Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Critical Thoughts on our Modern Military
Voltaire once said that 'those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' This observation does not bode well for a country with standing members of congress who see creationism as reality, a country where 24 is watched by anyone over twelve. Yet while a myopic culture can have serious consequences, the same refusal to engage illogical memes can have exponentially worse consequences within certain institutions. Our military is the paramount example.
A recent interview I read had a military officer taking a moment to stress just what the U.S. military is: 'the most efficient fucking killing machine that has ever been created in the history of our species.' And it is true. The more one learns about the military, from A-10 tank killers to bombing systems that could turn an entire sports stadium into hamburger in seconds, the capacity to bring death numbs the mind.
This is what makes the recent poll numbers released this week so damn troubling. About fifty percent of marines and army soldiers informed America that they wouldn't report a fellow soldier whom they witnesses kill or maim a civilian. That's broken. The number can't be trusted straight up, because most individuals should be aware enough to lie if that was their honest belief. That fifty percent represents members of the U.S. military who don't give a good gawd damn about the institution they serve.
If you love your mother, you don't go telling strangers about what an easy slut she is. If you love the corp, you don't go summarizing to the media how little honor and the uniform code mean these days.
F.T.A. is back again, this time with soldiers openly admitting that they have rejected any sense of a moral code more enlightened than that of a prison gang. Represent, stick up for your brothers, never snitch.
I remember a conversation I had over Easter with several family members lamenting how 'a soldier would have to file out paperwork in triplicate before he can fire back a kid with a AK-47.' That's part of the rightwing bullshit these days, that our soldiers are dying cuz bleeding hearts want them tie their hands with rediculous regulations. 'Back in my day, you didn't have to call for permission to fire your weapon, if somebody was shooting at you, you shot back.'
This has a lot to do with the utter misunderstanding of modern warfare. In an arena where dozens of units from dozens of countries are working together under a shared command and control; war has changed. With the percentage of casualties attributed to friendly fire somewhere near 40%, when you are taking directed fire from over the horizon - the chances are pretty good that you have been mistakenly fired upon. You don't get to return fire until that hostile has been confirmed. You call down an airstrike on a team of Japanese, now the U.S. has an international incident on her hands.
I know that most Army recruiting media makes soldiery seem like Rambo. A soldier's job is not to kill. To paraphrase, 'a soldier's job is to do and die.' Sometimes 'doing' is killing, and in pitched battles our soldiers are second to none at killing, but many times the job is to die. To follow orders even when they seem suicidal.
I think too much of the thinking about the military has been affected by the 'Black Hawk Down' syndrome. A glorification of fighting for the sake of fighting, why and who are not important, only that you 'never leave a buddy behind.'
If I were a military leader, I'd love a military with such malleable morals. As a citizen, I'm shockingly disappointed that the men and women who serve do not aspire to more.
What makes America's military great is not its ability to wage war. What makes it great is its willingness to submit to civilian leadership. The Arsenal of Democracy fights for the good of We the People, not for some king or some fucking corporation. When half the uniform members tell the world that they don't give a rat's ass about international law or civilian oversight, they are saying something dark about the state of the U.S. military.
Withdraw from Iraq and most of the world. Bring our troops home and give them the care they have earned. Cut the standing army down drastically, and only keep/promote those who care about preserving the honor of their institution.
Labels: Institutions, Iraq War
