The elites have long known the simple formula, support the troops, support the war. Which is to say, it is much easier to get the people to support the soldiers than it is to get them to support the war itself, but the practical result is the same. Therefore war time propaganda often boosts "our troops" as an easy means to manufacture consent for war.

The corollary is also true.

Condemn the troops, end the war. It is only by continuing to endorse soldiers and what they do (kill people in service to empire) that the wars are able to continue. Elites have effectively co-opted or neutered much of the peace movement by convincing them that they too must "support the troops" or be seen as not "serious".

So we have the image of soldiers, not as brutal dogs of capitalism, but as some sort of cross between heroes and little children who don’t know what they’re doing. A few years back it was said, "wouldn’t it be nice if we had to have bake sales for the army, instead of for our schools?" Well today I have seen bake sales for the army and I find it disgusting. Be the change you want to see. If as a society we honour thugs an killers then we will be a society of thugs and killers. if you are of the mind that says these soldiers are just kids that don’t know any better, then I ask, how will they know better if nobody tells them what they are doing is wrong?

Candy for soldiers – as if they were children

Outrage over war – but not for the victims of war, for the dogs of war

Conservatives often say "soldiers defend your rights". I usually reply by pointing out that in fact it is the ACLU that defends American’s rights these days. Soldiers don’t defend rights. In fact they are part of the problem even in America. But obviously abroad where they "work" US troops are the most anti-rights force imaginable. They take away every right their victims have including the right to life.

Another frequent excuse is to say, "Well I am against the wars, but we should blame the bosses for war, not the troops". This is the Nuremberg defence. They are "only following orders". Be the change you want to see. Imagine a world where people such as Bush and Obama would have no power to murder a million people because every man felt that he was accountable for his own sins. Where soldiers took seriously their duty to defy a criminal order. To reach that goal we have to take seriously the moral lapses of US soldiers when they fail in their duty and act with no honour by participating in the criminal occupations.

Who will join me in condemning US forces involved with the US occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan?