NEWS: Sins of the Brother

POLITICS: Sins of the Brother

[Editor's note: OhSoOrdinary submitted this article from Iraq, where she is currently serving with the U.S. Army.]



A great deal of our mission here is psychological. The Iraqi people need to believe that siding with us serves their interests better than siding with the insurgents and the militias. That's why we run humanitarian aid missions and build infrastructure in their towns and villages. Those big, expensive, time-consuming overtures of friendship do very little to help us when things like this happen. I was in the cafeteria when I first saw this story on CNN's The Situation Room. I was horrified.

Are you serious? Why don't you just shoot me instead, guy?

When a story like this breaks, two things happen: violence in that area goes up and locals lose trust in us. One stupid ass is all it takes to undermine everything we're trying to do out here. That's why that elaborate ceremony was held with generals and television cameras. It's a really big deal. But, when I saw this story, that's not what I was thinking about. I wasn't really thinking. I was looking around. I was listening. Just about everyone's eyes were on the television. The reactions were all very striking to me.

Just like that cafeteria full of soldiers, I have mixed feelings when I see stories like this. My first feeling was that of annoyance. Public opinion of the war and the troops isn't exactly awesome and this doesn't help. All the militant liberals who believe we're all a bunch of villains with blood on our hands raise these stories up and say, "See! Look at the bastardly bastards!" It's so hurtful to be seen that way by our fellow citizens when the children of this foreign country smile at us and wave when we drive by.



But then I was angry. This jerk has undone so much legwork by so many other service members. All those joes who ran patrols and all those Humint teams who developed rapports with the sheiks and tribal leaders may just as well have stayed on the FOB. Now, whoever has to run missions in Radwaniyah is in even more danger. The herder who would have warned them of that man who had been digging by the road that morning might not speak up this time. The shop owner who always tells them when new people move into the village might just keep things to himself this time. They might be all on their own.



Later that evening, because it is within my nature to do so, I found myself trying to understand this Staff Sergeant. It wasn't hard. Hating all of them is very easy.



There is a profound sense of kinship in the military. Calling it strong is a gross understatement. Calling it profound is an understatement still. Before we deploy, we spend a year or so living and working with the same people. They become our brothers and our sisters. Then, we all leave for a country full of people who want to kill us. When we land on our FOB, we make a silent and largely subconscious promise to each other: "I'm going to take care of you. I'm going to make sure you're okay and we're going to come home together."



When that promise is broken, it is a kind of pain that I cannot easily describe to you. Everyone experiences it differently, but for me it manifested itself first with anguish and guilt. It tore at my insides and sorrow bled into my soul. It changed into anger. I was so angry at the person who set that IED. He killed my Crouch. He killed my brother. I didn't know who he was, but I hated him.



I've only lost one brother. I've only broken one promise. But over 4,000 promises have been broken over the last five years and I can understand how that hate for the person who took your brother could infect the rest of your psyche. It could make you call them towelheads. It could make you exploit the language barrier to make jokes about them. It could make you look for a reason - any reason at all - to pop off a few rounds. It could make you lust for revenge. It could. But, it shouldn't.



Members of the Armed Services are very often held in high regard. As such, we are constantly reminded that each one of us represents all of us. So, when an unnamed Staff Sergeant plants a few rounds in a Quran, in the eyes of the public, we all do. That's unfortunate, because the vast majority of us make a choice contrary to this Staff Sergeant. We choose to retain our humanity.



It's easy to dehumanize an entire race of people when you think they're trying to kill you. Especially when they all look the same. Especially when there's a language barrier. Especially when they follow the rules you and yours have set for them. It's really easy to see them and the things they love as a little less than human and a little less than precious. It's easy. It's really easy. But it's not right.



It's not right to use Qurans for target practice. It's not right to massacre entire families for revenge. It's not right to throw puppies off cliffs. It's not right to treat detainees like animals. It's not right to sacrifice one's humanity by succumbing to hatred.



Members of the Armed Services are very often held in high regard, but we are a microcosm of society. All I ask is that you remember that for every Soldier, Marine, Sailor or Airman who succumbs to hatred, there are ten thousand of us who do not.



[Hat tip: Argene]



OhSoOrdinary can't wait to go home, wash her hands of this whole mess, and start her bright, shiny, new life.

Spectacular article.

Thank you so much for the submission, and thank you so much more for your service.

Nice work there. Don't forget the Diablo Effect, which is clearly evident in the actions of prison officers. Situations turn us into evil things.

agreed. great work.

Great job on the article. The insider view is one we rarely get where Iraq is concerned.

Has anything come out about why this sniper decided to use a Quran as a target? Was it a symbol of a personal crusade? Was it retaliation for a dead comrade? Was it a scheme to get out of the country? A moment of stupidity?

I guess none of them are acceptable. But they would tell us different things about the shooter as a person.

most likely, he didn't think about it--he thought it'd be funny, and he didn't consider the consequences. as OhSoOrdinary said, it's very easy for soldiers to think in terms of 'us versus them'. on 12 Sep 2001, our unit tacked paper turbans on the heads of the plastic targets at the range. this soldier's job is to kill 'them'; by comparison, shooting up their holy book probably didn't strike him as being a big deal.

great article, OhSoOrdinary. stay safe.

Excellent article.

fuck i had a big long post to add to this and now it's lost. WHY DOESN'T THIS SITE WORK?????

Thank you OhSoOrdinary, for your seriously great article and for your service.
You are really OhSoOutstanding, not ordinary.
Hang in there and be safe.

Such an insightful, informed look into the reality of the situation in Iraq. OhSoOrdinary is far from being ordinary. She is an amazing person to be able to serve and have humanity in such an awful situation. Respect and love to you OhSoOrdinary!!

oh, it does work. it works so well.

Lest we forget:

"It's easy to dehumanize an entire race of people when you think they're trying to kill you. Especially when they all look the same. Especially when there's a language barrier. ...
... It's really easy to see them and the things they love as a little less than human and a little less than precious. It's easy. It's really easy. ... "

I know the Not-So-Ordinary girl hasn't forgotten that.

Thank you for sharing your perspective with us again OhSo.

Incredible article :-)

Be well.

great article,
i wouldn't dare say anything like, "it brought a tear to my eye", but it certainly was moving.

Very nice, Thank You.

Very nice to get this sort of perspective on this site. Stay safe over there.

It's a shame, there are some people who have joined the military who really have no business being there (not necessarily this guy, but some individuals I have met). What they fail to realize is that their actions put put US troops endanger, and hurt the US mission.

Fixed.

Nice one, wish I had more to add, other than thanks.

Agreed, it seems there's been a systematic implosion of everything Iraq since day one. Perhaps the prevailing attitude of carelessness and tolerance stems from incompetent civilian leadership, trickling down the chain of command until it settles at the bottom, corrupting a few grunts who've grown callous and insensitive under the bad influence of poor leadership (but then again, perhaps thats just part of the horror of all wars, but who really knows). From the war's ill conceived inception, to the lack of proper preparation, training and supplying, and the inevitable impossibility of securing post Saddam Iraq (hell we didn't even have an exit strategy before going in!!!), it's been nothing but a pooch screw. To hell with Colin Powell's pottery barn analogy, I say it's broke and we can't fix it. We may have to pay for the broken "pot", but that doesn't mean we have to buy the whole fucking store, does it?

In defense of the troops who are "endangering the mission" (seriously, there are two sides of that coin if you think about it), the one's who don't want to be there, they may believe what we're doing is wrong or hopeless, or some may have simply given up caring and would just as soon as nuke the country and everyone else, but don't blame them for feeling that way (not that I'm saying they shouldn't be held accountable). I care more about the damage caused by the people who've recklessly endangered our national security by committing our military resources to this pointless war. I realize that you're already committed to the mission as a troop and you must rely on other soldiers being on their game (as they do you), so yeah, I can see how much it pisses you off to see a few rotten eggs sully the bunch. Just know that a lot of people feel pretty pissed off about the rotten eggs who got us into this mess in the first place. Many people may not forgive America in the future, I just hope they can also realize the difference between "good" and "bad" Americans.

I was referring to the guy who shot the koran, not you.

The people who don't want to be there and the people who thing what we're doing is wrong and hopeless are not the people I'm talking about.

Endangering the mission means endagering the troops. When the mission goes badly, you don't just pack up and try again tomorrow. People die. So I'm not hearing anything in defense of anyone endangering the mission.

Re-fixed.

Good article

I hold you in high regard, and I hope that the integrity and humanity of the majority can over-ride the feelings of shame about the hateful, the wayward.

I feel people like the Quoran shooter would be doing hateful and destructive things eventually, no matter where they positioned themselves.

Be safe and continue to know when to hold your head high, and when to duck.

xoxo
LL