'Shock and awe' make for grim viewing at the Market
By JULIE DAVIDOW
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
In the dim light of a Pike Place Market brewery at midday, restaurant employees, a handful of civil engineers and the mother of a Marine now making his way from Kuwait to Iraq watched the bombs explode over Baghdad on television yesterday as what the Bush administration has termed the "shock and awe" phase of the war began.
"I am in shock," said Abil Done, 48.
Done took a lunch break from her job at the Pike Pub and Brewery and watched along with customers and co-workers as the ancient city was hit by hundreds of missiles launched from ships in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.
"I'm overwhelmed by the magnitude of what we're doing," said Drew Cluley, the restaurant's assistant head brewer.
"Look at that," said Gary Franz, also a brewery employee, pointing to the television screen and flinching as he watched. "Oh, ouch."
With their eyes fixed on images of mushroom shapes rising from the Baghdad skyline, Done and Franz said the lingering clouds seemed a testament to the U.S. military's ability to destroy the Iraqi capital.
"When they're setting off so many bombs in such close proximity in the city center, you wonder is it going to be inhabitable again," said Franz, 31. "It's pretty horrifying. You're wondering if any human could survive."
Laura Schactler, a violinist from Yakima visiting Seattle for a long-planned weekend of music and good food, tried not to watch.
She turned away and then back again, compelled by images of a battle raging so close to her son. Aaron Blanchard, a Marine helicopter mechanic, has been in Kuwait since Feb. 1. He's moving north now, into Iraq, following the need for supply drops his crew is charged with performing.
"I heard on the radio a couple of Marines were killed. But that was all. They didn't expand on it," said Schactler as she watched a similar announcement stream by as part of CNN's news update at the bottom of the screen.
A tiny eagle atop a globe and anchor -- the Marine emblem -- was pinned to her sweater. She's worn it every day since Blanchard joined the Marines three years ago. It's a sign of her allegiance to her son, she says, not to a war she despises.
"Just because I don't support the war and Bush, of course I support the troops. There's a bunch of kids out there, including my kid," Schactler said.
"Those two families (of the Marines who were killed) are going to get a call tomorrow. Chaplains are going to come to their house."
Cluley, 38, couldn't shake his distaste for what he called the arrogance of the Bush administration's "shock and awe" description of this latest stage of the war against Iraq.
"We can be so audacious," said Cluley. "Everyone knows we're the strongest nation in the world. It's like saying, 'Look at these toys we have and we're going to use them all.' "
Still, said Cluley, if the government is determined to fight a war, a massive bombardment seems to make sense. "It might minimize casualties because it could shorten the war."
A trio of civil engineers wandered into the bar at noon, hoping to find the NCAA tournament on television.
"We build," said Dave Vijaro, remarking on the irony of someone in his profession watching a city go up in fire and smoke. "That's our job."
But, said Miguel Sandoval, also a civil engineer, "If you're going to do it, let's get it over with."
"Just make sure we do something to help them after it's all over," added Vijaro.
The engineers, who said they support the war, added that rebuilding the Iraqi city's infrastructure after such an intense attack could take years.
The destruction caused by the bombings appears distant to most Americans, who will experience it only through news reports, said Done. But she and Franz agreed it's unlikely the United States will be able to escape retaliation.
"We have the technology for the big flashy stuff," said Franz. "But the people who'll be able to strike back have already shown they're able to use our technology against us." |
