04 November 2005
Jarhead
“To the grunt, the political context is irrelevant. They're not worried about politics. They've simply got a job to do. And this movie is concerned with how they do that job.”
William Broyles, Jr., a screenwriter of the new movie, Jarhead, has put his finger on the anomaly of the U.S. attack on Iraq. The power of America, in the form of its defense establishment and, most importantly, its willing fighting men and women, has been hijacked by political operatives in Washington. Under the acquiescent leadership of George W. Bush, they have won popular support for a policy of remaking the world through the violent imposition of “democracy” in societies whose political cultures are quite different from our own.
Unfortunately, at the human level this translates into a question of personal survival for each soldier placed in harm’s way. The success and effectiveness of marines and other warriors in battle and the subsequent reconstruction program have nothing to do with the political theories that have been used to justify the U.S. intervention in Iraq. Their survival is simply a matter of loyalty to comrades in arms and the application of their skills and intellect.
Power brokers in Washington use neoconservative ideas to inspire the actions of the federal government. They also enjoy the advantage of having at their disposal a marvelously effective force of fighting men and women that, unfortunately, makes it very easy to carry out an international interventionist strategy. That advantage also permits them to confuse individual soldiers’ struggles for life with achieving “liberty” for the victims of the military’s mission.
It is admirable that the peoples of the world strive for freedom. However, invasion is the wrong way to help them.
“To the grunt, the political context is irrelevant. They're not worried about politics. They've simply got a job to do. And this movie is concerned with how they do that job.”
William Broyles, Jr., a screenwriter of the new movie, Jarhead, has put his finger on the anomaly of the U.S. attack on Iraq. The power of America, in the form of its defense establishment and, most importantly, its willing fighting men and women, has been hijacked by political operatives in Washington. Under the acquiescent leadership of George W. Bush, they have won popular support for a policy of remaking the world through the violent imposition of “democracy” in societies whose political cultures are quite different from our own.
Unfortunately, at the human level this translates into a question of personal survival for each soldier placed in harm’s way. The success and effectiveness of marines and other warriors in battle and the subsequent reconstruction program have nothing to do with the political theories that have been used to justify the U.S. intervention in Iraq. Their survival is simply a matter of loyalty to comrades in arms and the application of their skills and intellect.
Power brokers in Washington use neoconservative ideas to inspire the actions of the federal government. They also enjoy the advantage of having at their disposal a marvelously effective force of fighting men and women that, unfortunately, makes it very easy to carry out an international interventionist strategy. That advantage also permits them to confuse individual soldiers’ struggles for life with achieving “liberty” for the victims of the military’s mission.
It is admirable that the peoples of the world strive for freedom. However, invasion is the wrong way to help them.
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