U.S. soldier 'didn't want to have to kill babies'

Overall, this article is okay. However, I think the most important and relevant aspect is the second paragraph where resistor Jeremy Hinzman describes aspects of his training.

Given the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, the training chants about raping and pillaging are revealing. It is evidence that the abuse was not committed by a few out-of-line soldiers. Rather it is the consequence of a mindset created by psychological training required to produce soldiers who will dehumanize the enemy.

This would be an indictment of military higher-ups. These higher-ups, straight through to the Secretary of Defense must answer for the torture.

An American army deserter who fled the 82nd Airborne Division to avoid being deployed to Iraq told his refugee hearing yesterday that no amount of training could convince him that killing the enemy was a noble pursuit.

Jeremy Hinzman, 26, testified that despite stabbing his bayonet into a plastic dummy during training, and repeatedly chanting “What makes grass grow? Blood, blood, bright red blood” and “Train to kill; Kill we will,” he could not “dehumanize” the enemy.

“We were on the run [in training], singing cadences about raping and pillaging. At first I thought it was all in good fun. Then I started to question it,” Mr. Hinzman told Immigration and Refugee board member Brian Goodman.

He is seeking asylum in Canada, along with his wife Nga Nguyen and 2½-year-old son Liam.

Mr. Hinzman said his uncertainty about war was cemented after the birth of his son Liam in May, 2002. “I didn’t want to have to kill babies,” he testified. A barefoot Liam ran around yesterday’s hearing, reading Bob the Builder books and eating Cheerios, as television journalists crowded into the room.

Mr. Hinzman’s is a test case for at least three other claims from U.S. army deserters and has attracted the attention of…

Posted by troy
I'm a PhD student at York University in the Social and Political Thought program. After two degrees in Economics that failed to convince me that capitalism is a system that truly works for the benefit of all, I am trying to expand my knowledge. I hope to...