A Commentary by Doug Draper
On Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in the United States, and on a week set aside every November for honouring our veterans – those who’ve fought and been fortunate enough to come home, and those who have all too often died for our country – I think it is also important to give some thought to those who sent them into battle.
Japanese soldiers firing down on Canadian troops and allies in the killing fields of Burma during the Second World War.
How honourable were the intentions of those who made the decision to send young people off to fight and possibly die? Were they as honourable as the many brave and anxious kids they sent?
Some most certainly were.
By most historical accounts, leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt who were stricken by decisions they finally felt no choice to make, to send you young people in to harms way. Dwight D. Eisenhower, a soldier and commander of allied troops during the Second World War before serving his country as president in the 1950s, once said the following; “I hate war as only a solider who has lived it can (and) only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”
Hardly any kind of statement like that has come from former U.S. president George W. Bush or his brain, Dick Cheney – two Vietnam War era draft dodgers who needlessly sent young Americans on an unnecessary, preemptive war campaign in Iraq that has so far cost more than 4,000 American and possibly more than 100,000 Iraqi lives. In recent interviews over the publication of his post-presidential memoir ‘Decision Points’, George W. expresses no apologies for invading an Iraq that, in fact, had none of the “weapons of mass destruction” his administration used (along with the lie that Iraq had something to do with the 9/11 terrorist attacks) as propaganda for invading that country.
In Canada, there is a prime minister, Stephen Harper, and his sycophant of a defense minister, Peter MacKay, who are prepared to shovel out many billions of untendered tax dollars to Lockheed Martin (one of those U.S. industries Eisenhower once warned was a part of a “military-industrial complex” that could over-ride good judgment) rather than invest the amount of money needed to care for veterans from Afghanistan and other wars who are suffering physical and psychological wounds.
What has almost always struck me about those who have been sent to war over the more than 30 years I’ve interviewed veterans as a reporter is that they don’t talk about the glory or war or repeat the rhetoric of the leaders who sent them. They talk about the horrors of war, their hope that it never happens again for their children or grandchildren, and so many of them ask the question ‘why?’.
Why do humans continue to perpetrate such destruction on each other?
I listened to one veteran this November 11 on CBC radio. His name is Bob Farquharson, one of thousands of Canadians sent to fight Japan during the Second World War and author of a book entitled ‘ For Your Tomorrow – Canada and the Burma Campaign.’ Dignified throughout his interview with a CBC reporter but almost in tears, he ended by saying; War never decides who is right, only who is left.”
When will we ever learn from the lessons of those who have experienced the horror of war and stop listening to those who mastermind these wars?
In this spirit, I leave you with the lyrics of what I think is one of the best anti-war songs written in the last 50 years. It is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1963 called ‘Masters of War’.
Following that, please feel free to share with Niagara At Large your views on this subject
Masters Of War – by Bob Dylan
Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks.
You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes, And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly.
Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain.
You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion’
As young people’s blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud.
You’ve thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain’t worth the blood
That runs in your veins.
How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I’m young
You might say I’m unlearned
But there’s one thing I know
Though I’m younger than you
That even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do.
Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul.
And I hope that you die
And your death’ll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I’ll watch while you’re lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I’ll stand over your grave
‘Til I’m sure that you’re dead.
(Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater binational Niagara region.)
Niagara At Large 
Great articel. Well said.
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Ditto, especially the Dylan song. I was impressed that the school children in Ridgeway at the Remembrance Day service sang “Imagine” , not some patriotic garbage about war, I only hope they’re really able to comprehend the significance of the song.
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Your right to express such views was paid for in blood. Your article proves once again that progressives do not know right from wrong. Standing on the graves of soldiers who have fought and died for our freedom to take a swipe at our Prime Minister is not only incorrect it is inappropriate. In truth it was Jean Chreiten who sent our troops to Afghanistan, under equipped no less.
Remembrance Day is a day to remember the fallen and reflect upon their sacrifice not a day for political agendas.
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Excellent article Doug! I agree 100%
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Mr. Lymburner is right: Remembrance Day is indeed a day to remember the fallen and reflect upon their sacrifice. Unfortunately the day has become political, and our current Prime Minister has played a role in that transformation.
Mr. Lymburner is also correct in pointing out that it was Jean Chretien who sent our troops to Afghanistan. Mr. Harper was lobbying to send them to Iraq.
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I had this wonderful verse forwarded to me by a friend and it’s message is one we all need to take to heart when remembering and putting into context the contributions of our fine men and women who serve. Apparently, yesterday morning CFRB’s host John Moore aired a lady reading this piece:
It is the Veteran, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Veteran, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Veteran, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Veteran, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the Veteran, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Veteran, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.
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I am a Vietnam era veteran, I was not in combat but have been to the first stop hospitals to see the damage done to friends. The horror is burned in my memory. Veterans deserve honour and fair treatment after their sacrifice. The are, however, not the source of freedom. While such sentiment seems respectful, I believe it actually dimishes all of us.
Veterans do not ‘give’ freedom to us. Serving in the military is just one way to protect freedom. It is ours to protect just as much as those who fight. It is ours to protect by taking full advantage of our freedom to protect the poor and weak, to demand accountability and to punish those who are unjust, and to ensure all have the social and economic opportunity and ability to live their lives to the fullest. And is it ours to protect by being engaged in our political life by being well informed, civil to each other, and voting.
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Hear, Hear!
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I don’t think Mr. Lymburner is reading carefully enough…far from denigrating the combat soldier, both the article and the Dylan song lyrics stress that it is seldom those who make the decision to send the youth of a nation to war who have to actually stand in the path of the bullets. It is THEIR graves Mr. Dylan expresses the wish to stand on, not those of the troops or the veterans, with whom he quite clearly has every sympathy. As should we all. And it is sickening that our emotions around the deaths of our young men and women—from WW1 forward—are manipulated so blatantly by those who are desperate to hold onto power by any means necessary without coming clean as to the very real reasons why soldiers and civilians have to suffer the casualties of war; I fear they have little to do with honour, glory, freedom, the betterment of society, or anything of the kind—even though that’s what the troops are told and doubtless believe in their hearts. If they actually believed they were killing and dying to keep arms manufacturers and big finance rolling along steadily I’m sure most of them would go insane and/or put themselves out of their own misery. As so many already are doing, and have done, and shall do.
It is the most cynical and divisive move on the part of any government to suggest that it is both unpatriotic to question the motives behind war, and a slight on those who are actually caught up in its teeth; yet the move always seems to work simply because of the huge emotional levers being pulled. Soldiers do not cause wars. Politicians and the Corporations they represent do. Remember and respect the troops and the veterans, but for their sakes, please never stop questioning the necessity for their sacrifice unless we really want to keep squandering the lives of young men and women in the name of making life comfortable for the wealthy and powerful of the world.
We should also show respect for those who have served in war and who have reached the conclusion that they are participating in morally disgusting actions that have nothing to do with the reasons why they joined up and consented to be put in harm’s way. They have learned from painful experience that the recruitment promises of bonuses and pensions and post-combat medical care are, plain and simple lies meant to lure in those with no great educational or financial resources and little other hope for meaningful employment, and to give added incentive to those for whom the jingoism and emotional rhetoric are not sufficient reasons to fight.
There are many brave and honorable U.S. soldiers who have fled their country seeking asylum here—many suffering severe psychological trauma as a result of their combat duties, and all of them struggling with their loss of family and friends as a result of their decision to quit the war—who are denigrated as cowards and draft-dodgers, and whom our government is determined to send home to prison and disgrace as a reward for their humanity and as a sop to our biggest trading partner. And this in spite of a majority Parliamentary support for their claim to asylum. Personally, I find our lack of support for these veterans disgusting.
And by the way, I have one young family member fresh out of Sandhurst as an officer in the British Army who is likely to find himself on combat duty before long, and another in the Canadian Forces who has already seen combat duty in Afghanistan, and who may be returning there all too soon if Mr. Harper’s latest ruling by fiat is sustained… the proposed “training role” smacks to me of the kind of work U.S. troops were supposed to be doing in Vietnam before it was so fraudulently escalated into what we all know now was a “Police Action”…
Anyone, veteran, soldier or otherwise, who seriously believes that Government in general—and our current one in particular— has anything invested in the wellbeing of our troops once they have served their purpose is not paying sufficient attention to reality. It is not that the progressives of the world lack a sense of right and wrong, Mr. Lymburner; with all due respect, it is the unthinking and uncritical obedience of reactionaries—and they come in all political flavours—and their unshakeable belief in the fairy tales of the past, that perpetually condemns generations of people to premature, violent and unconscionable death. Oh—and please try reading what people are actually saying in future, instead of allowing the automatic “troop-bashing Leftist” alarm to set off an angry and entirely unjustified response. We are people, too, and our family members bleed and die in war just as readily as yours.
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All right, let’s acknowledge that the rich rulers of the world have always sent the average joe into battle.
And let’s agree that MANY lives are lost in war – not just the warriors. (We forget that the first Canadian to die in Afghanistan was a Diplomat, and that we have also lost 2 aid workers there. As well, why do we rarely hear of NATO & other troop losses? And how many civilians are lost in the battle to give them the right to invent their own democracy?)
However, let’s go back a few wars:
– What would our Ontario ancestors have said about fighting the Riel Rebellions of 1873 and 1885? A Just war? A Colonial war? Fought to maintain Canada, for political reasons?
– What would they have said about the boys from small-town Canada who enlisted in 1899 to fight the 4-year Boer War? A Just war? An Imperialist war? Fought for political reasons?
– How about the War to End War (WWI)? Fought against a dictatorship (Germany), run by the European nobility with little thought for their cannon-fodder people? A Just war? Should the Britain Empire have defended France, Belgium, et al? Most of us boomers came to the conclusion in school that it was a waste of lives, but my grand uncle Royce wouldn’t hear of it – he told me that his generation served with honour to preserve democracy.
– We were also taught by warriors who had fought Hitler and Japan (our parents generation), that they had no choice in defending Britain and relieving Europe (and Asia) – they fought dictators and we had to stop them before they conquered us. [Have you ever wondered why both Japan and Germany were so nasty to the people they conquered, considering their beautiful, artistic cultures?]
– Ditto for my uncle Bruce who was a young sailor in the Korean War to fight against the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ (North Korean Communism).
– What about the Cold War with its hot spots (Vietnam, et al.)? Should we have let Stalin walk over Western Europe? Or how about Chairman Mao in Asia? Our leaders may walk us through moral quagmires, but those 2 guys were just plain evil sociopaths, killing tens of millions of their own people.
– UN Peace Keeping (which followed the UN Peace Making of Korea) made Canadians proud, although we haven’t done it for ~20 years, as we cut back on military spending and lost the ability to send troops overseas. We did this partly because we ran out of money -our governments had bought our votes with our grand-children’s money- partly because we had/have the luxury of being protected by the American military umbrella, and partly because of the ‘peace dividend’ after the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union dissolved ~1990.
[I remember waking up one day ~1995 to realise that for weeks/months/years, I hadn’t once thought about an H-bomb exploding over Buffalo or Niagara Falls: what would I do to survive? would my family & friends make it? how to avoid the fallout? where to find shelter? clean water? food? warmth? sanitation?
In Grade 5 (1955), our teachers conducted regular nuclear attack drills – they would smack a ruler on a desk, say “Flash!” and we would ‘Duck and Cover’ our heads under our desks to avoid the window glass which the shockwave from an H-bomb on Buffalo would quickly throw at us.
I don’t know if I was alone in this -and I didn’t Worry about it- but I wondered what I would do AT LEAST ONCE A DAY for ~30 years, from the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960’s until the Berlin Wall came down.
And now, we’re back at it again – how long before a fanatic delivers a suitcase bomb to the USA, ‘the evil Satan’?]
Is war good? SHOULD it happen? Of course not!
On the other hand, if you examine Life on earth, we live in a highly competitive but co-operative scheme of things. We are all part of the greater, integrated whole, but our ecosystem seems to run on the rule “eat and be eaten”, “accumulate and disperse”. Virtually every species of virus, bacteria, plant and animal seems to be challenged or threatened by something in its environment – there’s a struggle for existence. (Strangely, one adaptation in social animals is co-operation, where groups work together for the common good.)
Ditto for societies – they compete with their neighbours too.
That’s just the way it is. Methinks our job is to decide HOW we will each react when these competitive situations arise for us. Selflessly, with honour? selfishly, with greed? and many more choices. We decide individually, and collectively, through Parliament. And we’ll always disagree with each other, with other countries, religions, cultures…. There are never simple answers.
Which brings us to Afghanistan.
– Should we have stood aside after 911? Our NATO treaty says, “When one is attacked, all are attacked.”
– One of my friends noticed that 911 co-incidentally happened ~6 months after the Taliban abolished the growing of heroin poppies. We could certainly kill most of the heroin trade by buying the poppies from Afghan farmers to make morphine, as is done in Pakistan and India. Why aren’t we doing that?
– Some say that George W. Bush fell into Bin Laden’s trap and will go bankrupt fighting in Afghanistan, just as Reagan trapped the USSR into doing 25 years ago.
– Others say that we had no choice. If we did nothing, Al Quaeda would export more & more terrorism to the West.
– One day, when Afghani MP’s visited our House of Commons, PM Harper turned to a fellow MP, and said, “Do you see those Afghan women MP’s up in the gallery? That’s why were over there! So that Afghan women have freedom.”
Have we succeeded? Can we succeed? Should we try? Would we want others to stand up for us?
Has the war gone on too long (longer than WWI and WWII together!)? Yes.
Are there better strategies and tactics? Probably.
Have Canadians stepped up to the plate? You bet.
Is it time to leave? Do the newer members of NATO need to provide troops? Absolutely.
Should we provide trainers for the Afghan army…?
What do we do now and where do we go next? We don’t live in a vacuum; we can’t stay home and do nothing. We are part of the modern imperialism of taking (stealing?) from the developing world:
do we buy Fair Trade coffee, etc?
do we apply the same Canadian labour and environmental laws abroad as we do in Canada?
do we support the same human rights abroad as we do in Canada?
how do we behave in the world?
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Winston Churchill who made a hash of the Turkish invasion during the first World War when tens of thousand of Australian and British deaths, came to the conclusion that it is “better to jaw,jaw than war, war, the George Bush gang were already planning the invasion of Iraq during the Bill Clinton Election,Bill won with the help of Ross Perot who split the vote getting 20% of the vote, they were ready to go when George W. took power.The gang had Osama Bin Laden surounded and would not allow him to be killed but let him escape to Pakistan , they wanted a bogey man loose as an excuse to pick on Saddam Hussein.they wanted a lock on the cheap oil.
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