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# Remember our troops
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/looking-for-just-one-iota-of-common-sense-in-the-city/
- Published: 2003-04-11T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T02:04:08.000Z
- Author: Bill Bauer
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Steve Roberts Santa Monica*

The April 10th edition of the Santa Monica Daily Press has an article on the Iraqi people on the front page. Contained in that article is the quote, “I’m 49, but I never lived a single day. Only now will I start living,” said Yussuf Abed Kazim. Strange thought indeed.

Only a few short weeks ago, millions stood together around the globe and raised their voices in opposition to a war in Iraq. College campuses were filled with many voicing that same sentiment. One day they will graduate from college and enter into the corporate jungle.

Their hopes and dreams will be fulfilled or dashed based on the companies that they hire on with and the people they meet that will shape their lives. While they were at college others decided to join the military instead.

Some have stated that they never expected to see combat action and were shocked that they were called up to serve their country. Whatever the reason, they made a decision to join the military and when you make that choice, there are certain things you might be called upon to do.

History never records the pain and anguish of those that are left to deal with the hole left when someone you knew and cared for is no longer here. Whether they were coalition forces, Iraqi forces, or those that are termed, “collateral damage,” does not matter, someone will grieve for them and will miss their company.

Time stands still for no one, it is often said. The war will end, troops will come home, college students will go off to seek employment to put into practice that which they were studying. Companies come and go, as do regimes. We’ve witnessed the horror of Sept. 11, the absolute greed that crushed decades-old companies into history. Were starting to hear the stories of the repression of the Iraqi people. The one voice we haven’t heard from until now.

An old song by AC/DC starts out with the line, “it ain't easy, living free.” The Iraqi people are being freed from their repressive regime, and they’re finally being allowed to speak their mind. It may take a while for them to get used to this. Their’s is the voice that has been missing in all of this. Being liberated from Saddam could be the best thing that happens to them, or it may not. Time will tell. After Saddam is gone, their problems become their own. Let’s help them meet that challenge. Let’s also remember to support the troops when they come back from their mission.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 11, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/041103.pdf?ref=smdp.com)