[Peace-discuss] A soldier's letter and Chomsky's answer

[C. G. Estabrook]

Mr. Chomsky,

Every day our little post receives fire from mortars, rockets, and sniper
fire. It is a very active city as far as resistance goes. I fear that
before long the commanders are going to forget about the rules of
engangement and collateral damage and it is going to turn into another
Fallujah. This is not what they seem to want though. For some reason there
is an aura of hope for the city. I'm posting on this forum to receive
feedback from great minds. I think I can offer some insight perhaps to the
smaller picture of daily life in the Sunni triangle. Ramadi is only a few
miles away from Fallujah and I can still remember when the operation there
was underway. We felt it, we knew about it here. I wish I could tell you
everything but I must not. I can tell you though, that discontent with the
army is high among the troops. We know how this entire sham in Iraq is a
show of face. The soldiers dying every day are dying for no good reason. I
know I am an expendable resource. What I hate is why. There are many
soldiers who believe they are here to bring freedom to the Iraqi people. I
often joke discretely and say someday somebody is going to bring freedom
to the United States. When you actually put some thought into bringing
freedom to a soverign nation...it is ridiculous, why not bring freedom to
France, Italy, Spain, hey why not China while were at it. That is what I
tell the soldiers who answer me with were here to bring freedom to the
Iraqis and fight terrorism. They dont get it most of the time. Many of
them refuse to acknowledge reality. I am only slightly more aware than
they are thanks to my family and friends, and thanks to my teachers, and
to programs like the Z-sustainers. I feel a burning desire to learn more.
I do not think that the administration is bringing the military and the
personnel in it on the morally right course of action. I have thought
about it so many times about how I can seperate myself from the US Army
and the US itself but it always comes down to one thing, a soldier is
stuck being a soldier right now unless he/she suffers some kind of
horrific debilitating injury. I have no choice but to do things I cannot
support morally because I "signed" my life away. They forget to mention
"you were heavily coached into signing". After 9/11 I was part of that
population that bought into the whole anti-terrorism sentiment. I enlisted
in the army instead of going to college because I felt it was the right
thing to do. It was the worst mistake of my life but it has helped develop
character. The endless idioms of the army helped me realize how important
it is to get an education. Enough of that though. The Iraqi people seem to
want nothing other than to go on with their lives safely. The threat they
suffer from today was not there before the US invaded. It is so obvious to
some of us but the machine succeeded, the majority of soldiers are here
with such conviction that what we are doing is right. They get so angry
with me when I try and show them otherwise. I was spoken to by my chain of
command on several occasions. With the basic message shut up or else. I am
not allowed to point out simple truths proven by our own action. What I am
seeking from this forum is maybe advice, but also I want you to ask
questions so I can help others understand how things are. It is important
to me that others are not so blindly commited to a cause that is hurting
so many people in so many ways. I have saved many, but I have also seen
many more pass away. There must be a solution. The solution is not going
to come from the administration I do not believe.

	PFC Colby, Justin R.
	IMO C CO, 2D FSB
	U.S. ARMY

Reply from NC,

It's a very moving and courageous statement, and a very informative one.
You are certainly right that the solution -- at least any decent one -- is
not going to come from the administration, nor would it have come had
Kerry been elected. It could come from the general population, if they had
a genuine voice in the American political system. But they don't. About
75% believe that the US invaded because Iraq was a threat to the US, with
its development of WMD and ties to al-Qaeda (and 9-11), and should not
have invaded if these claims of the administration are false. They have
been disproven even by the administration's own high-level inquiries (Kay,
Duelfer). Nevertheless, about half of the population believes that the
disproven claims are true, revealing the effectiveness of government-media
propaganda. If people feel that their lives, families, societies are
seriously threatened, they'll go to war in perceived self-defense. But
these figures -- and there are many others like them -- tell us where the
solution lies: in bringing democracy to the United States, so that the
opinion of the overwhelming majority of an informed public can have some
effect on policy.

I couldn't presume to offer you advice in the grim situation that you have
to endure. You know vastly more about it than any of us here. I hope you
find a way to deal with the terrible situation, and that you will find
your way home safely -- to join in the task of liberating the United
States.

Noam Chomsky