Fusilier Gordon Gentle, 19, from Glasgow, of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, died in June 2004 in an improvised explosive device attack on vehicles in
Basra.
Private Phillip Hewett, 21, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, was one of three soldiers from C Company, 1st Battalion Staffordshire Regiment, who died in a roadside bomb blast in the Risaala district of Amarah in July 2005.
Rose Gentle said: 'My son died when a roadside bomb went off under the vehicle he was travelling in. He was in Iraq to fight for his country, but I now know he should never have been sent there. He died for nothing.'
I love the name Rose Gentle. It conjures up an image-the rose, beautiful and fragile, supported by a stalk of thorns. I imagine Rose Gentle to be like Cindy Sheehan, kind and tenacious, yet held high by stems of thorns, a symbol of piercing pain. It is this that maintains their strength. It is this that intimidates the leaders of Great Britain and the United States. Rose Gentle and Cindy Sheehan are thorns in the plans of men who would wage endless war. Perhaps, this court decision will prevent these plans.
So, please, tell every person you know about this court decision. Don't just preach to the choir. Deliver a sermon to those who still cling to the pants legs of a man who claims to be a Christian, a president who changed the reasons for war after each rationale was vetted and proved false. Convince the equivocators. If families in Great Britain can see justice served for the deaths of their loved ones in this war, then we should be able to demand the same for ours. And for the thousands of injured. And for the tens of thousands of Iraqis. Imagine the members of Gold Star Families for Peace who, at last, could, before a court of law, seek an investigation into the deaths of those whose loss they will mourn every second of every minute of every hour of every day forever.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
