By Jo Wilding
May 25th

“Anyone would have inhibitions about taking someone’s life, but there are a variety of ways that we’re indoctrinated and desensitised. The esprit de corps, the sense of pride they instil in us and each other, sometimes it seems like some sort of monastic brotherhood or cult. You learn unwavering devotion to each other. When we’re fighting it’s not for the cause or country. It’s for each other, for the person to your right and your left.

“That was the hardest thing, leaving my friends, people from my unit, having them go without me, dedicated, hard working people whose values are being exploited by the US government.” He left when his unit was sent to Iraq, having spent two years applying for conscientious objector status. He applied before his unit was sent to Afghanistan, requesting a transfer to a non-combat role. It was deliberately mishandled, the authorities claiming they had never received it but later giving the papers back to him in a package with a further application and advice to drop the matter.

Jeremy Hinzman was one of two US soldiers who left the army and applied for political asylum in Canada on the grounds of refusal of his conscientious objector status. A baker for four years after high school, he felt his life lacked structure and focus and wanted to be part of something bigger than himself. The military was great for that, he said. “I thought I’d be spreading freedom, democracy and apple pie recipes.”

But dehumanisation of the people in future warzones begins from the start of basic training. “It’s easy to get one person to shoot another. In the first week we shoot at black circles, learn how to aim, how to breathe, and the next week there are shoulders added and then torsos and then they become pop up targets, but all the time they’re targets, not people, and shooting them is a reflex.

By Ed Kinane

Some months ago at a national anti-war rally, I saw this sign addressed to Iraq: “WHY IS OUR OIL UNDER YOUR SAND?!” The words drip with irony. They sum up the arrogance of our leaders in Washington.

The cover art of the May 10 New Yorker magazine features an oil derrick. Blood gushes out of its top. This stark graphic depicts a swap — the swap our gas guzzling, SUV-loving nation, and its corporation-cozy government make with the devil: blood for oil.

Bush, Inc. has done a splendid job of enriching its corporate buddies. But, thanks to Abu Ghraib, it’s now less cocksure. It faces Congressional interrogation and a less docile media. Mutiny is in the air. High level resignations should be next…and then regime change in November.