Eye On America | Soldiers’ strain caused by intensity of Iraq situation

Ross Weingarten Opinions Editor

In the past months, there have been reported incidents of American soldiers performing brutal, horrible acts of violence against Iraqi men, women and children. Reports of theft, abuse, rape and murder have come back from the warfront and horrified the American public. Perhaps the worst incident took place in the Iraqi town of Haditha, where a group of marines raped and killed dozens of innocent civilians. To make matters worse, information surfaced that the troops then tried to cover it up (newsmax.com). Stories like this not only give our troops a bad reputation, but they also fuel the fire of anti-American sentiment around the world.

There is obviously no question that the actions of this small percentage of American troops undermine our efforts in Iraq. Our campaign is a classic “hearts and minds” affair, where it is just as important that we win the affection of the local population as it is that we protect them. Furthermore, if found guilty in a court of law, these soldiers should be punished accordingly. Reckless and malicious acts must be reprimanded, and being in the military does not provide a carte blanche.

I do not mean to forgive the troops in Haditha, or others at Abu Ghraib, a military prison where reports of abuse and torture of prisoners by American troops have surfaced (The New Yorker, 05.10.04). Their actions are reprehensible. But I hope that when we read these stories with disgust and wonder how our troops could act in such a horrible manner, we remember the ordeals that they endure.

One of the most overlooked aspects of the present war is the effect that it has had on our troops. The campaign’s unpopularity has forced the military to lower standards for entrance into the armed services. The army is now allegedly targeting high school drop-outs, and even some young men and women that have had run-ins with the juvenile justice system. Recruiting goals are being lowered and there is even distant talk of a draft (although we are admittedly a long way away from that).

Once our troops do enlist, they are under-trained and underfunded. Our soldiers in Iraq do not have the right equipment, and despite the fact that our military is the most technologically advanced in the world (goarmy.com), individual troops rarely have the newest weapons . To make matters more difficult, they are engaged in a war where the distinction between friend and enemy is often unclear. Many reports of insurgent attacks describe the enemy as dressed in American military or Iraqi police uniforms. Our troops are under constant duress, and the threat of attack is imminent.

I cannot even begin to imagine the stress that American troops in Iraq must endure. These young men and women, some of them only 18 or 19 years old, face the threat of death 24 hours a day. The effects of this new kind of war have undoubtedly put our troops under unforeseen kinds of stress.

I will now return to the atrocities committed by a tiny percentage of our troops in Iraq. First, it is important to remember that while these stories are highly publicized and scrutinized, they are incredibly rare, and we must be careful not to associate these crimes with the whole military. Second, although we must certainly not forgive or try to rationalize the horrible crimes that were committed, Americans should at least attempt to empathize with our troops, many of whom are not fit to serve in the military, have not been trained effectively, and find it increasingly difficult to determine who is friend or foe. The fact that a few soldiers crack under the pressure should hardly surprise us.

Typically, journalists (myself included) and much of the American public choose to criticize our reason for being in Iraq. This criticism is certainly warranted. It is a war based on misinformation, and now, four years into it, there is no clear picture of what we must do to achieve victory. Yet, we must also remember the incredible strain we put on our troops, many of whom have been forced to serve multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are placing our young men and women in the armed forces in an unfair position, making them police a country under the most stressful of conditions. We are asking them to fight a new kind of war with very little training. When one or a few of them cannot handle the pressure, Americans rightly criticize them.

There is no excuse for the rape or murder of innocent men and women. But in addition to faulting individual soldiers, we must also blame the unfair position in which our government has put them. Press coverage of these incidents should focus not only on the crimes that were committed, but the circumstances that allowed them to happen.