America's ideological battle

Published: Saturday | December 12, 2009


The Editor, Sir:

As a veteran of the United States (US) armed forces, who was deployed on peacekeeping missions, I understand the plight of soldiers, sailors and marines who are dispatched to regions across the globe to protect America's interests.

The US armed forces are now fighting wars of a very different nature than they have ever engaged in the history of the country. These wars are primarily of an ideological nature, where soldiers are asked to play the role of peacekeepers to win over the hearts and minds of the enemy, with a strong sense of awareness of the influence on the people they come in contact with on patrols, while on the other hand maintaining a high state of alert and be able at an instant to revert to the traditional role of killing the enemy.

In other words, one day you may be shaking someone's hand and acting neighbourly and the next day you may have to kill that person. This constant ambivalence has a way of playing on your mind. No wonder many soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, not only from witnessing the death of their fellow soldier, but also from having to take the life of a local whom they just met.

A modern military strategy is to meet with opposition forces to negotiate agreements where the enemy would put down their arms or possibly fight on the side of the US in exchange for money. Each troop dispatched to the region costs the US one million dollars per year, therefore, the logic is that it is better to pay off insurgents rather than accruing cost in lives, material and money fighting a protracted war.

The huge instability in the Afghan-Pakistan region is of great concern to the US and they are willing to use what could be considered unconventional methods to bring about stability to the region.

extremist groups

Be mindful that the attack on the US on September 11 was presumably orchestrated from Afghanistan. Also, keep in mind that Pakistan is a nuclear-armed nation of strong Muslim influence, where there are no shortages of extremists who are willing to wreak havoc on the region and across the globe. There are great concerns, and rightfully so, that a nuclear bomb could fall into the hands of one of these extremists groups. The outcome of such an event would be catastrophic on a global scale, which was recognised and clearly understood by many nations, including Norway, where President Obama received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, although he is an active president presiding over two wars.

The soldier today serving in a modern army is not your soldier of yesteryear. Today's soldiers are required to be intelligent, articulate, technologically proficient, politically aware, socially and culturally conscious, and yes, most of all, have the ability to instantly switch to warrior mode and kill the enemy.

I am, etc.,

NORM EDMONSON

bigupja2@hotmail.com

 
 
 
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