Following the recent killings of 16-Afghan civilians by a US Army sergeant, the critical details began rolling in. Married man, father of two. Ten year veteran. Three tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan. Two previous head injuries sustained in combat. Sent to Afghanistan against his will. Tick, tick, tick.
The soldier's name isn't important. What matters is his profile. He enlisted in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He wanted to defend his country. He thought he'd do his bit. What he didn't understand, what no one told him before he signed on, is that he'd be sent to war for a country that wouldn't stand behind him.
The U.S. government has shamelessly exploited those volunteers. They were never enough for the job handed to them, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. More were needed but the supply of volunteers dried up. So they had two choices. Reinstate the draft or take the politically cowardly way out and simply keep recycling the existing volunteers, sending them back into war again and again and again.
Head injuries are a signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The concussive blast of an improvised explosive device can be more injurious and longer lasting than the shrapnel. We're a lot better at patching up torn bodies than we are fixing pulped brains. This sergeant in Afghanistan had been pulped, twice. He thought his combat days were safely behind him. He was promised as much. And then he got his orders to Afghanistan.
Does this mean he's not responsible for killing those Afghan civilians? No, a court will have to decide that on the medical evidence. What it means is that there are others who are probably just as responsible, perhaps even more so. This guy shouldn't have been sent back into combat. His commanders shouldn't have been left so short-handed that they had to send him back. Someone, at the very top, should have stood up for this guy and all the other walking wounded like him and at the very least resigned in protest. And, above them, the political leadership is morally if not criminally liable for dodging the draft that, of itself, ensured this man was sent to Afghanistan. And that indictment includes Congress and the White House.
Excellent assessment.
ReplyDeleteI would add that the government of the day (Bush/Cheney) created a toxic atmosphere that persists today on both sides of the border. It became politically correct to demonize these target regions and make our citizens view their citizens as being sub-human. That branding was way too effective.
Yeah, it was a great set-up for the clash of civilizations, Judeo-Christian versus Muslim. Too few recognize that, for the radical religious right, this is a theological imperative.
ReplyDeleteAny good the Americans were able to accomplish is put asunder.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Beijing York’s assessment.
ReplyDelete“This guy shouldn't have been sent back into combat.” And I agree with that too. However, I am getting the feeling that the guy is being glorified through media that his friends and relatives say that he was a great guy. He enlisted because of 9/11, he put his life on line, he was a great family guy and fun loving etc. etc. Sounds like building up the defence of the guy in public for his actions. He did slaughter 16 innocent people, 9 of them children and 3 women.
However, I also agree that those at the top are equally guilty -starting will George W. Bush and Dickhead Cheney.
I was going to write nearly the same thing on my blog, but I can't improve on your words. With your permission, I'd like to copy this entire entry onto my blog - including your name, the name of your blog, and a link in case my readers want to read it in the original.
ReplyDeleteHi Zyzmog, by all means, help yourself.
ReplyDelete