The US sergeant who shot five comrades at a counseling center in Iraq has been charged with five counts of murder. This is indeed a tragic occurrence but this was the guy's third tour of duty I think. Two of the dead were officers from what I understand and three were enlisted men. I cannot imagine what being in a hell hole like this man has most likely been in would do to the psyche. It is not as if killing is seen as bad in general by his superiors (those who don't do the killing, just order it) because thousands of Iraqi's have been killed in the same way, the purpose of the intervention is to kill Iraqis obviously. But for a normal human being, killing another human is not an easy thing to do and has serious psychological effects. Witnessing scenes like the Iraqi baby above, or treating people like animals as you occupy their country, or seeing your own comrades die horrible deaths before your eyes are enough to drive the sanest of us a little crazy, especially if we feel we are to blame.
But now this guy faces the death penalty probably; but is this right? His condition is one of extreme stress--he is sick, not necessarily incurable sick, but sick nevertheless. His illness is a product of conditions created by the likes of Cheney and Bush, Rumsfeld and others---by capitalism. Another sergeant turned on two officers last fall after they met with him about counseling. I wonder how these people must be viewed, these counselors; how do they relate to the young soldier sickened by years of warfare and the struggle to survive?
I remember when I first got a counseling service in to my workplace, a Union/worker oriented service. It was such a relief as far as mental health went because the bosses' programs tended to focus on the responsibility of the individual, that the problem was something you had to cope with, solve individually. But the program we eventually got as an alternative stressed the nature of work, the conditions under which we labored and that the conditions were the major cause of our mental health problems. In other words, racism, sexism, competition with our workmates and powerlessness were an issue.
Naturally the bosses fought this and never encouraged workers to use the place.
I cannot imagine the counselors in the military condemning the conditions under which these folks work and the killing they may well have to do, after all, that's why they're there. I am sure its all about the individual having to cope, having to solve their own problems by being strong---personal responsibility and all that; you are responsible for your own actions. There will be no validating a persons inner feeling that they are not doing what is right, that their reason for not being there is not a just one or that they've been lied to. I could be worng but I don't think so.
I was equally maddened by the scene of Rumsfeld and Bush talking about getting to the bottom of the issue and making sure the culprits are dealt with in the case of Abu Ghraib. Are we supposed to believe that the problem with the US military and the torture in that prison was the fault of a working class woman who grew up in a trailer park--a victim herself in so many ways. The actual culprits will live their lives in wealth and splendor, going to church and being blessed by various preachers for their service to the country and freedom. The likes of Bush or Cheney are cowards, they sacrifice our children for their gain.
This type of inter military killing took place much more frequently in Vietnam as working class enlisted men shot their officers. The ruling class doesn't trust workers to lead the military, they have their own do it; less chance of the troops turning the guns around. I don't envy the conditions that so many young people are in in these wars and I detest the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger, people who avoid the situation at all costs while glorifying it Hollywood style and making millions along the way.
Workers should not support this sergeant being tried for murder by the same people who sent him in to the situation while making sure they themselves avoided it.
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