This photo of a typically
This photo of a typically angry, smug-looking anti-war protester marching in front of a "Books Not Bombs" poster reminded me of one of the saddest stories I've ever read. Shortly after the liberation of Afghanistan, the Washington Post ran an article about a man who was arrested by the Taliban because he had books in his house other than the Koran. He was imprisoned and hideously tortured for two years; miraculously, he was still alive when Afghanistan was liberated, and he was released from prison. The constant beatings, electric shocks and other tortures inflicted upon him took a fearful toll; at the time he was interviewed by the Post, he was brain-damaged, incontinent, suffered from severe back injuries and could walk only with difficulty. He was twenty-six years old. At the end of the interview, the man said: "I never want to see another book." I have no idea what the protester carrying that idiotic sign meant by it, but if he truly wants to bring books to Iraq in place of the daily terror that exists there now, he should be supporting President Bush.
