I like cats too, but this article in Sunday's New York Times was a little much. I read far too few articles with the same level of compassion for Iraqi civilians. Wouldn't it be nice to see a Times piece contemplating the dynamics of our relationship with the human residents of Iraq?
Other bulletins from the American command have reviewed the ethics of feeding strays, saying that animal lovers among the troops do more harm than good when they accustom cats and dogs to a regular supply of food and affection — only to abandon them when they rotate home, leaving the animals depleted in their instinct to fend for themselves. At The Times's compound, too, we have never been certain how long we will remain in Iraq. But in my mind, at least, the benefits to the cats and our own morale outweighed the longer-term concerns, the more so because conditions beyond our walls seemed to offer scant prospects that most of them, denied our shelter, would survive for long anyway.
--Kate Sheppard
