Retired U.S. General Michael Hayden, in the most grotesque of terms, expressed the desire for violence which underlies so much of the military establishment's push for war in the Middle East and beyond.
Witness:
Hayden: "Air strikes are like casual sex ... gratification without commitment." Photo via Amy Littlefield.
Here is Hayden's full
comment:
"The reliance on air power has all the attraction of casual sex: It seems to offer gratification, but with very little commitment. We need to be wary of a strategy that puts emphasis on air power and air power alone."
Hayden's use of casual sex as a metaphor for bombing campaigns, and his use of sex as a metaphor for war in general, reveals two things:
- The deeply profound way in which those engaged in the war industry derive pleasure, or gratification, from legally killing, and
- The deeply troubling way in which those in power, particularly men, view sex as an instrument of power and violence, rather than intimacy.
Yes, the military industrial complex, with its contracts and staggering monetary investments, are what practically drive much of our country's military advancements and operations. However, Hayden's words speak to something which lies at the core of the military establishment's push for war, something which lies beneath all of those military contracts and people profiting from missiles flying.
That something is represented by the metaphor: sanctioned killing as something that is exhilarating, "gratifying," "pleasureful."
War as sex. Bombing campaigns without troops on the ground as casual sex. These metaphors reveal not just what is wrong with our military complex, but what is wrong with a society which casually allows men in power to use sex as a metaphor for violence.
Our war should be against those who view violence in such a way. Our war should be against those who view sex in such a way. For these attitudes are what lead to women dying from domestic violence and people in foreign lands dying from American drone strikes ... every single day.
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David Harris-Gershon is author of the memoir What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife?, recently published by Oneworld Publications.