Today there were a number of diaries, even a political cartoon, springing up critical of the military drone attacks that are ongoing. I won't argue with anyone that the right does not exist for someone to bring this up in political debate. On it's own as a single issue it's clear that ethically it's wrong for any nation to use such horrific devices if they are not absolutely accurate and only kill enemy combatants that are an immediate threat to kill and murder others. Obviously, this kind of firepower destroys innocent people as well and, looking long term, probably does as much harm as good.
I will however try to point out why I believe President Obama has made the choices he has on this issue. I, and nobody else posting comments on Daily Kos have the full story as to the justifications for their continued use. We cannot sit in his office, read his daily briefings, be in the room with his military commanders and advisers, hear the thoughts in his head, know what conversations he's had with the men and women in our military. What we can do though is imagine scenarios of what our world will look like with and without those drone strikes based on our knowledge of history, human nature, politics and the certainty that every human has to face those Sophie's Choice moments when there is no right answer, when someone will be hurt regardless of what we decide. For those of you unfamiliar with that movie, Meryl Streep's character was forced to decide which of her children must die, something that haunted her for life.
Let me preface this brainstorming with some conclusions I think we can all agree upon.
1. Our military (and the industrial complex behind it) is huge, powerful, and its culture changes slowly. The overall political slant is far to the right and soldiers on the field have a very myopic view of the big picture.
2. Economically the world has been teetering on the brink of a worldwide depression that would make the one in the 30's seem like a cake walk if it ever fully developed. It could easily lead to the death of millions and possibly another world war.
3. If Republicans get into the presidency, it's likely that we would go to war with Iran and oil prices would skyrocket. It sure seems like that would be a tipping point where the economy would tank. If that didn't do it, certainly the austerity measures proposed by the Republicans would take us over that edge. I don't see how we or the rest of the world would ever recover from that damage.
4. The culture of our country has still not recovered from the fear of 9/11. We probably would have had we had leadership at the time that didn't stoke that fire of paranoia but our President, to stay in power and lead us through this mess, must contend with that continuing fear by showing strength and resolve and convince the MAJORITY of the country that he's got the support of our military and veterans.
So here's Obama's dilemma as I see it, his Sophie's Choice moment, the impossible conundrum he faces where what many of you see as a black and white moment, has so many shades of grey it comes down to him having to choose the lesser of two evils - take the unethical track of continuing to utilize drones as a weapon or facing a military backlash that would in all likelihood lose him the election along with all those members of Congress that are counting on his coattails. If he loses, our country and the world face the horror of a slide into full militaristic fascism.
Yes, Obama is the man as far as control of the military and sure, he can pick his own Joint Chief of Staff and replace top commanders but there's a credibility that needs to be built up slowly, grudgingly so, among the millions of men and women below that level, many of whom have been in that system for decades. While it would seem that when someone becomes Commander in Chief an instant respect is required and assumed, the truth is that these soldiers are human, the product of an immense brainwashing scheme that casts the world in black and white, us vs. them, good guy vs. bad guy. Conflict is celebrated. The US can do no wrong. Macho is rampant and most importantly, your loyalty is first and foremost to your fellow warriors. Imagine the culture that these people have been immersed in over the past decade and their love of the high tech power that has managed to keep many of them and their friends alive over their overly long deployments.
If a new President (and one demonized daily on Armed Forces Radio by the likes of Rush Limbaugh) comes in and takes away a weapon and tool that they KNOW, at least for the immediate future, may keep them from being shot at or blown up by an IUD delivered by the terrorist cell that drone could take out, there would be absolute outrage and a sense of betrayal. The soldiers and commanders still there in Afghanistan are in survival mode, facing a fear none of you can imagine, thinking only the short term goal of them and their closest friends surviving long enough to get home and out of the madness. Our President is in my mind allowing them a tool that brings them hope of survival, right or wrong. Obama didn't create this nightmare for them. They know that. They want him to end it as quickly and cleanly as he can and make the death and sacrifice of their fellow soldiers matter.
So why should Obama care about what these men think if there is a clear ethical choice regarding how drones can kill innocents? He needs to care because he must be re-elected in November to ensure the survival of our country and the world. We are on the brink of world-wide economic collapse and we know what the Republicans will do if they take over again. Killer drones will be the least of our worries as our military surges into Iran, oil prices explode up and that tipping point hits where everything collapses. Millions will die should that occur. Every one of those soldiers remaining in those killing fields has a large support network back here in the US, many of them rabid voters and if Obama had disenfranchised this bloc of men under his charge, he would LOSE this election. Have none of you ever faced an impossible ethical question in your life before? Barack Obama faces that decision on a grand scale here. Allow an immoral act to go on until he can finish extracting us from a war he doesn't want or hand over the keys to the most warlike and fiscally irresponsible group that we've seen in our country in my lifetime with the likelihood of millions of deaths.
I know this diary will bring harsh condemnation from ethical purists but my response is what good is ethical purity if we don't survive? I truly believe this is a tipping point in human history that could define our very existence. Call me overly dramatic but we've seen horrific character from the other side and the thought of them consolidating power chills me to the bone.
So my plea is to hold back that outrage until after the election or take your anger to your neighbors and the men and women you know that are fighting still and try to convince them that it's wrong, not that Obama is to blame but that we are as a nation. I think with Obama you're preaching to the choir. Look back at his entire life and tell me a single moment before he became President when he ever exhibited a warlike and non-compassionate trait. We're lofting killer drones because a majority of Americans and the soldiers they employ to allay their fears have been conditioned to expect their use, not because Barack Obama dreams at night happily of the twisted bodies they cause. I would bet he's haunted by that image.
I also believe that my same line of reasoning applies to issues like Bradley Manning. As true as that soldier's heart was and as much as I sympathize with his sacrifice and the risks he took following that heart, his actions viewed through the eyes of his fellow brothers in arms are not exactly so worthy. To many of those soldiers, Manning's revelations compromised sensitive foreign operatives and diplomats, jeopardized dangerous military operations, could have cost American soldier's lives. If Obama jumped into the middle of that mess and short-circuited the process, it would also be seen as a betrayal to his charges. Another ethical dilemma. To give you a glimpse into my credibility on this issue, I deserted the Navy during the Cold War, believing firmly in my heart, as Reagan was coming into office and watching the buildup of the preparations for nuclear war with the Russians, that I could no longer be part of an organization that I believed was pushing us toward our end. Desertion in the military is a very grave step with penalties ranging from jail time and discharge to the firing squad should it occur during war time. I knew that the consequences in my life were potentially devastating but they were my choice, that I had to accept whatever came from that decision. I didn't look for anyone to bail me out. I faced up eventually to the organization I left and was lucky that the penalties were on the low end of the spectrum. Bradley Manning knew those risks as well. I hope that the military goes easy on him but there are no guarantees and I trust our President struggles as well with issues like this.
In conclusion, I believe that Barack Obama was handed a military dilemma that had no right answers. He was also handed incredible and horrific tools for executing the end of those wars. The human price for holding back those tools from the men tasked with conducting themselves in that nightmare was likely far greater than the cost of upsetting the intellectuals that understand the long term consequences of their use. Barack Obama, in my opinion, figured out after seeing the abyss that our world teetered on, that he had to last through a second term to help humanity survive the onslaught from the right. To do so he had to gain the respect and trust of our very large and powerful military and attempt to change their culture in tiny steps, not overnight. While we can hate that fact, we should also respect the tightrope he must walk daily. I could be wrong but I'm willing to wait out the answer because this election is so critical. In the interest of my children I would hope that the critics that could very easily talk a Democratic voter into staying home on Nov 6th, would think hard and fast about their own words.