From "Gook" to "Raghead"

[crawjo]

A column from the New York Times:

From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'
By BOB HERBERT

I spent some time recently with Aidan Delgado, a 23-year-old religion major at New College of Florida, a small, highly selective school in Sarasota.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, before hearing anything about the terror attacks that would change the direction of American history, Mr. Delgado enlisted as a private in the Army Reserve. Suddenly, in ways he had never anticipated, the military took over his life. He was trained as a mechanic and assigned to the 320th Military Police Company in St. Petersburg. By the spring of 2003, he was in Iraq. Eventually he would be stationed at the prison compound in Abu Ghraib.

Mr. Delgado's background is unusual. He is an American citizen, but because his father was in the diplomatic corps, he grew up overseas. He spent eight years in Egypt, speaks Arabic and knows a great deal about the various cultures of the Middle East. He wasn't happy when, even before his unit left the states, a top officer made wisecracks about the soldiers heading off to Iraq to kill some ragheads and burn some turbans.

"He laughed," Mr. Delgado said, "and everybody in the unit laughed with him."

The officer's comment was a harbinger of the gratuitous violence that, according to Mr. Delgado, is routinely inflicted by American soldiers on ordinary Iraqis. He said: "Guys in my unit, particularly the younger guys, would drive by in their Humvee and shatter bottles over the heads of Iraqi civilians passing by. They'd keep a bunch of empty Coke bottles in the Humvee to break over people's heads."

He said he had confronted guys who were his friends about this practice. "I said to them: 'What the hell are you doing? Like, what does this accomplish?' And they responded just completely openly. They said: 'Look, I hate being in Iraq. I hate being stuck here. And I hate being surrounded by hajis.' "

"Haji" is the troops' term of choice for an Iraqi. It's used the way "gook" or "Charlie" was used in Vietnam.

Mr. Delgado said he had witnessed incidents in which an Army sergeant lashed a group of children with a steel Humvee antenna, and a Marine corporal planted a vicious kick in the chest of a kid about 6 years old. There were many occasions, he said, when soldiers or marines would yell and curse and point their guns at Iraqis who had done nothing wrong.

He said he believes that the absence of any real understanding of Arab or Muslim culture by most G.I.'s, combined with a lack of proper training and the unrelieved tension of life in a war zone, contributes to levels of fear and rage that lead to frequent instances of unnecessary violence.

Mr. Delgado, an extremely thoughtful and serious young man, balked at the entire scene. "It drove me into a moral quagmire," he said. "I walked up to my commander and gave him my weapon. I said: 'I'm not going to fight. I'm not going to kill anyone. This war is wrong. I'll stay. I'll finish my job as a mechanic. But I'm not going to hurt anyone. And I want to be processed as a conscientious objector.' "

He stayed with his unit and endured a fair amount of ostracism. "People would say I was a traitor or a coward," he said. "The stuff you would expect."

In November 2003, after several months in Nasiriya in southern Iraq, the 320th was redeployed to Abu Ghraib. The violence there was sickening, Mr. Delgado said. Some inmates were beaten nearly to death. The G.I.'s at Abu Ghraib lived in cells while most of the detainees were housed in large overcrowded tents set up in outdoor compounds that were vulnerable to mortars fired by insurgents. The Army acknowledges that at least 32 Abu Ghraib detainees were killed by mortar fire.

Mr. Delgado, who eventually got conscientious objector status and was honorably discharged last January, recalled a disturbance that occurred while he was working in the Abu Ghraib motor pool. Detainees who had been demonstrating over a variety of grievances began throwing rocks at the guards. As the disturbance grew, the Army authorized lethal force. Four detainees were shot to death.

Mr. Delgado confronted a sergeant who, he said, had fired on the detainees. "I asked him," said Mr. Delgado, "if he was proud that he had shot unarmed men behind barbed wire for throwing stones. He didn't get mad at all. He was, like, 'Well, I saw them bloody my buddy's nose, so I knelt down. I said a prayer. I stood up, and I shot them down.' "

[patricia]

The thin skin of civility seems to have been stripped away from many of these military personel, allowing them to exhibit their hatred of an entire people.

This is not the only article that has been written, documenting wholesale indignities being inflicted and even the killing of the ordinary Iraqi people, in the guise of "The War On Terror". The line is in danger of being blurred between who the terrorists really are. In many cases it seems as if the thugs are wearing uniforms and committing these indignities with the full approval of the Administration.

Who knows where this anger would have been directed, had these soldiers, ignorant of any culture but their own not been handed a gun and sent to Iraq? These seem to be not proud members of the military, but barbaric, sadistic bullies. Many of these incidents go unreported, seemingly unimportant. It's almost as though just being Iraqi in Iraq is reason enough for uncontrolled contempt by those who supposedly are a liberating force, manifesting itself in violence which in most cases will go unpunished.
At what point will the general public do the math and realize that it's just not possible that most of the thousands of Iraqis who have been imprisoned and even killed can not logically be terrorists, despite the blanket description of "suspected terrorist" being used to justify most of the killings of Iraqis??

[Dennis Gonzalez]

You know you're going to catch shit from the kneejerks expressing outrage at your posting this article. "We have the right to fuck with the hajis if the fuck with us"...and all that shit.

Just watch.

[Gentle Giant]

Originally Posted by crawjo

Mr. Delgado confronted a sergeant who, he said, had fired on the detainees. "I asked him," said Mr. Delgado, "if he was proud that he had shot unarmed men behind barbed wire for throwing stones. He didn't get mad at all. He was, like, 'Well, I saw them bloody my buddy's nose, so I knelt down. I said a prayer. I stood up, and I shot them down.' "

I wonder if he said the prayer for his victims...or for himself.

I'm able to pretty much sum up my political beliefs in four words: War makes men monsters.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by Gentle Giant

I'm able to pretty much sum up my political beliefs in four words: War makes men monsters.

Seems a bit limited as a political philosophy.

[patricia]

It may not be a political philosophy, Pete, but war strips many seemingly normal people of their humanity. I think that the young men and women desensitized by necessity, in order to transform them into soldiers,when sent to war exposes a latent hostility which may not have been demonstrated, had they not been sent to war. There is only a thin skin of civility between a modern, civilized human being and a savage in ALL of us. War exposes that savage, which is why I cannot understand why we, as a species, continue to use that method to mediate political differences. Surely civilization has progressed beyond that.

[crawjo]

Originally Posted by patricia

Surely civilization has progressed beyond that.

Apparently not.

[crawjo]

Actually, the closing of this article is really interesting. I've been thinking about this guy, who sees his buddy's nose bloodied by a rock, and then kneels on the ground, says a prayer, and starts shooting? I can't even imagine the atmosphere that would provoke that kind of response out of a person. How awful.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by patricia

It may not be a political philosophy, Pete, but

Thanks for the explanation.

[patricia]

Originally Posted by Pete C

Thanks for the explanation.

Well, Pete, you know how I love to state the obvious.

[Dr Dave]

"'Well, I saw them bloody my buddy's nose, so I knelt down. I said a prayer. I stood up, and I shot them down.' "

I take it this is what Jesus would have done?

[GoodSpeak]

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

I take it this is what Jesus would have done?

Depends.





Do you live in Florida?

[Slurpy]

Originally Posted by GoodSpeak

Depends.





Do you live in Florida?

Yo, Goody. Remember this time the Floridian is the good guy.

Granted, we're not all normal true-blue Americans like you folks
out in La La land.

[patricia]

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

"'Well, I saw them bloody my buddy's nose, so I knelt down. I said a prayer. I stood up, and I shot them down.' "

I take it this is what Jesus would have done?

Those of us who had our noses bloodied, or bloodied someone's nose should, I suppose, be thankful that our friends, or their friends didn't have a gun to avenge us, or them.
That is one of the the most depraved examples of loyalty to a comrade that I have ever heard. If this incident is an example of the square-jawed courage of the modern soldier, we have much to fear.
One can't help but wonder what other indignities suffered by the "good guys" were avenged by shooting an unarmed Iraqi. Would spitting on the ground, as an expression of contempt for the invaders qualify?

[hornplayer]

The thin skin of civility seems to have been stripped away from many of these military personel, allowing them to exhibit their hatred of an entire people.

well put, Patricia, but I think I'd substitute the word "ignorance" for "hatred." Most Americans don't know enough about Iraqis to hate them, and sadly, they also don't want to learn.

[Dr Dave]

Originally Posted by hornplayer

well put, Patricia, but I think I'd substitute the word "ignorance" for "hatred." Most Americans don't know enough about Iraqis to hate them, and sadly, they also don't want to learn.

The issue is our military in Iraq. They know all they need to know about Iraqis: Some Iraqis want them dead, and use homemade land mines to kill them. Which means there isn't even anybody to shoot at after your buddies have been killed. Which leads to a certain amount of frustration, I would imagine. And as we recall from Vietnam, They All Look Alike.

Not an excuse for their behavior. Just speculation about why they are the way they are.

[Darryl G. Thomas]

The tone was set from the get-go. I remember right after 9/11, listening to my co-workers talking about how "they" had to pay. And how me need to nuke "them" all. Distrust and hatred of the "other" is part of mankind's makeup. War increases both. Some of the situations the ex-soldier describes sounds like the police rolling through an American ghetto.

This is what we are.

And America doesn't hold the patent on this type of behavior. Anyone check out the History channel this week? the 60th anniversary of VE Day b a spate of WWII documentaries. The Germans raped, pillaged and murdered their way towards St. Peteresburg and the Soviets returned the favor on their way to Berlin.

After 9/11 we wanted revenge. This is what revenge looks like.

[Noj]

Originally Posted by Darryl G. Thomas

After 9/11 we wanted revenge. This is what revenge looks like.

However, the 9/11 terrorists were Saudis, not Iraqis. Looks like we missed the target with our vengeance.

[Darryl G. Thomas]

Noj,

To some folks that little distinction isn't relevant. I remember one of my co-workers voicing his suspicions about some guy he rode next to on an aiplane after 9/11. He referred to the "dot" on his head. "That's a Hindu, not a Muslim and not an Arab." Didn't mean shit to nim.

[Chris D]

Winning hearts and minds once again.

[al j]

Originally Posted by Noj

However, the 9/11 terrorists were Saudis, not Iraqis. Looks like we missed the target with our vengeance.

Saudis, Yemenis, and Jordanians, to be sure.

[lynn]

Originally Posted by Gentle Giant

War makes men monsters.

Are you sure. I think men are monsters just waiting for the opportunity to happen. Just watch the news. It's all out war on women and children. People with guns kill people on the freeway. It's just nuts. It's no wonder that when given the green light, men become monsters.

Lynn, are you married?

[lynn]

Men as in mankind. It's just too damn bad you have to attach the word men to everything in order to make a statement isn't it.

So I take it the answer is no?

[Noj]

Real men possess the self-control to avoid violence, and enact it only under circumstances which demand it. Whether or not those circumstances existed in Iraq and required our current violent takeover is still up for debate, though I'm having a real tough time seeing it the way Bush wants everyone to see it.

Thus far, here's what I've been told are the reasons for war on Iraq: WMDs. I remember the news saying Saddam had intercontinental missiles capable of striking America in a matter of minutes. That made me think, "shit, we're in real danger!" At the same time, wouldn't satellite TVs in Iraq pick up the same news report? Also, I'd always heard that WMDs are mostly bargaining leverage, since any attack would trigger a series of answering attacks of equal or greater destruction so no country would risk it.

Then it was a dirty bomb, then it was mobile chemical weapons manufacturing facilities...all of which turned out to not be true.

Then it arrived at the latest explanation, that Saddam was an evil dictator who tortured his people and needed to be removed. I can fully agree with the evil dictator assessment having read of some of the atrocities of which Saddam, his brothers, and followers are guilty. However, there are evil dictators aplenty throughout the globe. Are we going to topple them all? Why spend ourselves silly to take over a country? I have doubts about whether or not Iraqis wanted our "help" to begin with. Our "help" involves cutting the income of a whole infrastructure of Saddam's thuggery. Yeah, they're thrilled with our intervention.

Since the war's explanation shifted several times from the shifty Bush folks, formerly of the oil industry...isn't it much easier just to call it an oil grab? Damn that reads like a good explanation for everything. I'd almost rather have had them say, "Look, we can't have this sicko have all this oil anymore, so we're going to take it from him. He's a dangerous looney and even though it will be a messy shitstorm it's gotta be done."

I'd love to read a well-argued essay from each war supporter as to why this war was a good idea. I think it is a disaster in all aspects, and I'd love to read why some here think differently, in a brief summary.

Also, why be so anxious to help people half way across the globe when we have our own neglected problems at home? How 'bout we make our own schools better? How 'bout we clean up our ghettos? Why be so anxious to spend money, EVEN HELPING OTHER COUNTRIES, if our own retirements are in jeopardy? Where do Americans want their money spent? Don't Americans want to help AMERICA first? We've got our own homeless folks, we've got our own middle class and poor folks who didn't get a tax break, we've got our own retirements to think of...ISOLATIONISM baby. The world has more problems than we can afford to fix, not to mention that "fixing" them military style seems to always be an ugly bloodbath with unpredictable results.

Real men avoid violence unless absolutely necessary, and I think it is not absolutely necessary in Iraq. What's more I think it was done out of greed, executed sloppily, and has gotten more Americans killed than it is worth. The hypocrisy of torturing POWs is the snot icing on the shit cake.

The balls of the government to say our retirements are in jeopardy, spending hundreds of billions of our money on this cowboy bullshit half a globe away.

Originally Posted by Noj

Real men possess the self-control to avoid violence

I'm assuming Lynn disagrees with this statement, Noj.

[lynn]

Originally Posted by Tidy Bowl Man

So I take it the answer is no?

Why don't you address my point? I didn't make the rules. Modern language if filled with masculine references. I take it you ARE a man right? Don't feel so guilt ridden about it.

Noj, you have a really good point. I know many really good men who are very kind and compassionate. Unfortunately for our society, raising men with these values is not really encouraged.

You know in all fairness Scott, I'm sure you watch the news and everyday there seems to be another abduction of a child. Here in Las Vegas women are murdered at an unbelievable rate. I just don't see women commiting these kinds of violent crimes in the same numbers that men do. Not even close. If you can prove me wrong do so.

Originally Posted by lynn

Why don't you address my point?

I'm trying to. Why not answer my question?

I take it you ARE a man right? Don't feel so guilt ridden about it.

Guilt ridden? I don't feel the least bit guilty.

Unfortunately for our society, raising men with these values is not really encouraged.

It isn't?

Well, that's the way I'm raising my son. And I've never been discouraged from it.

Gets his butt kicked in Taekwondo weekly by a little girl. It's actually funny as hell, and all of us parents get a big kick out of it. So I asked him one night why he isn't more aggressive when he's sparring. You know what he said?

"But daddy, I don't want to be more aggressive".

Melted my heart so much, I didn't have anything else to say.

[crawjo]

Women are mean, nasty, domineering creatures. Haven't you seen the paintings of Willem de Kooning?

His mother would punish him by beating him over the head with a wooden shoe.