At 12:34 PM +0000 3/26/03, Lawrence Upton wrote:
>Others - GG? - here have spoken well of the troops. That brought me up,
>especially when G Gatza was mentioned, a fine human being
>
>I don't have such sympathies in general and feel no loyalty to people whose
>profession includes killing. *Is it different with US forces? Don't see why
>it should be. I avoid the military if I can. Those I have met appear to be
>air heads. It's best not to be in the pubs in Helston when Culdrose gets
>paid, I know that. But apart from a few experiences with that lot, all I
>know is The Long and the Short and the Tall and Full Metal Jacket
I am not a pacifist (this may surprise some people) and I don't feel
any animus towards the troops there. I understand the need for
armies. And I feel sorry for the men and women fighting and dying
there, even while I believe they should not be there, and even while
the "civilian casualties" they are responsible for mount higher.
Some of them might have no real understanding of why they are there,
except that they are following orders (I am not entering the moral
minefield here); I suspect many of them will have a sophisticated and
cynical understanding. I guess my view of US troops has been
inflected by among other things Michael Herr's classic book
_Despatches_, his reports during the Vietnam War; and also by knowing
the attitudes of Australian troops towards the Americans during the
battles for New Guinea, which were not flattering. But being foolish
and frightened and violent is not a good enough reason to die
horribly. They are all people, some of them are very young men, and
if they live they will never get over this. They are not dehumanised
blanks.
Australian soldiers tend not to be fools, but I don't expect any of
them joined the army expecting they would be in this sort of
situation. Military opinion here has been totally against our
participation in this shameful conflict. I am sorry they have been
betrayed in this way by our government. And I am sorry for Australia
that we have suddenly become invaders.
Best
Alison
--
Alison Croggon
Editor
Masthead Online
http://au.geocities.com/masthead_2/
Home page
http://www.users.bigpond.com/acroggon/
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