"Expect more U.S. troop casualties..." says Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, CO, 3rd Infantry Division

I'm sure it is tough for Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division to admit that this nation should expect more casualties in the next few months. (Read article) He, after all, is a lot closer to the action than I am and sees the devastation first hand. And he is, well, responsible for it. He is part of the system that is allowing the death and destruction to continue. By his tacit support of the situation he is complicit in it.

At the same time, I don't know the man and probably shouldn't be judging him. It is possible that his warning is a form of resistance to the continuing killing fields -- that is, he may be trying to stimulate civilians into more active civil disobedience. Or he may simply be expressing the military's grande ole tradition of "Suck it up."

Generally, I am not for blaming our enlisted troops for participating in this war. Many volunteered for the military out of economic need, or idealism (No, this is not dead in our youth!) looking for challenges, or simply by being gullible to incredibly heavy and sophisticated advertising! There are many in the land who suggest that the enlisted folks should refuse to fight. This would be great. But, those of us who know what actually occurs on the bases understand that the pressure to stop fighting should come from those who have made a career out of militarism.

What do I mean by, "what actually occurs on the bases"? I mean the constant pressure that the enlisted folks are under: Sergeants who physically and psychologically abuse those under them; chaplain who listen and do nothing when an enlisted person is having trouble; required medical care that never happens or medical recommendations that are not followed by NCOs and COs; threats, disincentives, name-calling, and plain old physical exhaustion. That ANY of these folks can stand up against war gives me the greatest hope for our collective humanity. It is anything but easy to buck the U.S. military -- especially if you are 20 years old and are there to earn the dough for a college education but don't have one yet!

I look to officers, commanders, and those in the upper echelons of military service to accept more responsibility for the devastation -- and press to end it. These folks KNOW what happens in war. God, even I know what happens in war and I've never been in one -- maybe because all the male members of my family have. Military officers have made several small stabs at complaining that the military is "broken" and then they wait for someone to pay attention ... or fix it (Congress? hah! the administration? Pleeze! Civilians? too busy shopping!)

I've said from Day 1 of the war: don't do it! followed by: bring the troops home. Four years and a huge cost of life and limb later, we may see the troops pulled out in another year or so. But, you know what? It is too late. Not having a plan for what happens after the troops leave will heap even more shame upon our heads as Americans.

We are messing up big time. And few even care!