Ethan McCord and all Anti-war Veterans: Icons of the Great Turning
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Editorial by Katharine Dawn
US Army specialist Ethan McCord was amongst the first dismounted soldiers to arrive on the scene of fresh carnage after the July 2007 Apache helicopter attack in East Bhagdad, Iraq – now infamous as the Wikileaks “Collateral Murder” video.
Hearing cries coming from a van, Ethan and another soldier, a 20 year old private, approached and looked inside. The private reeled back, began to vomit, and quickly ran away. Inside were two Iraqi children covered in blood and glass, partially protected by the now-dead, hunched over form of a man, presumably their father.
Ethan is shown on the released film footage running with first the girl and then the boy, seeking to deliver them into medical care. With his own children strongly in his mind’s eye, he kept repeating desperately, “Don’t die; don’t die”. Despite Ethan’s platoon leader yelling at him, “Stop trying to save these f—ing kids”, the children did indeed survive.
After the incident, covered with the children’s blood and distraught, Ethan went to a sergeant to apply for mental health support. The response he received was standard: he was denied support and instead crudely upbraided – called “a pussy”, told he needed “to suck that s–t up” and “get the sand out of your vagina”, and threatened with “repercussions”, even criminal charges, if he were to persist in seeking mental health assistance. As later affirmed by McCord, in the US military, the standard practice for soldiers who are brave enough to approach their ‘superiors’ with issues of war crimes, crimes against humanity and their own struggles of conscience and trauma, is that they are criticized and “smoked” – meaning they are harshly disciplined, typically by having to perform exhaustive pushups, sit-ups, crunches, flutter kicks, etc., in accord with the motto, “Strong, Army, Strong”
Finally back home, Ethan was diagnosed with chronic, severe PTSD. After three years of nightmares, Ethan was starting to improve when the “Collateral Murder” video was released. The flood of emotions came back.
Now Ethan is an outspoken anti-war activist.
Having served in the US Army for 7 years, he knows it from the inside. As the Wikileaks releases of “Collateral Murder”, the Afghan War Diaries and Iraq War Logs raise awareness of US war crimes and crimes against humanity, and as resistance to the “war without end” grows, McCord’s candid insights are invaluable. While the hard evidence direcly incriminating untold numbers of US Army personnel is now in the public arena, Ethan is one of many anti-war veterans starkly reminding us that these “troops” are “human beings”. While many civilians were outraged by the callous and joking comments of the Apache gunners in the “Collateral Muder” video, McCord explains that such behaviour is “a coping mechanism… to push away your true feelings of the matter”. A fellow soldier complained that the video “depicted us as being callous, cruel, heartless people, and we’re not that way”. Ethan McCord affirms: “There’s no easy way to kill somebody. You don’t just take somebody’s life and then go on about your business… That stays with you. And cracking jokes is a way of pushing that stuff down. That’s why so many soldiers come back home… and they explode”.
In addition to extensive public speaking, Ethan – with another soldier from his former army unit, Josh Steiber – has written An Open Letter of Reconciliation and Responsibility to the Iraqi People, which says: “Please accept our apology, our sorrow, our care, and our dedication to change from the inside out. We are doing what we can to speak out against the wars and military policies responsible for what happened to you and your loved ones. … Our heavy hearts still hold hope that we can restore inside our country the acknowledgment of your humanity, that we were taught to deny.”
I believe Ethan McCord, as well as all other anti-war veterans, deserve recognition as icons of the pivotal process characterised as “The Great Turning – from Empire to Earth Community”. Ethan has successfully met what I consider the greatest challenge of our time: the reclaiming of our humanity. Ethan has described his own personal process for rejecting war and military indoctrination with these provocative words:
“My humanity and love for the human race was overcoming everything the Army taught me.”
References
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/feces-urine-blood-smoke-and-something-indescribable
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/2007-iraq-apache-attack-as-seen-from-the-ground/
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/ms200410.html
The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, David Korten 2006
Easily notice that the experience of Ethan McCord is similar to hundreds of millions of such experiences throughout the history of wars.
And notice the individual and organizational reactions are similar.
Notice that wars continue, while objection to wars continues.
Now consider that throughout human history, certain people have methodically and tediously asked and answered all the questions of the above identified contradiction, leaning the knowledge to efficiently resolve the contradiction, therefore by inherently resulting logic identifying the process to end wars, defeating all opposition, inherent to resolving the contradiction.
But to offer the knowledge to the peace and anti-war organization leaders, as has been done hundreds of times, is like offering the knowledge to war Generals, likewise done hundreds of times, both dependent upon the existence of wars for their income and organizational leadership ego gratification, much to the resulting amusement of those who spent so much time to tediously learn that inordinately valuable knowledge useful for organization leaders. But the leaders want power, not knowledge, inherent to the corruption of organizational power.
You can send donations to war leaders or peace leaders, for the same effect, as the test of time proves.
Your only escape is to learn the knowledge, not support organization leaders.
Let me know if you know any anti-war organization leaders who want to learn the process to stop wars, or if you know any military Generals who want to efficiently win their wars, to thus each end the need for their jobs.
Respectfully, DougBuchanan.com
Hi Doug. Thanks for your thoughtful comment. It is, of course, a very different world today from the world of the last few millenia when human beings’ campaigns for freedom, self determination and justice were more isolated… Now, really because of the internet, we are a practically connected Community of Earth – Avaaz is one expression of this unified voice. With the Wikileaks releases, AT LAST everyone is confronted by the hard evidence of what is going on in the dynamics of our world… It is a new world environment : it is TRANSPARENT. In this new clarity, a LINE has been drawn, and everyone is taking their place – either FOR EMPIRE with all its deception and devastation and power-over or FOR EARTH COMMUNITY with its rejection of criminality and corruption, its authentic human values. Anyway, Doug, my point is that NOW the world is a small, interconnected place and the ENDING of WAR will be achieved now – like ALL the other crises we face at this time – from the GRASSROOTS. If there’s no ‘Universal Soldier’ pulling the trigger, there’s NO WARRING : I SUPPORT the Anti-Recruitment Campaign – WE ARE NOT YOUR SOLDIERS. http://www.wearenotyoursoldiers.org Peace, Katharine
Spain Begins Investigation Of Obama For Crimes Against Humanity
By: John Caruso
A Spanish judge today opened preliminary investigations into claims that Predator drone attacks on Pakistan warranted the prosecution of Barack Obama and six senior U.S. officials for crimes against humanity.
Judge Fernando Andreu agreed to investigate the deaths of 21 people, including children, who died when Obama ordered U.S. Predator drone attacks on targets in Pakistan. [...]
The magistrate accepted that the aim of the attack had been to kill suspected members of “the terrorist group called al Qaeda”.
But the United States appeared to have fired so many missiles that it was inevitably going to kill many other innocent people living nearby, Andreu said.
No, not really; sorry to get your hopes up. Here’s the actual story:
A Spanish judge today opened preliminary investigations into claims that a bomb attack on Gaza in 2002 warranted the prosecution of a former Israeli defence minister and six senior military officers for crimes against humanity.
Judge Fernando Andreu agreed to investigate the deaths of 15 Palestinians, mostly babies and children, who died when the Israeli air force bombed a target in Gaza City. [...]
The magistrate accepted that the aim of the 2002 attack had been to kill Saleh Shehadeh, who he described as a suspected leader of “the terrorist group called Hamas”.
But the Israeli air force appeared to have dropped such a huge bomb on Shehadeh’s house that it was inevitably going to kill many other innocent people living nearby, Andreu said.
war is necessary to eradicate the evil. but unfortunately wars are not being fought with this spirit and focus. I respect the contribution and sacrifice of for Mr. Mannon and Mr. McCord.
Government who fear the truth will eventually torture their own citizen in order to keep information from the public.
when governments, agencies, shadow forces etc…commit crimes secretly it will hunt those responsible somehow.
The internet is connecting the best minds of the world, some are afraid of that. Just think…We are living in a Era when some are spending $11 million on decorations hotel lobbies while others can’t afford basic education or drinking water.
Governments need to understand that fighting against poverty creates jobs, while wars create short term profits for professional warlords.
support peace and justice always…