A Reuters report on 5/4/07 revealed the disturbing results of a study conducted by the Army’s Mental Health Advisory Team (www .armymedicine.army.mil) from Aug. 28 to Oct. 3 last year:
Only 40 percent of American marines and 55 percent of soldiers in Iraq
say they would report a fellow service member for killing or injuring
an innocent Iraqi, a Pentagon study published Friday showed.
The study, which showed increasing rates of mental health problems for
troops on extended or multiple deployments, also said well over
one-third of soldiers and marines believed that torture should be
allowed to gain information that could save the lives of American
troops, or knowledge about insurgents.
While the study blames mental health and stress, it’s doubtful that the fact that the Bush administration has legalized torture, and utilized weapons (like white phosphorous) and strategies (i.e. shock and awe, destroying Fallujah) that massacre civilians hasn’t been a factor in encouraging and training soldiers that what they’re doing is okay.
Moreover, does anyone really think a military like this can do anything good for the people of Iraq? And in this context, what does all the talk of “supporting our troops” from Republicans and Democrats really mean besides justifying war crimes?