Text 4024, 105 rader
Skriven 2007-04-06 15:52:52 av Alan Hess
Ärende: are we at war?
======================
This column, by a former soldier who fought in Iraq, does make valid points
that the people of this country are not playing any part in, or making
sacrifices for, our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, unlike what happened during
World War II.

********

Boston.com     

The Boston Globe
JOSEPH KEARNS GOODWIN
Unmobilized for war

By Joseph Kearns Goodwin  |  April 6, 2007

AMERICA is not at war. To be sure, there are fierce battles in Afghanistan and
Iraq where American soldiers are dying day after day. Yet, while our troops and
their families have seen their lives altered in fundamental ways, the average
American has been asked to sacrifice almost nothing. We read the papers, watch
the news, worry about the disintegrating situation, then, except for the
inconvenience at the airports, go about our daily lives in much the same manner
as we did in the first summer of the 21st century.

A critical conflict, characterized by the Bush administration as the most
important in generations, is being waged by a tiny fraction of our population
-- the men and women in our armed forces, plus a small number of civilian
agencies, together totaling less than 1 percent of our citizenry.

During World War II, by contrast, our countrymen participated in the nation's
struggle in countless ways. Substantial changes in lifestyles were willingly
accepted, along with higher taxes and gasoline rationing. Automobile companies
worked round the clock to produce the planes, tanks, and trucks needed for
soldiers. Textile mills ran double shifts to fill orders for uniforms. Local
communities conducted aluminum scrap drives; schoolchildren rolled rubber bands
into giant balls to help replenish diminished rubber supplies. Millions
volunteered to be part of a vast civilian defense operation. And more than 14
million men and women joined the Army, Navy, and Marines. We and our Allies won
a historic victory in a war that had to be fought to save Western civilization
-- a war that came to an end 3 1/2 years after Pearl Harbor -- a shorter time
frame than our struggle in Iraq.

After 9/11, I enlisted in the Army, having graduated from Harvard College the
previous June. In the wake of that terrible day, I felt called upon to protect
our nation and way of life. During my four years of duty, including a year of
combat in Iraq, I met others who had made the same decision. I agree with
Donald Rumsfeld, the former secretary of defense, that you must "go to war with
the army you have," but I cannot understand why a greater effort was not made
to enlarge that army. Had an effort been made to recruit more volunteers in the
days and months after 9/11, I am confident that tens of thousands would have
answered the call and that our Army today would not be stretched so thin. That
call never came.

In Baghdad, we carried out our nightly patrols in unarmored Humvees. In a
desperate attempt to provide greater protection, we commissioned local
nationals to weld large pieces of iron to our doors. Our jerry-rigged solution
failed. Due to the greater weight on the doors, the hinges broke, and we ended
up patrolling without any doors.

When I told workers in a manufacturing plant in New York what had happened,
they told me five ways we could have accomplished our goal without destroying
the hinges. And yet, their advice and guidance were never solicited. Indeed, if
American shipyards were able to cut the time for completing cargo ships from
one year to one day during World War II, how is it possible that our factories,
had they worked round the clock, could not have produced the armored Humvees we
needed?

While I was in Iraq, our armed forces were called upon to engage in all manner
of activities for which we had not been trained -- from rebuilding essential
infrastructure such as roads, schools, and electrical grids to aiding in the
establishment of fledgling governments and judicial systems. We could not
understand why more qualified experts from the departments of Energy,
Transportation, and State were not given the lead in these essential tasks.

Unlike more than 20,000 of my fellow soldiers, I returned home without serious
injury. The heartbreaking revelations at Walter Reed Medical Center have
touched a chord in the country that will hopefully produce needed changes in
Building 18 and beyond. Still, the larger problem of caring for wounded
veterans and helping them navigate the complex bureaucracy of our healthcare
system remains.

Bedside Advocates, a pilot program in Boston, may provide a model for action.
With support from the Massachusetts Medical Society and funding from private
donors and the Legislature, a volunteer force of retired doctors and nurses is
being mobilized to provide one-on-one support for patients both in and out of
hospitals. Complicated issues will need to be sorted out, but what if such a
program could be expanded nationwide so that every wounded veteran could be
provided with his or her own bedside advocate? It is easy to imagine that
thousands of retired doctors, nurses, EMTs, and social workers would be honored
to volunteer.

We are a great nation, capable of almost anything if our hearts and minds are
engaged. In wartime, we cannot afford to leave the talents and energies of our
wider population on the sidelines. It is akin to a football coach keeping his
offensive line on the bench. No matter how gifted his quarterback, no matter
how talented his running backs and receivers, his team will have no chance to
win.

Joseph Kearns Goodwin, who received a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq,
works for General Electric.  

+ Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
 

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