, this very unusual kind of war, and to leave now would be disaster for the Iraqi population. So my support is with the troops as they go about the novel idea of waging war while minimizing death.

Whether or not you agree with the current administration's actions or not, whether you protest for peace, or believe the war with Iraq is necessary for national security, there is one thing that should unite all Americans. . . our support for the young men and women out there in the field, deployed in a variety of locations around the world.

The decision to go to war will not be made by individual soldiers. Some are veterans of other wars, some are fresh-faced 18 year olds facing armed conflict for the first time in their lives. And all are far away from home. The other day I saw a report on one of the news stations about a program to "adopt" a soldier - the program is called Hugs to Kuwait Adopt a Soldier. Their emphasis is on supporting the troops deployed in Kuwait and other nearby regions, through letters, cards, and care packages. Due to the 9/11 terrorist action, the Dear Abby letters to Any Soldier program has been cancelled. But you can still support a service person if you are willing to sign up and register with a number of programs that are now operating. The Hugs to Kuwait program email server was so overloaded when I went there that I decided to visit another link at that site called Operation Military Pride where you can sign up to be assigned a soldier to support. Within 24 hours I was assigned names of two soldiers. (I also found a link to a program where you can Adopt a Platoon, but that felt a bit overwhelming to me!)

Writing letters to both of them yesterday gave me a good feeling. Many of us here in the U.S. don't know what the best answer is in the current crisis. Some people feel passionately that we shouldn't go to war, or only go to war under certain conditions, while others feel just as strongly that we must effect disarmament and regime change in Iraq as soon as possible using force. And some of us don't know what to think at this point. One thing is certain, however, and that is that nobody wants our young men and women to come in harm's way - yet that is the nature of the work they signed up to do. . . to put themselves in harm's way to protect the rest of us. I admire their courage and bravery. It is one thing to sign up for military service when the world is relatively peaceful. It is quite another thing to do so when the potential for war and conflict blooms in numerous locales.

So I plan to send what support I can to my adopted soldiers, hoping that it will make their lives a bit easier, or at least let them know that people back here in the States do care about them and think about them and pray for them.