SUPPORT THE TROOPS
NEWSLETTER #2, December 9, 2013.
Compiled by Dick Bennett for Culture of Peace and Justice. (#1
Oct. 15, 201).
My blog:
War Department/Peace Department
War Department/Peace Department
Newsletters
See OMNI’s
several newsletters on Us Imperialism and related subjects.
Index:
See: Imperialism, Militarism,
Nationalism, Patriotism, Recruiting, US Imperialism, Westward Continental, US Military Industrial Complex ,
US National
Security State , US
Weapons Sales, US Westward Imperialism WWII Pacific/E. Asia ,
US Wars
DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS
(DAV)
Dick Bennett
A DAV advertisement on PBS May 14, 2013,
thanks vets for sacrificing themselves to save our way of life (photos of vets
with missing limbs) and appeals for support for better care. But the message is based upon several
unexamined assumptions.
One enormous assumption is that the wars in
which the vets were wounded were defensive, needed, legal, moral indeed
righteous. If, as I think, most of the
wars were aggressions, unnecessary, and illegal, where does that leave the vets
and the DAV? These newsletters reply to
this question.
GOOGLE “SUPPORT THE TROOPS” AND
THE FIRST PAGE PRESENTS ALL GUNG HO PRO-MILITARY ENTRIES EXCEPT TWO. BUT GOOGLE “SUPPORT THE TROOPS PROPAGANDA”
AND THE MAJORITY OF THE PAGE ONE ENTRIES CRITICIZE THE MILITARY IN VARYING
INTENSITY. Dec. 9, 2013.
Contents #1 Oct. 15,
2013
York and Barringer:
Christian Pacifism Against Killing
Herman: Support the Troops, Support the Wars
Michael Moore: Stop These Senseless Wars
Salaita: No Thanks
Dick: Service, the
Services
Dick: Finding Rest
Contents #2
Dick, What Service Were You In?
Dick, Wal-Mart Vet Employees
Dick, Our Marines Can Do No Wrong
Raimondo, No
Way !
Ostrowski, Warmongers and Messengers of Truth
Blum’s Books on US Global Aggressions
Marine General Smedley Butler, War Is a Racket
Masullo, Bring Them Home
DICK BENNETT, WHAT SERVICE
WERE YOU IN?
Smith, “Linemen To Take
Electricity to Guatemala
“Service” the word serves militarism well. Ask the question and everybody knows the
question pertains to the military
service. But is that the only service
for young men and women in the USA ? Of
course not. The only hazardous
service? Again, no.
The best service? Now here is the real, the controversial
question. Why do we give a higher
priority to military service people, whose service includes, when ordered,
killing, than to those service people whose service involves protecting and
rescuing people, such as doctors and nurses, firemen, teachers, and, in the
case of this article, electric linemen?
And these are also hazardous jobs, more or less (as with military
persons, combat or distant support).
Let’s get our priorities straightened out in the US and value
the people who save lives and don’t kill people, particularly in illegal and
unjust wars.
Dick Bennett, DON’T PUNISH
THE MARINES?
“Punish those Marines for urinating on the enemy? I should say not. Our government is developing a very dangerous
pattern by punishing those we enlist to protect us.” Sue Richardson, Bella Vista. “Don’t Punish
the Marines.” ADG (1-23-12). [Protect
us? From Guatemalans, Nicaraguans,
Grenadians? Afghans, Iraqis? William Blum describes over 50 nations the US has invaded or intervened with, and only the
Axis of WWII has attacked the US . Our Marines have invaded two dozen countries,
killing their people. Pissing on them is
a minor issue comparatively. –Dick]
Cyd King, “Wal-Mart: 100,000
Veterans on Rolls.” Arkansas
Wal-Mart says it employs 100,000
now and “that figure is expected to double over the next five years.” How is this happening? Partly, the reporter tells us, because it is
committed to hiring vets, including recruitment through its Veterans Welcome
Home Commitment. VA Secretary Eric K.
Shinseki visited Wal-Mart to praise W-M for putting vets to work. Why is W-M doing this? No executive was quoted, but perhaps
Shinseki’s explanation partly applies:
vets are “’people with tremendous opportunities to provide service both
to the nation and to the businesses they work with’.” And he adds, echoing the
Obama administration’s overall view: “What they need, he said, are jobs, a good
education, quality health care ‘and the opportunity to join the middle class
and help all of us get the economy rolling again.’” President Obama is later quoted by Shinseki
as being fond of saying, “’Veterans who
have fought our wars shouldn’t have to fight for jobs,’ and that’s what our
discussion has been about today.”
Many underlying
assumptions are not questioned. Did the
reporter check the 100,000 claim?
Exaggeration is a frequent liability in commercial publicity. Why are veterans given this privilege and
not other unemployed service citizens or citizens seeking larger salaries for
their essential service—mental health workers, teachers, librarians, ambulance
drivers, firefighters, city councillers?
If the veterans voluntarily participated and killed innocent people in U.S.
unconstitutional wars, a case could be made that all of the vets hired should
be carefully examined regarding their critical thinking and their combat
record. Wal-Mart: instead of touting how many vets you have
hired of the some fifty illegal interventions and invasions performed by the
corporate-Pentagon-White House-Congressional-Imperial Complex, hire the victims of these violent violations.
I can think of
one persuasive counter-argument: our
troops themselves are victims—of the false myths used to justify the US empire
(we conquer and kill for freedom and democracy; the US is exceptional, unique and
not expected to follow universal norms such as those defended by the World
Court); of the lying recruiters who persuade young and poor people to join; and
women soldier victims of rapists. If
compassion for these veterans motivates Wal-Mart, let CEO Bill Simon, a U.S.
Navy veteran, say so.
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Letters
Support the
Troops?
No way!
by Justin Raimondo, October 08, 2010
We often hear, from antiwar activists
as well as pious politicians and every sort of commentator, that we should all
"support the troops." No matter what one thinks of the particular war
being fought, this kind of boilerplate is invariably appended: "But
of course," we are told, "everyone supports the troops." We honor them for their
service. We pat them on the back and say: "Good job!"
In this context, consider the details
of the most recent atrocity coming out of Afghanistan Iraq
These twelve apostles of mayhem —
assigned to the 2nd Stryker Brigade, and stationed at Forward Operating Base Ramrod, along the border with Pakistan
Gibbs reportedly has a tattoo on his
left calf which is a pictorial record of his crime spree: it consists of two
crossed pistols encircled by six skulls. According to newsreports, the red skulls indicate murders carried out in Iraq
Knowledge of the killings was widely
shared in the camp, and it’s hard to imagine higher-ups were unaware of what was
going on. But there was indeed one apparently unwilling participant, Adam Winfield, who desperately tried to reach out to his
parents, to whom he confessed the murders.
The "honor the troops"
brigade will tell us this is just another case of a few bad apples: this latest
incident is no reason to condemn the entire US
Well, quite frankly, it is, because, as Winfield pointed out to
his parents in a February 14 Facebook posting: "Pretty much the whole
platoon knows about it. It’s okay with all of them pretty much. Except me…. I
want to do something about it [but] the only problem is I don’t feel safe here
telling anyone." "I talked to someone," Winfield continued,
"and they told me this stuff happens all the time and that when we get
back there is always someone that spills the beans so it normally works its way
out."
Winfield’s father asked, "No one else thought it was
wrong?" Winfield’s reply:
"No, everyone just wants
to kill people at any cost, they don’t care, the Army is full of a bunch of
scumbags, I realized."
Winfield resigned his position as the platoon’s team leader
because "I cannot be a leader in a platoon that allows this to
happen." He went on to make a key point:
"There are no more good
men left here…. I started to think whether I should quit and just give up
because it’s stupid to get smoked in Afghanistan
None of this would have come out if
not for an investigation into alleged drug use by soldiers. Investigators
uncovered widespread and rampant drug use, including hashish, opium, and
anti-depressants which are issued by the military: in the course of their
investigation, one of the thrill-killers – apparently under the influence at
the time – spilled the beans. In addition, Winfield’s parents made
repeated calls to military authorities immediately upon learning of this
horror, but before I get to any of that I want to underscore Winfield’s
words:
"There are no more good
men left here."
Of course there aren’t. What kind of
person joins the military at this particular point in time – a point when the
US is engaged in endless wars of aggression, and stories ofatrocities committed by
"our" soldiers are coming out all the time? For the most part,
precisely the kind of person who would delight in the orgy of bloodlust
conducted by the "thrill kill platoon." The military has become an
outlet for the sociopaths in our midst.
Yes, I know, with the recession people
will be joining for economic reasons:
after all, where else can they find a job?
Economic considerations no doubt play
a large part in the decision to go into the military, but other factors also play
a part in making this choice: alongside economic necessity, in this instance,
is the generalized knowledge that atrocities are being committed over there.
Winfield says the whole platoon knew about what was going on with the
"thrill killers," and the same can be said about the entire country
when it comes to atrocities being committed in Iraq and Afghanistan by US troops, and I don’t just mean Abu Ghraib. This grisly record is common knowledge, and, in
deciding to join up, the prospective US
This is the definition of a moral monster.
There was a time, not so long ago,
when the decision to seek a career in the military did not involve becoming
such a monster. That time has long since passed. To put on an American uniform
today is to become complicit in a criminal enterprise,
and this characterization is not by any means limited to the thrill-killer
platoon but to the entire killing machine deployed to carry out Washington
When Winfield’s parents contacted US military authorities they were told nothing could be done
unless Winfield came forward in Afghanistan
The response was nil. A few days
later, Private Winfield was forced by his sergeant to engage in yet another
random murder: Winfield says he aimed high and missed, but the military is still
charging him in the killing.
The Army knew what was going on. As
that officer said to Winfield, this sort of thing goes on all the time. It’s
part of our "footprint," even in areas where we aren’t engaged in
military operations. Where US
So what can we do about it? Short of
getting the US out of Iraq and Afghanistan US
The US
The US is exporting its sociopaths
overseas, in hopes that the havoc such people usually wreak can be put to some
"good" use, but such callousness will soon blow back in our faces
when Johnnie-the-thug comes marching home. We’ve already seen a spate of vicious murders committed
by just-released veterans of the Iraq
It will be a harsh justice indeed as these deranged killers
visit the same sort of destruction on us as they inflicted on their innocent
victims overseas.
LewRockwell.comanti-state•anti-war•pro-market
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