Last year, on the fifth anniversary of September 11, Rachel Sistoza of Woodbridge , Va. reflected on the meaning of that tragic morning in light of what happened to her cousin, U.S. Army Cpl. Shannon L. Squires of Virginia Beach . “There would have been no Iraq War if the attacks in New York didn’t occur," she said then. “My cousin would still be alive.

I hated it when Bush started this war on terror. I hate it even more now. It took away someone close to me, someone I grew up with, someone so young and full of promise. That’s what hurts."

It’s been six years since that September morn. Among the young men sent to Iraq to avenge the attacks was Shannon . He died when a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy vehicle during combat operations in Iraq . He was only 25. Rachel grew up with Shannon in Virginia Beach where he was born. His untimely death has made her apprehensive about her own 7-year-old son, Marcus. “I don’t know if I would discourage him from enlisting in the Army if he chooses to do so one day. After losing my cousin, I’d be hesitant. What if they order a draft when he’s 18?"

Lest anyone forgets, this war on terror could go on for years. It’s been estimated that more than two dozen Filipinos and Filipino Americans have died in the conflict. We have all been desensitized to daily reports of war casualties until we learn that one of them is related to someone we know. That’s when it hits us. And then there are the family members of those whose sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces are still in harms way in Iraq. Those left behind praying for their loved ones’ return - they carry this incredible burden and responsibility that the rest of us do not have - they are the ones who really suffer. They are the ones who show courage, having to deal with thoughts of loved ones who may not come home in the same way - alive and whole - before they were sent to war.

Annie Lantin Stuart of Kensington , MD. is counting the days when 23-year-old son Benson, the only child, returns from the war zone. September 11 had an impact on the young man’s decision to enlist in the army. Yvonne T. Reyes of Silver Spring , Md. has mixed feelings about her youngest brother, Carlo, being deployed to Iraq recently. “Happy,” that she was finally able to reach him on the phone, after frantically trying for weeks. But “anxious, sad, angry, fearful and helpless” when her brother muttered before hanging up, “I hope I make it out here.”

Muted into silence, Yvonne couldn’t press further. “I am just so terrified for him," she recalls. “Everything seems heavy and dark. As her eldest sister, I raised him since he was brought home from the maternity ward. I could only say ‘I love you’ and ‘please take care’ to my brother." Carlo, 36, leaves behind his wife, Aimee, and three children:
Joya, 9; Marco, 8; and Alo, 3. Having served in the U.S. military for 16 years now, he needs to complete four more in order to qualify for full retirement benefits. “He wouldn’t have minded going to Iraq if he’s still single," Yvonne says, “but he wishes he didn’t have to go, now that he’s got a family." But with the surge, Carlo doesn’t really have a choice.

Another younger brother, Jerome, served in Desert Storm -sent there earlier by the elder George H. Bush. That he came home alive doesn’t diminish Yvonne’s fears for Carlo. He was only 5 years old when both parents and seven siblings immigrated to this country.
As the nation commemorates the anniversary of September 11, the narrative that we’re supposed to take to heart is that of an unprovoked attack on America by terrorists who, as President Bush puts it, “hate our way of life.” It must, therefore, be protected. Thousands of young men and women heeded the call and enlisted. There was no debating this thing called war. Something had to be done right away. Congress and the American public simply acquiesced. As University of New Hampshire Professor Marc Herold said, in his essay “The Bombing of Afghanistan as Reflection of 9/11 and Different Valuations of Life," a quick response was “desired by our culture with its penchant for the fast, the instant, the get-to-the-solution."

True enough, less than a month later on October 7, 2001, the U.S. bombed Afghanistan , turning into rubble an already impoverished country. Revenge was underway. More than 3,400 Afghan civilians died in that 5-month air war. The invasion of Iraq followed 15 months later. More than 3,700 U.S. soldiers have died since, with 27,767 wounded. But Iraqi civilians suffered a far greater loss of life: more than 78,000 casualties as of September 11, 2007. There were no obituaries in the New York Times for them.

When the New York and Pentagon attacks happened, this country was - as Herold puts it - “quickly overcome with a dangerous mixture of confusion, fear and anger, all of which prevented ‘seeing’ the Other tragedy." Having lived comfortably in a continent free of wars, we only felt our wound but failed to see the wounds of others. Most Americans do not know that for more than 100 years, U.S. wars with foreigners have always been carried out on their shores. The U.S. war machine inflicted untold damage in other lands, on other lives - all for the sake of “self interests."

The Philippines was among the first. Close to half a million Filipinos died in a war for independence that the U.S. chose to call an “insurrection.” But this history doesn’t register in America ‘s collective memory.

Maybe that’s why I felt differently from most Americans when September 11 happened. I couldn’t relate to the flag-waving, the patriotic cheerleading, the warmongering.
I recall the angry e-mail exchanges telling me to “go home where you came from." That same hostility carries on today towards undocumented immigrants. Just read the news about what’s going on in Loudon and Prince Williams counties. The buzz words are chilling.

September 11 gave Bush an enemy and many Americans rallied behind him to fight the enemy in what is now a war on terror without end. They reelected him to four more years in the White House.

Many of those who have died and continues to fight in this senseless war are immigrants, or sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces of immigrants. But here’s the bitter irony:
9/11 has spawned yet another war - against immigrants themselves. And it doesn’t really matter much if they are legal or “illegal.” The damning perception is rather simple: these immigrants wreak havoc on neighborhoods and schools and, dare we say, “the American way of life?”

September 11 provides convenient cover to yet another act of terror against the people of the world. And immigrant children like Shannon, Benson and Carlo - for all their courage and heroism - are being used as cannon fodder in a war without end. Unless, of course, we dare disturb the universe and put a stop to it. It’s past time for our brave soldiers to come home.

E-mail your comments to jonmele@aol.com