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Following is from a dream:
In my dream, I was a member of the diplomatic officer attaché in Iraq. I was afraid of being killed, as it seemed it would come from anywhere. My own collegues were dealing with a serious morale and insurrection issue, as well, I spent much of my time talking with senior (read rich) Iraqis who were trying to get “in” with the latest administration so they could continue their aristocratic tradition and keep their fancy lifestyles and houses. This middle class elite was, in the past, hooked in to the Baath party much as many of the same folks are in the republican party in American… and imagine being a military attaché charged with de-republicanization of America.
I would not mention the dream, except for this second part. I went with the commanding officer, and his family and all the base children on our day off to the swimming pool. As I was in the cool water with a coupla hundred kids, I saw a backpack on the floor of the pool, and then another at the other end, and I felt what terrorism is all about. I was certain that all of us would die in seconds, yet I issued the alert to get everyone out… and we did. The pool was drained and the huge bombs located beneath the water were defused. All the while, I contemplated what it would do for morale if all the kids of the officers serving were blown up.
I come away from that dream still shaking, as the panic was very very real for me, not terror, but intense panic. As every child left the pool room, there were potentially fewer dead. The clearing of the pool seemed to take hours in panic and stopped hearts. I’m sure it is much more real for the people serving in iraq. It also showed me that the people who I was talking to every day, were complicit in a sense, as they know terrorism of that sort actually works, destroying any goodwill amongst the very people who are charged with establishing goodwill.
I share this dream, that perhaps it was a slight premonition. Make sure the swimming pool is safe. The terrorists radicalize political pressures, in a way that, unless the panic of an attack hits you personally, are difficult to know. Oh dear…
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