Earplugs, Marines, and Haditha: By Larry C Johnson

[kpete]

Earplugs, Marines, and Haditha
by Larry C Johnson


As we keep sending our sons and daughters into the teeth of the insurgency in Iraq, we are discovering that we have forgotten the horror of fighting an insurgency. When tight knit units, like these Marines, lose friends and colleagues, they normally are not thinking like philosopher warriors. The Marines train these kids to kill (and well they should). But insurgents do not show up in uniform and hide in the midst of populations. Sometimes the locals are witting and supportive and sometimes they are coerced.

I do not know who is personally responsible for the killings at Haditha, but it certainly appears that some Marines lost control and are probably guilty of manslaughter. Fortunately, this has not been a common event. But that offers small comfort. In the war for the hearts and minds of the Iraqis we do not have the luxury for any mistakes like this.

We face a terrible dilemma. At present, we keep most of our military forces on secure bases. They have little interaction with the local Iraqis except during combat operations and patrols. Unlike the Vietnam War, where US soldiers slept, ate, and partied with Vietnamese (at times, to our detriment and theirs), our soldiers are not building the relationships with the Iraqi people that result in marriages and new restaurants in the United States. Go to Fort Bragg in North Carolina and the Vietnamese and Thai easting establishments are one of the Vietnam War's lasting legacies.

Ultimately, however, our sons and daughters in uniform can be our best Ambassadors. I am afraid that things are so far gone now that this aspect of American diplomacy is gone forever. I understand that the Commanders of these young Americans no longer have the stomach to put them at needless risk. I also recognize that putting more of our forces into the communities will lead to more casualties, at least in the short term. But, we must also recognize that if our soldiers are not able to socialize with the Iraqis then we should not be surprised that they view us as an alien and an enemy. The early successes by US troops in this regard in 2003 are slipping away.

TO BE CONTINUED. . .

more at:
http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/06/earplugs_marine.html#more

[Coexist]

1. great find, kpete

heading over to finish the article.

Thanks.

[TomInTib]

2. Great article. I rode a C-130 from Hawaii to the West Coast

with a bunch of us combat vets and several families of Hmong who had been helping the US and were running for their lives.

We were sitting in fuselage net seats as described by Johnson but they were all backed against the fuselage.

The middle of the plane was for cargo. Those Hmong had everything they owned lashed down to the floor. Chickens and dogs, too.

Got so cold we had to wrap ourselves in blankets. Our box-lunch sandwiches froze.

3. Nice to read 1st person account - thanks

[Disturbed]

4. "probably guilty of manslaughter"

Seems to me that they might be guilty of outright murder of old men,women, children and babies. I don't see any excuse for murder. I can undersand executing "terrorists" &/or Insurgents who have surrendered, although that is murder also but murdering defensless old men, women, children and babies
is beyond my understanding. No excuses for that!

[SlavesandBulldozers]

6. yeah that stuck out to me too.

actually, manslaughter is quite different from what appears to have happened.

7. I think Mr. Johnson is taking the viewpoint of the soldier

that is put in this position, and not a legal or even truly moral position. He is presenting some factors of how this happened, both sides are complete aliens to each other. He points out how in Vietnam there was socializing between Americans and Vietnamese. But, as I see it, there were still atrocities. Anyway, I think Johnson feels protective of the soldiers, so it is definitely not an unbiased view of the matter.

[Tom Joad]

5. The best ambassadors are those that resist. Support the first officer

to refuse orders to deploy to Iraq.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1339631

[DemonFighterLives]

8. The small few early successes slipped away some time ago

If we would only allow the Iraqis to do their own thing and not some Halliburton freaks. The war profiteers have ruined the whole mess.
Manslaughter is a very kind word for what is going on. Murder and Mayhem more likely.