This is so hard . . .

The war in Iraq is having fearful consequences. "Informed Comment" blogger Juan Cole reports a terrible incident there that is truly heartbreaking. A young relative of Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations was allegedly killed by US Marines. More details appeared in a Times Union story Saturday.

• It is hard for the Sumaidaie family in ways we can only imagine.
• It is hard for the Marines. What on earth happened?
• It is hard for the fledgling Iraqi government. Who/how/when are protests to be filed?
• It is hard for us as citizens against the war, but supportive of our troops.

Every life lost in this war is precious. Our own young relatives and friends took on their war fighter responsibilities in good faith. And over 1700 of them have died there. An article in the New Yorker magazine captures something about what such a loss entails in families, as a father tries to find meaning in his son's death. Iraq's citizens, doing the very hard thing of nation building, are paying a terrible price in their blood and treasure. Another shooting took the life of an Iraqi Knight Ridder reporter; his supervisor pays tribute to him in this moving article. Iraqi women have powerful things to say. "riverbend" writes from one perspective; an Iraqi American (actually an Iraqi in America)writes from a different place.
What is the cost to us here at home? Has the war in Iraq made us any safer since 9/11/01? How will we ever come together as a nation again? How can we get out, now that we have made the mess? Awful questions.