While I was searching for The Baghdad Diaries by Nuha al-Radi, I stumbled across this project. The goal of the site is to compile the journal entries of various persons involved in the Iraq War by circulating blank journals among any interested party. Given the dates of the website and when it appears to be last updated, I'm not certain the project is still in motion; however, I think that such an undertaking could present a forum for people who would not normally be given prominent voices to comment upon the impact of the war. Moreover, the site does appear to be geared towards soldiers in particular. If this compilation project was opened up to all sorts of people and included the voices of American soldiers, Iraqi soldiers, civilians, mothers, nurses, reporters, laborers, etc, etc--basically anyone who is affected by the war--perhaps we could gain a great understanding of what is lost/won in the war, or what sort of cultural and psychological reactions the war is triggering among those experiencing it. The website asks:
"Why a series of diaries? A diary conveys a certain sense of intimacy where we can offer an honest introspective dialogs and confess our hopes and doubts. As each diary passes from person to person, perhaps we'll find we have common hopes and doubts regardless of where we stand. How will this personal conversation affect each of us? Who knows? It may comfort some of us; it may alienate some of us and it may disillusion some of us. It may help some of us acknowledge the way our world has changed and come to terms with those changes. After all, this is a conversation about the world and our place in it. What do you have to say?"
Indeed, this is the question that the war triggers and something I think many American's have been grappling with: where is our place in the world? Given the sort of global, political upheaval occurring and the disinformation/misinformation supplied by our government about the war, we must ask ourselves what is the true impact of such an atrocity? What ramifications will this war have for political relations, or more significantly, cultural expectations. This sort of project could highlight the differences between various social ideologies, but would ultimately allow for a great understanding of one another as fears, anxieties, and sacrifices are revealed. Perhaps simply discuss the war and its effects can lead to coalition building; however, if we remain ignorant to alternative standpoints regarding the war, we will never be able to communicate effectively with one another.
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