On Iraq

First an op-ed by the local president of Vets for Peace, WNC Chapter 99, published in the Asheville Citizen Times.

What is 'duty' for our troops and for us as citizens?

“Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldiers knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.''
— Alfred, Lord Tennyson

In certain contexts, the sense of a word can become obscured. Cultural overtones, strong feelings, and preconceived notions can distort its meaning until it conveys a whole package of emotion-laden ideas and beliefs that cloud rational thinking. One of these words, especially in a military context, is “duty.”

The Feb. 21 AC-T editorial, “WNC units, and their families, deserve our support,’’ began with these words: “Yet again, units from Western North Carolina are being called upon to travel to distant lands to perform their duty. And yet again, we expect their fellow Western North Carolinians to perform their duty by supporting them…”

Duty. It means an action or task required by a person's position or occupation. For the North Carolina National Guard, the editorial's subject, this duty is defined in the reservist's oath: “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the State of North Carolina against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the Governor of North Carolina and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to law and regulations.”

Note that the oath is all about upholding the law. It is to support and defend the law of the land, the Constitution. Also note that obedience to orders is qualified — “according to law and regulations.” The qualifier means, importantly, that the duty is to obey legal orders; and the duty is also to not obey unlawful orders.

In Article VI, the Constitution states that our international agreements, such as the United Nations Charter, are part of “the supreme Law of the Land.” The UN Charter provides only two circumstances in which war is permitted: one is with Security Council approval; the other is in response to an armed attack. Our ongoing and unending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan met neither of these conditions. In short, these two wars are illegal; both are in violation of the Constitution.

Let's stop and think again about “duty.”

Let's also stop and think of another phrase full of baggage: “Support our troops” (which the editorial suggests is our “duty” as citizens). If this means “Support our dedicated people who are in service to this country,” then I'm for it. Let's support them as people — our neighbors, friends, and relatives — by doing what we can to insure for them long, happy, productive lives. Let's support their duty to uphold the Constitution.

Let's bring them home.

If, however, the phrase means “Support these illegal wars,” then I'm against it. If it means “Our country — right or wrong,” then I'll choose “right” or I'll work to right the wrongs.

My generation's “duty” was to go to Southeast Asia and prevent dominoes from falling. The U.S. hadn't been attacked and, as now, wasn't under any kind of threat from the nation it attacked. Yet millions dutifully served and tens of thousands have their names inscribed on a wall. Many more met premature, war-related deaths in the decades that followed the war, which ended only when, finally, U.S. citizens and the troops themselves said: “No more war!”

The editorial says we live in “the age of terror.” But that's just a new name. The scare tactic is the same. This age doesn't feel much different from the age of dominoes, or the age of communism, or age of the Cold War. But the article does end with an uplifting thought, a hopeful longing for a time when “it's no longer necessary to call on [our National Guard troops] again.”

I believe we can hasten the arrival of that day. But it will require that citizens and troops recognize when “Some one had blunder'd” — or, perhaps, fabricated “intelligence.” It will require us to “reason why” and to “make reply.” It will require us to forsake the mindless acceptance and blind obedience we've become so accustomed to. It will require us to stop and to think and to rethink our duty as citizens, and our duty as troops.

Or we can continue to do and die.

Kim Carlyle is president of Veterans For Peace WNC Chapter 099, editor of the War Crimes Times, and lives near Barnardsville.