War Is a Drug

When the ugly truth breaks through - which it rarely does - it's
like a slap across the face.

Yesterday,
slapped across the face.

Then
slapped again.

And
then again.

As
I read.

A friend
pointed me to an
op-ed buried on page 12 of the most recent edition of the CCBC Connection,
the student newspaper of the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC).

It
was written by Charles Whittington, Jr. - who is identified as a student
majoring in "general studies" at the college and an Iraq war vet.

The
title of the article - War is a Drug.

The
unvarnished truth.

Killing
to get high.

Hate.

Slaughter.

The
joy of slitting someone's throat.

Every
word jumps off the page.

Right
there - in black and white - on page 12 of the student newspaper
of the Community College of Baltimore County.

"Over
in Iraq and Afghanistan killing becomes a habit, a way of life, a drug to me
and to other soldiers like me who need to feel like we can survive off of it,"
Whittington wrote. "It is something that I do not just want, but something
I really need so I can feel like myself."

"Killing
a man and looking into his eyes, I see his soul draining from his body -
I am taking away his life for the harm he has caused me, my family, my country."

"Killing
is a drug to me and has been ever since the first time I have killed someone.
At first, it was weird and felt wrong, but by the time of the third and fourth
killing it feels so natural. It feels like I could do this for the rest of my
life and it makes me happy."

"There
are several addictions in war, but this one is mine," Whittington admits.
"This is what I was trained to do and now I cannot get rid of it -
it will be with me for the rest of my life and hurts me that I cannot go back
to war and kill again, because I would love too."

The
brutal reality.

It
feels so good.

It
makes me happy.

To
kill the rag heads.

"When
I stick my blade through his stomach or his ribs or slice his throat it's
a feeling that I cannot explain, but feels so good to me, and I become addicted
to seeing and acting out this act of hate, and violence against the rag heads
that hurt our country. Terrorists will have nowhere to hide because there are
hundreds of thousands of soldiers like me who feel like me and want their revenge
as well."

Hope
Davis, a spokesperson for CCBC, said that other students and other Iraq veterans
on campus expressed concern about the content and graphic nature of the Whittington
article.

Davis
said that in response, the school has taken some measures to ensure the safety
of Whittington, the students and the campus community.

But
she said she couldn't get specific because of privacy concerns.

Davis
wouldn't say whether the school administration met with Whittington to
discuss the matter.

She
did say that Whittington is still a student at the school.

Whittington
could not be reached for comment.