The war over there

That War Over There

By

James Bredin

They passed another resolution at the UN today,
Stand up and be counted because everyone has to obey,
They’re going to send peacekeepers here there and everywhere,
Though they may need help from Bush and also help from Blair.

And that Saddam scandal about oil for food is gone,
Ideas about criminal charges had to be withdrawn,
They’re going to have another war over there somehow,
They just don’t know when or who or where right now.

But we’re in a war that no one seems able to explain,
With Taliban suicide bombers in Afghanistan terrain,
Without a battlefield because none is needed,
Because peace keeping in the past sometimes succeeded.

But suicide bombers changed that and killed twenty eight,
Canadian soldiers and we still have had no debate,
As we suffer in silence and continue to count the dead,
So brave not to react and believe what they said.

That peacekeeping is not really like going to war,
But suicide bombers are very difficult to ignore,
And so are rockets landing in the middle of the night,
Should peacekeepers have to care and be so polite?

And should politicians react or care or even give a damn?
Headlines in the papers don’t question or exam,
How about a referendum to see if we should quit?
Or a reason for coffins without war and is it legit?

Wednesday, August 30, 2006