American Bloodthirst

What is it about American troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan? From Abu Ghraib  to the Mahmudiyah killings to the Hamdania murder of a crippled old man to the horrors of the Haditha massacre, it’s been one atrocity after another [...]  More recently it was the “rogue” team of killers that murdered Afghan civilians in the Maywand district for sport. Then it was US troops urinating on corpses, followed shortly afterward by the Koran-burning incident, the second such example of American contempt for the people they are supposed to be “liberating.” Now we have this, which – we’re told – is the result of a US soldier having a “breakdown.”

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That hardly a month goes by without some kind of atrocity being committed should tell us something.

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“Honor the troops” is a given on the left as well as the right, because the above-mentioned atrocities are just “isolated incidents,” examples of soldiers who had “breakdowns” and went “rogue.” Their actions have nothing to do with our mission, our mentality, or our decadent culture, which glorifies violence and disdains foreigners – especially if they’re Muslims. Oh no: these are all anomalies.

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During World War II, American atrocities were relatively few and far between, although no less reprehensible. As the American presence abroad grew more substantial, however, and the cold war heated up, such incidents increased in number, and took on a more horrific – and systematic – character.

In Korea, American troops massacred hundreds of Korean civilians at No Gun Ri, and stood aside while their South Korean allies did the same at Kwangju. During the Vietnam war, vast areas under Viet Cong control were deemed a “freefire zone,” and entire villages were wiped out by US troops. The My Lai massacre revealed how American policy had ended in an orgy of brutality, and support for the war plummeted to new lows.

Embarked once again on an international crusade to save the world, our demons are unleashed – and they are more bloodthirsty and sadistic than ever. Why is that?

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By the time we get around to attacking Iran, our homicidal maniacs in uniform will be so hopped up that we’ll be getting atrocity reports shortly after the first American soldier sets foot on Persian soil.

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A major factor in the increasing level of criminality in our armed forces has got to be the apparent immunity of our political elites from the rule of law. In spite of the boasting of former Vice President Dick Cheney that he personally approved and authorized torture, the Obama administration has refused to indict him – even though he has violated US law. Others who participated – the lawyers who justified it, the officers who covered it up – have been granted similar immunity. In short, these guys are getting away with it – so why shouldn’t the grunts?

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US military personnel are shipped from one trouble spot to another with dizzying speed and little regard for their mental equilibrium. This has resulted in a record number of suicides and dismissals from the armed services on mental health grounds. In addition, criminal activities in the ranks are on the upswing, with gang members actively seeking to be deployed to combat areas: they consider it on the job training.

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So you want to kill people and collect their bones as “trophies”? Well, then, son, the US Army is the place for you!

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[Also, the] craziness spreading through the ranks is a function of the policy, which – consciously or not – encourages and even rewards brutality. In spite of all the BS about “winning hearts and minds” which is part of the “new” counterinsurgency doctrine of the US military, the reality is that American troops are occupiers surrounded by a hostile populace which hates them and wants to see them gone. Soldiers returning from the front tell us how they feel surrounded by enemies on every side, and that’s because it’s true: they are surrounded on every side by people who hate them and want to see them dead. No wonder some go crazy and start killing people randomly.

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As these outrages against human decency and morality provoke worldwide revulsion at the perpetrators, perhaps one day we’ll go looking for “terrorists” in the vicinity of a mirror – and see ourselves for what we’ve become.

  Justin Raimondo

Reference and source links embedded in the article.

I agree with Raimondo's assertions about the character of the US having grown more depraved and brutal over the decades, but I'm still left with the question: Why is that? It seems from the surface that the same trend has occurred in Britain, but not in France or Germany.