The Kill Team

The Kill Team

                The topic that I have chosen to report is about a platoon of soldiers in the war on terrorism called “The Kill Team.”  The soldiers of the 3^rd platoon of the 5^th Stryker Brigade, based out of Tacoma, Washington, are under fire from many government agencies as well as most members of the general population who have heard their story.

                The group of men dubbed “The Kill Team” is under scrutiny for killing innocent Iraqi civilians, as well as posting pictures and videos of civilians, along with insurgents that they have killed and mutilated on the internet.  Among the victims of the “Kill Team” was a 15 year old boy who was slaughtered in a field on the outskirts of his home village while tending to his crops alone and unarmed.  They also posted videos of airstrikes and roadside killings on the internet, and although the killings were perfectly justifiable, and followed protocol in every way, it is strictly prohibited by the U.S. Government to publish any photos or videos to the public. 

                The story of “The Kill Team” is gut-wrenching as well as eye-opening. What else goes on overseas that Government officials are unaware of? What kind of crimes are carried out each and every day by our military and how many of them go unpunished? It is an issue that should be addressed.  American soldiers are held to a higher standard than that of any other military around the world and when they slump to the standards of other militaries and carry out barbaric war crimes, it reflects badly on our military, as well as the citizens of our country. 

                Although the ruthless murder of an innocent 15 year old civilian boy is completely inexcusable, actions on the frontlines of a war can be unfairly judged. The men and women in our military see some things that none of us could ever imagine and deal with situations that most of us would consider to be nightmares.  I personally feel like I may have a heavy trigger finger if I were fighting on the frontlines and every person I met could be on a mission to end my life. I completely disagree with the poor decision to photograph and video the execution of Afghani people, as well as the inhumanity it requires to mutilate a dead body for pleasure, I can also relate to the viewpoint of the soldiers.

                War crimes have had a significant impact on the perception of the United States Military as of late, and it is an issue that shouldn’t be hidden from the public. Although the actions of criminals and some of the incidents that occur are brutal and extremely graphic, it is an issue that should be exposed and addressed in order to preserve the image of our military. Although it is a controversial topic and can be interpreted in many different ways, I think it will be an interesting topic to discuss, as well as open the eyes of many people who are unaware of the things that happen during war.

Bibliography:

“The Kill Team.” Rolling Stone, Politics. 22 March 2011. <http://www.rollingstone.com/kill-team>

“Pentagon Reacts to Alleged Afghanistan ‘Kill Teams.’”  FoxNews.com.  28 March 2011. <http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/03/28/pentagon-reacts-alleged-afghanistan-kill-teams>

Brecher, Jeremy, Jill Cutler, Brendan Smith. In the Name of Democracy: American War Crimes in Iraq and Beyond (American Empire Project).   New York, Metropolitan Books, 2005.

Knoll, Erwin, Judith Nies McFadden, Judith Nies. War Crimes and theAmerican Conscience. New York, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1970.

"Taylorized" School Systems

“Taylorized” School Systems

                One of the things that stood out the most to me in this passage was the fact that the school systems in America have been gradually but efficiently turned into a corporate dominated, standardized education system. This pretty much goes hand in hand with what Professor Ken Robinson was saying in his video on changing education paradigms. It seems that students are being sent to school to learn in a sort of “assembly line” pattern. The article talks about how students in early elementary and middle school classes do very little learning of material and curriculum, but yet learn mostly to endure a “behavioral modification” that prepares them to enter the work force. The passage says it prepares them for “routinization and standardization.”   This also ties directly into what Mr. Robinson was saying about how most students who go through the routine of public education will wind up with un-skilled, dead end jobs.  It seems that most jobs nowadays require less and less formal education.

I also found the part in the passage about the children who attend the elite private schools across the nation and what kind of Americans they usually produce.  Schools that cost around thirty thousand dollars a year to attend and that serve as sort of a ‘red carpet’ into Ivy League schools.  It’s scary how the school systems are more corrupt then most people are aware of. The school systems around the country are beginning to show similarities to the job market in the sense that they show signs of increasing signs of inequality and degradation. 

                Another alarming idea pointed out in this passage was the comparison between the economy and the educational system.  This is yet another point that goes along with what Dr. Ken Robinson argued in his video on changing education paradigms.  Ever since the 70’s the nation’s real economic growth has dropped. Total government spending on education from grades K-12 had gradually risen every year up until the 1970’s, but every decade since then, government funding has gradually dropped.  Funding also became more centralized at the state level in the mid 80’s due to a wide-spread property tax revolt.  Also, the percentage of children living in poverty had rose to almost 30 percent by the early 90’s while the percentage of children living in extreme poverty rose to over 40 percent. With the increasing number of children living in poverty, more children are coming to public schools, bringing with them more pressing needs which leads to greater strains on already depleted public school resources. 

                This article as well as Dr. Ken Robinson’s video continue to prove just how crazy and screwed up our public education systems continue to become. It’s a scary topic that has been an issue for many decades now, but still has yet to be formally addressed and dealt with. Political and economic corruption have found their way into our schools and until there are some serious changes made, things aren’t looking any better for the future of our country.