“The face of Jeremy Morlock, a young US soldier, grins at the camera, his hand holding up the head of the dead and bloodied youth he and his colleagues have just killed in an act military prosecutors say was premeditated murder.”
I read on in horror.
“Moments before the picture was taken in January last year, the unsuspecting victim had been waved over by a group of US soldiers who had driven to his village in Kandahar province in one of their armoured Stryker tanks.
According to testimony collected by Der Spiegel magazine the boy had, as a matter of routine, lifted up his shirt to reveal that he was not hiding a suicide bomb vest.
That was the moment Morlock, according to a pre-arranged plan, threw a grenade at the boy that exploded while other members of the rogue group who called themselves the "kill team" opened fire.
They would later tell military investigators that the boy, a farmer's son, had threatened them with the grenade.”
An English friend of mine sent me an email with this link; and, once again, I was defenceless.
It is a very tiring and depressing chore, being an American. Time and time again, this arrogant, ignorant nation fucks up, loses the infinitesimal sliver of morals and ethics that it has, and once again I regret the ominous day of June 18th, when my student visa expires.
What the fuck is wrong this nation? Apparently, Americans have lost joy in their favourite pastimes of baseball, obesity and racism and have now resorted to killing Iraqi’s for sport. The aforementioned and disgraced Jeremy Morlock has opted to testify against his fellow comrades in exchange for a lower prison sentence.
“Morlock has told investigators that Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs was the ringleader. In videotaped evidence, he has said Gibbs would pick out a possible target with a comment such as: ‘You guys wanna wax this guy or what?’”
As impossible as it is for me to fully put my outrage into words, it is equally a laborious task to ponder what the most depressing aspect of this scandal is: Is it that Morlock was swept up by his superior? That someone like Gibbs could rise to level of Staff Sergeant in the US Military? Or is it that these soldiers were routinely accustomed to mutilating dead “bodies by cutting off fingers and ripping out teeth to keep as trophies?”
Maybe it is that these atrocious acts are all part of a design to ‘keep America safe’ and that these soldiers are ‘protecting’ both Americans and Afghanis? That these college-rejects are protecting me?! Or, alternatively, maybe it is that our nation is so riddled with ignorance that we have learned nothing from Abu Ghraib. Maybe it is the ineffective process of Obama's government to get our troops out. Or that speaking about the war doesn’t win votes; but whiny empathy for high gas prices does. Or wait, maybe it is that the US embassador is working nonstop to keep this story quiet. But possibly, it is the fact that, most likely, a fraction of the American public will ever catch wind of this atrocity.
But no, here’s the most depressing part: Innocent Afghanis are dead and there is a disturbingly large portion of Americans that, were they to read a newspaper or a magazine or (perhaps first) learn how to read, would find nothing wrong with this act. Don’t tell me I’m being naive ... those people are out there, millions of them.
Being an American fucking blows. Americans are so wrapped up in their blankets of ignorance and Krispy Kremes, that they think they are intelligent, worldly people. What is this? Some perverse, bizarre Socratic dialogue?! Here’s a fact: less than a third of Americans have a passport. This means, one third of America could to travel to another country, whereas, the vast majority of the nation are content with living their whole lives in America without setting foot outside their 99% white community in Witchita, Kansas, content in their belief that after their meaningless lives have finished they will be in heaven with all the other evangelical nutjobs that believe the world was created 12,000 years ago.
Obviously, these appalling acts do not represent America, and excuse my largely irrelevant, sanctimonious America-bashing, but doesn’t this shit just take the piss? Isn’t this shit awful? And don’t you feel deeply saddened when this fucked-up nation just refuses to learn? But , the inescapable reality of the situation makes being American such a depressing fact of life. You’re supposed to be proud of where you’re from right? Isn’t that how it works? Someone fill me in here ... LW
Boone, Jon. "Photos Show US Soldiers in Afghanistan Posing with Dead Civilians | World News | The Guardian." Guardian.co.uk. 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. .
ReplyDeleteHey man! Came across your blog after clicking on a picture you were tagged in of others I know. I too am abroad, and as such have had to deal with the cruel status of 'americano' - and it's never more grueling than with Brits and Germans.
ReplyDeleteFocusing on Brits, and arguing a point in horribly poor taste, all the military sources I've talked to have said that they are the most reckless of the allied forces. Americans may have the photojournalists tailing to spot them, probably due to disturbing regularity of wrong, but the Brits are right there with us. Never let 'em forget it!
P.S. Very troubling article, it's almost hard to believe humans are capable of such things.
Hey Joeseph,
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking an interest in my blog, and I congratulate you on your exciting opportunity of international study. I always love to hear that fellow stud’s abroad are reading and I thank you for your comment.
But as for your comment, I find that you were correct that it was, as you labled it, "in horribly poor taste." I apologize; but, in the wake of these events, how are comments such as "Brits are right there with us" and "Never let 'em forget it!" in any way appropriate? Are these revelations that you learned from your “military sources” supposed to make me feel better about these atrocities?
I do not mean to belabour the point or to attack you in any way, but I feel that these types of sentiments (along with many others) encapsulate what I’m talking about in this post. One thing that I repeatedly find so dreary in America is our fascination with horserace journalism, bold banner headlines and endless scorekeeping. Who is ahead? The ‘tax-and-spend ‘Democrats or the ‘spend-and-spend’ Republicans? Scorekeeping, rank and obsession with ‘winning’ permeates American domestic politics and is inseparable from our foreign policies. Why do we feel the need to prove to the world our strength over and over again?
Do you think many Americans will take comfort in the fact that, despite these (repeated) types of monstrosities abroad, as long as we’re better off than the Germans and the English we can sleep easy as a nation? Are there many Americans you know that would “never let ‘em forget it!” as you say? I suppose this is actually a serious question; but, was I meant to follow through on that request?
I think these types of sentiments speak to a bigger issue: American’s absolute denial of accepting blame, or error, or inferiority. Unconditionally, we refuse to hold our hands up to any of these faults, ever. This fetish we have with strength, linked so strongly to stupidity, has historically been our downfall. It has placed two craters into Japan during the 40’s and elected George W. Bush twice (Ok, I admit to my bias here; those are my opinions and irrelevant). But it’s almost as if it’s indulgent. Aren’t two wars in destitute nations enough? Or is it an insufficient demonstration of our strength and status as leaders of the free world? Is that why these soldiers took these pictures?
Why doesn’t America read these types of stories? Why do we choose to disbelieve that these things happen? These stories won’t sell at the newsstand, because we’d all rather live in ignorance. Maybe what gets to me most about all this is not the act itself, but the cooperative will of 300 million (ok, not even close) people pretending it didn’t happen, pretending that these things never happen. That sounds terrible I know, and I won’ try to defend that one, but it’s a genuine concern that I have and I don’t know why.
On a lighter note, Joseph, I’d like to thank you again for your comments. I always welcome my reader’s opinions about my writing. Furthermore, it is a privilege to chat intelligently about these types of issues to a fellow American. Take care, and best wishes for the remainder of your studship. Live it up, man. Sincerely ... LW
P.S. You’re exactly right on this one. No debate.