by R.D. Gill

A few minutes ago I saw an advertisement on television for the U.S. Navy. This ad showed an aircraft carrier from high and directly above it while across the screen text told of how important waterways are to people all over the world. The last of the silent text proclaimed in large lettering said “U.S. Navy. A Global Force for Good.”  I have to admit that through my fault or the ad’s I failed to grasp the purpose of the ad. With no other information to use to identify its purpose my mind instantly drew a comparison to the kind of television ads that were constantly run in George Orwell’s book, 1984. The ads that were meant to help all of us poor fools who were having trouble telling good from evil. I always thought that was very kind of big brother to do that. 

Earlier in the evening I also happened to see a short video in a military newsletter showing a sniper being blasted out of a building in an Iraqi  town by using an 8,000 pound bomb. It was not the first such video I have seen but it could have been because I have seen quite a few. There have been several important commonalities in these films. The first is the incredible overkill. You don’t really need four tons of explosives to take out one or two men. This overkill leads directly to the second which is the total disregard for the lives of anyone else in the vicinity whether they are there voluntarily or not. The third is the follow up by the soldiers or marines with their cheering, hooting, butt slapping and victory dances. Plain and simple arrogance in the face of the slaughter of numerous innocents. In the face of what would be called slaughter or a massacre or at least an atrocity if it was perpetrated against Americans. 

In Iraq, the very minute the U.S. Military supposedly left, the Iraqis started throwing out our hired “security” forces. An action demanded by the common people there because of the hatred they have for Americans after putting up with our heavy handed “help and protection” that killed, imprisoned and tortured, so many of them. In Afghanistan that nations troops are turning on ours at an ever increasing rate citing the Americans arrogance, brutality and disrespect of their own people as reasons for their actions. Our troops are filmed urinating on dead Afghans and burning their holy books. I don’t think we will ever see those films used for “force for good” commercials. Is it any wonder that over most of the country the Afghans are actually inviting the Taliban back? 

These atrocities, and yes they are atrocities, cannot be isolated instances because a few isolated incidents cannot turn the majority of the population of a country against those who consider themselves saviors. I, being a Vietnam veteran,  don’t buy the excuses offered for these actions, that when you are in a war you do things that you wouldn’t normally do, or that this  just how war is. What this is showing is a serious lack of intelligence and leadership in our armed forces coupled with an almost complete absence of discipline. 

Now as the presidential campaign is getting cranked up here at home we see a collection of republican candidates tripping over themselves to shout promises about how many troops they will send to invade Iran as soon as they are sworn in as president. They cannot wait to establish yet another country as a bitter and hostile enemy of America who will maintain that feeling for many decades to come. 

The American navy, along with all the other armed forces of this country should be a global force for good, but is this what we call good? I don’t think I am alone in thinking we are better than that. I say we because even though most of us aren’t going there to fight or for any other reason, our military represents us. In this year of elections we desperately need to elect leaders who will take charge of the military and make major and enlightened reforms and reductions in those ranks before the military takes charge of us.

On January 23, 1870, perhaps the most outrageous act of ethnic repression was carried out by the US cavalry, when they massacred most of an American Indian tribe, the Piegans. The dead were mostly women and children in this possibly greatest slaughter ever of native Americans by U.S. troops.

 While the Blackfoot Confederacy – Blood, Piegan and Blackfoots – had endured hostile relations with local white settlers for several years things came to a head when, in 1869, Piegan warrior Owl Child stole several of horses. His victim, one Malcolm Clarke, tracked him and beat him in front of his peers.

 The humiliated, Owl Child led a rogue Piegan band in pursuit of Clarke, killing him, the reason a band of cavalry – led by Major Eugene Baker – was sent by General Sheridan to track the killers and punish them. It was this troop that, on January 23, 1870, received a scout report telling of a Piegan group camped along the Marias River.

 Dawn saw 200 dismounted troopers spread out in ambush positions around the camp, awaiting orders to open fire. When chief Heavy Runner appeared, he approached the troops waving a safe-conduct paper he had been earlier presented with.

Army scout Joe Kipp shouted that the cavalry had found the wrong camp, but was silenced by Baker, who ordered his men to open fire. Heavy Runner fell, and the ensuing massacre of the unprotected. Indian camp was brutal, 173 innocents, mainly elderly, women and children dying in the hail of bullets.

 140 other Piegans were taken prisoner, later released with no food, no clothing and no horses, meaning that the 90-mile trek to Fort Benton, saw many of these poor refugees freezing to death on the march. The incredibly callous and unfeeling murderer Baker never even found the tribe members he was looking for, because they had escaped to Canada.

Despite a brief Congressional storm of outraged protest at the time, General Sherman issued a press denial of any military guilt, blaming the alcoholism of Major Baker for both the massacre and failure to capture the right Indians, an official investigation into the incident never taking place.

This little-known incident was every bit as significant and damning as other dreadful acts of savagery by the US military, like Bear River or Washita, where massacres also took place, but, history has overlooked it.

No monument was ever erected to mark the site of the mass Piegan grave, but it should not ever be forgotten. America has its own share of dirty secrets and atrocities, something nobody should ever overlook.

Explaining the Darfur dilemma in an emotional and dramatic way will surely attract attention. I think showing the video, Darfur Destroyed in schools, churches, and groups among the country will give people integrity and motivation, and they will certainly have the same ambition as me. In addition, since I have already got the awareness of friends and public, I would finally write to the American government or contact other authorities such as, the African Union, United Nations, or European Union and urge them to ensure that AMIS (Afirican Union Mission in Sudan) and UNAMID (United Nations African Union Mission In Darfur) have equipment and personnel to improve security in Darfur (you can reach the UN Security Council at inquiries@un.org). To me, it appears that many countries around the world are intimidated by American soldiers. Therefore, if the United States were to intervene in the problem in Sudan, then it would be expected to discontinue. Moreover, writing to the Sudanese government and ask to cooperate fully with AMIS and UNAMID would work as well. Lastly, I would make donation to Humanitarian Agencies all over the world such as, Red Cross, Save the Children-U.S., UNICEF, etc., to provide help to Sudanese people. In conclusion, one person can not stop the predicament. Nevertheless, one person can convince an army of inhabitants to affect and influence the Sudanese government.