Monday, November 28, 2005
To the Victor Go the Spoils
And let's forget everyone else.
The LA Times has up a story that's both frightening and sad. Col. Ted Westhusing, who was charged with overseeing the training of Iraqi police by a private contractor, likely committed suicide. The question is, why? Well, he claims to have witnessed episodes where contractors took part in or witnessed the killings of Iraqi civilians. He reported the incidents to his superiors, but nothing came of the complaints. He grew more agitated, complaining about conditions in e-mails to his family and acting on edge around USIS contractors. Finally, he shot himself in his trailer, and left this note:
"I cannot support a msn [mission] that leads to corruption, human rights abuse and liars. I am sullied," it says. "I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored.
"Death before being dishonored any more."
This is frightening and sad enough as it is. But what makes it worse is the seemingly callous attitude taken by the military towards Westhusing's death, if the psychologist who overlooked his records is any indicator (emphasis mine):
She said that Westhusing had placed too much pressure on himself to succeed and that he was unusually rigid in his thinking. Westhusing struggled with the idea that monetary values could outweigh moral ones in war. This, she said, was a flaw.
"Despite his intelligence, his ability to grasp the idea that profit is an important goal for people working in the private sector was surprisingly limited," wrote Lt. Col. Lisa Breitenbach. "He could not shift his mind-set from the military notion of completing a mission irrespective of cost, nor could he change his belief that doing the right thing because it was the right thing to do should be the sole motivator for businesses."
We're no longer fighting for our safety. We're no longer fighting as liberators. We're no longer fighting to make the world a better place for all peoples.
If this statement is to be taken seriously, then we are fighting for spoils. We fight to take money from the conquered, and to use the conquest to feed our own industries. Proper morals have been traded for profit margins.
We've become the Roman Empire.
This is why 2000 men have died, and Bush has yet to yield. This is why we've been given thirty different explanations for the war; the true cause is so repulsive, it cannot be stated directly. This is about the sacrifice of good men for profit.
I wonder how much Ted Westhusing was worth?
The LA Times has up a story that's both frightening and sad. Col. Ted Westhusing, who was charged with overseeing the training of Iraqi police by a private contractor, likely committed suicide. The question is, why? Well, he claims to have witnessed episodes where contractors took part in or witnessed the killings of Iraqi civilians. He reported the incidents to his superiors, but nothing came of the complaints. He grew more agitated, complaining about conditions in e-mails to his family and acting on edge around USIS contractors. Finally, he shot himself in his trailer, and left this note:
"I cannot support a msn [mission] that leads to corruption, human rights abuse and liars. I am sullied," it says. "I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored.
"Death before being dishonored any more."
This is frightening and sad enough as it is. But what makes it worse is the seemingly callous attitude taken by the military towards Westhusing's death, if the psychologist who overlooked his records is any indicator (emphasis mine):
She said that Westhusing had placed too much pressure on himself to succeed and that he was unusually rigid in his thinking. Westhusing struggled with the idea that monetary values could outweigh moral ones in war. This, she said, was a flaw.
"Despite his intelligence, his ability to grasp the idea that profit is an important goal for people working in the private sector was surprisingly limited," wrote Lt. Col. Lisa Breitenbach. "He could not shift his mind-set from the military notion of completing a mission irrespective of cost, nor could he change his belief that doing the right thing because it was the right thing to do should be the sole motivator for businesses."
We're no longer fighting for our safety. We're no longer fighting as liberators. We're no longer fighting to make the world a better place for all peoples.
If this statement is to be taken seriously, then we are fighting for spoils. We fight to take money from the conquered, and to use the conquest to feed our own industries. Proper morals have been traded for profit margins.
We've become the Roman Empire.
This is why 2000 men have died, and Bush has yet to yield. This is why we've been given thirty different explanations for the war; the true cause is so repulsive, it cannot be stated directly. This is about the sacrifice of good men for profit.
I wonder how much Ted Westhusing was worth?
