April 4, 2008
by James Rothenberg
The US military says 4,000 US soldiers have now died in Iraq. The White House regards all these deaths as "tragic", and the enormously greater number of Iraqi civilian deaths as "regrettable". Any other reckoning might make us seem heartless.
The White House prepares for annoying milestones such as this with equanimity. Deep in the bowels there may even be a pencil pusher noting that given the domestic death rate of 8.26 per 1,000 population (CIA figures, 2007 est.), they wouldn't all be alive if they had stayed home. Good taste prevents such flak retardant measures from being used. That and a keen political acumen.
Changes in our hyper-militaristic posture might be slow in coming as the antiwar candidates in the two reigning parties have been swept aside. The trio of presidential favorites have picked up the beat in this so-called War on Terror/Islamo-Fascism/Extremism. McCain wants to fight it harder. Clinton and Obama want to fight it better.
Unless heroism is a uniquely American trait, those who were tortured in Bagram, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and other rendition holes deserve to be considered war heroes, like John McCain. Unlike McCain, though, they lack a clear "side" to designate such honor for them.
As Commander Bush puts it, it's us or them. You're either with us, or you're with the terrorists! Upon which a sober person may reflect...Well, I'm certainly not with you!
The "duty, honor, country" mentality occupies but a small portion of the human sphere. True, there are some who are always eager to be led from above, as long as they get to lead some from below. But no matter your place on this ladder all are led in the direction of the ladder. There are some who see no place for themselves here but seek their own direction.
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While we're "supporting our troops" who obey orders, may we support those among them who have chosen to resist and refuse to participate in occupying Iraq and Afghanistan at great risk to their own welfare.
Fact one. Enlisted personnel should disobey unlawful orders. This is not controversial.
Fact two. Officers should disobey unconstitutional orders. This is not controversial.
Fact three. The Iraq invasion was unlawful in that we didn't first engage in collective action with other UN member states nor did we gain the prior assent of the UN Security Council. In violating the UN Charter we violated the Constitution because that treaty (UN Charter) became binding under Article VI of the Constitution ("...shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby...").
This is controversial, but solely because the White House claimed special exemption on the grounds of self-defense, soon shown to be bogus.
Thus, so long as we allow the controversy over the invasion's legality to dull our determination to hold criminally accountable those who began it, we are normalizing White House deceit. And so long as judges refuse to entertain claims against the White House in this regard, they are operating outside the law.
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James Rothenberg [send him email] was born in 1939 and made his living as a professional golfer. His trade articles have appeared in USGA Golf Journal and PGA Magazine, as well as authoring the book, The Skeptical Golfer. In more recent years this skepticism led him into the field of social and political criticism, exchanging "making a living" for "living for making", that is, making the slightest dent in establishment hypocrisy and double standards.
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