The cumulative consequences to the U.S.A. and their affect on it and the rest of the world, especially from military interventions in wars from the 20th century into the 21st, are matters of speculation. However, the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are again fraught with consequences, probably unforeseen by questionable “leadership” and of long-term significance not only for our nation, but for the millions of people in those countries who do not “see” our intentions as beneficial to them, rather often on the contrary.

Besides the very poignant dangers to our young service men and women who are put “in harm’s way” in actual combat situations and the sad toil of their casualties over years in these countries, the dilemna to me are the vast suffering, destruction, deaths and dislocations of their populations attributed to expansion of largely combat operations over the years.

Recently, mass suicide bombings in both countries, as well as in Pakistan, have been gathering headline news, and increasingly again in Iraq and questioning the notion of “stability” there. One wonders about the U.S.’s justification for removing a tyrannical government that provided relative
“order” and “security” (as well as from earlier WMD allegations), only to apparently usher in years of chaos, disorder and insecurity in the name of “freedom” and “democracy”, or, even, to maintain our own “national security”.

So, the historical legacy of the consequences of our last, self-defined “war president” is still with us, and, as with Lincoln’s words, we cannot escape it. I viewed a war movie produced in the late 1970′s, “Cross of Iron”. The protagonist, played by James Coburn, is a German NCO, Steiner, in the Wermacht infantry crumbling into oblivion before the assault of Russian troops. He hates the Third Reich, the officers who uphold the command, the death and destruction of the BlitzKrieg mentality, yet he is bonded to his men, who in turn love him for his bravery and leadership.

I recommend seeing the film (sure, it’s fictional based on a novel), but especially the last scene. The laughter of Steiner, the oddly modern and fatalistic, yet, archtypical warrior, fighting and killing to the end, echoes while disturbing photos of wars’ aftermath appear to end the film.

I’ve also seen the renowned “Band Of Brothers” series of videos produced several years ago, based on Steve Ambrose’s book, and recall some scenes which portray outright murder of prisoners. In the “war is hell” scenario, who is the murderer and who is the victim, when the murderer is murdered?

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