"Fear" submission sent by Dolly Salazar

My friend Dolly Salazar's son was sent to Iraq last month. Dolly was one of the friends who was there for me when my youngest brother, Kevin, was sent to Iraq during the first Iraq war more than a decade ago. I don't think it ever occurred to either of us that her son would end up there all these years later ...

She sent me the following images -- and here is what she said: "Tina, I'm going to cheat this time and send images that I didn't take, but you'll see that these illustrate my only real fear. These were taken by my son, a Marine who shipped to Iraq in February."

The 1-7 on the Bus (c) by J.S.


"The 1-7 on the Bus: My kid and members of his company on a bus in the Middle East taking them to their base in Iraq. A bunch of tough-guy 19- and 20-year-olds acting like tough-guy 19- and 20-year-olds. He tells me it's so quiet there now that he's bored, but I can't help noticing the curtains blocking all the of windows in this picture. So they can't see out? Or so others can't see in? This is the first tour for all of them."

Starbucks, Kuwait (c) by J.S.

"Starbucks Kuwait: Yes: Starbucks Kuwait. Their first stop after flying out of the US was an air base in Kuwait, and the first thing my kid saw upon landing was this building. I always knew 'hearts and minds' was never about democracy, but such in-your-face proof is particularly jarring.

These kids in our armed forces have been fighting this idiot fight for six years now, just so Starbucks can monopolize Kuwait. I never did like their coffee."