July 26, 2004
Bred To Kill, Not To Care
So once sang Metallica.
The Seattle Times' headline-writer for a recent Los Angeles Times piece examining the pyschological effects of warfare ("Trained to kill, not to cope") may or may not have had Metallica in mind -- but in any case may as well have.
This blog once speculated that the second Gulf War would create more Timothy McVeighs. The process appears to be proceeding apace:
"I want to know if I killed that guy yesterday. I saw blood spurt from his leg, but I want to be sure I killed him."
"I'm confused about how I should feel about killing. The first time I shot someone, it was the most exhilarating thing I'd ever felt."
"We talk about killing all the time. I never used to talk this way. I'm not proud of it, but it's like I can't stop. I'm worried what I will be like when I get home."
"Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill. It's like it pounds at my brain. I'll figure out how to deal with it when I get home."
"I enjoy killing Iraqis. I just feel rage, hate when I'm out there. I feel like I carry it all the time. We talk about it. We all feel the same way."
"The other day an Iraqi guy was hit real bad, he was gonna die within an hour, but he was still alive and he started saying, 'Baby, baby,' telling me he has a kid. I mentioned it to my guys after the mission. It doesn't bother me. It can't bother me. If it was the other way around, I'm sure it wouldn't bother him."
"It did not bother me at all to see those bodies up close. I'm a warrior. ... My soldiers, they are all warriors. They have no problems. I don't let them have problems. There is no place in this Army for men who aren't warriors."
"I'm a Christian. I feel I'm saving my soldiers' lives by destroying as many enemy as I can. But at the end of each day, I pray to God. I worry about my soul. Every time a door slams, I flinch. I'm hoping it will just go away when I get home."
Posted by Eddie Tews at July 26, 2004 02:50 PM
Comments
Hey pencil neck.
You think I will be another McVeigh? Attack a country I love, I think not. I am a warrior like I said before, McVeigh was never a warrior, he was not cut out for being one either and chances are if he had never found his way into the Army he would have turned out much the same anyway. I am willing to bet you have never served a day in the military and more than likely would not be able to hack it physically anyway. I pitty men like you. I have had the pleasure of serving with great men in combat, killed the enemy and have lifted my fallen comrads off the battlfield, I have defended the weak and have sent the strong fleeing into the night. What have you done for the world?
Robert R. McBride -- Posted by: SSG Robert R. McBride on January 8, 2005 06:58 PM