• Those who want to support our troops should work to bring them home. We can no longer make our soldiers protectors of our denial about the profound impacts of war. We can no longer sweep their anguish and the shame of our immoral wars under the carpet of heroism and adulation.

• How Memorial Day Glosses Over the Real Horrors of War

• Will We Pay Our Debt to Our Vets?

Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and J. Michael Orange, Evergreene Digest

Submitted by David Culver

Another Memorial Day is behind us and with it the bombardment of superficial signs of veneration of the troops even as soldiers themselves are chewed up, spit out, and abandoned to joblessness and despair. The phrase, “support our troops,” is among the most potent of lies. It’s used to stifle legitimate dissent and mobilize public support for unjust wars, criminal presidents, and war profiteers who benefit at the expense of soldiers and civilians alike. If truth is the first casualty of war then soldiers are the second. “Support our troops” offers a source of cheap grace for people who can’t be bothered to examine the actual causes of war, the deadly consequences of U.S. foreign policies, or the relationship between war and our domestic problems.

The Iraq war, with little fanfare and less self-reflection, ended officially in December 2011, but costs and casualties will continue rising for generations to come. A Wall Street Journal article estimated a $4 trillion price tag. Nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq and many of the 32,000 wounded will need a lifetime of care. More than 600,000 U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars qualify for disability. They and many others face economic hardships and physical and emotional traumas. Veterans are disproportionately homeless, and the unemployment rate among young vets is 30 percent and rising.

Hidden in these tragic figures is war’s dirty secret. As historian and former U.S. Army Colonel Andrew Bacevich clearly states, “War is a source of enormous wealth and power [that delivers] profit, power, and privilege to a long list of beneficiaries.” These beneficiaries find it expedient and surprisingly easy to sell war and militarized priorities to a reluctant public using deception, fear, and patriotism.

Two foundational myths further undergirded Militarized America: American exceptionalism and belief in the usefulness of military power. As retired Lt. Colonel William Astore writes:

We wage war because … we’ve come to believe that American wars can bring good to others…. Most Americans are not only convinced we have the best troops, the best training, and the most advanced weapons, but also the purest motives…. [O]ur warriors … are seen as gift-givers and freedom-bringers, not as death-dealers and resource-exploiters. Our illusions about the military we “support” serve as catalyst for, and apology for, the persistent war making we condone.

We must confront many serious problems that can’t be addressed through military means. There are solutions—but no military solutions—to inequality, unemployment, rising health care costs, debt, climate change, poverty, and terrorism and yet we devote 58 cents of every dollar appropriated by the U.S. Congress to militarism and war (see http://www.mnasap.org).

Those of us who want to thank soldiers should be willing to say “thank you for your sacrifice.” They are the one percent who took an oath to defend the Constitution; an oath that demands tremendous sacrifice from them and from those who care for them.

Although it should trigger our outrage, it’s no surprise that about 30% of veterans of the Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan conflicts develop long-term debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder. Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts between the ages of 20-24 are about three times as likely to commit suicide as their civilian peers. As you read this, reflect on the Army Times report that, on average, 31 veterans will try to kill themselves today and 18 of them will succeed. Over the past few years, more troops have died by their own hands than on our two main battlefields.

We believe the violence of suicide is linked to moral injuries they received fighting illegitimate wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. For many, the most toxic wounds are from witnessing or causing harm to civilians. According to the International Red Cross, “Civilians have borne the brunt of modern warfare, with ten civilians dying for every soldier in wars fought since the mid-20th century.” The experience creates a psychic poison, whether a soldier pulled the trigger or served the war machine from an air-conditioned office.

Those who want to support our troops should work to bring them home. We can no longer make our soldiers protectors of our denial about the profound impacts of war. We can no longer sweep their anguish and the shame of our immoral wars under the carpet of heroism and adulation.

Minneapolis resident, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, is Associate Professor of Justice and Peace Studies at the University of St. Thomas and the author of 13 books including Authentic Hope: It’s the End of the World as We Know It but Soft Landings Are Possible (Orbis Books, March 2012). Michael Orange lives in West St. Paul. As a Marine in Vietnam, he experienced combat in numerous search-and-destroy missions and patrols during his tour of duty (1969-70). In 2001, he published a memoir of his experiences, Fire in the Hole: A Mortarman in Vietnam. He teaches a class on the history of the Vietnam War at venues including the University of Minnesota’s Compleat Scholar Program.

Related:

How Memorial Day Glosses Over the Real Horrors of War, Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com

• It’s likely that few Americans have spent time thinking about what the “memorial” in Memorial Day is about.

• Memorial Day 2012

Will We Pay Our Debt to Our Vets?  Katie Drummond, the Fix

• Soldiers are coming home from our two wars with a staggering rate of invisible brain injuries—and the addictions that go with them. With treatment estimated to cost $1 trillion, will America really meet their dire needs?

• US Army Delays Counseling Program

• The Three Most Dangerous Words a Soldier Can Hear: “Support Our Troops”