Disturbing News

One of the disturbing stories in the news lately is about the American G.I. who is accused of shooting 16 unarmed civilians in Afghanistan.    There is no excuse for such a killing spree, yet the blame must be shared by the US military brass whose policies forced a soldier who had already done 3 tours in Iraq to serve yet another tour in another war zone, against his wishes.  Talk about cruel and unusual punishment.  I hope an inquiry reveals the machinations of such decisions,  and the guilty higher-ups are identified.  Other recent instances of breakdowns in protocols -- for the treatment of remains of dead soldiers, disposal of religious materials, and handling of classified material --all lead to the conclusion that no one is minding the store.

Also disturbing is the pattern of abuse and insensitivity by the military-political establishment to veterans who have served and sacrificed for their country.   The media is rife with stories of rising suicide rates, violence and PTSD behavior by returning GI's.  Not to mention the way the military bureacracy ignores the needs of military families, who are also enduring the sacrifice of their soldiers.

Author Steven Moore writes:

" Other veterans’ services also lag far behind what they should be. Families of service men and women overseas have few if any support systems and returning veterans’ families don’t either. Service families are often faced with eviction or foreclosure from rental or mortgaged properties. Veterans make up the largest percentage of the homeless. We can cheer our military overseas at a Super Bowl—we can also forget all about them when they come home. Many disillusioned with their inability to reintegrate into American society re-enlist, often exacerbating their problems when they return once again."

The bureacracy allows policy makers and armchair generals to hide from their deadly decisions to send young men off to war.  The persistent problem since the beginning of modern warfare is that after the conflict, no one cares about the warriors.  We are happy to have them kill and die in foreign lands to preserve the status quo at home.  But we often feel ambivalent - perhaps it is because we don't want men capable of such violence among us. 

I don't like war.  I think it as a terrible thing for political forces to force young men who really have no beef with each other to go off to foreign soil to shoot at total strangers, just to satisfy the egoes of failed diplomats.  It's one thing to be defending one's own borders, but quite another to defend the supposed rights of all oppressed peoples in the galaxy.  I don't agree with the concept of preserving American liberty by trying to convert theocracies into democracies.  

Yes, I know it gets more complicated than that, but I do not understand why we have not learned the lessons of history.  We all know the fundamental truth of the age old observation "That which you take by force, you must keep by force."  Not understanding this simple dictum  was the downfall of the Roman Empire and it will probably be the draining force that eventually brings the US to its economic knees. 

The very least we can do for the patriots who serve, risking limb and life, is to treat them well when they return.  The Pols and Commanders need to be more accountable for their decisions and mistakes.