Encouraged by officers not to distinguish civilians from the enemy

[swag]

From today's review by Stephen Holden of the documentary The Ground Truth in the New York Times.

The Broken Souls of Men Turned Into War Machines

...“The Ground Truth” proceeds swiftly from scenes of recruitment in Venice, Calif., to a Marine Corps boot camp, to the killing fields of Iraq, to the home front. The scenes in which recruits are regaled with promises of the benefits of service, without any mention of killing, aren’t all that surprising. How could a volunteer wartime army be mustered any other way? But there is a difference between misleading advertising and outright lying. One National Guardsman dispatched to Iraq recalls being promised that he would never see combat.

The scenes in boot camp will also surprise no one who has seen “Full Metal Jacket” or “Jarhead,” in which personalities are broken down and reconstructed through systematic humiliation, deprivation and depersonalization.

The movie comes to a boil with its firsthand stories of combat. One soldier after another recalls being encouraged by senior officers not to distinguish between civilians and the enemy. The film’s most gung-ho marine, who went to Iraq for the thrill of combat, recalls his personal turning point: when he killed an Iraqi woman who was approaching his tank only to discover afterward that she was clutching a white flag. Another tells of being screamed at by an Iraqi civilian carrying his brother’s head, which had just been blown off.

But the film’s most disheartening testimony comes from soldiers who returned from Iraq emotionally and mentally shattered only to encounter resistance when seeking treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. One tells of being dismissed by a counselor with the words, “We don’t treat ‘conscientious objectors,’ ” after he voiced his anguish at having killed innocent civilians. These collected stories portray the Defense Department and the Veterans Administration as understaffed, underfinanced agencies responding with a shocking indifference to the needs of those who have served honorably.
...

[midnight]

1. Let this be a warning for anyone entering the military under

the Gop.

[Recursion]

2. Sadly, the VA's indifference is only "shocking"...

...if you've never tried to receive VA services. To those of us who have, it's jadingly normal.

Expect a wave of homeless vets over the next few years, just like we saw with Vietnam. Only worse, frankly, because modern trauma medicine has allowed a lot more of the wounded to survive.

[pecwae]

7. VA

I worked for over 10 years in several VA hospitals and have used them as a 50% SC vet. There are a few dedicated souls in the system, a few. Most of the time all you hear is "it's not my job" echoing throughout the hallways. Everyone is so damn afraid they might be doing something they think someone else should be responsible for and who suffers: just the veteran waiting for service.

[arewenotdemo]

3. "There’s nothing sadder than to hear a disabled, disillusioned soldier...

... his life in ruins, wondering what he was fighting for."

Except, perhaps, to see or hear the grotesque devastation that that same soldier wrought.

The story never ceases to be only about America and Americans.

[swag]

4. Good point.

Good old navel-gazing US narcissism.

Nevertheless, the film highlights for US audiences some very unsavory truths.

[swag]

5. Found the film's web site.

http://thegroundtruth.net/

Trailer and clips therein.

Also, trailer via youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdKzqXct1g8

[OneBlueSky]

6. we're creating a whole generation of badly damaged men . . .

and women . . . people who are trained to be suspicious of "others," and for whom killing is a worthy act and proof of patriotism . . . most of these individuals will eventually re-enter civilian society . . . many will also carry horrific physical scars and/or disabilities . . . some -- who knows how many -- will ultimately snap, inflicting pain, injury, and even death on fellow citizens . . .

and it's all so unnecessary . . .

[ryanus]

8. I went through Basic before Bush

and you have to let yourself trust your drill sergeants and superior officers greatly. I can remember thinking that the drill sergeants are pushing me extremely hard, but not dangerously hard, that I could trust them that they were decent guys who really were looking out for us. So for me, it was absolutely safe and they were all great guys, even though it was extremely hard. It was one of the best experiences of my life. However, if my drill sergeants or superior officers were evil and were brainwashing me or messing me up somehow, that would have been a very hard thing to deal with, if I could have even noticed it. I feel sorry for the guys now. Times have really changed.

[indepat]

9. Inhumanity to man dehumanizes each one who practices such depravity

[Selatius]

10. "Kill them all! Let God sort them out!"

Who said that, btw?