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thedrifter
08-20-06, 07:19 AM
Sunday, August 20, 2006 <br />
'Rules' of war limit Marines <br />
GORDON DILLOW <br />
Register columnist <br />
GLDillow@aol.com <br />
<br />
We call it &quot;the war in Iraq.&quot; But to many of the Marines here, it's not really a war –...

thedrifter
08-20-06, 10:07 AM
ESPRIT DE (MARINE) CORPS <br />
NO MORE? <br />
<br />
By: Alan Stang <br />
<br />
First let me present my credentials. I have written considerably for more than thirty years about our Prisoners Of War left behind in Southeast...

thedrifter
08-20-06, 10:08 AM
ESPRIT DE (MARINE) CORPS <br />
NO MORE? (PART II) <br />
<br />
By: Alan Stang <br />
<br />
Part I of this piece has provoked a firestorm. Marines (and their wives) are writing me about one or another aspect of the problem....

thedrifter
08-21-06, 09:20 AM
A column by Kevin Leininger

Testing limits in Iraqi war

A column by Kevin Leininger
kleininger@news-sentinel.com


On the Fourth of July, as millions of Americans noisily celebrated the birth of their country, Eric Malmstrom stayed indoors – shielded from the sounds and smells that might have taken him to another time, another place.

Back to Iraq, where 48 of his fellow Marines were killed by a merciless enemy they could seldom fight, identify or even see.

So when Malmstrom, a reservist who also is headmaster at Zion Lutheran Academy in Fort Wayne, sees reports of alleged atrocities committed by Americans fighting the war on terror, he can see how even the best-trained troops might snap.

As a man of God, he doesn’t condone it. But as a Marine who has experienced unconventional combat in Iraq, he does understand it.

“It’s hard for us as Americans to fully understand how bad the ‘bad guys’ there are,” said Malmstrom, 38, a lieutenant and chaplain with the Cleveland-based 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment who served in Iraq with the 1,000-member unit for seven months. “We fitted an Iraqi man with a fake leg after insurgents cut off an arm and leg because he had been talking to Americans. Before I got there, a man was killed just because he took one of our Christmas trees home to his daughter.

“You assume everybody is trying to kill you, and you begin to look at everyone as a threat. Our motto was, ‘Have a plan to kill everyone you meet.’ When your guys get blown up, and there’s nothing left but parts, your first thought is to strike out at everybody.”

When an ordained minister who has only seen violent death talks that way, imagine the psychological burden carried by the troops who must inflict it.

Malmstrom’s insight is particularly appropriate, because his tour of duty was centered near Haditha – site of the alleged massacre of 24 Iraqis by U.S. Marines in late 2005, just before Malmstrom’s unit arrived. “I carried an ROE (rules of engagement) card that said the only time you were permitted to use force was when you could positively identify the enemy and there was a clear threat,” Malmstrom said. “But gunbattles were few and far between. Usually, you didn’t see the threat until it was too late. …

“In combat, you don’t have the luxury to take time off, so you stuff everything inside. We’re asking guys to do incredible things, and they almost always rise above it. But it takes a toll. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a normal response to something abnormal.”

Ideally, when the stress gets too great for even Marines to endure, they “go to see the wizard,” as Malmstrom put it – a psychologist. Safely back home since October, he does just that, seeking counseling at the Fort Wayne VA Medical Center for the “images that never leave.”

But what of the actions of troops who are under constant threat from terrorists and warring Islamic factions?

“You need to hold them accountable, but be understanding,” he said. “We don’t want to label them monsters. You have to be of a certain caliber to make it through Marine training. We all have our spiritual and psychological limits.”

Are those limits tested more severely in Iraq than in previous wars? Certainly the Nazis were as evil as the Islamic fascists, and Vietnam tested our soldiers’ ability to identify and fight an often-shadowy enemy. No war is free of atrocities.

Perhaps it’s we who have changed. Around-the-clock media coverage makes misconduct more difficult to hide, and that’s good. But constant scrutiny, coupled with our short attention span, also makes war increasingly difficult to sustain – and win.

And that’s not good when you’re fighting suicidal enemies willing to destroy anyone who rejects their lunatic theology. “There is such a thing as righteous hate,” Malmstrom said, echoing Psalm 97:10 – “Let those who love the Lord hate evil.”

Even righteous hatred has its limits, though. When evil is committed in our name, even in response to conditions we can scarcely imagine, it is appropriate to hate the sins but love the sinners – even as we offer them the help they need, or the punishment they deserve.

Ellie