In the Army now

Last Thursday Spc. James Barker, 23, was sentenced to 90 years for raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, murdering her and her family, and setting her body on fire. It's the largest sentence a soldier has received in connection to the war in Iraq.

Good.

Barker pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against his comrades--some of whom face the death penalty. They deserve it. They didn't extend mercy to the girl or her family. Why should we extend it to them?

But I also think something like this just doesn't happen. It's a symptom of something deeper. Like the My Lai massacre these soldiers had to be in a certain state of mind prior to the attrocity. I believe this war's becoming another Vietnam: where soldiers don't know have a purpose for fighting--don't know why they're there and don't want to be there. I also believe that the military's loosened recruiting standards and lengthened deployments are leading to underqualified soldiers and soldiers on edge.

But there's one more thing: racism. Anti-Arabism and Islamaphobia. I've heard soldiers call Iraqis "towel heads," "sand niggers," "Hajis," and "cockroaches". Being in that environment of imperialism and condescension, is it any wonder we have incidents like Abu Ghraib, Haditha, and the murder of this girl's family?

As an ex-Airborne co-worker of mine said: "The first indication a war has gone bad is when the troops no longer believe in it."