Posted on 02/15/2004 4:59:48 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
After the bombs stopped falling, Faith Fippinger ventured out into Baghdad.
At a hospital, she found a man weeping beside his dying wife. Their six children had been killed in the attack, too, Fippinger said. When the man asked Fippinger where she was from, she told him the truth — the United States, which was dropping the bombs pounding the city.
Not denying her citizenship was something she had sworn to do during her time in Iraq, Fippinger said. She wanted the Iraqis to know there were Americans who did not approve of the war on Iraq.
"I would say I was from America," Fippinger, 63, said, "although, obviously, at times it was extremely, extremely difficult to say."
On Saturday, Fippinger spoke to 30 people at a gathering sponsored by Pax Christi Naples, a local branch of the Catholic peace organization. The event was held at the home of Karen Dwyer, head of Pax Christi Naples, and her husband, John.
She recounted her experiences as a "human shield," one of about 25 people who traveled to Iraq in February. Their goal was to protect Iraqi civilians from military attacks during Operation Iraqi Freedom by staying with them and making their presence known.
No human shields were killed in the conflict, Fippinger said. But many Iraqi civilians were not so fortunate, she explained.
"Bombs did go astray. Targets were chosen in error," she said. "Thousands of innocent people were killed."
After the initial March bombing of Baghdad, Fippinger began volunteering as a nurse in a hospital. The Sarasota woman grew emotional as she recalled what she witnessed in those wards.
Blood-soaked mattresses were reused, she said. Medical personnel cried as they worked. Antibiotics and anesthetics were scarce.
Everywhere, Fippinger said she saw the horrors of war.
She recalled how a pregnant Iraqi woman was brought to the hospital; her baby was delivered, and was healthy. But the woman's arms had been injured in the bombing, and had to be amputated. Later, Fippinger said she heard the woman sobbing that she could not hold her new child.
"War is carnage," Fippinger said. "We know that. War is death. This war was totally illegal, immoral and unjust."
For all the tears she has shed for the lives of Iraqi civilians, Fippinger said, she has also cried for the U.S. troops serving in the war, "sent to die for a lie."
"We know the U.S. is a very, very powerful nation," Fippinger said. "There is a difference between being very powerful and very great."
When Fippinger returned to the United States, she learned she could face up to 12 years in prison and $1 million in fines for violating the sanctions against travel to and commerce with Iraq.
The fine is likely to be closer to $10,000, Karen Dwyer said. Fippinger has said she will not pay it.
Nancy Burkhalter, a Naples resident, said she felt hopeful after hearing Fippinger's talk. Such an account could change people's attitudes towards war, she said.
"If people can hear that message and understand the suffering and, really, the futility of killing everyone, maybe people that haven't stopped to question the Bush administration will," said Burkhalter, 57.
Laurel Moran, 26, said she was impressed by Fippinger's willingness to act so directly against a war she believed to be unjust.
Fippinger's story "put a human side to these facts you hear," Moran said.
"It's like we're trying to pretend it's not happening by ignoring the facts of what war does," said the Golden Gate Estates resident. "Those are the facts. War is a brutal reality."
Uh, nimrod, we didn't kill everyone in Iraq - at most 3,000 non-combatants were killed, a low level previously inconceivable in modern warfare. And, considering you peaceniks were claiming that sanctions were killing 100,000 Iraqi kids each year, by my calculations we're about 90,000 lives ahead of where we would be had we not taken out Saddam.
Pity she came back it would appear she has more respect for despots. Perhaphs she can move o Zimbabwe, Iran, or even North Korea and spout her anti american crap!
Tell it to the hundreds of thousands that Saddamn slaughtered, sweetie.
People such as this "shield" will contribute to more miscalculations by the enemy.
The U.S. resolve may be as fickle as whomever we elect the to be next president.
We need President Bush to finish the job.
Gee lady, where were you when the Iraqis really needed a human shield to protect them from Saddam Hussein?
I heard the message and understood the suffering on September 11.
My question to President Bush - who's next, and when do we go?
The problem with liberals like Fippy is that they can't balance two evils and pick the lesser. They pick one problem--usually for politically or psychologically suspect reasons--and don't bother to look at the whole situation.
If you were a pregnant woman in Iraq with your leg blown off, the war looked bad; if you were one of millions of Iraqis who had family members threatened or killed by Saddam, especially if you were a Kurd, it looked pretty good. If you were an American who remembered 9/11 and believed Saddam was one of its indirect supporters, it looked worthwhile as well.
Followed by President Rice for 8 years,
followed by President Jeb Bush for 8 years.
But not of America.
Condaleeza Rice is anti-gun, Pro-abortion and Pro-Affirmitive Action. She's a moderate liberal at best.
Ms Rice has called herself a "Second Amendment absolutist" as she recounted how her father and neighbors used guns to patrol and protect their community when the police would not.
If that is Faith, I'd hate to see Hope and Charity.
After the bombs stopped falling, Faith Fippinger ventured out into Baghdad.Funny definition of "human shield". Someone who goes in "after the bombs stopped falling". In that sense, I guess I acted as a human shield at the WTC site, which I've visited many times "after the planes stopped crashing".No human shields were killed in the conflict, Fippinger said. But many Iraqi civilians were not so fortunate, she explained.
These people are such idiots they don't even pretend to follow the meanings of their own words. They just strut and prance and strike pretentious poses that gets them oo's and ah's from the idiot leftwing press.
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