the death of Alyssa Peterson
Army specialist Alyssa Peterson, the third female U.S. soldier to die in Iraq back in 2003, killed herself "after objecting to interrogation techniques used on prisoners."
Peterson was an Arabic-speaking interrogator assigned to the prison at our air base in troubled Tal-Afar in northwestern Iraq. ...
“Peterson objected to the interrogation techniques used on prisoners. She refused to participate after only two nights working in the unit known as the cage. Army spokespersons for her unit have refused to describe the interrogation techniques Alyssa objected to. They say all records of those techniques have now been destroyed….”
The article strongly suggests that she killed herself in response to these "interrogation techniques", even though she was transferred out of the interrogations. The article goes on to describe her as good-natured and kind. These complimentary terms are loaded, though: they're gendered female, and coded as weak or soft. The article paints a picture of someone simply too good to be party to cruelty; someone almost saintly, not up to the harsh reality of the world we live in.
I don't want to presume to speak Spc. Peterson's mind. She may have been otherwise troubled. And I don't want to ever sound like I endorse suicide. I don't. In most cases, it is the ultimate selfish act. I'd nonetheless suggest another possible narrative framework to place over this story than the one sketched by the E&P article. You decide if it you think it fits.
Like resisters of all kinds throughout history, Alyssa Peterson refused to take part in something she knew to be wrong. She likewise refused to excuse herself from responsibility of knowing what was happening simply because it was out of her sight. Spc. Peterson killed herself in protest of the unconscionable. She died for her country. She died a hero.
My picture could be wrong, but I don't think you have to squint to see it.
**
Here and now, another soldier was kidnapped, and we're apparently letting the Iraqis constrain our search for him. Why? Is negotiating going on behind the scenes? Is it the impending election?
Or is it his "male of Middle-Eastern descent" appearance and his Arabic-sounding name? Is he being abandoned because he doesn't register with the media and the public as "one of us", and worse, registers as "one of them"? I'm sure the many loyal Americans of Middle Eastern descent serving in the Armed Forces would be interested. Do those "support the troops" SUV magnets need yet another asterisk? Let's see, that would make it...
Support the Troops * ** *** ****
* If by "troops" you mean "whatever Bush says."
** Not by giving them proper body armor.
*** Not by funding their medical treatment when they're wounded, either.
**** Not if they don't look, sound, and think like us, or make us uncomfortable in any way.
I don't think that will all fit. Maybe they need bigger Hummers.
ETA: Jack Cafferty calls it a disgrace.
Peterson was an Arabic-speaking interrogator assigned to the prison at our air base in troubled Tal-Afar in northwestern Iraq. ...
“Peterson objected to the interrogation techniques used on prisoners. She refused to participate after only two nights working in the unit known as the cage. Army spokespersons for her unit have refused to describe the interrogation techniques Alyssa objected to. They say all records of those techniques have now been destroyed….”
The article strongly suggests that she killed herself in response to these "interrogation techniques", even though she was transferred out of the interrogations. The article goes on to describe her as good-natured and kind. These complimentary terms are loaded, though: they're gendered female, and coded as weak or soft. The article paints a picture of someone simply too good to be party to cruelty; someone almost saintly, not up to the harsh reality of the world we live in.
I don't want to presume to speak Spc. Peterson's mind. She may have been otherwise troubled. And I don't want to ever sound like I endorse suicide. I don't. In most cases, it is the ultimate selfish act. I'd nonetheless suggest another possible narrative framework to place over this story than the one sketched by the E&P article. You decide if it you think it fits.
Like resisters of all kinds throughout history, Alyssa Peterson refused to take part in something she knew to be wrong. She likewise refused to excuse herself from responsibility of knowing what was happening simply because it was out of her sight. Spc. Peterson killed herself in protest of the unconscionable. She died for her country. She died a hero.
My picture could be wrong, but I don't think you have to squint to see it.
**
Here and now, another soldier was kidnapped, and we're apparently letting the Iraqis constrain our search for him. Why? Is negotiating going on behind the scenes? Is it the impending election?
Or is it his "male of Middle-Eastern descent" appearance and his Arabic-sounding name? Is he being abandoned because he doesn't register with the media and the public as "one of us", and worse, registers as "one of them"? I'm sure the many loyal Americans of Middle Eastern descent serving in the Armed Forces would be interested. Do those "support the troops" SUV magnets need yet another asterisk? Let's see, that would make it...
Support the Troops * ** *** ****
* If by "troops" you mean "whatever Bush says."
** Not by giving them proper body armor.
*** Not by funding their medical treatment when they're wounded, either.
**** Not if they don't look, sound, and think like us, or make us uncomfortable in any way.
I don't think that will all fit. Maybe they need bigger Hummers.
ETA: Jack Cafferty calls it a disgrace.