Over the past two months, our Charlottesville TV and print media have given extensive coverage to the pending deployments of locally based Army Guard units to Iraq. As I (Scott) mentioned here recently, my own oldest son is a young officer in the Virginia Army Guard.
While my son lives and works nearby, his particular engineering unit is based in another part of Virginia, and it hasn’t yet been ticketed for a return visit to Iraq. It could happen on short notice, and younger officers are vulnerable to being re-assigned and deployed with units for which they haven’t trained.
By contrast, one of our Guard companies here in Charlottesville will soon make its first deployment to Iraq, after training in the Mississippi delta heat. (Much of this same unit served a year in “Gitmo,” Cuba in 2002.) Most of the reporting has focused on the understandable anxiety facing those to be deployed and their families being left behind. Heart-strings indeed.
Bryan McKenzie, our “upbeat” columnist/reporter for The Daily Progress has at least twice characterized the pending deployment as “Charlottesville Goes to War,” yesterday, and on May 16th.
This provocative characterization grates on several levels.
First, like everywhere else in America, few outside of the deployed and their families are really sacrificing for this war — unless you admit that high gas prices are indeed correlated directly with military operations in Iraq and the ongoing saber rattling with Iran. (Most war supporters strain to deny connections between the Iraq War and high energy prices – but that’s another post!)
Geographically, McKenzie has a point, when he quotes local troop booster Mary Ellen Wooten:
“We’ve had a lot of troops from Charlottesville already deployed but this is the first group that’s primarily from here.”
McKenzie also rightly remembers that,
“We’ve… lost a couple. Cpl. Adam Fargo, U.S. Army, of Greene County and Cpl. Bradley T. Arms, USMC Reserve, of Charlottesville immediately come to mind. With those exceptions, and some in the Shenandoah Valley, Charlottesville seems to have escaped the War on Terror unscathed.”
While McKenzie may think he’s above politics, equating the “war on terror” with the invasion & occupation of Iraq reflects a loaded political judgment — hard to sustain when laid out for examination.
McKenzie gets in a different political point while making a call to support the troops and their families:
“We haven’t had to question our stance of not supporting the war while giving lip service to supporting the troops. Now, whether we support the war or not, we have a vested interest. Our Guardsmen—about 40 of which are based in our own Monticello Guard Armory on Avon Street Extended—are going into Harm’s Way.”
Our neighbors, brothers, friends and co-workers will be going to war, doing their duty whether or not they approve of the politics behind it….
They leave us two options: We can go with them, backing them up and supporting them regardless of our political views or we can self-righteously ignore them and hang their morale out to die. The choice is ours.” (emphasis added)
At one level, I’m of course all for supporting those deployed and especially their disrupted families here locally. No argument there. And that aging Virginia Armory he references has a special place in many a local family picture album — as it’s the site of the annual regional cub scout pine-wood derby.
Yet I question McKenzie’s Manichean “we’re either with them or against them” stance. I also flinch from standard generic boosterism about all those who deploy as, by definition, “heroes.”
Equating deployment as “heroism” cheapens the meaning of the word. Does this mean that every American who serves in Iraq is an automatic saint, granted a free-pass amid what may well be stressful challenges?
And to bring up a local media unmentionable: where was The Daily Progress and the rest of the Charlottesville media amid the Abu Ghraib scandal? Remember Ivan “Chip” Frederick? Now maybe “Ivan the terrible” was the top ranking fall guy for a policy of torture and humiliation condoned by superiors. But Chip Frederick was also a member of the Army Guard — and his civilian day job was as a jailer at the Virginia State Prison in Dillwyn, Virginia. (less than an hour south of Charlottesville)
That should have been a serious, national interest story in our own backyard. We at least could have had locally based reporters interviewing Frederick’s concerned family and fellow workers, either supporting him or otherwise. But instead, we had total silence from our local media. (If anybody has any examples to the contrary, please correct me.)
Just before Mothers’ Day, one of local TV stations did run a story about a mother-daughter joint deployment, as part of the nearby Staunton, VA Guard unit. The report dryly noted that the mother, Mstr. Sgt. Debra Mendez, had previously deployed to Abu Ghraib prison, as if it was no place special.
May the service of all of our soon-to-be-deployed neighbors be honorable and serve some positive end. May they not feel without friends and support in their darkest hours.
May the media not forget them either, and may they also have the courage to report if problems arise for them. Yet I’m not optimistic. Alas, even previous moving reports of Brad Arms’ death disappeared from The Daily Progress web site. (I hope they’ll correct that oversight.)
If we have trouble recalling those who’ve fallen, I’m less than optimistic the local media will be inclined to emulate a Cincinnati TV station report of an alarming mystery illness that may be the product of shots local guardsmen are forced to get.
Don’t get me wrong. This may shock my son, but I am indeed with Senator Jim Webb in viewing our sons’ willingness to serve their communities as our own personal “heroes.”
Yet Senators Webb, Robert Byrd, Chuck Hagel, and now Richard Lugar are among my “heroes” of a different sort – in having the courage to go against the expedient political self-interest and call for a major Iraq course-change and an imminent “downsizing” and “redeployment” of American military forces.
Would McKenzie now castigate Senator Lugar (a staunch Republican of Indiana) for not “supporting the troops,” for “hang(ing) their morale out to die?”
Bravery comes in many forms.
Helena,
Bravery comes in many forms.
I read above, I paused awhile thinking what she meant with this end?
What a Bravery action!
Five years US troops sent to Iraq to kill people most of them are innocent and civilians if that what you meant of going to Iraq is a Bravery action? or you may meant those Senators doing what you think a Bravery work inside US which I can see any result that saving humans with atrocities done by US troops in my home country in facts its going more deadly and went in a quite mode no one really knows what’s going on inside Iraq while most Iraqis forced to be prisoners in their homes waiting the moment of death by your troops kicking there doors or by those criminals moving freely under US occupation and US forces.
In the other side of Atlantic its reported that the new British PM Gordon Brown saying occupying Iraq it’s not wrong, but the plane was wrong!! So he believes occupying a country killing, torturing Iraqi civilians its right action but what went wrong is the plane and mismanagements of the war, so is this man consider to be a Bravery with his believes in war and killing human?
Or that War criminal who faked most of the documents, he never stopped of laying about Iraq the promoter of Iraq war now he prized to be a Middle East Envoy working on behalf of the US, Russia, the UN and the EU, how nice that a layer a war promoter nominated for a “PEACE” what a jock we see every day by promoting these war criminals it might be also we call him a Bravery because he stand with US?
Thanks for getting this up on the blog, Scott. I think it’s good for people around the world to see the way the war is affecting small and smallish towns in America… a process that is undoubtedly powering deep though slow changes in US political thinking about the war.
Our home town, Charlottesville has a number of different sides to it. There’s the big, relatively well-resourced university and the crowd of people around that. There are the scores of foreign service retirees… And then there’s the majority of people in the area, who are much like other people in small towns across the US– except for the horrendously high house prices in and around C’ville, because of Groups 1 and 2 there…
I think most of the members of “our” local National Guard unit come from the third (lower-income, more deep-rooted) residents of the city and its surrounding area. I was particularly interested to read in this Daily Prog news report that the main sentiment evinced by the about-ro-depart Guard members and their families was “anxiety.” Not patriotism, not gung-ho militarism, but “anxiety.” That is an entirely understandable and in the circumstances very rational sentiment to have. I imagine it means that many of these soldiers have little faith they will be participating in a “victory” (what would constitute that, anyway?) They probably kind of realize they’re being fed into the Iraq meat-grinder for reasons that have nothing to do with grand strategy or military necessity, but much more to do with Bush’s ego and spin, and with the timetables of electoral politics.
I would feel “anxious”, too.
So let’s wish them a safe return. Let’s wish for them that don’t get killed or wounded, or find themselves in situations where the circumstances of war rob them of their humanity and they end up harming civilians; and let’s hope that they manage to avoid the traumas of PTSD and other war-induced mental and spiritual wounds. But mainly, let’s redouble our efforts to make that return– for all the US soldiers whom Bush is recklessly and uselessly putting in harm’s way– as rapid as possible…
Thank you too Helena, for eloquently putting this community story back into the larger contexts — and for the good wishes for their safe (and early)returns! Amen.
As you know, I’ve been hesitating in writing about this for so many personal reasons, in part not to make matters more precarious for my son. He frets his Dad will yet be another “Sheehan” or “Bacevich.” :-}
I’d add one other little detail here on the composition of the local deployments. Members of a given “local” unit are often something other than local. My son lives and works in the Shenandoah Valley, and yet for his Guard duties, he drives about 100 miles each way…. That apparently is common, as reserve/Guard units often are organized according to specialties…..
And oh Salah, I regret too I lost you on the end of my note re. “Bravery comes in many forms.”
By that, I was refering to the lost art of political courage — of being willing to go against the grain of one’s political party or powerful lobbies and take a stand based on convictions. If you’ve been following US Senate debates on the Iraq war from the beginning, you’ll recognize that Robert Byrd, Chuck Hagel, and now Richard Lugar are in that “brave” genre. (though to be fair, that Lugar switch and warning to the President comes quite late — perhaps when not nearly as much “bravery” is required — yet I welcome it nonetheless, as already a half dozen “swing Republicans” are citing Lugar’s speech favorably)
By the way, courage surely also applies to journalists, columnists, and scholars — who dare to comment from off the neocon reservation. (like our heroine here, Helena!) It hasn’t been easy — but may their lot as “sources of emulation” increase!
Scott
Seems you’re reporter is living in “you’re either with us or against us” ancient history. In the past several months the U.S. Army itself has been funding and arming the insurgent group, the 1920 Revolution Brigade. All that giving aid and comfort to the enemy BS is nothing to actually and literally giving it to them. That narrative is dead. And to be confirmed by the first U.S. casualty that results.
Guys
Among the people advising a rapid withdrawal of British troops from Iraq is the ground forces commander from the Falklands war.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2717280.ece
Bravery Protecting by Bremer’s order till now
“While the military has built up troops in an ongoing campaign to secure Baghdad, the security companies, out of public view, have been engaged in a parallel surge, boosting manpower, adding expensive armor and stepping up evasive action as attacks increase,
“The majority of the more than 100 security companies operate outside of Iraqi law,
Uganda: Gov’t Investigates Companies Over Iraqi Security Jobs
salah,
i haven’t read your posts before, so i don’t know if your comments on this article are of a similar nature with what you have written before.
But it seems to me that the author of this blog and its contributors are in general in sympathy with your position – that the occupation of Iraq by US forces is illegal and immoral and causing great harm.
So i am troubled by what seems to be your hostility toward those who would be your allies.
Although the political tide in the US has been turning, culturally there is still a great deal of pressure to be “patriotic,” especially in the press, which still unfortunately is equated with “supporting the troops” and not questioning our Commander in Chief.
Mr Harrop’s statement imo is a brave – yes brave -and all too rare action for peace and against war. He is showing how it is possible to distinguish support for “the troops” (as individual persons like his son) and dissent against the war. Somehow this is still very difficult to for the US public to grasp.
It’s my wish that you can see some Americans as your allies who are keeping informed of the great atrocities occurring presently in Iraq and are working with you to end this injustice, rather than viewing us all as enemies, as it seems you do.
Dear Anne Meador,
rather than viewing us all as enemies, as it seems you do.
With all due respect of your words, I don’t put “ALL Americans” but what I feel in my deep heart with my total sadness with the harms that made by successive US administrations make most Iraqi grieving for their people and their country, that not in any mean that we “Iraqis” put all the westerns as our enemy.
There are many marvellous and loved people who fights with us one of them our bravery Helena and here efforts with Quaker, also our friend Scott Harrop and his respected stand against this war.
Forgive me if my words sound like that, I apologises if it’s sound, but I have a deep sadness and griefness for my families friends and my home country which I love.
Thanks Anne
Reading this a congressional report (the report from the House Armed Service Committee’s oversight subcommittee.), makes me thinking after five yeas the evidence here and the elements tells its a complete failures or a complete corruption and fraud by US commanders or those bad leaders who is doing the job.
This is the same country that your media and your administration fear from it before 1991 have the 3rd best army in the world , a county had 2/3 of his populations between 15 and 35, 80% of its citizen were literate and the most scary had WMD weapons…..
So now after five years and spending $19 billion US dollars to build the Iraqi military and police force failed to borne the force that US administration argue for five years if Iraqi army / force stand-up then US forces will lay down and withdraw from Iraqi!
What amazing efforts US military doing to get back that scary country on its feet to let them withdraw their forces and go home.
BTW, reported in one of Iraqi news that US military training Iraqi force on T55 Russian Made Tanks!!
What’s a surprise US giving training for a weapons made by Russians, while Iraq military backbone was till 2003 based mainly on Russian weapons includes T34, T55, T72 and other Russians weapons, Its just make no sense what US doing in Iraq, is it fake or is it a real?
It’s not a rocket science to argue this case with this US administration or the one before and the one will come after 2009.
The Iraqi ‘Nation’
Two weeks ago, I participated in a remarkable three-day gathering of more than 70 Iraqi clerics. It was held in Baghdad, was organized by Canon Andrew White, an Anglican priest in Iraq, and had one aim: Give Iraqi religious leaders a forum to listen to and engage one another. It was a phenomenal success.
The conference was encouraging from the outset because it attracted some of the top clerics in the country. They included close advisors to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the senior Shiite prelate in Iraq; Moqtada Al Sadr, the firebrand leader of the Mahdi militia; and equivalent Sunni and Kurdish figures. They arrived clearly interested in fostering reconciliation among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, and in the process reducing violence, disarming the militias and enacting into law a framework for a fair distribution of political and economic power. Many of the participants are members of the parliament.
Mr. McFarlane, a national security adviser for President Ronald Reagan, can be reached via email at RCM@McFarlaneAssociatesInc.com.
Published by the Wall Street Journal
Gangs of Iraq
Desperate to shore up its flagging ranks, the military is quietly enlisting thousands of active gang members and shipping them to Iraq. Will a brutal murder finally wake up the Pentagon?
http://www.radaronline.com/from-the-magazine/2007/05/gangs_of_iraq_1.php
Mr. Harrop:
Misunderstanding often separates parents from their grown children. In my own case during America’s War on Vietnam, my WWII-generation mother would say to me: “Who will defend us from our enemies if you don’t?” To which I would reply: “Who will protect me from my own government if you don’t?” As much as I utterly loved and respected my mother, she didn’t know the first thing about the Vietnamese people, let alone why any American should consider them our “enemies.” Nor did she ever for a moment entertain the thought that our own nation had no business waging devastating war against a foreign people who had never harmed or even threatened to harm America. The professional African-Ameican boxer Cassius Clay (later Mohammed Ali) spoke for my generation of skeptical, rebellious youth when he refused induction into the Draft by saying: “I ain’t got nothin’ against no Viet Cong.” None of us did, either. But that didn’t stop the American government from threatening us with prison if we didn’t sign up for military expeditions to kill and/or die for no reason except the vapid, vicious vainglory of insane ideologues ensconced on the throne of imperial American militarism.
So, I can especially identify with your comments about your son’s “fretting that his Dad will yet be another ‘Sheehan’ or ‘Bacevich.'” I, of couse, support your side of the (in your case) “understanding.” Apparently, though, the generational roles have reversed themselves in your son’s situation. Since I consider Cindy Sheehan and Andrew Bacevich two distinguished Americans and real heroes, your son’s use of their names as pejoratives says more about him than I, as a parent, would ever want to know about any of my offspring. As a grown man and willingly indoctrinated officer, though, your son has only himself to blame for not knowing the difference between the National Guard and the Foreign Legion. As one who does know the difference (and who can quote the Federalist Papers for all the reasons why I do), this ex-enlisted man finds your officer-son’s statements only too typically uninquisitive, if not completely dangerous. I only hope he doesn’t get as many of his subordinates needlessly killed as the average gung-ho shavetail normally manages.
The government and miliary of the United States have jointly labored long and mightily to subvert the National Guard of the various states — formed originally in part to defend the states from the federal government’s standing army — into a cheap and ready substitute for society-wide conscription that the Vietnam debacle rendered non-operable with the Constitutional amendment giving eighteen-year-old cannon fodder the right to vote not to become cannon fodder. The American military and its career officer corps now have only themselves to blame for the “success” of their decades-long project to completly isolate the American military from the surrounding American society and its values. Few Americans have anything whatsoever to do with the “professional” military and, in turn, the professional military hasn’t a clue about what they have thoughtlessly agreed to do or why they thoughtlessly go on doing it long after the society in general has rejected any such assignments for them. Real patriotism means something quite different to the society at large once it sensibly sees no value in becoming “we, the unwilling led by the unqualified to do the unnecessary for the ungrateful.” The career lifers, though, typically sneer in return: “Don’t knock the war, it’s the only one we’ve got.”
I hate to say this — even though I understand completely and sympathize with you as a father — but when Ambrose Bierce defined “patriotism” as “combustible rubbish, ready to the torch of any man anxious to illuminate his name” and “patriot” as “the dupe of statesmen and the tool of conquerors” he had today’s professional military in mind long before the foolish and short-sighted men who designed and now operate it first sought to illuminate their names in service to known knaves. For as Bierce again said of patriotism-as-a-political-ploy: “In Doctor Johnson’s famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first.”
At any rate, my two sons never listened to me in every instance, either. My oldest son joined the Marine Corps reserves at his best friends suggestion and over my vociferous objections. Still, before he went off to boot camp basic training I told him what to expect as the first, last, and only lesson of the American military enlisted man: “Hurry up and wait!” Not too many weeks later I received a letter from him containing the five words that every father so longs to hear (but seldom does) from his suddenly wiser offspring: “Dad, you were so right.” I hope that someday you may hear the same words spoken to you, regarding the current unpleasantness, from your son, too.
friend annemm, read the story below, think with yourself for a moment, then see your own feeling….
Baghdad is a SMASHED city
“They leave us two options: We can go with them, backing them up and supporting them regardless of our political views or we can self-righteously ignore them and hang their morale out to die. The choice is ours.” (emphasis added)”
I can think of a few more options, one of which would be to run an underground railroad and get our troops to Canada so they don’t get thrown in a meat grinder to continue a war crime.
Personally, I don’t think $4 a gallon for gas is a sacrifice. (While traveling recently in VA, I found gas at $3.49 to $2.59 a gallon – within one day. I can’t explain that.) I just think of it as expensive gas and I had better stay home if I cannot afford it. I do not make a large salary, but I have lived debt-free (except for a mortgage) all my life. I don’t see staying at home as a “sacrifice”.
Also, I think the only people who are “heroes” here are the unarmed ones working for peace, justice and truth. And they are mainly Iraqis, although Camilo Mejia and Liam Madden are also heroes in my eyes.
The rest of the folks usually labeled “heroes” are (in my eyes) misguided at best and assistants to a huge war crime at worst. I will never see any US politician who voted for this war or it’s funding as a “hero” no matter when they change their minds.