This is an unpublished, original beat story written for the Reporting and Writing I class of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Two weeks after the coalition death toll in Iraq passed 4,000, and a month after one of the youngest casualties of the Iraq war – an 18-year-old Queens resident — was buried, residents of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn seem to agree that the U.S. has overstayed its welcome in the Middle East.
“I’ve been disenchanted with it from the beginning,” said Dylan Campbell, a 28-year-old bartender. “I don’t have any personal losses, but if I had personal losses, I’d be over the top.”
According to figures calculated by The New York Times, 20 U.S. casualties called Brooklyn their hometown, more than double the casualties from any other borough. Residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant said they were more concerned about overseas soldiers than anything else.
“I’m all for the soldiers,” said Millie Robison, 69, a retired librarian whose husband is an Army veteran. “I don’t think the war was handled right. Too many young men are dying. A lot of soldiers are unprepared.”
Though only 9 percent of U.S. casualties are black, some residents of the neighborhood – best known as a cultural center for African-Americans – said they were still outraged over the cultural tension that the war has caused.
“We’ve got a lot of corner store guys around here who are Arabs, and they treat us like brothers and sisters,” said Shatika Sanders, 25, a student at Medgar Evers College and mother of three. “I feel that Bush is pointing his finger. November’s coming soon.”
News of the latest casualty figures hit especially close to home for mothers.
“I pray to God every day that he delivers these children,” said Catherine Lewis, a 53-year-old airport security guard and mother of four. “When the children get hurt, it’s a mother’s duty to feel pain.”
According to figures calculated by the Washington Post, more 21-year-old Americans died in the war than any other age, with 520 casualties. More than half of the U.S. casualties in Iraq were under the age of 25. Thirty-two casualties were age 18.
“How do people live with this? You’re ripping these people away from their families,” said Jasmine Smith, 19, a student at Medgar Evers College and mother of one.
Some residents said the war’s trajectory echoes that of previous U.S. military failures abroad.
“It’s a no-win situation. It’s just like Vietnam,” said Roy Eascterling, a 63-year-old street vendor who has family in various branches of the armed forces. “Every time something goes wrong in another country, the United States jumps in.”
Rose Hinds, a 36-year-old caseworker, said she thinks an immediate withdrawal from Iraq will do less damage than remaining in the country.
“They should bring the soldiers home,” Hinds said. “They’re trying to fix another country’s problem. Who’s running that country, the U.S. or Iraq? They should pull out and let the government in Iraq handle their problems.”
Yet some residents said the United States must accept its responsibility as the preeminent power of the world.
“If America doesn’t get involved with these other countries, it will be crippled by them,” said Steve Bennett, 55, a bank console operator, noting that he thought the war itself is wrong. “They’ll spread out and make havoc all over the world.”
Still, residents said that the war’s missteps are a signal that the United States has its own issues to deal with.
“We got work to do over here, and we’re busy over there,” said Kim Mosely, 41, a postal worker and mother of a 22-year-old son. “It’s not a fight. We’re just [being] a bully.”