CIVIC's New Director En Route to Iraq

Many of you have read about CIVIC--The Campaign for Innocent Victim's In Conflict. Founded by Bay Area woman Marla Ruzicka, CIVIC espouses her simple yet revolutionary belief that if we--the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the world, and one that constantly blows a moral and idealistic trumpet--are going to be going around the world with bombs and guns racking up civilian "collateral damage" for whatever purposes, the least we can do is say we're sorry and help people out when we accidentally injure or kill them. Personally, I feel that it's a mission you can get behind no matter what your opinion is on the way we choose wars. Even if you are fully behind the invasion of Iraq I think you can agree with the CIVIC ideal. It's the logical extension of any notion that war can even try to be honorable and ethical.

Marla was, very sadly, killed in Iraq by a bomb in April of last year, along with her colleague and translator. Faiz Ali Salim. Here's an obituary by Chris Albritton. For a while it seemed like CIVIC might not do to well without its one-woman dynamo. But they've gotten a new executive director, Sarah Holewinski , and she's en route to Iraq and blogging. I really admire her courage in going while the country seems to be exploding with violence. I am also pleased to find out that Columbia University has a conflict resolution program that actually gets out into the field. Nice to feel like saying Go Lions for once.