{A] few signs of dissent are appearing in the military aside from conscientious objectors and newly realized pacificists. Last month, a career chief master sergeant in the Air Force wrote an opinion piece in the military newspaper Stars and Stripes opposing the war, and a busload of retired veterans and civilian activists toured military bases in the South, hoping to coax more support from active duty soldiers. Over the past month, more than 1,700 soldiers have signed an online Appeal for Redress — www.appealforredress.org — a legally sanctioned way for members of the military to oppose the war. A couple of underground publications like GI Special at www.militaryproject.org, have sprung up online, and supportive troops have clandestinely dropped hard copies inside military barracks. Last week, retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Andrew Horne, who served in the Persian Gulf two years ago, rebutted President Bush’s weekly radio address. Said Horne: “The commander-in-chief has failed to properly lead the troops, and previous Congresses didn’t ask the tough questions or demand accountability. The result is the mess we are in today.”
There has been a misconception among civilians that soldiers are for some reason largely devoid of political and ideological opinions. Having been an Army Reserve officer myself, I’m here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. It’s just that soldiers are willing and are trained to put aside their personal opinions when it comes to following orders and doing their duty. I’d be willing to bet that there is a sizable number of soldiers and Marines in Iraq who feel that the war they’re engaged in is illegal and immoral. Nonetheless, they follow orders and do their duty, regardless of how they might personally feel about the war. It’s what American soldiers do, and it’s why we’re blessed with the finest and most professional fighting force in the world- bar none.
Given that Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader’s © Excellent Adventure in Iraq is now in it’s fourth year, who do you think would be more qualified to comment on it’s misconduct and poor planning than those who have been fighting it- some in their second, third, and in some cases even fourth tour of duty. Much has been demanded of our soldiers, and it’s not as if they have much to show for it. Those fortunate not to return home in a box often return broken in body and/or spirit- a high price to pay for The War That Had Nothing Whatsoever To Do With 9.11 © . Oh, yeah…you remember 9.11, right? Of course you do; that was why we went to war IN AFGHANISTAN…because the people who were actually responsible for 9.11 were hiding out IN AFGHANISTAN. Do you remember? Clearly, The Worst President EVER © doesn’t.
This rhetorical approach is far different from the widespread protests and defiant sloganeering of the ’60s and ’70s. By the Vietnam War’s end, more than 100 underground newspapers were published by anti-war soldiers, and thousands of soldiers had participated in peace demonstrations. Peaceniks established a network of off-base coffeehouses in military towns, giving GIs and peace activists a place to interact casually and foment more opposition to the war.
While opinion polls today show that a majority of Americans oppose the war, “95 percent of Americans haven’t been touched by the war. It’s not that they don’t care,” said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jeff Slocum, who wrote the Stars and Stripes opinion column supporting the online petition against the war.
But few uniformed opponents have surfaced. Iraq Veterans Against the War, an organization for uniformed opposition, gets only 10 new members a week. The 1,700-plus vets who signed the online petition are a fraction of the 1.5 million who have been deployed in the war on terrorism.
“It would be a tremendous boost to have more active duty demonstrating,” said Cherie Eichholz, a veteran and an organizer with Veterans for Peace, “because they have firsthand knowledge of what’s going on over there on the ground, and they have a credibility with the public because of their service.”
Yes, I’m one of the 95% who haven’t been personally impacted by the illegal war in Iraq. While I’m grateful for that, I’m also grateful that there are an increasing number of active duty military who are willing to voice their opposition to the war. No one can speak more authoritatively than someone who’s been there, and who’s seen first-hand what ineptitude, greed, and megalomania have wrought.
But the limited expression of anti-war support among the military “just shows that the overwhelming majority of guys are in favor of the mission in Iraq,” said Navy Lt. Jason Nichols. An information technology specialist stationed in Iraq, Nichols is asking soldiers to sign an online petition called Appeal for Courage, www. appealforcourage.org, that supports the mission and opposes the Redress appeal. “Most of them (who oppose the war) can’t answer the question: So what do we do now?”
Speaking out can be costly, especially for career soldiers. Two weeks after he wrote the Stars and Stripes column, Slocum decided to retire in October, long before he had planned.
While I understand Lt. Nichols’ viewpoint, I have to respectively disagree. While it’s likely true that a majority of soldiers probably support the mission in Iraq (military culture by it’s very nature tends to skew decidedly Conservative), it’s also very likely that there are large number of soldiers who fear that speaking out will damage their career prospects and minimize or delay promotion opportunities. Dissent is not a quality highly prized in military culture, because dissent is generally equated with a lack of discipline, and lack of discipline can get you killed.
As time goes by, I truly believe that we’ll see growing numbers of active duty soldiers and Marines respectfully expressing their lack of support for the war in Iraq. They’re entitled to express their opinion every bit as much as civilians; they just have to be much more circumspect about how they go about doing it.
Perhaps when enough of those doing the fighting and the (senseless) dying speak out against the war, change will finally come- though I’m hardly holding my breath. After all, it’s not as if Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader © has given anything more than lip service to caring for those doing the fighting and dying for his failed Excellent Adventure.
WE DESERVE BETTER…and so do those serving our country and this miserable excuse for a President.
