Let's have a little lesson in the intuitive interpretation of the information we are not getting out of the armed forces concerning the behavior of the troops currently serving in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army says it has a zero tolerance policy concerning drugs. Since Iraq and Afghanistan are Islamic and forbid the use of alcohol and since they are war zones, alcohol is forbidden to military personnel during deployment there. Virtually no information has been released to the public concerning levels of drug and alcohol abuse since long before the Gulf War era. We are led to believe that there is no problem with drugs and alcohol in today's all volunteer armed forces. We are led to believe that through the use of frequent drug testing, substance abusers are weeded out but in truth, they really don't say anything.
We know that post traumatic stress disorder is a big problem. We know that depression is a big problem. We know that suicide is a big problem. We know that for recently discharged veterans, joblessness, homelessness, domestic abuse, sexual assault and violent crime are big problems. We know that all of these problems are closely associated with drug and alcohol abuse. An intelligent person would have to posit that drug and alcohol abuse is a significant component of behavior for combat soldiers in the Middle East, especially since it is common knowledge that the production of moonshine liquor is a popular avocation in the region and more opium is produced in Afghanistan than anywhere else in the World, making drugs and alcohol both cheap and easy to obtain throughout the theater of operations.
I think a lot of drug and alcohol abuse is going on in the war zones of the Middle East. If that is true and the military simply isn't reporting it to us taxpayers back home, what else aren't they telling us? What about sexual assaults on Iraqi women? What about the massacre of innocent noncombatants? What about the torture and murder of captured insurgents? What about the wanton destruction of property and resources necessary for the indigenous population to thrive?
American enlisted soldiers, for the most part, are simply trying to do the best that they can. They are far from home, in a foreign place. They weren't raised to fight and kill and they are not sure why they are doing it now. They are used to seeing themselves as the good guys. It's disheartening when they are someplace where they are not seen that way. Training is sometimes inadequate. There are failures of leadership. Things get out of hand.
Who exactly is leading the troops? The officer corps of the United States military are supposed to be composed of intelligent, educated, principled, moral and honorable men. We trust them to make sure we are well represented on the field of battle. They are supposed to be leading their men in combat, seeing that they don't tip over the edge mentally or emotionally and making sure crimes and atrocities are avoided, taking responsibility if things go wrong and minimizing the damage. It is a lot to ask, a heavy responsibility. In return, they are raised to an elite, honored position in society. There are always positions of trust and responsibility available to one who has served well as a military officer. Their employment outlook is always brighter in civilian life, than that of the men who served under them. Much brighter, when you consider what is available to the enlisted men.
I have my own opinion of the character of military officers but I am prejudiced against them, having been an enlisted man.
I wonder whose fault it is, really, when we don't get good information, back home, about what is happening in the Wars? Why is this information being withheld?
Hey boys and girls, anybody want to have a few beers and use the Quran for target practice?
No comments:
Post a Comment