November 20, 2004

Producing War Criminals

I would imagine that there is more coverage in this country than in the US about the indiscretions of US military personnel in Iraq. Anything that gets aired in the US is probably blamed on the liberal anti-war media. After all, we have to stand behind our troops, don't we?

I think the apparent shooting of the unarmed, wounded apparent militant in the unnamed Fallujah mosques, the problems with Abu Ghraib prison, and other stories published by reporters imbedded with troops do offer an important revelation about the state of the US military. This has nothing to do with the rightness or wrongness of prosecuting the war in Iraq. That is a matter for theoreticians and philosophers to contemplate and debate. I sometimes to pretend to be one or the other, but I wear neither hat at the moment.

There seems to be a perception amongst at least some conservatives of the military as an inherently good institution. I have often heard the presumption that military service builds character, if by no other means than discipline. This is patently not true. There have been disciplined military forces through out history and the 20th century in particular which have wrought great evil. The Wehrmacht springs to mind.

I am not comparing the US military to the Wehrmacht. What I am saying is that a military force is no more than a representative sample of the society from which it is drawn. During the Second World War, the US military was comprised of members of a society that was predominantly Christian and most came from two-parent families. Because the draft cut across society, there was a broad base of socio-economic background. And though most served quite honourably, war crimes were committed.

Today the entirely volunteer US forces are drawn from a society that is not as Christian. Enlistees are much more likely to come from single-parent households, having grown up without the proper influence of a father. They are heavily drawn from economically deprived backgrounds. Their first father figure may be a Marine drill sergeant who spends every waking moment teaching them how to kill, kill, kill. Kill or be killed.

American soldiers in WWII came from a society that inherently valued life. Killing was something you were forced to do because the actions of a couple of aggressive nations made it necessary. Freedom was at stake.

Is it any surprise that a society that murders thousands of it own infants each day produces soldiers that don't value the difference between combatant and and an unarmed child? Two generations ago, soldiers had been little boys who played cowboys and Indians. Now they have played Wolfenstein, Doom, and Halo. I'm not worried that they have seen violence in Saving Private Ryan or even Full Metal Jacket. Rather it is that they see it glorified in Natural Born Killers and Kill Bill.

Every small town has a good upstanding boy from a church youth group who is serving God and country in the Middle East. Thank God they are there to exert influence. I know there are Christian men in positions of authority and leadership. This is not a blanket condemnation of the military or its personnel.

I would be interested to see certain demographic comparisions between the prison population and infantry personnel. But do not be surprised that a society which has cheapened life and glorified violence produces fatherless young men who, in the pressure cooker of battle, exhibit excessive violence, enjoy torture, and shoot to thrill. And rather than ignoring this problem, it should be a wake-up call.

Posted by david at November 20, 2004 10:59 PM | TrackBack
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