The End of Major Combat Operations

“What if it was your country that was invaded?”

Later when I was… back in Brooklyn, I reconsidered his question. What if the bakery down the street had been destroyed by katyushas? What if the traffic cops didn’t speak English and were scared enough of you to pull a gun if you ran a stop sign? What if when my father had a heart attack, the hospitals were too full of gunshot casualties to treat him? What if my brother, being younger, was less likely to compromise, and became radicalized and imprisoned? … What if the small tragedies were constantly large and mortal? How long would your heart continue to speed, before it slowed permanently, and you, having lost so much, wanted some kind of vengeance, some kind of justice, vicious balance? What if it was you who popped up from behind a line of sandbags, and it was your best friend, the nineteen-year-old to your left, the one who you talked about your girlfriend with, who got shot in the neck, in the same place where you sang along to the radio as you drove to work?

What if it was your country that was invaded?

What if is not a strong idea. But it is still worth asking because maybe in the asking we contribute to the possibility of sustained peace.”

From The End of Major Combat Operations by Nick McDonnell. Highly recommend this long essay for a snapshot of Iraq right now, as the focus shifts away from it and onto other targets. Available through McSweeney’s.