Honor and Accountability

Memorial Day was created to remember the soldiers who died at war while serving their country. It is a moment to appreciate their sacrifice. It is also a chance to examine how lightly we take sending soldiers to faraway conflicts nowadays, and how we treat them once they return home.

Today, we honor those killed in combat, whether in World War I or Iraq, in Vietnam during the Cold War or fighting to free Europe from Nazism. Many U.S. soldiers died in conflicts with clear goals and just causes, but others were killed in wars where that was not the case. Their job was not to take political decisions but to execute them under the principle of defending the homeland. We honor those who gave their lives fulfilling their duty.

Another way to pay homage to the fallen is granting due value to the lives of those who are currently in the Army. The transformation of military service people – who chose to be soldiers ̶ into professionals, has created a gap between them and civil society. Military service is no longer compulsory in the U.S. As the risk of having a loved one called to fight on the front lines disappears, it becomes easier for civilians to advocate or remain indifferent about going to war. The Iraq and Afghanistan armed conflicts are examples of this mismatch.

We are worried that today senators like John McCain and Lindsey Graham are suggesting that 10,000 troops are sent back to Iraq to fight ISIS. Experience tells us that the number of troops on the ground only increases as the conflict progresses, and that little can be done to stabilize a region where religious conflict is intertwined with geopolitical ambitions.

Medical advances made in the time between the Vietnam and Iraq wars have helped reduce the number of soldiers killed in action. Today, we have more veterans suffering from permanent physical and mental ailments. This poses a challenge to a society that must help them regain a sense of normalcy and that is bound to assume the cost of their treatment. That is the part of the deal soldiers signed up for that is yet to be fulfilled.

We are grateful to those who gave their lives while on duty. We demand accountability from the politicians who, from their desks, send our youths to war. And we hope that society will help soldiers return to civilian life.