Gods of War

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent", this was a favorite quote of Salvor Hardin, a fictitious character invented by the late Isaac Asimov. Even though the quote is fictitious, that doesn’t stop it from being pertinent. It is becoming all too obvious looking at the spate of scandals and incidents that have plagued the US occupation machinery in Iraq that they are the paragons of incompetence.

The list of excesses by men wearing the US uniform is long and distinguished. It started with US cavalrymen chasing native American Indians off their soil, herding them into reserves and depriving them of their heritage, rights, land and dignity [4]. They continued throughout the 20th century with notable occasions being the Vietnam war, where My Lai [1] was just the most glaring and visible incident in which an entire village was massacred by men of the famous Americal Division [3]. Other than that, they made extensive use of chemical warfare (Agent Orange). The US government itself admits that 20 million gallons of the Agent Orange herbicide were used in Vietnam [5], ostensibly to clear vegetation that was used by Viet Cong forces as cover. Even if this were the case (which is unlikely), it is against the rules of war according to the Geneva Convention as it states "Attacks against crops, livestock and agricultural areas needed for food production for the civilian population are prohibited." (Protocol I, Art. 54 , Sec. 2). Similarly, Operation Linebacker I and II [6] included carpet bombing of the jungles in Vietnam, this also is prohibited by the Geneva Convention’s rules of war as laid down in Protocol I, Art. 57, Sec. 2b as well as in Protocol I, Art. 85, Sec. 3.

Then, in 1988, the USS Vincennes under the command of Capt. William C. Rogers III shot down an Iran Air flight carrying 290 civilians on board, all of whom were lost [7]. This resulted in an inquiry into the incident. While issuing notes of regret about the loss of human life, the US government has never admitted any wrongdoing. Not only that, but Capt. Rogers and his air-warfare coordinator Cmdr. Lustig were awarded the Legions of Merit while Lustig was also awarded the Navy’s Commendation Medal for "heroic achievement".

Now the US is engaged in yet another illegal, pointless and futile war. It is draining its own resources, depriving its own citizens of hard-earned cash and the right to the truth; and in the process it is pillaging and raping another sovereign nation. Among declarations of this being the most civilized war ever waged, there are disturbing facts that belie these tall and morally high-sounding claims. First there was the Abu Ghraib scandal, where the military police tried to show just how tough they were by harassing and abusing bound and gagged detainees. There have also been unsubstantiated reports of women detainees having been abused (some say raped) at Abu Ghraib as well. Seeing the images that have transpired, I’m sure that would surprise no one.

Finally, we come to the Haditha incident, which is where a group of US Marines allegedly (lets not jump to conclusions) went on a rampage after a roadside bomb killed one of their own. They managed to kill between 20 and 30 people as a measured response, the majority of them women and children. All this in the name of freedom, democracy and cheap oil. Surprisingly, given all this illustrious history, no American would be ready to admit their soldiers are anything other than pristine, idealistic heroes. Incidents such as these are perpetrated by "bad apples", they are "aberrations", they will be punished and honour, duty and courage will reign supreme within the ranks of those wearing the American uniform.

Not to fear, the spin-machine has already creaked into motion, with a CNN journalist joining the fray [9]. Arwa Damon, the CNN correspondent who was allegedly embedded with these same troops, tells a heart-wrenching story of how these brave lads were once pinned on a rooftop in Ubeydi for hours while taking incoming fire, all the while not firing back because they couldn’t positively identify the target. We are sure to hear many more stories from journalists such as Ms. Damon.

In the end, these men will walk away with at best a slap on the wrist, and at worst, 5 years of prison time. Not a bad deal for killing 30-odd unarmed civilians I’d say.


References
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:My_Lai_massacre.jpg
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americal
[4] http://ngeorgia.com/history/nghisttt.html
[5] http://www1.va.gov/agentorange/
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Linebacker
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655
[8] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0lVygyEo2E
[9] http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/05/30/damon.iraq.btsc/index.html