Dare to switch allegiances

choice to make. The US imperial army seeks to suppress news of dissertations but some months back the refusal of a group of soldiers to embark on a patrol mission they considered overly dangerous and senseless did reach the news. Others have escaped to Canada where they may hopefully be accepted as political refugees. One cannot help but wonder what many of the now more than 1500 dead US service men and women would choose to have done, had they been some how ascertained that they were to die in the sands and rumble of Iraq (for US causalities see http://icasualties.org/oif and for civilian deaths do visit and support http://www.iraqbodycount.net). A life in exile is at least a life; ones family may be spared the loss of a husband, wife or dad. For some, 'being proud' that the loved one 'served the country' and receiving a neatly folded flag might provide sufficient solace; I doubt if it does so for very many.

In February a British soldier tendered his resignation, stating in an open letter that was published in the Guardian that

"Soldiers cannot be above moral considerations. Though the British army scandalously tries to hide this fact, the United Nations enshrines the right of members of the armed forces to object and opt out of particular wars on political, religious or moral grounds."

(Edited version at http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/ar...

From an institutional perspective, the politics of neo-imperialism are beginning to accentuate divides between the political decision makers and the military apparatus. Necessary questions, as simple as "why?", "what for?" and "how long?" remain unanswered. Seen optimistically, the failure of dialogue among the imperialists may signal a nearing end to their foreign adventures and spreading of violence. In dismantling the phoney beliefs and assertions of a former militarist, Andrew Bacevich concludes that "...the essential dilemma with which the United States has wrestled ever since the Soviets had the temerity to deprive us of a stabilizing adversary-a dilemma that the events of 9/11 only served to exacerbate. The political elite that ought to bear the chief responsibility for formulating grand strategy instead nurses ideological fantasies of remaking the world in America's image, as the Bush administration's National Security Strategy of 2002 so vividly attests. Meanwhile, the military elite that could possibly puncture those fantasies and help restore a modicum of realism to US policy instead obsesses over operations. Reluctant to engage in any sort of political-military dialogue that might compromise

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