Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

8-20-90 Monday. Militarists are having a ball with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. They won’t admit it, of course, because that would make them look like war-mongers if not evil people. I’m referring to the hundreds of active and retired military officers in this country as well as the thousands of soldiers in uniform. Retired officers and civilian military strategists are in demand these days as television analysts; I see one or two every night on Crossfire and Nightline. When you think about it, their raison d’etre is warfare. That’s what they’ve been trained to do; that’s what they feel good doing; and that’s their claim to fame. Everyone except me and a few other radicals admires them for their skill and courage. Imagine, if you will, being trained over and over again during a period of many years for combat situations. If no combat situation arises, you will feel frustrated; you will believe that your training has gone for naught. Officers must experience even greater frustration, since, in wartime, they get to formulate strategy and tactics. Billions of dollars have been spent on weapons systems and combat equipment; militarists must be itching to try it out on real, live human beings. No more war games! Let’s get to the real thing! Listening to these officers on television, one gets the sense that they’re playing chess—a complex, challenging game. They relish the intellectual aspect of warfare—the attempt to outwit, overpower, and destroy the enemy. This, I think, reflects badly on them as persons, for the pawns on their board are living, breathing, feeling beings.