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Author of Jesus Rode a Donkey: Why the Republicans Don’t Have a Corner on Christ The Pentagon just completed a study about the ethics of our soldiers serving in Iraq. They discovered that they don’t seem to be sufficiently ethical. Between 50-60% of the military believe that civilians should not be treated with dignity and respect, and 10-30% report that they have actually mistreated civilians – whether hitting and kicking (10%) or cursing and insulting civilians (33%). In numbers, this means that of the over a million soldiers and Marines who have been deployed since this war began, more than 500,000 do not respect the people they have come to save. Of the 160,000 military now serving in Iraq, that means that over 80,000 do not respect the people of Iraq, even though there can’t be democracy without some sense of trust and equality. That’s a lot of people impacting a country negatively. No wonder so many in the Middle East, and in the world, believe the United States is going about this all wrong. We can’t gain respect by disrespecting others. We can’t create democracy without a belief in the inherent equality of others, and without a belief in the rights of others. We can’t gain trust, by making promises we can’t keep, and by breaking promises to rebuild and to protect. We can’t ask for ethics in others, when we ourselves lack ethics and integrity. We can’t gain understanding, without understanding others. Many in our government and many of the presidential candidates, don’t know the difference between a Sunni and a Shi’ite, and know virtually nothing about the beliefs of Muslims. We can’t gain Unity, by sowing seeds of disunity, through the walls we build, and by taking sides and creating an us-against-them mentality. We can’t gain long-term gain, through continuous short-term mistakes. We can’t gain positive world opinion, by ignoring the world opinion of others. We can’t gain good will, by creating ill will. Perhaps it’s time to admit that we don’t know what we’re doing and we’re not doing it well. http://www/jesusrodeadonkey-thebook.com Linda is the author of JESUS RODE A DONKEY: Why the Republicans Don't Have a Corner on Christ, which looks at Christian values from the viewpoint of the Democratic Party. She is the granddaughter of a Lutheran minister, and a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers). She holds an M.A. in Religion and the Arts from Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California, a ThD in Religion and the Arts from The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California, and an M.A. in Feminist Theology from Immaculate Heart College Center, Los Angeles, California.
In a word - NO. The fact of the matter is that our military has been transformed into an organization that holds "obeying orders" above ethics and law. The Constitution, for example, what each person in the military swears to uphold, has been violated in every single "war" since WWII. But, do the troops stand up for the constitution - their oath, or do they "follow orders?" When war starts out illegally and immorally, you'll inevitably find those who wage it that carry about reprehensible acts, and we see this with the massive deaths of civilians, torture, and the like. A tough subject, I know, but not pulling any punches. A good read on this issue: by
Populist Party (6 articles, 2 quicklinks, 154 diaries, 32 comments)
on Monday, May 7, 2007 at 1:18:43 PM
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
What War? This isn't really a war is it! This is a murderous invasion by the US in order to steal the resources(oil) of other people. I don't want to see any one hurt or killed. The Iraqi Resistance is doing as good a job as they can in protecting their families but the US will kill all Iraqi peoples if it can. The US military is made up of immoral, murderous, hate filled thugs that will stop at NOTHING to take Iraq Oil. The only way to stop this murderous insanity is to storm the WhiteHouse and arrest the President etc and put them on trial and in prison for a long, long time. Nothing else will stop Bush/Cheney. But we all know that aint gonna' happen so might as well continue complaining and crying and moaning and being a bunch of hopefilled punks. by
joed (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 49 comments)
on Monday, May 7, 2007 at 4:42:37 PM
I am a portrait artist. My passion is progressive politics. I like jazz, blues and baseball-- go Milwaukee Brewers.
The Unjust War Are these horrid statistics on our troops a surprise to anyone? Some of these men and women are on their fourth tour in Iraq. If you couple that with the lies that got them there plus the unpopularity of the war on the home front, I am surprised that they are not acting even worse than the article indicates. by
davinski (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 11 comments)
on Monday, May 7, 2007 at 11:02:41 PM
"I am a patriot in the tradition or Mark Twain who stated that 'a patriot is one who supports his country 100% of the time...and the government when it deserves it." As such I am passionate about protecting the rights of US citizens under the Constitution and a believer in the principle of Eternal Vigilance."
At first I thought this title was a joke! But not after reading it. I guess the reason I reacted this way is this: since 1991 we have carried out a criminal campaign of genocide against the people of Iraq under the banner of "UN economic sanctions to stop Saddam Hussein"---that 10+ year slaughter consisting of more than 36,000 bombing raids by British and US bombers resulted in the deaths of more than 500,000 innocent children whose only crime was to be born in Iraq. Then we launched an illegal war of aggression to occupy Iraq which has resulted in the deaths of over 600,000 people, again mostly civilians. And, this "slam dunk" war was justified based on a campaign of brazen lies--so that the allies could go in and take over the oil. In this context, the notion of "ethical behavior" from our troops hardly occurs as a possibility! The entire war against the people of Iraq has been immoral from the start and is fueled by corporate greed and little more. Where do we need "ethics?" Right here at home, amongst citizens that have awakened to what they have allowed their government to perpetrate, in the name of "Iraqi Freedom." If you are in doubt, go to Google Video and search for John Pilger's documentary "Breaking the Silence" and see what you can learn. The Iraqis are not, nor have they ever been, our enemies. We have bombed them and slaughtered their children and broken down their nation to a near stone-age level of existence: disease is rampant, medical supplies are missing, little clear water, sporadic electricity. Do they now consider us as their "enemies?" You bet. And who could blame them? Abraham007 by
Abraham007 (5 articles, 36 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 41 comments)
on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 12:13:06 AM
America, not the land of ethics. all i will say is hurrah to the last comment. and to most here. it's a joke to set wolves into a henhouse and pretend they should play nice. we never wanted anything but the control and subjugation of Iraq. ethics dont come into such barbarous agendas. by
Nezua (42 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 93 comments)
on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 8:34:43 AM
in a word, no theirs is not to question why, theirs is but to do or die. it would be naive to assume the upper eschelons of the mil want or desire grunts who possess attributes of critical/ethical thought, they want orders executed, not philosophical debate of those orders. the effects of the mil's actions on the native populations are of no consequence, just collateral damage if even acknowledged at all. as far as the general civilian populace is concerned, out of sight/out of mind. plausible deniability, willful ignorance, collective cognitive disconnect... pick one. under combat circumstances of kill or be killed, ethical concerns fall by the wayside of all but those very few whose innate morality will be sorely tested. even ethical people commit atrocities during wartime. sadly, it would seem an increasing rarity for people to behave in an ethical or moral manner within the confines of civilized society, much less for trained killers in a warzone. differences in attitudes btwn hi/low ranks of armed svcs/guard with one set of legally defined but little imposed wartime ethical codes/conventions vs mercs who operate outside of these codes. mercs of many differing nationalities and cultural norms recruited and some even trained in the US (SOA) Schools of the Americas, bought/paid for w/our tax dollars, deployed worldwide - whose only loyalties are to their paymasters. citizenship, regular/guard/merc status, previous/current combat experience(s), intra-group animosities and a miriad of other logistical aspects as well as the "unmentioned" issue of prison recruitment. all of these issues affect conduct. my main concern is what impact homebased troops' reentry into civilized society will collectively have? with survival rates for returning vets exceeding those of other wars, these issues will only be exponentially compounded. large, long range of issues; PTSD, DU contamination and other communicable diseases, violence, family violence, unemployment, homelessness, lack of medical care both mental/physical. One large hairy... by
k kelly (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 182 comments)
on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 8:37:21 AM
I'm an 81 year old widow, of close to eight years. Still have an active (and social activist) mind. With six offspring,I've spent a good part of my life so far, raising a family, and enjoying the fruits of their own families. Sixteen Grand kids and six Great, with two more due. My favorite quotation is 'Nothing By Chance.' It's from a book by Richard Bach. The signature at the bottom of my e-mail is "Walk in peace, balance and harmony."
One reason may be~~~~ If everyone would watch the documentary "Common Ground" it would explain a lot of why the troops are so lacking in any ethics at all. I watched it on Sundance channel last evening in horror. I believe this documentary should be required for all, especially those who believe in this war. Many here in Montana do, and spout the bushit line of "we're fighting them there, so we don't have to fight them here," and "they'll follow us home." Actually 'they' probably will, follow us home I mean. I don't believe this so-called christian country of ours, understands the religious beliefs of those in Muslim countries. Do 'they' not believe in an eye for an eye? The honor of many of those our people are abusing will have to be avenged. They may get here in small numbers, or some may already be here, but a few of them can wreak havoc on many of us. Our 'leaders' are asking for it. by
Pat Herrick (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 145 comments)
on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 4:28:52 PM
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