Uncertain

US death toll in Iraq hits 4,000

Summary: Four American troops were killed by a roadside bomb during a patrol in southern Baghdad. The number of U.S. soldier dead has total to 4,000. Other tragic incidents include the death of 13 Iraqi soldiers and 50 Iraqi citizens were killed when a suicide bomber drove a vehicle filled with explosives into a security checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul. As for the number of deaths for Iraqi citizen, the number ranges from 89,000 to one million. The conditions in Iraq is still I turmoil and the decision made by President Bush to invade Iraq is still being questioned.

Source: Aljazeera

For those who have somebody in the war, the article brings many nightmares. It makes people think of the possible outcomes, and sometimes those outcomes are not blue sky with sunshine type of outcomes but rather dreary atmosphere with dark clouds and signs of thunder and lightening outcome. From the possibilities, it forces people to cherish their close ones in the war. It forces people to take action to get in touch with them. Many pick up their pen and paper and starting asking how their close one is doing and the plans that they have for them once the war is over. And for others, they would update how the family is doing and how life has been for them since the beginning of the war.

It seems in times of war, people are generally more expressive. Different group express themselves differently. Family members begin to write more if there is a family member in the war. Supporters of the war find and join interest groups that hold the same beliefs. Protesters rally up to express themselves down the streets in an attempt to stop the war. People start to blog more with other people who are on the internet. They make their own entries and read others to stay updated.

The newest form of communication, web blogging, is a very powerful tool for keep outsiders updated with daily happenings. It presents news in a way that does not force reporters to make headlines that are appealing but rather headlines that are closer to the truth. For example, in a recent post by Micheal Yon, he states,

“News reports of sharp fighting between the Iraqi Army and rogue militia elements are concerning. Yet what many news reports neglect to mention is that the largely Shiite Iraqi government is using the Iraqi Army to fight Shiite terrorists. Certain Shiite militant leaders have called for civil disobedience against the Iraqi Government in response, but this is not a re-ignition of Shiite-Sunni civil war.

I asked Colonel Steve Boylan, Public Affairs Officer for General Petraeus, for a comment on the violence. Colonel Boylan emailed back:

“The cease fire isn’t over so we are continuing. The Prime Minister has taken about two brigades of ISF to Basra to support down there and to see for himself what the situation is. We are seeing some spike in indirect fire here in Baghdad, but not a trend. We will need to see where it goes.

The call for civil disobedience is one thing, as long as it is peaceful then it is their public voicing their views. We can have people yell at each other and that is okay…but we don’t want them shooting at each other or us.”

Source: Michael Yon

A reader responds back,

“This is news that I haven’t seen regarding Basra. What I’ve seen reported is that Mr. Maliki is directing a frontal attack on Sadr’s private army. Those main stream press reports are describing a full scale civil war rather than what your report indicates. Please continue doing this.”

It seems the post provides more accurate and realistic information than media sources where headlines and content may have some fluff in them.

Maus was the first graphic novel that I have read since entering college. In the past, I have read numerous comics including X-Men, Calvin and Hobbs, Garfield, and other Sunday comics that appeared in the newspaper every week. Now that I think about it, the comics were very different from graphic novels. Comics comprised of many short episodes and so you could leave the book after finishing a five minute episode. Graphic novels are different. If the story is intriguing, chances are you wouldn’t be able to leave the book without feel curious about the next scene. Every strip is connected to another strip.

Not only is reading graphic novels interesting, I found many components that they used connected to war. One of the components that are used regularly in graphic novels is symbolisms.

Symbolism: something that stands for or suggests something else by reasons of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance; a visible sign of something invisible; the lion is a symbol of courage.

Source: Webster Dictionary

An example of symbolism is the swastika symbol on pg. 25 in the Maus book. The sign is a symbol of the group’s beliefs and ideologies. The swastika is only one of the many obvious symbols that surround us. There’s the M symbol that represents McDonald, the check symbol that represents Nike, the flag with red and white strips and stars at the top left corner that represents United States, and many others. There are also many not so obvious symbols. Language for example is all based on symbols. The sound that the word makes has a specific meaning. The word itself is a symbol because it ignites an idea, image, and emotion when we use it.

Why have I chosen to talk about symbolism? Symbolism is an important tool in war. When I think of the United States flag, ideas that ignite me are it is a represent of freedom and unity. I am reminded that the history of this country is based on the idea that all man is created equal and the people who live in this country enjoy great freedom such as freedom of religion, speech and to have a trial by jury. I am not a history major but if someone were to ask me, what is the meaning of the United States flag twenty years from now, I would still know the answer. And the reason being is the ideologies represented by that flag were ingrained in my memory after seeing it continuously time and time again.

Soldiers go through the same process during war time. They look at the symbol that represents their party and are constantly reminded of the association of that symbol. I was reading a news article on BBC news and I came across the Al Qaeda flag.

Al Qaeda Flag

Description: A gray globe is set against a black background. An open Koran, facing up, is superimposed on the globe; a rifle, fist (with index finger extended) and black flag rise from the book. Yellow lettering at bottom says “Monotheism and Jihad.”

Explanation: A black background (in flags and symbols) often represents the goal of restoring the Islamic caliphate – a united Muslim empire. It also evokes death and militancy. The globe evokes the organization’s worldwide ambitions, while the Koran signifies a foundation in Islam. The rifle, fist and flag, symbols of militancy, rise from that base. The lettering spells the group’s name (”Monotheism and Jihad” in English).

Source: Anti-Defamation League (http://www.adl.org/terrorism/symbols/al_qaeda_iraq.asp)

Another symbol that I came across in Michael Yoon’s blog is a picture (Click to view picture ) of a tent set up in a desert a night with the glowing sun in the distance that signals the location of Iran. The symbol is significant the title of his blog is Death or Glory. The picture is a representation of his theme. The glowing sun hovering over the picture can symbolize death or glory which depends on the outcome.

Symbolism is an important tool in graphic novels and in wars. It forces the reader to think about what they are reading and it motivates soldiers in times of war.

It has been a while since I made a post. Sorry for the delay. A month ago, in my English 384 class, we were assigned to read Maus by Art Spiegelman. The book was actually interesting. I did make extra effort to finish the book before class discussion. I do not do this very often with other readings. I usually have several pages unfinished coming into class discussions. It’s not my fault. The vocabularies usually are very esoteric. Reading it was like performing surgery without first going to medical school. I find myself holding and flipping through the pages of a dictionary more than flipping the pages of the book. Reading Maus gave me a different experience. It allowed me to focus more on the narrative instead of the brain puzzling vocabularies. So, how was Maus different compared to my other readings? The story of Maus was outlined in a graphic novel. What is a graphic novel? I looked through two different sources and found two definitions.

Graphic novel is a fictional story that is presented in a comic-strip format and published as a book. Source: Webster Dictionary

I disagreed with describing graphic novels as a fictional story because Maus was based on a true story. So, I searched and found a better definition.

Graphic novel is a novel whose narrative is related through a combination of text and art, often in comic-strip form. Source: American Heritage Dictionary

After reading Maus, I paused and asked make is it that makes graphic novels more appealing than non-graphic novels? I came up with a few ideas. First, the vocabularies are very simplistic. The conversations do not contain words that only medical doctors know or only lawyers use. The words are used in everyday conversations which helped me understood the storyline more. Second, the actions are easier to see because the pictures allow me as a reader to visualize what was taking place without having to resort to the dictionary constantly. This allowed me to follow the story more smoothly without interruptions. Third, the facial expressions on the character made it easier for me to sense the emotional rollercoaster the characters were sensing in times of sadness and happiness. The pictures made visualizing the character, actions, and the surround easier.

While reading two articles from Aljazeera’s website, I noticed the articles are similar to graphic novels. They are mini graphic novels.

Car bomber strikes Iraq Army Base

Summary: A suicide bomber crashed into an Iraqi army base killing 10 soliders and wounding 30 people. In addition, on Sunday armed men in three cars starting shooting at pedestrians iin Baghad killing around seven people and wounding 16 others. The incident took place in Zaafariniya…

Source: Aljazeera

At the beginning of the article is a picture of a man whose facial expression tells the tragic story vividly. He looks in another direction in disguised of the sight before him. The picture like the pictures in a graphic novel helps readers visualize the story easier.

Click to see Picture

Another article that I found to be a good representation of a mini graphic novels deals with conditions of Iraq.

“Bush says Iraq surge is “working”

Summary: President George Bush said that the troop surge was success in establishing stability in the region. He adds, “because of the troop surge, the level of violence is significantly down. Civilian deaths are down. Sectarian killings are down. Attacks on American forces are down.” But a Middle East analyst, Hady Amr, had a different view. He says the Iraq invasion was a disaster. About 104,000 and 223,000 have died between March 2003 and June 2006. The economy is deteriorating; unemployment rate ranges 25-50%.

Source: Aljazeera

At the end of the article is a picture of a family living in a tent-like structure. The image helps the reader visualize the harsh conditions that some families in Iraq are facing.

Click to See Picture