Rambos and White Trash

The global press is buzzing with news of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death by a US military airstrike.  President Bush spoke about how proud he was of the US troops for this achievement. Elswhere in the German press the reviews of the US military were not so positive. This week's issue of the neo-fascist Junge Freiheit features an interview with the journalist and Middle East expert Peter Scholl-Latour, who weighs in on the US military and the Haditha Massacre in Iraq:

Scholl-Latour: Die amerikanische Armee von heute ist eine Berufsarmee, in der vor allem die ärmeren und unbedarften Schichten vertreten sind, darunter viele Neubürger, die mit diesem Dienst die Staatsbürgerschaft erlangen. Leute, die man mit Rambo-Filmen aufgepeitscht hat und die angesichts eigener Verluste schnell in Hysterie verfallen.

And earlier, Caroline Fetscher wrote in the Tagesspiegel about the "poor white trash" who comprise the US military and are behind atrocities such as Haditha:

Dass es immer wieder zu solch erschreckenden Vorfällen kommt, ist auch in der Struktur der US-Armee begründet. Sie ist eine Berufsarmee, zu der sich Freiwillige melden, die grob gesagt aus drei Gruppen rekrutiert werden: aus der weißen, arbeitslosen und ungebildeten Unterschicht („White Trash“ ist der Slangausdruck dafür); aus ehrgeizigen Nichtweißen, zumeist Hispano- und Afroamerikaner, die in der Armee die Chance zum Aufstieg suchen; und einer teils akademischen Führungselite, die zum Beispiel an der berühmten Militärakademie Westpoint ausgebildet wird.

Fetscher's article received a great deal of attention in the blogosphere, and some have taken issue with her analysis of the sociological make-up of the military. But it is clear that the US has had to relax its standards quite a bit to supply enough troops for the unending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The Boston Globe recently reported on how the miltary was now interested in recruits who are much older, in some cases obese, and even high school drop-outs, who never would have been allowed to enlist in the past.

The Bush administration has been able to conduct the disasterous war in Iraq with OPC (Other People's Children) - children of families without much economic or political power.  Even though this war has ripped apart and ruined the lives of thousands of families across America, most Americans are not touched directly by it and are able to tune it out like a bad television program.  That is the theme of Bob Herbert's New York Times op/ed piece today:

"For the smug, comfortable, well-off Americans, it doesn't seem to matter how long the war in Iraq goes on — as long as the agony is endured by others.

If the network coverage gets too grim, viewers can always switch to the E! channel (one hand on the remote, the other burrowing into a bag of chips) to follow the hilarious antics of Paris, Britney, Brangelina et al.

The war is depressing and denial is the antidote. Why should ordinary citizens (good people, religious people, patriots) consider their role in — and responsibility for — the thunderous, unending carnage? Enough with this introspection. The nation is in deep denial about Iraq."

"The many thousands of Iraqis who are killed — including babies and children who are shot to death, blown up, or incinerated — remain completely unknown to the American public.

So not only is there very little empathy for the suffering of Iraqis, there is virtually no sense among ordinary Americans of a shared responsibility for that suffering."

The death of one terrorist - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - does not change the equation, nor does it signal an end to the horror.  Americans will hear the news, cheer, and then ...change the channel.

UPDATE: A reader writes a letter to the Boston Globe: "Enticed into service, poor now trapped in a dirty war."

MANY OF us are familiar with the financial concept of leveraging ``other people's money" for one's personal advantage. Thanks to the Bush administration, we now have a variant: other people's children.

Those who joined to serve our country in the full- or part-time military, often enticed by offers of training or educational or health benefits, now often find that they cannot leave after fulfilling their lawful obligations due to the prolonged and mismanaged war in Iraq.

Such enticements appeal only to those who suffer the misfortune of not having access to a trust fund or large parental bank account . As a result, the Bush administration's misbegotten war of choice is disproportionately fought by the sons and daughters of working or poor people to whom the estate tax would apply only if you aggregate the assets of everyone they know.

I suspect, however, that the administration knows that any movement to place the progeny of the gilded class in jeopardy of falling into Iraq's insatiable grinder will result in a quick end to its dirty war.

DONALD EMMETT d'ENTREMONT, Wakefield

Al-Zarqawi al-Qaeda Iraq Military Irak-Krieg Irak Haditha

Comments

[Olaf Petersen]

Two 500 pound bombs that left nothing than the debris of the building and the plasma of the terrorists - and Zarqawi's head for secure identification. That's what I call a precision strike.

[David]

@Olaf,

Yes, I also found that remarkable. They keep showing the footage of the bombs obliterating the house; it is inconceivable that anything recognizable would remain.

[Jorg]

David,

are you considering Scholl-Latour an expert on this matter?
Why do you describe Fetscher's article as an "analysis" of the sociological make-up of the military?
Or am I missing your irony?

"Fetscher's article received a great deal of attention in the blogosphere"

Did any blog cover it besides you, DMK, and Atlantic Review?

You link to the Boston Globe, who describes recent changes, who have not effected the US military in Iraq yet because the changes are too recent.

"recruits who are much older"
That could be good. Maturity is a plus in some situations.

"in some cases obese"
That's a general problem in the US and Europe and isn't confined to white trash or rambo fans. The military is adapting to the general changes.

"the US military is struggling to meet its recruiting goals."
Does the Globe provide any evidence??? The third page was not free for viewing.

I heard that the Army fell short of some 7000 recruits last year, but that is all. This happened in the 90s as well. It is not very significant for the entire military. However, it is of some concern, but no need to exaggerate it.

"and even high school drop-outs, who never would have been allowed to enlist in the past."
And yet the past and current military is considered uneducated White Trash by some.

BTW: Do US servicemen and women have a "union" like the German Bundeswehrverband?

[David]

@Joerg,

Don't believe all of the propaganda put out by the US government about the state of the military. The only way troop levels can be maintained is through "stop loss" orders:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-01-05-army-troops_x.htm

So some soldiers are on their third tours of Iraq. That is not sustainable in the long term.

BTW, good luck to Germany today in the World Cup!

[Jorg]

Your article is from 2004 and mentions an announcement.

Numbers are better than propaganda and rumors.

How many soldiers have been affected by stopp-loss order?

And how many have volunteered to stay in the Army because they want to finish the job?

[David]

"because they want to finish the job"

What job? Killing more Iraqis? Getting themselves killed?

Here's the litmus test: Would you give your life for "the job" - whatever that is? Would you send your children to die for it?

[Joerg]

I will answer once you answer my questions.
Oh wait, you are not really asking a question and you are not interested in a debate on the military/recruiting situation. You just want to rant:

"What job? Killing more Iraqis?"

How boring.

[David]

Joerg -
What is that we're debating? Sustainability? This is what (ret) General Barry McCaffrey told a national TV audience today:

"Do we have an adequate military to sustain this operational pace? And the answer is no. I’ve been saying the Army is 80,000 soldiers short, the Marines are 25,000 people short. SOCOM is under huge stress, and we aren’t resourced to continue this effort. We’ve got to make up our mind. Are we going to pay for the kind of strategy we’re prosecuting or not?"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13189411/

But anyway I've made my position on the Iraq War and the need for a military draft known, so it's a waste of time to debate me. If you think that the war is "eine gute Sache", then you should be urging your readers to enlist. Or better yet, tell your right-wing blogger friends to enlist; since, like Bush and Cheney, they dream of military glory by using OPC - Other People's Children.
Link:

[Joerg]

Enjoy your rants and your Junge Freiheit friends.