Uncomfortable Truth
We Americans have a serious incapacity for introspection. The so-called retaliatory strikes in the last 24 hours are a case in point.
A disclaimer to at least limit angry responses: I don’t intend to minimize the impact of rabid fundamentalists or create any false equivalences. Rather, I wish to raise uncomfortable truths that are largely absent from “mainstream” reporting.
The drone attack that took the lives of three American soldiers was a horrific tragedy to their family members. It was, however, an insignificant event in the maelstrom of mayhem in the Middle East. Our retaliatory response is described as “proportionate,” yet there is no proportionality between a drone strike and the deployment of supersonic B1 bombers. It is how we and our friends see the world. Our adversaries are “evil” and our morality is not questionable. This is our pattern in the world. Bloody our proud noses and we will burn your damn house down.
History is not a kind judge of the American temperament. We look back at the 58,000 American lives lost in the Vietnam War with some regret that they died in what was a futile and dishonest cause. But how many can accurately estimate the other lives lost because of the stupid (male) pride that pressed the war long beyond our clear defeat? I’ll save you the Google. The number is about 3.8 million - soldiers and civilians.
The terror attacks on 9/11 were horrific. Nearly 3,000 lost lives. Our retaliation was swift and lethal. We lost 4,431 soldiers in Iraq. An MIT study about the impact of the George W. Bush et al invasion of Iraq found: And the overall figures are stunning: 4.5 million displaced, 1-2 million widows, 5 million orphans, about one million dead—in one way or another, affecting nearly one in every two people in Iraq with tragically life-altering (or ending) impacts. Once again, this was not tit-for-tat. It was tit-for-absolutely disproportionate tatters.
Afghanistan is yet another case in point: The U.S. government spent $2.3 trillion, and the war led to the deaths of 2,324 U.S. military personnel, 3,917 U.S. contractors and 1,144 allied troops. From the United States Institute of Peace: For Afghans, the statistics are nearly unimaginable: 70,000 Afghan military and police deaths, 46,319 Afghan civilians (although that is likely a significant underestimation) and some 53,000 opposition fighters killed. Almost 67,000 other people were killed in Pakistan in relation to the Afghan war. I’ll leave you to calculate the proportionality.
Before the drone incident we engaged in disproportional violence by proxy. You may know these numbers too: About 1,200 (mostly) Israelis died in the unthinkably brutal Hamas attacks on October 7th. At least 27,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza - 10,000 of them children. We Americans are deeply complicit in each death. Our military and economic support of Israel enabled this disproportionate slaughter. While the politics in the region are complex and controversial, I cannot make any moral or ethical distinction between one savagely murdered Israeli at a music festival and one dead, dismembered child in the Gazan rubble. The only meaningful distinction is that there are many more of the latter.
There is always some geopolitical rationale offered up by our leaders and the generally compliant media. I don’t discount all of it. I suppose our economic and military might demands that we play some role in the world. Yes, the various splinter groups fueled by Iran pose a danger. But the danger they pose is minimal when considering the overwhelming threat of our presence on their land.
Put aside for a moment, the value judgment one might make about the relative nobility of one nationality, religion or another. Think only of the emotional and psychological impact created by our disproportionate military actions and our continuing, menacing military ubiquity in the Middle East. Take all of the Afghan, Palestinian and Iraqi deaths I’ve cited and apply the principle of six degrees of separation. It is little wonder that we are seen as the enemy.
Hell, some of our uber-patriotic neighbors want to assassinate our own leaders! Imagine the terror cells they would create if Islamic militant outposts were scattered around America!
Of course we don’t think that way because we are exceptional. We are the Alpha male in the world - emphasis on “male.” At times like these, Pete Seeger’s words come to my mind and heart.
Where have all the soldiers gone
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone
A long, long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone
Gone to graveyards, every one
When will they (we) ever learn?
When will they (we) ever learn?
If only we fought for peace as powerfully as we fight for revenge.
Thank you for that! When will we ever learn? Perhaps when the lingua franca is peace not violence and the military industrial complex of so many entities is less profitable?
Amen, Steve. I have given much thought to how we change the perception that what works is violence. Perhaps the best answer is teaching kids to deal peacefully and effectively with conflict. If people don't know any alternatives, they will, of course, rely on brute force to make them feel safe.