How will we remember those who died because of military-industrial-congressional greed?
Memorial Day Remembrance
May 26, 2014. There'll be a lot of remembrance of dead soldiers this weekend. But there's not going to be any remembrance of an entire class of dead soldiers. Not that they didn't give their all or didn't place the country's needsbefore their own safety .
No, what got them killed were defective or badly designed weapons--airplanes which can't be flown safely--guns that jammed in combat--armor that didn't shield. No, what got them killed were the weapons given them to use in battle which were known to be defective, but whose defects were covered up by immoral contractors, corrupt military procurement officials, and congressional representatives eager to keep government dollars and contracts flowing to their constituent states.
You might think it odd that I, as a person who doesn't subscribe to the myth of military might, would complain about defective weapons for our soldiers. But all of us grieve at the deaths of our young men and women in the military whether we believe in or abjure the use of force between nations. Each is a tragic loss to the family of humankind.
Some will argue there will always be death in warfare. But when the needless death occurs because of military-industrial greed and pig-headed politics, the loss isn't just one of appropriate national grief. Rather we must respond with national outrage. That our young people are sent to the slaughter is horror enough. That they die at the hands of their fellow citizens is a double monstrosity.
In the link attached Dina Rasor, who has observed firsthand the greed and duplicity in the military procurement process for over three decades, raises the issue of the many who have died "at our own hands."
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