American troops are cracking under horrors, deception and lies of Iraq War
Steve Hammons
June 02, 2006
Our troops in Iraq are snapping under the pressure. Non-stop danger, buddies being blown to bits, urban warfare, ever-present roadside bombs and many other very severe stressors are pushing them over the edge.
Leadership from the top is a significant part of the situation. Senior civilian and military leaders in Washington, D.C., have made statements that U.S. troops, intelligence personnel and contractors must be ruthless.
They say we must torture, we must ignore the Geneva Conventions, we must abandon our basic standards of human rights and human decency, and we must kill and destroy in the extreme.
Combining the tremendous combat stress in Iraq with this kind of leadership is a recipe for what may have taken place in Haditha and in many other situations in the so-called "Global War on Terror."
Because of the fellowship among the troops, their professionalism, their desire to do good, their indoctrination to follow the leadership above them and believe what they are told by that leadership, our military personnel carry on with their missions to the best of their ability.
Their families, friends, communities and the rest of us support them, while increasingly questioning the Iraq invasion and the nature of the leadership in Washington.
SITUATION REPORT
But deep down in our minds, guts and hearts, our troops and all of us may be realizing more fully what circumstances have transpired to put U.S. military personnel and our nation in such a dire situation.
And what might some of those circumstances be?
The 9/11 attacks might have been allowed to happen to create a "New Pearl Harbor," according to many credible investigators.
The American people, Congress, the U.S. military and the media were then deceived about the reasons for the invasion of Iraq.
People who themselves avoided military service in Vietnam gladly sent our troops to their deaths and severe injury.
The military strategy concocted in Washington was seriously flawed, resulting in the current disaster for our troops and our country.
There is no end in sight for the death, injury, pain and destruction for our troops, their families and innocent Iraqis.
The U.S. Treasury is essentially being looted, resulting in enormous increases in our national debt.
People who desire to control the American people and restrict liberty have implemented dangerous programs that are contrary to the letter and spirit of our Constitution and Bill of Rights as well as our laws.
ENEMY IDENTIFICATION
Who are our enemies? The answer, of course, is that we have many enemies, foreign and domestic.
Radical Islamic jihadists are enemies. Other nations in the world may be enemies. Plotters and conspirators within our government and government circles are our enemies. We may have enemies we are not fully aware of.
Ignorance and indifference about the trauma our troops and their families are facing are also our enemies.
So many Americans seem to simply put the Iraq War out of their minds. In a way, we canīt blame them.
The horror and brutality of what our military personnel are facing is often nothing less than a nightmare. A nightmare that they, and we, canīt wake up from.
We can try to avoid thinking about these things and try to avoid feeling this terrible truth. But deep down, we are part of it. Deep down, we know it and we feel it.
Our troops are seeing friends with legs, arms and faces blown off. Seeing Iraqi children with horrible injuries or simply lying lifeless from bullets or bombs. This terrible reality our military personnel are dealing with is the enemy.
The enemy includes the people who profit illegitimately from the Iraq War. Sometimes the profit is financial. Sometimes it is power or political glory.
Sometimes it is the actual enjoyment of the implementation of military might and the excitement of killing and destruction.
Our enemies can be concrete and obvious. Sometimes they are vague and hard to grasp. They can be behind the scenes. They can pose as friends or leaders or objective sources of information. Enemies can be among us. They can be within us.
ACCURATE INTELLIGENCE
The phony intelligence information that was fabricated in the run-up to the Iraq war has been well-documented.
False intelligence reportedly was generated within in our government, such as from the Pentagonīs notorious Office of Special Plans.
It also happened in the news media, with some journalists promoting false information. Even our intelligence agencies were coerced into cooperating with those who wanted war.
There have been lies within lies upon lies, and there has been grave deception of the American people and our troops by some in our government.
At the same time, brave patriots within our government, military and intelligence services have come forward. They have told the truth and have helped begin the process of investigation into apparently very severe moral and legal crimes.
They have provided intelligence to us about the deceptions, incompetence and corruption that are part of the reason for our current situation in Iraq.
These patriots are giving us information and insight about the real reasons for the deaths and injuries to our troops and innocent Iraqi people and children.
The reputation of Americans in the world has been stained by those who manipulated us into the Iraq War for immoral purposes. Our own moral and spiritual nature is now put to the test.
Are we as good and brave as we like to tell ourselves? Or are we fat, ignorant and shallow sheep, easily tricked, easily led by the wolves to our psychological and spiritual destruction?
Much of the intelligence information we need is available to Americans. We can gather this intelligence, analyze it and come to conclusions and plans of action. By doing so, we can help our troops, our nation and ourselves.
Our brave troops are balancing their duty to obey and accomplish their assigned missions with their responsibilities as American citizens and human beings. The rest of us can try to do our duty with the same courage that our troops demonstrate.
Our intelligence community, as is their nature, are working in hidden ways that we do not always understand. But be assured, there are patriots and good human beings among them. A battle is going on for the heart and soul of our intelligence community.
The true patriots within our government and Congress sometimes seem few. More often, those officials appear corrupt.
In uncovering lies and deception, in gathering good intelligence and providing it to the American people, they often seem to have failed. But maybe this can change.
American citizens are struggling to separate deception from truth and get the information we need to make good decisions that will help our troops and our nation. And the time for this work is now.
Our troops are cracking under the pressure and pain. Our nation is in danger from without and from within. Many in our government and our nation have lost their moral compass and this is affecting our troops. It would be useful to rediscover our moral compass as soon as possible.
There are reasons to have heart. Patriots among us are doing what they can to defeat our many enemies, foreign and domestic.
Our troops and many others are working to successfully accomplish legitimate missions and once again help America provide light for the world, instead of the darkness that has prevailed in recent years.
And many pray that the Great Spirit will help us in these endeavors.
AUTHOR NOTE TO READERS: Please visit my Joint Recon Study Group blog.
Leadership from the top is a significant part of the situation. Senior civilian and military leaders in Washington, D.C., have made statements that U.S. troops, intelligence personnel and contractors must be ruthless.
They say we must torture, we must ignore the Geneva Conventions, we must abandon our basic standards of human rights and human decency, and we must kill and destroy in the extreme.
Combining the tremendous combat stress in Iraq with this kind of leadership is a recipe for what may have taken place in Haditha and in many other situations in the so-called "Global War on Terror."
Because of the fellowship among the troops, their professionalism, their desire to do good, their indoctrination to follow the leadership above them and believe what they are told by that leadership, our military personnel carry on with their missions to the best of their ability.
Their families, friends, communities and the rest of us support them, while increasingly questioning the Iraq invasion and the nature of the leadership in Washington.
SITUATION REPORT
But deep down in our minds, guts and hearts, our troops and all of us may be realizing more fully what circumstances have transpired to put U.S. military personnel and our nation in such a dire situation.
And what might some of those circumstances be?
The 9/11 attacks might have been allowed to happen to create a "New Pearl Harbor," according to many credible investigators.
The American people, Congress, the U.S. military and the media were then deceived about the reasons for the invasion of Iraq.
People who themselves avoided military service in Vietnam gladly sent our troops to their deaths and severe injury.
The military strategy concocted in Washington was seriously flawed, resulting in the current disaster for our troops and our country.
There is no end in sight for the death, injury, pain and destruction for our troops, their families and innocent Iraqis.
The U.S. Treasury is essentially being looted, resulting in enormous increases in our national debt.
People who desire to control the American people and restrict liberty have implemented dangerous programs that are contrary to the letter and spirit of our Constitution and Bill of Rights as well as our laws.
ENEMY IDENTIFICATION
Who are our enemies? The answer, of course, is that we have many enemies, foreign and domestic.
Radical Islamic jihadists are enemies. Other nations in the world may be enemies. Plotters and conspirators within our government and government circles are our enemies. We may have enemies we are not fully aware of.
Ignorance and indifference about the trauma our troops and their families are facing are also our enemies.
So many Americans seem to simply put the Iraq War out of their minds. In a way, we canīt blame them.
The horror and brutality of what our military personnel are facing is often nothing less than a nightmare. A nightmare that they, and we, canīt wake up from.
We can try to avoid thinking about these things and try to avoid feeling this terrible truth. But deep down, we are part of it. Deep down, we know it and we feel it.
Our troops are seeing friends with legs, arms and faces blown off. Seeing Iraqi children with horrible injuries or simply lying lifeless from bullets or bombs. This terrible reality our military personnel are dealing with is the enemy.
The enemy includes the people who profit illegitimately from the Iraq War. Sometimes the profit is financial. Sometimes it is power or political glory.
Sometimes it is the actual enjoyment of the implementation of military might and the excitement of killing and destruction.
Our enemies can be concrete and obvious. Sometimes they are vague and hard to grasp. They can be behind the scenes. They can pose as friends or leaders or objective sources of information. Enemies can be among us. They can be within us.
ACCURATE INTELLIGENCE
The phony intelligence information that was fabricated in the run-up to the Iraq war has been well-documented.
False intelligence reportedly was generated within in our government, such as from the Pentagonīs notorious Office of Special Plans.
It also happened in the news media, with some journalists promoting false information. Even our intelligence agencies were coerced into cooperating with those who wanted war.
There have been lies within lies upon lies, and there has been grave deception of the American people and our troops by some in our government.
At the same time, brave patriots within our government, military and intelligence services have come forward. They have told the truth and have helped begin the process of investigation into apparently very severe moral and legal crimes.
They have provided intelligence to us about the deceptions, incompetence and corruption that are part of the reason for our current situation in Iraq.
These patriots are giving us information and insight about the real reasons for the deaths and injuries to our troops and innocent Iraqi people and children.
The reputation of Americans in the world has been stained by those who manipulated us into the Iraq War for immoral purposes. Our own moral and spiritual nature is now put to the test.
Are we as good and brave as we like to tell ourselves? Or are we fat, ignorant and shallow sheep, easily tricked, easily led by the wolves to our psychological and spiritual destruction?
Much of the intelligence information we need is available to Americans. We can gather this intelligence, analyze it and come to conclusions and plans of action. By doing so, we can help our troops, our nation and ourselves.
Our brave troops are balancing their duty to obey and accomplish their assigned missions with their responsibilities as American citizens and human beings. The rest of us can try to do our duty with the same courage that our troops demonstrate.
Our intelligence community, as is their nature, are working in hidden ways that we do not always understand. But be assured, there are patriots and good human beings among them. A battle is going on for the heart and soul of our intelligence community.
The true patriots within our government and Congress sometimes seem few. More often, those officials appear corrupt.
In uncovering lies and deception, in gathering good intelligence and providing it to the American people, they often seem to have failed. But maybe this can change.
American citizens are struggling to separate deception from truth and get the information we need to make good decisions that will help our troops and our nation. And the time for this work is now.
Our troops are cracking under the pressure and pain. Our nation is in danger from without and from within. Many in our government and our nation have lost their moral compass and this is affecting our troops. It would be useful to rediscover our moral compass as soon as possible.
There are reasons to have heart. Patriots among us are doing what they can to defeat our many enemies, foreign and domestic.
Our troops and many others are working to successfully accomplish legitimate missions and once again help America provide light for the world, instead of the darkness that has prevailed in recent years.
And many pray that the Great Spirit will help us in these endeavors.
AUTHOR NOTE TO READERS: Please visit my Joint Recon Study Group blog.
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