People remember things like this in order to remind themselves that they should not support a government that openly commits war crimes and atrocities. But how can the public be assured that their government is not? Press and media are different beasts separated by decades of change, for the worse I'd say. People like to think that only Al-Quaeda operatives and 'rebels' are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, but how about the thousands of innocent bystanders that die? How about the tens of thousands that died in the decade or so between the original Gulf War and the current occupation due to the constant bombing raids of water treatment facilities and other social infrastructures via the 'no fly' zone?
I'm not trying ot hijack this thread, but rather making a point based on the posts I've read here. People wonder, 'whats the importance?', others reply 'the importance is found in the remembering, to learn from mistakes'. I'd hazard the opinion however that we haven't learned a thing except how to hide it better by obtaining control of the media. And by 'we' I sadly mean our elected governments, their lobby groups and associated business interests.
I very gingerly support Canada's troops in Afghanistan as far as I wish them all a safe return and support the vigour with which they wish to serve Canada, however I do not support the current Canadian government's decision to participate in the war on terror and in my mind I hold our Prime Minister Stephen Harper, just another Neo-con, guilty of war crimes by association. I feel that as a Canadian we aren't learning anything or achieving any peace over there. We have failed to learn from Japan, from the Jews, from Rwanda, take your pick. It's worth remembering any conflicts dead out of honour and respect, but thats only half of it, we also have to actively fight for change if we wish to justly invoke their names and lives.