OklahomaTuba
7/10/2006, 08:30 AM
I don't support the troops
By CHAS CHIODO
Special to the Sun
July 08. 2006 6:01AM
I'm a military combat veteran and critic of our government's invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, and I don't support the troops. I'll protest in the streets to end the war, and when the troops come home, I'll do what I can to see that they get the benefits and treatment they need and deserve. That's my contribution to the troops.
Many people "oppose the war but support the troops." Rotten war, brave soldiers. I don't buy this at all. Although little Johnny or Judy might have once been that nice kid next door, he or she may now be engaged in massacres and atrocities.
"The troops" are waging war against a civilian population, making little or no attempt to distinguish between "insurgents" and "collateral" innocents in the vicinity. When faced with frequent sniping, mines, ambushes and treachery by supposed local "allies," even the best-trained occupation armies soon become brutal, sadistic, cynical and demoralized.
Torture and atrocities happen in all wars, on both sides. None are right, but America has to accept the fact that when little Johnny or Judy enlists in one of the branches of service, he becomes a hired killer.
People are convinced that however evil, wicked and misguided the president might have been to launch the war, the ordinary soldiers who are actually waging it are overwhelmingly dedicated and honorable. The average person thinks that "99.9 percent of the troops" are as pure as driven snow, our "best and brightest." I don't buy either of those jingoistic platitudes. When I was in the military, it was composed of many different kinds of people, including a fair share of losers, brutes and bloodthirsty thugs.
I believe that every one of the U.S. government's military and "civil" agents in Iraq are engaged in "a war of unprovoked aggression," and therefore all bear some guilt for participating in an evil enterprise. I am not suggesting that the man who drives a supply truck is as guilty as the man who shoots a baby at point blank range, but all of our forces are guilty to some degree.
Doing wrong is doing wrong, be it in Gainesville or Iraq. Bush told the soldiers to go, and they chose to obey. When the Nazis at Nuremberg claimed they were "only following orders," they received no mercy, nor did they deserve any. Perhaps the enlisted men and women who merely tagged along are less culpable than Bush, but nobody involved in this huge criminal undertaking is entitled to a clean bill of moral health.
The longer U.S. forces stay in Iraq, the more brutalized and undisciplined they will become, and the more hated they will be. The vast majority of the global community sees the U.S. as the bad guys, and rightly so. We have no moral reason for being in Iraq and the world knows it.
The problem in Iraq and Afghanistan is not that the U.S. forces have a few bad apples. The barrel itself is rotten. To remain morally upright, people need to steer clear of voluntary association with criminals and acting as their mercenaries.
You always hear that the troops signed a contract and must obey orders. Not if they deem such orders to be illegal or beyond moral bounds. They can always refuse to obey, go to jail, go AWOL or move to another country. These are better decisions than killing innocent civilians for corporate greed.
The American military machine has killed and tortured millions of innocent people and will continue to do so until made to stop. I call on my fellow vets to heed Thoreau's advice that we use our lives to "stop the machine" and thereby expiate the legacy of pain, suffering and death we participated in.http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060708/EDITORIALS0101/60708001/1097/editorials
Amazing that bull**** like this can find its way into a newsource.
Oh well, at least these leftist halfwits are being honest about their feelings now, no matter how ****ed up they are in the head and how much hate they have for our men and women in uniform.
By CHAS CHIODO
Special to the Sun
July 08. 2006 6:01AM
I'm a military combat veteran and critic of our government's invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, and I don't support the troops. I'll protest in the streets to end the war, and when the troops come home, I'll do what I can to see that they get the benefits and treatment they need and deserve. That's my contribution to the troops.
Many people "oppose the war but support the troops." Rotten war, brave soldiers. I don't buy this at all. Although little Johnny or Judy might have once been that nice kid next door, he or she may now be engaged in massacres and atrocities.
"The troops" are waging war against a civilian population, making little or no attempt to distinguish between "insurgents" and "collateral" innocents in the vicinity. When faced with frequent sniping, mines, ambushes and treachery by supposed local "allies," even the best-trained occupation armies soon become brutal, sadistic, cynical and demoralized.
Torture and atrocities happen in all wars, on both sides. None are right, but America has to accept the fact that when little Johnny or Judy enlists in one of the branches of service, he becomes a hired killer.
People are convinced that however evil, wicked and misguided the president might have been to launch the war, the ordinary soldiers who are actually waging it are overwhelmingly dedicated and honorable. The average person thinks that "99.9 percent of the troops" are as pure as driven snow, our "best and brightest." I don't buy either of those jingoistic platitudes. When I was in the military, it was composed of many different kinds of people, including a fair share of losers, brutes and bloodthirsty thugs.
I believe that every one of the U.S. government's military and "civil" agents in Iraq are engaged in "a war of unprovoked aggression," and therefore all bear some guilt for participating in an evil enterprise. I am not suggesting that the man who drives a supply truck is as guilty as the man who shoots a baby at point blank range, but all of our forces are guilty to some degree.
Doing wrong is doing wrong, be it in Gainesville or Iraq. Bush told the soldiers to go, and they chose to obey. When the Nazis at Nuremberg claimed they were "only following orders," they received no mercy, nor did they deserve any. Perhaps the enlisted men and women who merely tagged along are less culpable than Bush, but nobody involved in this huge criminal undertaking is entitled to a clean bill of moral health.
The longer U.S. forces stay in Iraq, the more brutalized and undisciplined they will become, and the more hated they will be. The vast majority of the global community sees the U.S. as the bad guys, and rightly so. We have no moral reason for being in Iraq and the world knows it.
The problem in Iraq and Afghanistan is not that the U.S. forces have a few bad apples. The barrel itself is rotten. To remain morally upright, people need to steer clear of voluntary association with criminals and acting as their mercenaries.
You always hear that the troops signed a contract and must obey orders. Not if they deem such orders to be illegal or beyond moral bounds. They can always refuse to obey, go to jail, go AWOL or move to another country. These are better decisions than killing innocent civilians for corporate greed.
The American military machine has killed and tortured millions of innocent people and will continue to do so until made to stop. I call on my fellow vets to heed Thoreau's advice that we use our lives to "stop the machine" and thereby expiate the legacy of pain, suffering and death we participated in.http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060708/EDITORIALS0101/60708001/1097/editorials
Amazing that bull**** like this can find its way into a newsource.
Oh well, at least these leftist halfwits are being honest about their feelings now, no matter how ****ed up they are in the head and how much hate they have for our men and women in uniform.