This is a statement from March Forward! the anti-war organization of veterans and active duty service members. Click here to read more statements from March Forward!
In August 2010, General David Petraeus told media outlets exactly what
his handlers in Washington wanted him to say. He spoke about the
supposedly “groundbreaking” achievements of Special Forces in fighting
against the people of Afghanistan. Petraeus reported that from May to
July of that year, Special Forces captured around 1,400 “Taliban” and
killed another 1,031. The grand total for the rest of that year leading
to December was 4,100 Taliban captured. The problem with these figures
is that they are all lies.
If a total of 4,100 Taliban fighters were captured, why were 90 percent of them released within days of being detained?
The
answer is simple: because the U.S. military found them all to be
innocent civilians. But that did not stop General Petraeus from lying to
the world, bragging about his precious COIN (counterinsurgency)
strategy.
This lie was used to tout U.S. “success” in
Afghanistan and to falsely indicate that the Taliban is being defeated,
smashed into the ground.
This begs the question: If 90 percent
of those captured turned out to be civilians, what percentage of those
killed were innocent civilians as well?
Petraeus, we should
remember, is the same man who blamed Afghan families whose children were
slaughtered in a NATO air strike of mutilating and burning their own
kids to try to “make the U.S. look bad.”
So now we know that
this officer has lied several times—and not small lies either. He has
provided false information about 90 percent of thousands of
detainees—not to mention conjuring up a disgusting, racist myth
attempting to paint the Afghan people as brutal savages in order to
cover up the reckless actions of battlefield commanders.
He gave
false reports with the goal of manipulating the U.S. media and
convincing the people that we are winning and should keep “pushing
forward”—meaning, we should keep fighting and dying endlessly in
Afghanistan.
So, what is his punishment for knowingly spreading
false information? Well, he was nominated to be the director of the CIA
by President Barack Obama.
Is this shocking? It should not be,
after all these wars were based on lies to begin with, and have
continued with more lies. So why should not the most capable liar be
given such a position?
But what happens if an enlisted soldier gives a false report?
If
enlisted soldiers give false reports, or lose their equipment, or
commit even the most insignificant infractions, they are punished
harshly. The reality is that this military does not care about standards
or rules or any of the “Army values” when it comes to the officer
corps. But when soldiers attempt to organize to demand fair treatment
and health care, slightly deviating from what the officers deem to be
“Army values,” they are smashed to the ground.
If soldiers give
false reports in combat they are demoted and punished. But if you are
General Petraeus, you are nominated for director of the CIA. See how
this works?
The hypocrisy is on full display for all to see. This
is why we need to band together and look out for our interests, not
theirs. By “our” we mean enlisted service members, and by “theirs” we
mean the officer corps and their masters on Wall Street.
The
officers and the Pentagon like to throw words at us like “Bravery and
Honor” as they lie about what we are fighting for; because the reality
is that we are fighting and dying not to preserve our way of life, but
to continue theirs.
We have fought their fights and wars for too
long, given too many of our lives and limbs for their careers and Wall
Street dividends. The actions of this government and General Petraeus
make the drawn line even clearer. Which side are you on?
