In spite of the American declaration that they would try to “minimize” civilian deaths, a shocking number of victims have been pouring into the Iraqi hospitals ( Reuters ). It is these stories which tell me most about what is happening with the war and what its affect will be. There are faces here, of real people, with real lives, not like the concocted “theater” of the American soldiers. For the Americans this is all a temporary escapade; for the Iraqis this is the reckoning of the rest of their days.