Excerpt

It was not my intention to write a book about the war with Iraq. This seemed better suited to prolific writers with a natural leaning for military history and political science. They would most adequately chronicle the host of events leading up to the war, the prosecution of the war itself, and the postwar developments for Iraq, the Middle-East as a whole, and the allied forces. I have enough of an understanding of these disciplines to recognize my limitations.

But, I could not steer clear of the fact that I had personally been impacted by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent sequence of events leading to the second American-Iraqi war. This of course could be so stated by millions of people in the United States and many other parts of the world as well. It would be rather unusual not to be affected by the magnitude of this terrorist assault on U.S. soil, and the actions taken by the American government in response.

In a rather eclectic manner, the chapters of this book reveal some seminal experiences I have had at different points since 9/11, and especially since the war with Iraq commenced. This includes some researched content, particularly with respect to a chapter devoted to some salient psychological factors associated to the Abu Ghraib debacle.

It has been my endeavor to provide the reader with some windows allowing for differing observation points from which to grasp pieces of my thinking about a very troubling war. In addition, it has been my intention to highlight facets of my self as a psychologist, soldier, American citizen, and human being one lacking many of the answers being sought after and one quite predisposed to struggling with ambiguities.

I have attempted to capture herein the essential issues of the war years in accordance with my own thoughts, impressions and analysis. I will be the first to acknowledge that some of my views may be quite unique, and possibly unsettling, when compared with the norms of civilians and military personnel alike. This being noted, the aim has been to bring such views into the open sufficiently, and to provide readers with varied

enough material to encourage further investigation of their own.

It is incumbent on me to exercise the democratic principles espoused in this book in order to truly allow for unlimited critiques of this book along with proposed alterations. Also, this is but one book on a very broad topic that has impacted most American lives to some extent. It is to be expected that some readers may delve much deeper into certain topics noted in the book through their own research, and this is to be applauded.

As the title suggests, my views on soldiering may be found to be quite distinct and unorthodox from what people generally conclude about the military profession. This is likely more telling by virtue of my ongoing commitment to the Army Reserve. If I had resigned my commission, then my voice might not sound so different from other retired military who consider themselves free to express their true opinions about the military. However, since I remain active in the Reserves, the notions and personal sentiments made public in this book tend to appear more unusual and non-conformist to standard protocol.

If I can actually be classified as a wayward soldier, it would probably be due to the facets of soldiering that I emphasize. I tend to be very sensitive to how other soldiers are treated, and conversely how soldiers treat those they have some control over. Humane treatment of all people irregardless of their actions against American soldiers is extremely high on my priority list.

Conversely, my deviance from the norm shares a kindred spirit with a number of discharged soldiers who have spoken out about the military issues they previously thought were off limits for active duty personnel. These grievances primarily tend to revolve around the way soldiers are properly protected and cared for along with the manner in which a war is being prosecuted in as effective and humane approach as possible.

My concern for the mental-emotional wellbeing of all persons, especially those I provide services for, is not just an outgrowth of my training, but additionally due to the importance I naturally render to human needs on multiple levels. Unlike a common military perspective of toughness and disregard of psychological needs, I consider these areas to be critical items to focus on. In combat situations, the maintenance of respect for human life and humane treatment of fellow soldiers remain essential attitudes that I believe should be cultivated in soldiers.

The action of freely speaking ones mind - whether this be mere opinions, knowledge from personal experience and/or more systematic research findings serves as one of the main features in this book. The focus is particularly oriented toward the exercising of free speech in the armed forces. The constraints placed on soldiers in expressing their viewpoints, even about the war they are a part of, is probed in considerable depth.

My own unpleasant encounter with limitations placed on academic liberties to publish while on active duty provides some much needed insight into this facet of military life. It has been my endeavor to demonstrate firsthand the negative fallout from such rigid control, not just for myself, but more importantly for the entire military institution. The tradition bound paradigm which calls for tight scrutiny and oversight of proposed manuscripts, and free speech in general, is challenged in part for its prevention of checks and balances of military operations and behavior up and down the chain of command.

The reader will be confronted with fundamental questions regarding human rights in a free society. As suggested in this book, these are issues which may be central to the practical application of democratic principles in our country, especially as it relates to the military use of force and the degree to which such intervention impacts the lives of soldiers and noncombatants.