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TechnoratiWhere War Meets Peace
"I trained my weapon on him," Kristopher Goldsmith said. It was a little boy, 6 years old maybe, standing on a roof, menacing the soldiers with a stick. "I was thinking, I hate these Iraqis who throw rocks. I could kill this kid."
OK, America, let's look through the sights of Goldsmith's rifle for a long, long half-minute or so, draw a bead on the boy's heart, fondle the trigger - what to do? The soldier's decision is our decision.
This is occupied Iraq: the uncensored version, presented to us with relentless, at times unbearable honesty over four intense days last week in a historic gathering outside Washington, D.C., of returning vets, many of them broken and bitter about what they were forced to do, and what's been done to them, in sometimes two, three, four tours of duty in the biggest mistake in American history.
"These are the times that try men's souls," Thomas Paine wrote in 1776. "The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
The vets who told their stories last week, in an event at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md., sponsored by Iraq Vets Against the War, are the "winter soldiers" of the war on terror, standing in service to their country by bearing the truth to it, just as Vietnam vets held the first Winter Soldier gathering 37 years ago in Detroit, in the wake of the My Lai massacre revelations, to let the American public know that that massacre wasn't an aberration but, rather, the logical result of our brutal, official policy there.
Once again, the crisis we are in is the result of an official policy that has dehumanized an entire country, an entire people. Once again, we are waging a war that can only be "won" when the American people themselves demand an end to it. The men and women who spoke last week brought not just the truth but an imperative as urgent as a live grenade:
Unconditional withdrawal of all troops and contractors from Iraq NOW; full benefits for all returning vets; reparations for the Iraqi people, so they can rebuild their country on their own terms.
I was able to attend two days of the Winter Soldier gathering. What I witnessed was a convergence of forces of historical significance, as angry, idealistic warriors, horrified by what they saw and were ordered to do during their time in the military, ashamed of what they sometimes did willingly within the context of racist arrogance that is the occupation of Iraq, reclaimed their humanity by declaring themselves peace warriors. I found myself at the heart of the American conscience: the place where war meets peace.
To experience the full impact of this event, you can listen to the testimony, among other places, at ivaw.org. In this column, I have space for the briefest of summaries, as GIs up to the rank of captain talked about the realities of the occupation of Iraq.
House raids: Over and over again, the speakers gave variations of these words of Jeffrey Smith: "We had everyone in house, including children, zip-tied on the front lawn (when we) realized we were in the wrong house. So we went to another house." Or these of Matthew Childers: "It seemed like we raided countless residences - 3 a.m., our semiautomatics out, screaming at them in a language they didn't understand. We rarely found anything."
Detainees: Common themes were the beatings, the sleep deprivation. Childers again: "They were beaten, humiliated, teased with food and water. These guys were in our custody for a week and I didn't see them eat the whole time. A Marine wiped his ass with an Iraqi's hat and tried to feed it to a blindfolded Iraqi - who was desperate for food and tried to eat it."
Racism and general disrespect: The Iraqis were "hadjis" - the equivalent, of course, of gooks or untermenschen. Speaker after speaker talked about receiving no cultural training in boot camp, but plenty of bayonet training. Matt Howard: "We treated Iraq like our own personal cesspool." Bryan Casler: "I saw the destruction of the Babylon ruins - people breaking off chunks to bring home; joyriding up walls. There was a complete lack of understanding."
With all this in mind - with an awareness that as many as a million Iraqis have died since the invasion, that 4 or 5 million have been displaced - let us peer once again at the little boy in the sights of Goldsmith's rifle.
"I was so close to killing a 6-year-old boy," he said. "I was put in that position by the occupation of Iraq." He could have taken the kid out, without consequence, but mastered the impulse, mastered his own drilled-in contempt for Iraqi life, and lowered his rifle.
He completed his tour, saw the horror, felt the death of his own youth, came home a severe alcoholic who got no help from the Army. Shortly before he was due to be discharged, his platoon was locked into an 18-month redeployment (part of the president's troop surge); instead of going back, he tried to kill himself with pills and vodka. He failed at that, was hospitalized and ultimately received a general discharge from the Army with a "misconduct, serious offense" notation. He lost his college benefits. His life is shattered. He delivers pizza on Wednesdays to get by.
As he finished his testimony, Goldsmith named his commanding officers and announced, "I have a message for you." He sprang to his feet, held his fingers in a V and cried: "Peace!"
Robert Koehler, an award-winning, Chicago-based journalist, is an editor at Tribune Media Services and nationally syndicated writer. You can respond to this column at bkoehler@tribune.com or visit his Web site at commonwonders.com.
(c) 2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
16 Comments so far
Show All"American people want to elect someone they think can win wars."
Stop the presses . Sorry lizard , I missed it the first time . That eleven-word phrase sums up american foreign policy , its domestic counterpart and voter-mentality quite succinctly . This mantra has been the sine-non-quo for the entire history of USA . If a person doesn't understand this principle of hegemony how can he/she possibly begin to think above the moral level of Vince Lombardy?
"He wanted to know why his daddy had to be at war again."
I have told my two sons if the Canadian army invaded another country and if I was in the army at the time , I would desert . Highly hypothetical because I'm a consientious objector . If my grandson asked " why my daddy had to be at war again " I would have no problem telling my grandson that :
1 . Your daddy willigly agreed to kill innocent people ; that's the broad definition of a soldier .
2 . He believed a documented lie
3 . There is an excellent chance he will be killed and he won't be coming home
Too harsh for a 6 yearold to hear ? Tell that to the almost-assassinee 6 yearold in Kristopher Goldsmith's gunsight.
"of returning vets, many of them broken and bitter about what they were forced to do, and what's been done to them"
Its admirable and cathartic i suppose for these 'soldiers' to so openly pour out their hearts. But it seems to me these guys were basically feeding into their inner monsters and nobody forced them into anything. 'Die, Motherf~!@#r Die' is the 'Marines' motto as is evidenced by numerous articles in the past. Also nothing was done to them. They could have as easily refused to participate in this wanton killing, but chose to carry on. Maybe im missing something but is our 'Patriotism' really as overpowering as Nazi Nationalism ? If I put myself into Iraqi shoes I could never forgive any of these guys just as 99% of Americans cannot understand why they hate us !!!
LIZARD, sorry re; spelling your moniker incorrectly.
Lizrd, where did you do your bid? You put boots to ground? You are quite aware where 95% of Recruitment Centers are located, correct? He is SUPPOSED to refuse, I hadn't realized you'd become the moral authority, would you condescend to your Mother that way? This woman could have her child murdered in an Illegal Occupation, have you no humanity?
Won't matter how loudly you shout, American progressives. Watch Cheney, the evil one, tell America that their voices don't count on democracynow.org. Most politicians, even our Canadian Harpie, try to pretend that our voices count when making policy. Your democracy is now a de-MOCK-racy. My head and heart hurt.
Open up your windows and shout as loud as you can, "I'm frickin
angry and i'm not going to take it anymore."
Yes, let us all here on this progressive bulletin board, cry big, crocodile
tears for the hell our country is putting these people through. Let us all
face our joint cowardice in not stopping this madness earlier, and lets get
on with what needs to be done. One cannot stop theives and murderers
and despoilers of the Constitution by asking them kindly to stop doing what
they're doing. In other smaller countries, when the government stops
listening to the people, the people take to the streets and don't go home
until they get what they want - their freedom. They stop spending money,
stop going on vacation, stop driving, stop going to work. Write a god damn
letter to your paper.
"OSLO, March 20 (Reuters) - Spending $10 billion a year would enable the world to reach a 2015 goal of improved sanitation in developing countries with huge spin-offs such as less poverty and better health, U.N. experts said on Thursday."
What is $10 billion? It's about three weeks of war crimes. Save the world or murder children - ever wonder how your elected officals voted?
GKL: Wouldn't it be nice if your son did what Liutenant Watada did? This occupation is illegal, he's supposed to refuse.
War reveals our true nature. It is not pretty. But war makes money, secures scarce resources, achieves strategic advantage, so people must die so that a minority can have great power and wealth.
It has been happening for thousands of years, the same, desperate, senseless cycle. Empires come, empires go, maps are redrawn constantly.
Hopefully the ugly, militaristic American Empire will go soon, perhaps as a result of it going bankrupt. Perhaps its people might rise up and change it into a peaceful nation for the first time?
We can but hope!
www.dangerouscreation.com
JaneM
I too want to cry, cry cry, for our soldiers and for all the six year old boys. Last night I put my six year old grandson to bed. He wanted to know why his daddy had to be at war again. He wanted to know why we have to have war all the time. Don't we ever even get a break, he asked. My disgust with Bush and the necon imperialists has gotten very up close and personal.
Betsy: Are we better than this? If we were, would McCain be favored by both Republicans and Independants? McCain is going to win. You might be cool, but at least 66% of the American people want to elect someone they think can win wars. The people are nowhere near giving up on fighting wars. We have to accept that. Don't blame Bush. After everything that has happened the people are ready to accept McCain. Blame the people. They gave us Bush.
Frank, all you say is true. But it's not the whole story of who we are. We are better than this. We need leadership -- from above and from below -- that calls on all of us to be our best selves instead of our worst. Neighbors caring for neighbors, community garden projects, making sure returning vets and their families aren't coping alone. The millions of people who have just voted for the first time, done their first street canvass, made their first phone calls for their candidate. Everyone who, in the past week, has started a more open conversation on race with someone they'd never discussed it with before.
I too struggle with whether it's all futile. But thinking that way means the Bushites have won, and I can't accept that. Besides, as a historian I have to say, I'm not sure it's any crazier now than it was, say, in the 1920s, or the 1890s, or the 1840s, or whenever. It's just more visible, and our rootedness in our communities has atrophied in an era of "bowling alone" and electronic gadgetry. There's plenty good and useful to do -- results never guaranteed, of course.
Yea, fine - we already know what we HAVE to do.
But where's at least one, viable strategy for achieving our goal? The Big Dems are on board for perpetual - and expanded - wars for peace, and have done nothing to stop the complete theft of our Treasury for the next 3 generations. We got Bush picking up an average of 350K per rambling stop and, according to a recent USA/Gallop poll, 41 million American Republicans still - still supporting this administration. Now we got Clintons in religious cults and McCrazy kissing the ring of as many kooks as possible, private armies with air forces and intel units, a fully warped Justice Department prepared to pounce on our heads the minute we head for the streets...
What the f**k are we supposed to do now?
I just want to cry, cry, cry. How can we put our young men and women through this? They are so brave to come forward. Keep writing, you are doing us all a service.