Let’s take a pause and think. We went into Iraq and now we are supposedly only in Iraq in a non-combat role. Inevitably for years people will be arguing about the right and wrong of it. Father Orthoduck has previously expressed his views on the matter. But, that is not the point right now.
We need to always remember that whenever we fight a war, we are sending people to be killed. Every command level officer and command level non-commissioned officer learns that hard fact if they serve on the front during a time when the USA is involved in a conflict. Every tactical planner sooner or later learns that not only must the logistics needed for battle be calculated, but also the presumptive death rate and the number of field hospitals, physicians, nurses, medical technologists, X-ray techs, etc., needed for the field. And, sadly, the probable number of caskets that will be needed. Since the Napoleonic wars, the tally of wounded and dead is called “the butcher’s bill.” That phrasing comes from Admiral Lord Nelson.
Father Orthoduck is not a pacifist; he basically agrees with Saint Augustine’s arguments about a just war. Now, a war never has to be fought, two of the Slavic saints are princes who let their pagan brother kill them and get the throne rather than raise their hands against their own family. But, if and when a decision to fight a war is made, we must never forget that we are deciding that some will die. There will be a “butcher’s bill” that must be paid. We ought never to so present a war that we make it appear to be easy or free of a butcher’s bill, because there always has been and always will be a butcher’s bill.
This means two things. On the one hand, it is not appropriate to use the death of some of our troops in order to argue that now that there are some dead it means that we must continue or we dishonor their memory. As Saint Augustine points out, a war is either just or unjust. The death of members of the Armed Forces does not change a war from unjust to just. On the other hand, it also means that it is equally not appropriate to use the butcher’s bill as an argument against a just war. Both the Civil War and World War II have horrid butcher’s bills, but outside the pacifists, few would argue that those wars should not have been fought.
Let us rather remember those who have given their lives in the service of their country. And, let us be of the firm conviction that we shall never forget the butcher’s bill when we make our political decisions. Let us always ensure that our decisions are backed by Saint Augustine’s principles of a just war, for Father Orthoduck firmly believes that they reflect a very Scriptural approach. But, let us neither use death, in and of itself, as an argument against a war. Oddly enough, the very self-sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the many martyrs argues that some things are worth dying for. The World War II generation will tell you that the many deaths were worth the dying because the other option would have been a world controlled by the Axis powers. Let us remember that as well, sometimes it is worth paying the butcher’s bill.
I’m with Father Orthoduck and Saint Augustine on this one.
“[T[o use the death of some of our troops in order to argue that now that there are some dead it means that we must continue or we dishonor their memory” is not only bizarre and obscene but opportunistic and bullying and dishonors the dead still more.
Fr. Ernesto,
There’s a hillside memorial a few miles from where I live that adds a cross (or star of David, or crescent, etc.) everytime a war death is reported. It is called the Crosses of Lafayette, and is in the San Francisco Bay Area in a city called Lafayette. It is HIGHLY visible, and can be seen from a major freeway and major train station. It has been highly controversial, but everytime I see it, it is a sober reminder of war. The kids ask questions, too.
If you don’t mind me posting a link to its blog website, here it is:
http://lafayettecrosses.blogspot.com/
You can scroll down and see the pictures for yourself.
A plan is a wonderful thing to have, but always remember those who must go out and execute it.
Let us never forget that in addition to the 4,417 dead in combat, let us not forget those who have committed suicide, and those with significant brain and other injuries which will last throughout their lives.
Finally, let us never forget the 2 million internally displaced Iraqis who have had to flee from their homes, the additional 2 million which have left the country and are now refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and other countries. Add to that the Iraqi dead who have never been fully accounted for by the American government, the traumatized children who will grow up severely scarred from this war.
Finally add up the $2 TRILLION dollars spent on this war which could have paid for so much life affirming, life enhancing things instead of death.
Never forget the 4,417 but please never forget the Iraqis, many of whom are our brothers and sisters in Christ.