Last night at an event hosted by the Institute for Global Education’s (IGE) Committee on Military Service Dialogue, peace activist and Iraq veteran Jason Moon described his experiences in Iraq. In an event that mixed antiwar folk songs and short vignettes about his time in Iraq, Moon made a number of important points that can inform the analysis of people beyond the fifteen or so people in attendance. Moon, who chose to go to Iraq despite being a peace activist, explained to the audience what he witnessed in the country and how his experiences in the war have shaped his life since he returned in 2003. Moon made the decision to go to Iraq because he believed that he could be “a voice of reason” within the military, however he quickly realized that when the entire military system was promote violence and to maintain the occupation of Iraq for the US financial interests. He described a variety of actions that he either participated in or witnessed others participating including running over children if they stood in front of the convoys that they were driving rather than slowing down (and risking getting shot), destroying entire buildings full of civilians in order to kill one sniper, and seeing Iraqi civilians beat or taunted by occupation forces. Moon also described the process of dehumanizing Iraqis that the military promotes, with soldiers routinely calling Iraqis “haji” in a manner similar to the racism promoted during the Vietnam War when soldiers called the Vietcong “gooks.”

During the question and answer period, Moon addressed a variety of issues important to the antiwar movement including the insurgency and the question of whether or not people should be calling for an immediate withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. He explained that when he first arrived in Iraq his commanders told his unit that there were 5,000 insurgents in Iraq but that by the time he left the country there were 30,000. This growth was blamed on a number of factors including the United States’ failure to rebuild the country, the lack of jobs in the country, and the continued collective punishment of the Iraqi population. To this end, Moon explained that the United States continued presence in the country is only perpetuating violence and that there is nothing that the United States can do to lessen the violence if they continue to occupy the country. With much of the violence killing Iraqi civilians, Moon explained that under the occupation civilians working with the United States are consider by many to be legitimate targets, and as such, they would remain so until the occupation ended.

Moon also explained how the military fails to take care of many veterans once they return home from Iraq or other conflict areas. One action that he participated in—threatening to shoot a group of Iraqi children—has given him chronic nightmares with his lack of sleep causing him to lose jobs. Moon believes that he has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but the military has moved slowly in testing him for it, just as they have with thousands of other soldiers who have served in Iraq. An Iraq veteran who attended the discussion echoed Moon’s comments, saying that after five years of service the military has not taken care of him and that he regularly experiences fits of rage, is unable to find work, and is frequently survival. The two both described how the military rushes to get soldiers over to Iraq but does not respond with a similar sense of urgency once soldiers return home and instead throws soldiers back into civilian life without making a meaningful effort to help them with the transition. The military instead offers a 14-day “decompression” period where soldiers are confined to bases in the United States and essentially drink and get in fights with each other as a means of getting rid of pent up anger. However, both veterans said that this was not helpful. The comments of the two veterans made it clear that a more nuanced view of soldiers’ role in the Iraq War is needed, providing compelling testimony that the idea that soldiers are simply “the enemy” is woefully inadequate. Instead, it seems that soldiers need to be viewed with a more comprehensive class analysis that takes into account how they are treated in the military, their economic backgrounds, the opportunities available to them before they join the military, and how they are treated upon returning. Moreover, the comments served as a reminder of the importance of doing strategic and effective organizing against the occupation of Iraq.

For more from Jason Moon, see a summary of a panel that Moon participated in at the Midwest Social Forum in July of this year.