Labels: afghanistan, pow, south asia, taliban

Photo: This video frame grab taken from a Taliban propaganda video released Saturday, July 18, 2009 shows Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum, Idaho, who went missing from his base in eastern Afghanistan June 30. (AP Photo/Militant Video)


There was no bag over his head, he was not naked, no electrodes were attached to his genitals, no animals were being used to terrorize him, he was not bleeding or covered in excrement, there was no dog collar around his neck... in fact he was sitting in clean clothes, sipping tea and eating a meal. The images were deliberate and stage managed, but the message was a stinging rebuke of the American military, government, and society.

The Pentagon has protested that these images are a violation of international law. The hypocrisy here is epic. A government and military (operating under the tacit consent of the majority of its citizens) that carried out a systematic program of rendition, torture, abuse, and humiliation of prisoners of war at multiple sites now claims the mantle of international law. (In any case, how can a group considered to be "unlawful combatants" and hence beyond the bounds of international law be expected to uphold international law?)

Of course, the real issue has nothing to do with law and everything to do with maintaining morale on the home front. In the post-conscription era, civilian morale is maintained through silence, ignorance, media manipulation, and emotional displays. In general the less that people know about the actions of their military the better it is for the military. To the extent that information must be shared, it should be edited by the military or media agents co-opted by the military. Symbolic and emotive support is solicited by the military, but only so long as critical thinking is not engaged. Americans are to support "their troops," a reductive and affective rhetoric that seeks to efface the military as an organization. In other words, there is a clear role assigned to the civilian population and for the most part they have stuck to their script.


The Kantian logic that governs the rules of war is clear: wars should be fought in such a way as to make lasting peace possible. The brutal treatment of prisoners only serves the interests of those who seek to prolong conflicts... as does a docile and obedient population.

Labels: afghanistan, pow, south asia, us