News of War (NYT Sampler Part II)
600,000 Dead FRom Iraq War
This made big headlines – “600,000 civilians have died in violence across Iraq since the 2003 American invasion,” 56% of them from gunshots. There is a wide range in the estimate (from 426,369 to 793,663 with 600,000 simply being near the middle of the range).
The mortality rate before the American invasion was about 5.5 people per 1,000 per year, the study found. That rate rose to 19.8 deaths per 1,000 people in the year ending in June.
Well, at least they’re free, right? Full article
American Mercenaries
The Army met its recruiting goals this year. How? More recruiters and bonuses of $40,000 to those willing to drive convoys (full article). As citizens, we have to ask whether it is moral to allow our military to recruit this way. In the Civil War, the wealthy could essentially pay their way out of service and it seems we’ve come to that again. There’s no doubt in my mind that if we once again instituted a draft and compelled everyone to serve, it would be much much more difficult for our leaders to force us into war. Currently, most Americans are simply too complacent about watching our hired mercenaries go off to battle, “because it’s their job”. As Machiavelli argues in his republican “Discourses” (before his authoritarian “Prince” which was out of character for him), a citizen-militia is the bulwark of democracy and nothing threatens it more than a large standing army of mercenaries.
The Cost of War, Chapter II
In human tragedy: Already 400,000 American soldiers may end up claiming disability benefits even if the war ended tomorrow.
In dollars: recipients will be eligible for anywhere from a few hundred to over $1,000 per month. Taking $500 per month as an average, that’s $2.4 billion per year in expenses that don’t go away after the war is over. Furthermore, that does not include lost productivity (1 in 10 are 100% disabled). Full article
Soldier Sentenced to Three Months for Going AWOL
Sgt Ricky Clousing, a born-again Christian who went to Iraq to serve God and his country, was sentenced to three months in prison for failing to show up for duty. After what he say in Iraq, Clousing said he could not longer in good conscience serve. Clousing
said he saw American soldiers shoot and kill an unarmed Iraqi teenager, and rode in an Army Humvee that sideswiped Iraqi cars and shot an old man’s sheep for fun — both incidents Sergeant Clousing reported to superiors. He said his work as an interrogator led him to conclude that the occupation was creating a cycle of anti-American resentment and violence.
Popularity: 25% [?]
Add to: 
del.icio.us •
furl •
reddit
•
digg •
technorati cosmos
