I'm so proud!
The military requires its soldiers to strictly follow the chain of command. Insubordination is not... can not be tolerated. This is a completely pragmatic requirement. In the middle of a war zone, where real lives are at stake, soldiers often don't have the luxury of analyzing orders. There are many cases where action is required to happen at a sub-conscious, automatic level, the action must happen immediately, and inaction or a minuet delay in action could cause the death of many.
I understand why the military is the way it is. I understand the necessity for obedience to authority. Yet, after World War II the world did not accept "I was following orders." as an excuse for the brutal treatment and mass murders of Jew, Gypsies, homosexuals, and other groups deemed unfit by the Nazi government. Humanity expected, no we demanded, that soldiers know where to draw the line between following orders and carrying out brutal, immoral acts.
Today I heard a news report about a documentary that is opening in NY and LA this weekend. (I can't wait for it to show up around here.) Filmmakers gave members of the New Hampshire National Guard cameras, trained them how to use the equipment, and then asked the soldiers to document their experiences in Iraq during a one-year deployment in 2004. The film, The War Tapes shows the real life and real souls of the three soldiers.
There was one moment in this interview that really made me proud to be an American. Sgt. Zach Bazzi, a Lebanese-born American who speaks fluent Arabic, tells a story about a time when they were trying to cordon off a city. He said on side of the road was a cemetery and on the other side of the road was a hospital. They were not allowing people to cross the road to get to the hospital. There were a few people who had serious emergencies and the troops had allowed them to cross to the hospital.
At one point Sgt. Bazzi was approached by a man who was carrying his obviously sick son. The father wanted to take the boy to the hospital. Sgt. Bazzi asked for guidance from his superior. He was told to tell the father to turn back. The reasoning was that they had already allowed several people to cross and they had to draw the line somewhere. Sgt. Bazzi could not carry out this order. Instead of telling the father to turn around, Sgt. Bazzi went and sat in his Humvee.
A few days later the battalion commander visited the troops. Sgt. Bazzi and several other soldiers "gave him a piece of his mind." They pointed out how stupid and inhuman the orders were. A few days after that their orders were changed and the restriction was lifted.
The film maker who was also interviewed described Sgt. Bazzi as "a soldier's solder." He talked about how difficult it was for the sergeant to make the moral decision not to follow orders.
As I listened to this story, I couldn't have been prouder to be an American. So often the news focuses on the inhumanity of war, the incredibly inhuman and burtal things soldier do in war times, the mistreatments, the rapes, the pillaging. But here was a very quiet story. A very simple story. It demonstrated so well the incredible tragedy and suffering that troops are faced with in war time. It showed that sometimes the military gets it right. Not only did that individual soldier behave according his moral compass, but he and his compatriots got the entire machine to see the mistake and correct it. How many militaries would listen to the individuals on the ground and adjust their orders for moral reasons?
God bless Sgt. Bazzi. God bless America.
I understand why the military is the way it is. I understand the necessity for obedience to authority. Yet, after World War II the world did not accept "I was following orders." as an excuse for the brutal treatment and mass murders of Jew, Gypsies, homosexuals, and other groups deemed unfit by the Nazi government. Humanity expected, no we demanded, that soldiers know where to draw the line between following orders and carrying out brutal, immoral acts.
Today I heard a news report about a documentary that is opening in NY and LA this weekend. (I can't wait for it to show up around here.) Filmmakers gave members of the New Hampshire National Guard cameras, trained them how to use the equipment, and then asked the soldiers to document their experiences in Iraq during a one-year deployment in 2004. The film, The War Tapes shows the real life and real souls of the three soldiers.
There was one moment in this interview that really made me proud to be an American. Sgt. Zach Bazzi, a Lebanese-born American who speaks fluent Arabic, tells a story about a time when they were trying to cordon off a city. He said on side of the road was a cemetery and on the other side of the road was a hospital. They were not allowing people to cross the road to get to the hospital. There were a few people who had serious emergencies and the troops had allowed them to cross to the hospital.
At one point Sgt. Bazzi was approached by a man who was carrying his obviously sick son. The father wanted to take the boy to the hospital. Sgt. Bazzi asked for guidance from his superior. He was told to tell the father to turn back. The reasoning was that they had already allowed several people to cross and they had to draw the line somewhere. Sgt. Bazzi could not carry out this order. Instead of telling the father to turn around, Sgt. Bazzi went and sat in his Humvee.
A few days later the battalion commander visited the troops. Sgt. Bazzi and several other soldiers "gave him a piece of his mind." They pointed out how stupid and inhuman the orders were. A few days after that their orders were changed and the restriction was lifted.
The film maker who was also interviewed described Sgt. Bazzi as "a soldier's solder." He talked about how difficult it was for the sergeant to make the moral decision not to follow orders.
As I listened to this story, I couldn't have been prouder to be an American. So often the news focuses on the inhumanity of war, the incredibly inhuman and burtal things soldier do in war times, the mistreatments, the rapes, the pillaging. But here was a very quiet story. A very simple story. It demonstrated so well the incredible tragedy and suffering that troops are faced with in war time. It showed that sometimes the military gets it right. Not only did that individual soldier behave according his moral compass, but he and his compatriots got the entire machine to see the mistake and correct it. How many militaries would listen to the individuals on the ground and adjust their orders for moral reasons?
God bless Sgt. Bazzi. God bless America.
posted by Liz at 11:36 PM
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