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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2012)
Page»_________________________ ^P ortland Observer B lack H istory M onth ___________________ February I, 2012 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views o f the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. New Prices Effective May 1,2010 Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services I T ftlN K - I X SIACT'NG- T o S ee U©HT A T THE ENP Of= THE TUNNEL«- M inim um Service C H G $45.00 A sm all distance/travel charge m ay be applied C A R PE T CLEAN IN G 2 C leaning A reas o r m ore $30.00 Each Area P re-S p ray Traffic A reas (Includes: 1 sm all H allway) 1 C leaning A rea (only) $40.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) S tairs (12-16 stairs - With O ther Services): $25.00 Area/Oriental Rugs. $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs ( Wool): $40.00Minimum Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 each area (Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying) U PH O LSTE R Y C L E A N IN G Sofa: $69.00 Loveseat: $49.00 Sectional: $ 109 - $ 139 Chair or Recliner: $25 - $49 Throw Pillows (With Other Services): $5.00 % A D D IT IO N A L SE R V IC E S • Area & Oriental Rug .Cleaning • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection • Minor Water Damage Services SEE CURRENT FLYER FOR ADDITIONAL PRICES & SERVICES Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 A Zero on the Home Front’s Richter Scale Iraq War ends and hardly anyone notices by D onald K aul Am ong the strange things that happened last year — and there were many — perhaps the strangest was the end of the Iraq War. Did you notice it? I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. It hardly even registered on the home front's R ichter scale. We didn't leave in triumph (that was World War II). We didn't leave in confused em bar rassment (that was Vietnam). We just left. We practically tip toed aw ay, hop in g nobody would notice. And nobody did, hardly. I remember the end of World War II. I was a 10-year-old in Detroit. My parents took me downtown to experience the cel ebration, for which I am for ever grateful. It was an extraordinary mo ment — an explosion of joy and relief and sense of victory, un like any I had seen before or since. They didn't call it "V-J Day" for nothing. It stood for Victory over Japan, and the en tire nation gloried in that triumph. That's why hundreds of thousands of Detroiters, along with millions else where, spilled out of our homes to share our feeling of exultation with the people who had shared the pain of that war. That was the key, I think: World War II was a shared experience. People hung one-star flags in their windows to indicate the military service of a family member — a sad gold star to indicate a death. Butter and meat were rationed, as was gasoline. Middle-aged neigh bors volunteered as "air raid war dens" to patrol the streets in their white helmets during practice drills. Even I, a kid, pulled my red wagon around the neighborhood collecting newspapers for the "paper drives," all in the name of the war effort. The war, for us, only lasted four years. But it had seemed an eternity, and the nation reacted to its abrupt end like an inflated bal loon suddenly unsealed. That was Detroit that night, and New York and Chicago and San Francisco and every other city of size in the country. Compare the conduct of that war to the Iraq conflict. Was anything asked of the American people in the Iraq War? Anything at all? Certainly not taxes. They were cut so that "job creators" could create jobs, which they did — mainly in China. Nor participation. We've got an all-volunteer armed force coupled with a large number of contracted m ercenaries. You didn't join up unless you wanted to (or couldn't get a better job). I remember President George W. Bush being asked at the begin ning of the conflict what the American people could do to con tribute to the war effort. "Go shopping," he said. That was the great sacrifice we were asked to make. The young men and women we sent to fight that eight-year war bore virtually the entire bur den of it — nearly 4,500 U.S. military deaths, along with about 1,500 military contractors, and God knows how many thousands of Iraqis, both friend and foe. Thousands more Americans were maimed or psychologically dam aged, their futures truncated. (The unemployment rate for returning veterans 20-24 years old is 30 percent.) The war cost well over $800 billion and counting, mocking Bush adviser Paul Wolfowitz's prediction that it would pay for itself. It was a lousy war from the beginning, sold to the American people on false pretenses, and it has done us precious little good. We were hardly out of the door when the sectarian rivalries that existed before we got there began to shred the country again. So much for creating a model democracy, which was one of the stated goals of the invasion. The chief result of the war was the strengthened position of Iran, our sworn enemy in the region. Some wars end with a bang, others with a whimper. The end of the Iraq War was accompa nied by the sound of one hand clapping. OtherWords columnist Donald Kaul lives in Ann Arbor, Mich.
