Kamber And Turner

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Michael Kamber's picture, depicts a mass graveyard that was found in Iraq during the time of the invasion. The photo essentially shows the Iraqis in their most basic form: as humans awaiting burial. The picture, inherently humanizes the typically dehumanized people of Iraq, because in the end of the day, we all go to the grave. This is one concept, both Kamber and Turner agree on. Turner’s poem, What every soldier should know, initially insinuates that the so-called barbaric Iraqis, are essentially, dehumanized and labeled as deplorable. However, in the end, this is a poem about constant tension of war because you need to live by the rules of the enemy, but at the same time, you cannot stray from your own objective as the enemy cannot stray …show more content…

In the tenth line, Turner faces confusion as he has to decide whether or not an Iraqi approaching him saying “Inshallah” is a threat: “inshallah means Allah be willing. Listen well when it is spoken.”This line tells us that Turner, as an infantry soldier had understood that “Inshallah”, is not necessarily a bad omen, but that it all depends on the context and intentions of the person saying it. Inshallah, traditionally has positive connotation surrounding it, as it really only means “if God is willing”, and that line can be used in our daily life in the most simple of matters. Although in the war, inshallah is being used as a war symbol, as a cry to God, to in some way justify their cause and aid them. Turner talks about how he had been thrown in that position when he was faced with an Iraqi militant: “Men wearing vests rigged with explosives walk up, raise their hands and say inshallah.” This line addresses the earlier line regarding the careful listening that ought to take place when the word inshallah is used. Turner is trying to get us to understand the sense of chaos and distrust that he had to go through every day as a soldier of war overseas. The two lines exist to emphasise that you cannot stray from your own objective as the enemy cannot stray from theirs. No one can be trusted in times of war because everyone has their own assignment: to be loyal to their

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