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Abstract Iraq War which is universally referred to as The Second Persian Gulf War is the first U.S. long war against an Arab country, being intended to open the way to colonize the Middle East as a whole. It is also the war that many think of to be the one which is waged really in quest of some noble ends particularly promoting peace and obstructing dictatorship and terrorism not to advance American ambitions as with its precedents especially that of Vietnam. 20 March 2003 becomes, as a result, another notable date in the history of the American nation if not the history of the world at large soon after 11 September 2001. Since the American-British troops officially launched the war, talks, analyses, supporting and opposing writings do not stop for a moment. With the irony of not finding weapons of mass destruction and not proving Saddam’s links with Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, the new war becomes a controversial international affair that is worth discussion. This, actually, attracted one to take the initiative of handling the human side and trace the impacts of such a grieving recent experience of purely dishonest goals on Americans who have a direct and indirect share in its burden as reflected in the first trilogy of plays to be written in revolt against the combat: Harmless (2007), Weapon of Mass Impact (2007), and Old Glory (2009). The three plays seek to dishonor warfare and emphasize the beliefs that “glorious war does not exist … it is not good, and it is not useful, to make corpses” (Kirkpatrick 240) through depicting the totally destructive results that innocents have to endure without any guilt but believing Bush and his government. First, soldiers are the ones who undergo most of the direct pain. Since the outbreak of any war, they are destined to die or to live in utter emotional, psychological as well as physical suffering. Harmless (2007) and Old Glory (2009) are very much concerned with the trauma of American soldiers during and after wartime. Both plays never idealize soldiers or present warrior as a hero to whom the whole nation should be grateful. Instead, they are presented as ordinary people sent to 152 commit and accordingly to get victimized by awful military crimes overseas. Harmless (2007) points to the tragedy of young soldiers when returning from the trenches to find themselves in a direct struggle, they are not capable of, with an unaware, ignorant society where they are treated as outsiders not the ones who sacrificed everything in quest of everything good for their country and fellow citizens. Through the play, Brett Neveu detects the attitudes of those victims as a result of their totally subverted expectations of post-war life particularly violence, isolation or detachment, and sometimes social contact in an attempt to relieve the consequent pain. Old Glory (2009), on the other hand, presents a live portrayal of the soldiers’ trauma on the battlefield. Trough Rat and Goss, it stresses the appalling conditions American veterans live in during the fight, waiting for death at any moment. It also refers to the unfriendly atmosphere between soldiers which is imposed by the overall horrible atmosphere of the battle, being perceived as much more dangerous than the military mission itself. It is such a hostile atmosphere that motivates Rat to murder his co-sufferer, Goss. In addition, the play highlights the moral degradation that the war leads soldiers to. They get converted by their military experiences from amiable, decent people to those who utter coarse and rude words and drink heavily. It presents soldiering as merely a job they wish to finish as soon as possible especially after the real aims of the mission are unveiled. Old Glory also criticizes the army’s attitude toward those unfortunate freshmen who have nothing left to give to their country. Hence, both plays are seen as an endeavor to depict soldiers’ life in the trenches and life at home and approach their psychology as a result. Second, the trilogy is similarly concerned with those who have no part in the combat but too heavy burden is there to bear. Weapon of Mass Impact (2007) is wholly dedicated to displaying the miserable and distressful life American civilians lead in the wak e of the war. It shows how the war that is supposed to fight fear of terrorism involves Americans in fiercer fear of inevitable terrorism that is directed against the U.S. in response to its military transgression in Iraq. So, according to this second part of the trilogy, having no military role in the war does not 153 guarantee safety from the consequent injuries. The calamity of semi. |