When Alec did check his phone, he had a good eight texts from his father, beginning with a simple What is this? and then, Iraq did not have WMDs, and the US had strong evidence against it. Then, Whose poster is this? and Do not be on your phone during class.
The next two were longer: Why is the civilian death count so low? 60% of deaths from 2004 to 2009 were civilians. And that is a US estimate, the 60%, so if anything it is low. Many thousands of Iraqis died, normal, boring, Iraqis, who had nothing to do with and did not want the war. Where did they get this information?
The 60% figure came from leaked military records, it is very easy information to find. He attached a link, and explained the hundreds of pregnant women and children who were killed for approaching too closely, and talked about how likely it was they were seeking aid. He mentioned men shot to death trying to take family members to the hospital. Where are they included? In that estimate? Where are they mentioned? Who cares about their lives? And the US wanted to keep it from their people. These weren't numbers meant to be published. Thousands of Iraqi deaths, just a calculation, but they are over half of the people who were killed in the war. Not 'died,' were killed.
After this, there was another, You are at school, do not be on your phone.
Bush was a war criminal, you know. He deserved the shoe. The only regret is it missed. Kelb. Do they even talk about Abu Ghraib? Iraq was at Peace when the US invaded. And over six thousand innocent Iraqis died. And that's if we trust the numbers the US military puts out. There is no way to count it. It is impossible. And how many have died after that? The country was left in shambles. The child malnutrition rate rose, and by 2007, 70% of Iraqis did not have clean drinking water. Look what they did in Haditha. And they called us part of the 'Axis of Evil'! Where are those 24 unarmed civilians? He included the demographic information for the dead. Where did they go? And what about the displaced? And the orphaned? Where am I?
~~
After he had sent these messages, Dark took a deep breath, put his phone in his pocket, and stepped out into the backyard with his dog to get some fresh air. He might have done well with some warning, but he wasn't frustrated with Alec, just... at everything that had happened. And how it was still being misrepresented. It wasn't that he supported Saddam Hussein, that man was not a saint, and he was not doing right by Iraq, either, but this outside force---Taking a second deep breath, he noticed Lex, and all of the rugs, and it was curious enough he walked up despite the lingering frustration in his mind and eyes, "Good afternoon," He said, glancing across her yard, "Is it stuffy inside your home?"
