Gary Sudborough | 25.04.2004 18:04

An argument against the corporate media's depiction of American soldiers as "heroes" when they are engaged in immoral and illegal wars for fallacious reasons, especially when they leave a radioactive legacy of cancers and deformed children like the present wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

There is no doubt about the bravery of Pat Tillman or his idealism in resigning from a lucrative career in the National Football League after 9-11 to, as he perceived the situation, protect America and fight the terrorists responsible for this spectacular, deadly attack on American soil. However, soldiers all through history have exhibited great courage in combat, although often fighting for mistaken, spurious reasons or even against their own best interests. I know there were many German soldiers in World War 2 who were fervent believers in fascism and willingly sacrificed themselves for an ideology which cost tens of millions of lives, lead to the death camps and devastated the continent of Europe. The same could be said of Japan's kamikaze pilots. Their sacrifice was exceedingly brave, but was their emperor really that close to God. The German and Japanese media certainly attempted to make heroes of these men. There were many true believers among the Protestants and Catholics who fought one another in the bloody Thirty Years War and exterminated about sixty percent of the population of northern Europe. Naturally, the kings and nobles had their own economic and political interests in these religious wars. Are all these people heroes simply because they were courageous in battle or possessed an ardent belief in their mission or ideology?

Pat Tillman obviously didn't realize that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were planned long before 9-11 occurred and both were intimately connected to US control of oil reserves, rather than to any so-called war on terrorism. He was probably oblivious to the fact that terrorism has been used before in history as an excuse for wars of aggression, perpetrated for other reasons. Hitler used the excuses of communist terrorism and terrorism against Germans for his annexations of Austria and Czechoslovakia. Ronald Reagan had his own war against terrorism in Central America in order to defeat socialist revolutions there, which were a threat to the capitalist system. Our own American revolutionaries were considered to be terrorists by the British. Using fear as a means of manipulation and control is nothing new.

Therefore, Pat Tillman was not defending the American people, as he imagined, but by participating in a war against the innocent people of Afghanistan and Iraq was actually increasing the anger and resentment towards the United States and raising the probability of another terrorist attack on the US mainland, rather than diminishing such a probability. He may just as well have worn the company logos of Chevron-Texaco and Exxon-Mobil on his uniform as the US flag because this is who he really was fighting for, as well as the weapons manufacturers and companies like Halliburton and Bechtel. 9-11 was the fear-inspiring event that George W. Bush cynically utilized to pursue his real agenda of corporate domination and profiteering.

In my opinion, the real heroes are people like Ron Kovic, Stan Goff and other veterans who have taken the time and effort to discover the truth about recent wars and the nature of imperialism. They are willing to oppose US interventions in other countries and suffer the ridicule and disapprobation of American society for challenging some of its most cherished myths-myths like the continuous glorification of war and the supposition that American troops always fight for noble goals like freedom and democracy. They also attempt to educate military personnel and that is essential in stopping this scourge of war. People are heroes for fighting against the real ills afflicting humanity like slavery, racism, oppression and injustice, not for fighting for myths created by a ruling class intent on wars for their own benefit. That is simply a wasted life.

The glaring hypocrisy of the US corporate media in its hero worship is easily illustrated by the Spanish Civil War. American soldiers, such as those in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, fought fascism in Spain and the troops and modern weapons of Hitler and Mussolini years before World War 2 started. They exhibited extraordinary courage in fighting tanks and airplanes with small arms and outdated artillery. Were these brave American soldiers of the "greatest American generation" called heroes in the US corporate media? No, they were either ignored or labeled "premature antifascists." Some were even hounded by the FBI for years after World War 2 and lost job after job for being leftists. Every American knows about the heroes of the Normandy landing on D-day, but ask an average American if they have ever heard of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Obviously, the criteria for who is deemed worthy of being depicted as a hero by the US corporate media is determined purely on economic and political motivations and not on actual courage or sacrifice, as the corporate media so pompously pretend.

I knew the instant I learned that Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan that the corporate media were going to make a propaganda extravaganza out of his death, lasting days, if not weeks. After all, MSNBC calls every American soldier killed in Iraq a "hero" and has a whole wall dedicated to them with photos of the deceased soldiers. From time to time the hosts relate little stories about these soldiers lives to their audience. No mention is given to poisonous effects of the US military's use of depleted uranium on the health of other potential "heroes." Little emphasis is placed on Iraqi casualties or the great suffering and misery of the Iraqi people. Neither the Pentagon nor the corporate media keep an accounting of the Iraqi dead and wounded. Of course, the insinuation here is that only American lives matter and the Iraqis are subhuman, much as Goebbels depicted the Jews and Slavs.

It has been my perception from watching war after war involving the United States that the corporate media always attempt to glorify each and every war and build public support for it, no matter how ridiculous the justifications for the war or how illegal, immoral and destructive the war happens to be. That glorification is probably the greatest evil perpetrated by the US corporate media and very dangerous to humanity's survival in an age of nuclear weapons. However, it is understandable, when one considers many of these media corporations are owned by weapons manufacturers.

e-mail:: IconoclastGS@aol.com
Homepage:: http://www.theblackflag.org/iconoclast

Tillman was a goon 25.04.2004 21:53 As with all the US imperialist wars, there will be no real US heroes in the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Imperialist troops aren't heroes, they're just goons who commit acts of valor for their imperialist masters. They fight for the freedom of the rich to rob the world and keep its workers in chains. Tillman was just another yanqui goon (and a stupid one at that). It's a good thing that he was killed least he would have continued to torture, maime, slaughter and rape many more Afghans for US imperialism. jimmy clark Tillman was a hero 26.04.2004 10:09 If Pat Tillman had walked out on a $3.6 million contract with the NFL to teach impoverished students in Central America and had been killed by a U.S.-backed paramilitary organization, Gary Sudborough and Jimmy Clark would be on this site hailing him as a genuine hero, while Rush Limbaugh and the propagandists at MSNBC and Fox would be calling him an idiot and worse. Any man who would give up that kind of money to fight for a cause in which he genuinely believed is a hero in my book, however misguided or wrong I might think his cause to be. Besides, he was killed in Afghanistan, not Iraq — and the case for war in Afghanistan, a country which actually did harbor al-Qaeda terrorists, is certainly a more arguable one than the case for war in Iraq. I agree with Gary Sudborough's comments about how the Bush administration and the U.S. government and radical-Right media propaganda machines are exploiting Tillman's death for all it's worth to them, and that whatever nobility his sacrifice may have is being traduced by its use as a cynical tool to re-sell the American people on the validity of Bush's sweeping destruction of international law and American civil liberties in the name of a "war on terror." Mark Gabrish Conlan e-mail:: mgconlan@earthlink.net reply to Conlan's comment 26.04.2004 21:17 US Special Forces are comparable to Hitler’s elite SS troops in their fanaticism, tactics and brutality. According to Conlan, since the SS troops fought valiantly for a cause they believed in, they qualify as heroes. The same argument can be made for countless other fascist elite troops throughout history. But history has not judged the SS troops as heroes. Only Nazi sympathizers, fascists and racists believe the SS troops were heroes. After reading Conlan’s comment one has to wonder if he is a Nazi sympathizer/fascist/racist. Imperialist invader troops, especially the elite, are, with the exception of those who disobey orders, accomplices in the most horrific of crimes in history. Tillman followed orders in the imperialist invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. There is a long list of atrocities, on record, that have been committed by the US forces in Afghanistan - not to mention the illegal detainment of the 600 or so “illegal combatants” who are currently being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba under inhumane, degrading conditions without legal representation and without being charged. The murder of hundreds of Taliban soldiers in 2002 via packing them in shipping containers certainly ranks among the worst atrocities an invading army could commit. So far there hasn’t been any proof that the Taliban government had anything to do with 9/11. Yet the US went in there basically to take revenge on the Afghan population via collective punishment. How many innocent Afghans had to die because George Bush wanted to look tuff on terrorism and make someone pay for 9/11? And how many Afghans did the all-American poster goon Pat Tillman murder or help murder before he was killed? Imperialists are criminals and so are the people who do their dirty work. History will judge the US imperialist troops as thugs, criminals. The supporters of US troops, whether they claim to be peace activists or not, have blood on their hands and history will judge them too as criminals. jimmy clark Jimmy Clark..... 27.04.2004 09:15 I love it when someone gets themselves wrapped up in a rant that they fail to realize what they are ranting against, they are supporting. But hey what a shock to see some moron supporting fascist governments like the Taliban or Saddam or basically any shit bird out there who gives the middle finger to the US. Blinded by your hatred for capitalism, you embrace some of the most oppressive societies on earth. How sad....so reactionary, you make the far right look sane. LOL e-mail:: nunya@bizness.com parrot pigs 29.04.2004 19:59 I didn't see anything in jimmy clark's comment about supporting Saddam or the Taliban. To the fascists, everyone who criticizes US policy regarding Saddam, the Taliban or anyone else on George Bush's shit list is "with the terrorists" because King George says so. These wannabe-somebody fascists have no views because to have views requires one to think. They just go on and on parroting whatever they hear on FOX network or whatever blowhard idiot Rush Limbaugh says. I call them parrot pigs. ROLMAO Pat Tillman is a Hero 05.05.2004 10:36 I am sick and tired of the far left pompus liberals who believe that anyone who disagrees with them is stupid. They say we're "parrots" and "don't think for ourselves." How many conservatives have they talked to? How many have they asked why they believe what they do? How many liberals have bothered to research it themselves? Granted, a lot more creativity is required to come to the outrageous and baseless conclusions they "parrot" than the common sense conclusions of the conservative position. However, we have done our homework. I have yet to see one shred of evidence backing up any of the ridiculous claims about why liberals believe we went to Afghanistan or Iraq including those listed here. Pat Tillman is a hero!! He made a concious decision to sacrifice his career to defend our country against terrorists who murdered 3,000 innocent Americans. He was not a dumb jock who signed up so he could kill Arabs. He gratuated from college with honors and an almost perfect 4.0 average. He was intelligent and made decisions using intellect as well as his heart. In my opinion, liberals don't understand decisions based on loyalty, sense of duty, or patriotism because they do not have these qualities . He rejected media coverage for his choice to serve our country (unlike Kerry and other liberals who ride it until the wheels fall off). If all of you liberals feel as strongly about your position as Pat Tillman, than why don't you go to Iraq or Afghanistan and help them fight the evil US empire? Because you don't have the courage to back up any of your ridiculous beliefs and would rather criticize those who do from the safety of the United States. Just remember that Pat Tillman and those like him died so you spineless wonders could have the freedom to criticize them and spew your anti-American rhetoric. Kristy Obar e-mail:: kristy.obar@hrh.com Pot, Kettle, Black 06.05.2004 06:53 Here is what I don't get. You compare the Army, particularly the Special Forces units to the SS. If you mean a secret police force your wrong. Which if you bothered to study your history is what the SS was. While they were formed as a special forces unit, they ended up doing the same thing the KGB did. Also you might just want to rethink calling anybody right of Kim Jung IL Nazis or Fachists those were both Socialist parties. Thomas Sowell e-mail:: sidewinderaf@hotmail.com Homepage:: sidewinderaf@hotmail.com