Stop glorifying war, redirect country’s efforts

By Karl Knutson

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Since World War II, the United States has become more like the enemies we defeated.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a pre-emptive event because they felt threatened by the United States. Our attack on Iraq was pre-emptive and planned by President Georgve W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, who never personally experienced the horrors of war. Don't say they were given false intelligence. They told their subordinates to make a case for war by any means. They had no qualms about flexing the muscles of a huge Pentagon budget - nearly greater than the rest of the world combined - in the grips of a military-industrial complex that President Dwight Eisenhower warned us about. Our defense industry could count on the body politic to “support the troops” no matter what.

The people of Japan and Germany supported their troops, too, in reverence that trumped wise decisions and rational thinking. Their leaders exploited this militaristic mindset for all it was worth. The troops could do no wrong - no, that's not strong enough - they were given carte blanche to do just about anything for the emperor or the fatherland. Consequently, atrocities like Lidice, Nanking and Malmedy were the logical outcome.

We have our My Lai (see vietviews.com), Abu Ghraib and who knows what else? We've got to stop glorifying our military and perhaps we wouldn't get involved in these wars of choice that are breaking us. Many enlistees join because there are no other jobs.

We have to retool our country away from making war. We are doing our youths a disservice to put them on a pedestal as freedom fighters. Whose freedom? And they come back in flag-draped caskets, maimed or emotionally wrought up when they realize they've been misled by the jingoisms of wealthy leaders whose children don't have to enlist.

Let's face it, not all of our troops are nice guys. Based on reported cases and unreported estimations, the Pentagon figures there were about 19,000 rapes committed by service personnel in 2011. When you let loose the dogs of war, bad things happen.

Urinating on dead Taliban is not a good image for America, but we “support the troops,” so oh, well. In the meantime, the Taliban have no trouble recruiting youths to fight the Americans.

In Haditha, Iraq, 24 civilians were killed in cold blood by a squad of marines in a 2005 incident. For that, only Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich was charged with homicide. Recently, the charge was reduced to dereliction of duty and he was released on time served.

In 1968, nobody was brought to justice for killing 504 men, women and children at My Lai, Vietnam. A whole company was involved in that massacre but only Lt. William Calley was found guilty of murder by a jury of six officers, some of whom received death threats on their children after the verdict. Calley was pardoned by President Richard Nixon before going to prison.

As a veteran of Vietnam with a combat infantry badge, I saw behaviors of GIs that weren't exactly included in letters home.

If we can't fight without committing atrocities and treating a deluge of post-traumatic stress disorders, maybe we're in the wrong war.

Karl Knutson of Cedar Rapids is a retired teacher and author of “Modern Methods of Middle School Teaching.” He served in Vietnam in 1969. In 2010 he revisited Vietnam and reported it at www.viet

views.com. Comments: knutson.karl@gmail.com