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FIN
This is going to be my final blog for class. I might continue to post random things up just for info. To be honest, this blogging thing is new to me. I mean, I have always known it’s been out there and everything, I just didn’t realize how critical it was for soldiers and just info sharing. I have never been a big fan of blogging, I feel like I have better things to do than to listen to someone talk about how life sucks or how their week is going. I have to admit though, it’s a great tool for people who know to use it, especially Edublogs. Personally, I would not want to do this again. I prefer a pencil and notebook because the internet is so distracting. The only downside to this Edublog thing is that it suddenly deletes things that I wrote. It’s aggravating trying to remember what I had written before it got deleted. So now I’m just paranoid and copy everything twice. The aggregator, however, is a neat and handy tool. I going to definitely keep using it to receive news and headlines about my favorite topics.
Men on the Inside
I found a perfect article on a website called ALternet. It’s titled, “Soldiers of the “War on Terror” Speak Out”. Since we’ve been talking about the emotions of a soldier during war, I figured this article would shed some light on some of our views. The article describes the soldiers’ training as some sort of brainwash, telling them to view the Iraqis as “less than”, dehumanizing them and therefore easier to kill. The soldiers talked about, according to the article…
“…their complete lack of training in Iraqi culture and language and their conditioning before leaving U.S. soil to think of Iraqis as “less than,” as “Hajis;” a term once reserved for pilgrims to Mecca, now turned inside out to demean and dehumanize. “Haji” has become to the Iraq occupation what “Gook” became to the Vietnam and Korean wars. When people are dehumanized, it becomes easier to kill them.”
I admit, may be a little cold-hearted at times and show little emotion, but even I felt a little disturbed about a particular soldier the article talked about. A “broken soldier”, Kristofer Goldsmith was discharged with misconduct for attempted suicide. The article reads…
“Kristofer Goldsmith was a good soldier, graduating at the top of his basic training class and receiving a 94.6 percent average in his Warrior Leadership Course. But after four deployments in Iraq and almost shooting a six-year-old boy, he said he became a “broken soldier.” He was due to get out of the service when he, like some 80,000 other soldiers, was “stop-lossed” and ordered to redeploy to Iraq for a fifth time. Plagued by mental anguish the day before he was to leave, he tried to kill himself with alcohol and prescription pills. Although finally released, his discharge papers state, “Misconduct: Serious Offense” because of his suicide attempt. He showed the audience a picture of himself in uniform as the proud soldier, then slammed it down on the table saying “This boy is dead.”
So, really nothings changed since the sixties and seventies. Our conclusions about the loss of innocence are very much true. A man can leave this country with the purest of all hearts, and return an anguished, yet, conditioned killer.
The War on Error
I managed to find an interesting article that seems to both support and oppose the Iraqi effort. The article is titled, The War on Error, and it was published a few weeks ago. The article itself is based on Charles Ferguson’s documentary of the Iraq war made in 2007 called “No End in Sight”, which focused on the question of “Is the current debacle the result not of the decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein but of the inept policies that followed?”
The documentary is pretty much a collection of many interviews with people who went to Iraq to build a sufficient postwar society. Iraqis were also interviewed to provide for a consensus view of the US’ effort to “liberate” Iraq from terror.
The article talks about one of the people who were interviewed concerning the United States’ preparation for Iraqi occupation…
“Here is A. Heather Coyne, who spent 15 months in Iraq as a civil affairs officer with the Army. Coyne, who knew Arabic, went to Iraq “on a high because we really believed in what we were doing.” Then she watched as everything went wrong. When she wanted to print up documents to promote a street-cleaning program, she was told: “That’s a great idea. But we don’t have any ability to print certificates” — which summed up for her all the failures of the American effort. “I still believe that this could have worked,” she says. “If you’d really had the capability, and the materials, and the relationships, and the expertise, and the trained staff, and the equipment, and everything else you needed.”
The article then goes on to explain why the US can’t just withdraw. Even after all the mistakes the US has made since invading Iraq, like disbanding the Iraqi army, it must help Iraq once again become a self governing body. US withdrawal might result in civil war, according to most people Ferguson talked to.
“A bloody civil war, several experts observe, probably would not be limited to Iraq. Neighboring countries would almost inevitably be drawn in, and the entire region could be engulfed in chaos. Iran would support the Shiites, while Saudi Arabia, Jordan and possibly Egypt would back the Sunnis. Turkey, meanwhile, might become more deeply enmeshed in Iraq’s Kurdish areas.”
Personally, I am now apathetic to the conflict. I was strongly opposed to the war, but after some logical thinking, a new world war is the last I want in our future.
The Feminine Art of War
“The feminine art of war”; is there such a thing? Of course. Women have been in the military and warfare for thousands of years. From the ancient Eurypyle, who led an all-female expedition against the city of Babylonia in 1760 B.C.E, to the well known “all American woman”, Rosie the Riveter.
I came across an article through my Google reader aggregator from The Washington Post that reports that al-Qaeda is using women as suicide bombers now. According to Kim Gamel from the Associated Press…
“A top U.S. commander said Saturday, that two bombings carried out by women wrapped in bombs that killed nearly 100 people in Baghdad underscored that al-Qaida in Iraq remains a serious threat…”
Well, of course al-Qaida remains a serious threat, why would anyone think otherwise. The “female suicide bomber” is a new trend that has been slowly making it’s way into “Iraqi Freedom”. The first female suicide bombing of 2008 was on January 16 during the preparation of a Shiite ceremony.
Throughout the 20th century up until the last decade, the U.S has refrained from sending women into combat, especially since the 2003 Jessica Lynch “rescue”. This is probably because of the values we hold in this country. So does that mean that al-Qaeda doesn’t have any values, or does it simply mean that they’re finally thinking practical? So, I guess the issue isn’t whether they want to use women, but the fact that it’s practical to use people with mental disorders.
If that’s true, then what’s to stop them from using children with mental disorders? If this is a new trend for al-Qaeda, then the few and the “proud” will have to get used to shooting women too.
The article I used for this blog has been taken off the Washington Post for some reason. However here is another link to the same story…New York Times
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and QAIS MIZHER
Published: March 18, 2008
Happy 4,000!
Yay! 4,000 fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts are dead. The Associated Press released the news that the U.S. death toll has passed 4,000 Of course, both the president and vice-president feel bad for the losses. Or so Cheney says…
It’s amazing that despite all of the American deaths in Iraq, Bush believes that the U.S. must still achieve “success”. “Blood for oil”, is what many protesters chant on the street. I am not sure if they know how right they are. Apparently, Israel wasn’t enough as a link for the United States to the Middle East. I wonder what “success” Bush is talking about. The US is spending an average of $10 billion a month on war efforts. If this is about oil, then lets just hope that it was worth it.
How bad is the cost? Financially, we’re about $1 trillion in the hole. Militarily, we’ve lost over 4,000 men and women. Regretfully, our “war on terror” has claimed the lives of almost 90,000 Iraqi men, women, and children. According the article…
Almost 90,000 lives! So why isn’t this the headline? Simple, they’re just Iraqi civilians, not soldiers…right? If you’re not fighting for our freedom, then you won’t get a couple minutes of silence from us. People, this war is taking place in their backyards and playgrounds. Because of this, the battles aren’t taking place here on our streets and in our malls, disrupting our brunches and lattes.
Since You Went Away again.
My google aggregator picked up an article from the New York Time that had me thinking about Since You Went Away. It also contributes to the idea of the Iraq war being the “internet war”.
Six fallen soldiers blogged about their experiences since January of last year. Each wrote to their loved ones through email, facebook, or blog. All the themes that we discussed in class about Since You Went Away were present in most of the emails/blogs. Themes like imminent loss, romance, and updates of everyday life.
There was one story in particular that caught my attention. It was of Staff Sgt. Juan Campos. Here is one of his emails…
“Hey beautiful well we were on blackout again, we lost yet some more soldiers. I cant wait to get out of this place and return to you where i belong. I dont know how much more of this place i can take. i try to be hard and brave for my guys but i dont know how long i can keep that up you know. its like everytime we go out, any little bump or sounds freaks me out. maybe im jus stressin is all. hopefully ill get over it….
you know, you never think that anything is or can happen to you, at first you feel invincible, but then little by little things start to wear on you…
well im sure well be able to save a couple of bucks if you stay with your mom….and at the same time you can help her with some of the bills for the time being. it doesnt bother me. as long as you guys are content is all that matters. I love and miss you guys like crazy. I know i miss both of you too. at times id like to even just spend 1 minute out of this nightmare just to hold and kiss you guys to make it seem a little bit easier. im sure he will like whatever you get him for xmas, and i know that as he gets older he’ll understand how things work. well things here always seem to be……uhm whats the word…..interesting i guess you can say. you never know whats gonna happen and thats the worst part. do me a favor though, when you go to my sisters or moms or wherever you see my family let them know that i love them very much..ok? well i better get going, i have a lot of stuff to do. but hopefully ill get to hear from you pretty soon.*muah* and hugs. tell mijo im proud of him too!”
love always,
your other half
A family man trying to survive and remain as tough as nails. I think this letter has all the elements from love to fear. He tells his wife that he misses her and their child. Along with the love that he feels, he tells her that his mental state is deteriorating from all the bombings and losses of his men.
He returned from Baghdad for a couple weeks to his hometown in Texas to spend some time with his family. Unfortunately, he was called back to Iraq. According his wife, “I cried and I have never ever cried before…It was just really, really weird. He knew, and I kind of knew. It felt different.” By this, she meant that they both knew that they weren’t going to see each other ever again.
A situation so similar to what couples went through almost 50 years ago. It does makes you think that human nature will remain constant, even though the ways we express ourselves change.
First Observation
First of all, I want to let everyone know that I’m nothing more than an observer in this political world that we live in and I favor no party whatsoever. I am not a democrat nor a republican. I’m not liberal or conservative. I live my life doing what I THINK is best, both strategically and beneficially. My blogs will be my own opinions which are neither right or wrong.
So, in class we talked about Rhetoric vs. Reality and how it relates to army efforts in recruitment and war itself. I found an article through The Guardian that says that the army is accused of “glamorizing war and misleading youngsters of service”. According to the article, in Great Britain, “Potential recruits to the armed forces are given a misleading picture of military life…and are not always told that once they enlist, they have to stay in the forces for years.” A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense stated that the reports made were ill-informed and that, “It was made clear to recruits they could apply to leave up to six months after they enlisted, she said. Thereafter, they had to stay for four years.” She also continued by saying:
“Our recruitment practices avoid ‘glamorising war’ and we refute any allegation that they depict warfare as ‘game-like’. Anyone considering a career in the armed forces is presented with clear information and all aspects of service life are discussed in detail, following a sensitive recruitment process.”
For sure, one of these two allegations can be resolved. Recruiting officers can easily discuss the requirements and details of enlistment to the potential recruits. Now, as for the glamorization of war, well, in reality, it’s all propaganda. I’m sure they don’t “glamorize” war, they do, however, get into the male psyche. NO offense to women, but the military has always been a “masculine” thing. So, by tossing in words like “strength”, “pride”, and “power”, they can recruit young men with something to “prove”. I guess what people mean by “glamor” is by what is shown in movies or games. Things that sometimes the military has no control over. What they do have control over, though, is the advertisements that show on television and the internet. In my opinion, the “Army Strong” commercial is very “psychological” because of what I said before, by tossing in words like “strength”, “pride”, and “power”, they can recruit young men with something to “prove”. Kinda like getting a guy to buy a mid-sized 4 door sedan, you gotta make it look good with a tiny bit of exaggeration.
Richard Norton-Taylor
Monday January 7, 2008
The Guardian
The 1st of More.Feeds and why.
This very first post is for the purpose of explaining which feeds I chose to receive news from and the blogs/podcasts I want to write about.
The feeds I’ve chosen were The Chicago Tribune and BBC news. The Chicago Tribune the one news source that I’ve grown up with and read every time I’ve had chance. I personally just feel comfortable navigating through the site and sifting through the newspaper itself. As for the BBC news, I chose it because it does have a vast range of information and is a very reliable source. Also, I will be concentrating more on this feed. For my Google search query, I decided to search “Iraqi civilians” mainly because I think that this “war” is affecting them way more than it’s affecting us. Of course, that’s only my opinion.
The Milblogs and Military Podcasts that I’ve chosen were just ones that I found interesting. One milblog that I found was by “TheUsualSuspect” called “The Purgatorium”, and another was by “Citizen Soldier Sojack”called “Forever Changed”. Each of them has a few blogs that I am interested in and are from “the Sandbox”. The podcast that I chose was “Military Spouse Talk Radio”. I am kind of curious of what the spouses of our bravest have to say.
And at last, of course, I will be checking out my fellow classmates’ blogs.
