andrea bruce

Iraq: Seven Years of War

A US Marine loses his calm while capturing suspected Syrian fighters in April 2003. (photo by Andrea Bruce/The Washington Post)
   
U.S. soldiers run from sniper fire in Ramadi, Iraq.
   
The reality of war for soldiers in Iraq is one of roadside bombs, suicide car bombings, heat exhaustion and loss. Although dedication for most continues to be strong, the hardships intensify with the violence. “We're tired of seeing our friends die for a war we don't understand,” said one soldier after a memorial service in Baquba, Iraq. Spec. Hugo Gonzalez prays while being treated in an Army emergency ward in Baquba after suffering shrapnel wounds from a roadside bomb while traveling in an unarmored Humvee.
     
  
   
  
     
  
   
Draped in mourning veils and abayas, more than 500 women march in Sadr City against the violence plaguing their neighborhood. “The people who pay for the violence are the women here,” said Khafaji, whose brother was killed in March 2004. They sprayed water over themselves for relief from the mid-afternoon heat.