Violence Inherent

Read what Juan Cole writes here about the Israeli soldiers occupying the Palestinians. He references this article: According to Yishai Karin: 'At one point or another of their service, the majority of the interviewees enjoyed violence. They enjoyed the violence because it broke the routine and they liked the destruction and the chaos. They also enjoyed the feeling of power in the violence and the sense of danger.' In the words of one soldier: 'The truth? When there is chaos, I like it. That's when I enjoy it. It's like a drug. If I don't go into Rafah, and if there isn't some kind of riot once in some weeks, I go nuts.' . . . One described beating women. 'With women I have no problem. With women, one threw a clog at me and I kicked her here [pointing to the crotch], I broke everything there. She can't have children. Next time she won't throw clogs at me. When one of them [a woman] spat at me, I gave her the rifle butt in the face. She doesn't have what to spit with any more.' Before we recoil in revulsion, or try to rationalize the excerpt as either propaganda or exaggeration, understand that this probably is true on basis (perhaps not the exact details, but the mood and general activity is probably reasonably accurate). We know that the US army actually tried to medicate Vietnam-era soldiers so that they would be less inclined to let potential child assassins near them unharmed. Warfare nearly always brings out the worst in people. When violence and intimidation are the tools of the trade, the humanist line becomes almost invisibly blurred. It is also almost a certainty that similar actions are occurring in Iraq. Our soldiers are no less susceptible to the possibility than the Israeli soldiers. By supporting war, we also tacitly support these types of actions as well - even if only deep in our sub-conscience.