"What : no officers?"

News last nite of the alleged massacre of Iraq civilians by our Marines turned my thoughts to one of the great works of war art (and great pieces of art period), the 10h wWW2 movie "Band of Brothers". The episode called "The Last Patrol" takes place in Feb of '45, @ a time when the U.S. armed forces were streched thin (not as thin as die Wermacht, but stress streched heavy none the less). A soldier returning from hospital is stunned to find that the unit he is being activated in is being run not by officers but NCO's. That's all about B.O.B. in this post. But...

From what I've read in NYT and seen on BBC, and I only had time to 65% it, seems that , yes, there were no officers in the unit involved @ the scene. The unit were led by two Staff Sgt.'s. Officers were involved only to cover up the incident.

It brings to mind many different things.

"What : No officers?"

Wouldn't it be nice if there were "officers" to lead our country? Bush ? Draft Doger who still supported the Vietnam War. 50m AMERICANS voted for that person. Horrible. We should ALL know better. Rumsfeld ? No one took that person seriously, correct ?? No, many AMERICANS do/did (good riddence, by the way). Clinton, Kennedy, Truman, Lincoln etc... : good riddence to all of them; not a true Patriot among them. America is the best, and we deserve better than people who pursue Anti-American policies like them. This war has made Haliburton a wealth of money. The rise in oil prices have made the families of Osama Bin Ladin and George W. Bush far richer than they were before. Hopefully the next president and the 535 congresspeople will work for the good of the country, and not for whatever they do work for. I guess we'll see.

"What : No officers?"

24 Iraqi's were killed. An 70 yr old man in a wheelchair (my mom, sans wheelchair?). Little kids (my neices and nephews?). Three concerned men who came over to see what was the matter (any concerned good American citizen?). Could any American kid actually do what they are accused of? My 20yo nephew has frenz he went to school that are in the military. Could my wonderful nephew actually take part in such an atrocity? My friend S. who I went to Grad school with (and Lanigans and Cubs games and...) was in Baghdad for a year. Can it be that these good people could be reduced to such barbism. No, its impossible....and its not. Our poor children, be they privates or Sgts. or whatever, are put into these horrible situations, to kill or be killed, and are scarred forever. No one could ever love America more than I, but I do not want our children put in these situation. And I'm not saying our kids in the Marines, if they are guilty, are not @ fault. But if our military is used, use it in a patriotic manner. I am a pacifist, nodding to my Catholic upbringing and being a Jesus Freak. But I also nod to my countries revolutionary past. The dilema in the Beatles "Revolution" ("But if you want destruction/ Don't you know that you can count me out/in") resonates with me. Don't lie to the American public and decieve us. Try to honour the label "American".

"What : No officers?"

Our military, our wonderful weapon of potential good, is being misused and overstreched. We needed soldiers in New Orleans; but they were in Asia, far away from where America needed them. We need soldiers in the neighbourhoods, in the schools, in humanitarian work in foreign countries. I know that officers are not above barbism, but I can only think that if officers were present-- officers the caliber of WW2 vet and Silver Star winner Maj. Richard Winters (I know, I know)-- that what the marines are alleged of doing would not happen. Instead, the powers that be have streched out military too thin, making them to weakened and ineffiecient to succeed in any mission.