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    Taylor & Francis, Ltd. and Paradigm Publishers are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to

    Anthropology Now.

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    Becoming Monsters in IraqAuthor(s): Matthew Gutmann and Catherine Lutz

    Source: Anthropology Now, Vol. 1, No. 1 (April 2009), pp. 12-20Published by: ;Paradigm Publishers Taylor & Francis, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41203523Accessed: 08-02-2016 19:42 UTC

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    feature

    I

    Becoming

    Monsters

    n

    Iraq

    i

    Matthew utmann

    Catherineutz

    '

    The

    following

    iece

    s drawn rom forth-

    coming

    ookwritten

    y

    Matthew utmann

    and Catherine

    utzwith he

    assistance

    f

    :

    Betsy rinsonndJoseVasquez ntitled ar '

    Epiphanies.

    his

    group

    f

    researchersnter-

    :

    viewed ozens

    f eteransf he

    raq

    nd

    Af-

    ghanistan

    arswhohavebecome ocal

    op-

    j

    ponents

    f hosewars.The book races he

    :

    livesoffivemenand one

    womanwho

    en-

    '

    listed

    ikemillionsf ther

    oung

    eople

    to

    '

    getmoney

    or

    ollege,

    o seek

    dventure,

    o

    :

    serve heir

    ountry,

    nd

    hoping

    ofind

    way

    to

    do

    good

    n

    theworld- ndthe onclusions

    they ave drawn rom heirmilitaryork :

    and heir eturnocivilian

    ife.

    j

    U.S. soldiers who returnhome

    :

    from

    raq

    have

    or will

    develop crip-

    '

    plingpsychological

    problems

    by

    one esti-

    :

    mate,

    fully

    0

    percent

    f combat veterans.

    I

    Among

    the most common

    diagnoses

    given

    j

    them

    is

    post-traumatic

    stress disorder

    :

    (PTSD),

    an affliction

    esulting

    rom

    xposure

    to

    traumatic

    vents

    that,

    ccording

    to the

    '

    American

    Psychiatric

    ssociation,

    have

    "in-

    :

    volved actual or threatened eath

    or serious

    :

    injury,

    r a threat o the

    physical

    ntegrity

    f

    '

    selfor

    others/'

    he

    cause

    here,

    of

    course,

    s

    :

    exposure

    to combat

    itself,

    more

    universal

    j

    among

    the

    troops

    n

    this

    than

    any previous

    U.S.

    war. Factors hat

    exacerbate PTSD

    in-

    clude frustrationnd angerbecause of in-

    sufficient

    preparations,

    equipment,

    and

    training;

    he

    feeling

    hat

    here s no end

    in

    sight;

    discomfort

    nd

    deprivations

    f life

    n

    a

    war

    zone;

    worries bout

    careers nd fami-

    lies back

    home;

    racism and sexual harass-

    ment within the

    military;

    nd extended

    tours f

    duty.

    Over

    the

    years,

    the

    military

    as

    called

    soldiers' traumaticresponse to war shell

    shock,

    combat

    neurosis,

    battle

    fatigue,

    r

    war-zone stressreaction.

    In

    addition,

    offi-

    cers have often efused he

    diagnosis

    claim-

    ing

    it is an

    excuse

    for

    malingering,

    r

    in

    more

    contemporary

    anguage, "anger

    dys-

    regulation."

    Nonetheless,

    and

    despite

    the

    continuing tigma

    of mental

    illness,

    many

    accept

    and

    even welcome a

    diagnosis

    of

    PTSD as

    part

    fthe

    process

    of

    recovery

    rom

    the mental wounds of the Iraq war.Why

    thenwould a

    group

    of veterans eclare that

    in

    fact

    PTSD

    is

    normal

    nd,

    in

    some

    sense,

    good?

    For

    a

    growing

    number f anti-war eter-

    ans of

    Iraq

    and

    Afghanistan,

    TSD is not

    an

    Many

    U.S.

    soldiers

    who

    return

    homefrom

    raq

    have

    or

    will

    develop

    rippling sychological

    problems.

    .. Thecause

    here,

    of

    ourse,

    s

    exposure

    o

    combattself.

    ..

    12 anthropology now Volume1 Number1 April 009

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    unhealthy

    r abnormalconditionbut a rea-

    sonable and normal human reaction to

    whatthey aw and did while servingnthe

    United

    States

    military.

    While

    many

    return-

    ing

    vets

    reject

    treatmentbecause of the

    stigma

    ttached o it

    or find

    t

    naccessible,

    some anti-warvets

    accept

    treatment nd

    medications ut

    reject

    how theVeteransAd-

    ministration

    VA)

    understands

    heir

    diagno-

    sis. Some refuse

    tandard reatmentnd

    ar-

    gue

    that ther

    methods

    will

    help

    themmove

    beyond

    their

    uffering.

    hese anti-war

    ets

    all

    agree

    with

    VA

    doctors

    hat

    hey

    have re-

    ceived a

    traumatic

    njury

    o the

    self,

    but

    they

    ee the

    injury

    s an assault

    not

    simply

    on

    theirmind but

    on theirwhole

    person.

    What the medical

    establishmentalls

    a dis-

    order,

    hey

    all

    a

    form

    f dehumanization.

    In

    coming

    to this

    conclusion,

    these dis-

    senting

    oldiers

    focus

    on the fate of

    Iraqi

    civilians

    t the hands

    of the

    U.S.

    military.

    n

    fact,what makes the lives of these troops

    distinctfrom he

    rest of the

    armed forces

    sent

    to

    Iraq

    and

    Afghanistan

    s not

    so much

    their

    experiences

    of such civilian

    harm,

    which is

    ubiquitous,

    but

    rather he conclu-

    sions

    they

    have drawn.

    tturns ut that

    how

    soldiers react

    to civilian

    war

    injuries

    and

    death

    is decisive

    for heir

    merging

    ritique

    of the

    war and

    to

    understanding

    he

    injuries

    of war to

    themselves nd

    others.

    Ultimately

    veteranswho

    reject

    the

    diagnosis

    of PTSD

    as

    being

    a disorder

    re

    making

    a

    political

    statement

    more than

    a medical or

    personal

    psychologicaldiagnosis.

    The

    point

    for

    both

    anti-war

    eteranswho seek

    counseling

    and

    medication

    or

    post-traumatic

    tress,

    s

    well

    as those who

    prefer

    o

    avoid such treatment

    :

    even

    though heymay

    suffer rom he same

    :

    symptoms,

    s

    that,

    egardless

    f medicalized

    ; analysis, he fundamental ause of their f-

    :

    fliction s that

    hey

    have witnessed nd

    par-

    :

    ticipated

    in

    dehumanizing

    crimes

    against

    I

    people

    in

    Iraq

    and

    Afghanistan.

    ;

    Charlie

    Anderson

    :

    Navy

    medic Charlie

    Anderson,

    originally

    '

    from

    Rossford,Ohio,

    crossed

    into

    Iraq

    in

    :

    March 2003

    with the Marines.

    Like most

    :

    everyone

    round

    him

    n

    uniform,

    e was full

    ;

    of fear nd

    curiosity,nger

    and

    resignation,

    :

    excitement

    nd ambivalence

    about the

    mis-

    :

    sion.

    Trained s a

    medic,

    he

    especially

    rel-

    1

    shed

    the idea of

    helping

    his buddies

    if

    hey

    :

    got

    hit.

    Looking

    back

    later,

    hough,

    he

    said,

    :

    "I

    didn't

    ven know

    what didn't

    know/'

    I

    The

    learning

    curve

    would soon

    rise

    : steeply nfrontfhim.

    :

    On an

    early convoy

    operation

    n

    2003,

    '

    his unit

    began

    taking

    asualties on

    the out-

    :

    skirts f Sadr

    City.

    Someone radioed

    that

    :

    they

    were

    looking

    for a

    young

    Arab male

    I

    wearing

    black

    pants,

    white

    shirt,

    nd san-

    :

    dais,

    and

    carrying

    an

    AK-47

    in

    other

    :

    words,

    almost

    anybody.

    Fromthe back

    of

    ;

    the column

    came machine

    gun

    fire.One

    of

    :

    Anderson's

    sergeants

    had been

    telling

    the

    Trained

    s

    a

    medic,

    he

    especially

    elished he

    dea

    of

    helping

    his

    buddies.

    ..

    GutmannndLutz BecomingMonsters n Iraq 13

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    younger

    men a

    story. uddenly

    he

    opened

    firewith

    his

    weapon, apparently

    iming

    at

    nothing nd no one in particular. hen he

    went

    back

    to

    telling

    his

    story

    ight

    here he

    left t

    mid-sentence

    only

    seconds

    before,

    pausing

    now and then to

    sip

    his

    coffee.

    A

    lot of

    people

    would think hat was

    cool/'

    says

    Anderson.

    I

    thought

    twas

    scary/'

    This

    was the first f a

    set of

    political

    nd

    moral

    epiphanies

    Charlie

    Anderson

    under-

    went

    n

    combat and after.

    Later hat

    ameday,Anderson elates, r-

    derscame

    through

    o

    load

    up

    and drive

    nto

    Sadr

    City. hey

    had

    high

    hopes

    for

    whatwas

    to come.

    Given the standard

    Americandiet

    of

    World War

    II

    movies,

    he and his

    com-

    rades

    expected

    to find a kind

    f air of

    iber-

    ation

    parades

    in

    Holland

    and France/'

    hey

    believed that

    they

    would be

    rewarded for

    protecting

    the

    population

    from

    further

    depredations

    by

    Saddam

    Hussein and his

    "bad guys/'butthe civilianreceptionwas

    quite

    differentromwhat

    hey xpected.

    The

    thousands

    of

    civilians

    out

    in

    the

    streets f

    Sadr

    City

    didn't eem

    excitedto

    see them

    except

    the kids.

    "There re kids

    running p

    and down

    the sides of

    streets

    begging

    for

    food."The Marines

    were still

    ooking

    or he

    young

    Arab male

    carrying

    n assault

    rifle.

    And there

    were

    people

    everywhere.

    You're

    looking

    t the

    kids,

    t the

    doorways,

    t

    the

    windows,

    and the

    rooftops.

    ou're

    trying

    o

    scan the

    alleys,

    looking

    for a

    guy

    [who

    wants o

    kill

    you]

    in

    this rowd of

    5,000."

    Anderson was

    riding

    on the

    passenger

    side of a

    Humvee with his

    weapon

    in

    his

    left

    hand,

    safety

    ff,

    inger

    n the

    trigger,

    pointed

    t the

    vehicle's door.

    With

    his

    right

    :

    hand he was

    throwing

    ood out and

    waving

    :

    at the kids. After

    ounding

    a

    corner,

    the

    I crowd seemed to thin.Then all hell broke

    :

    loose and Marines

    began shooting

    n

    all

    di-

    :

    rections. "We're

    trying

    o

    figure

    ut what

    I

    one

    guy

    s

    firing

    t,

    and he

    yells,

    Don't ask

    :

    me

    what

    'm

    shooting.

    'm

    shooting

    t fuck-

    :

    ing

    people '"

    Anderson

    ulled

    the

    trigger

    n

    I

    his

    gun

    until

    omeone said he could

    stop.

    :

    There's

    ll this

    pandemonium.

    Women.

    ; Children.Mostlywomen and children.

    :

    And t

    seems so clich.

    But has

    really

    :

    whatwas

    happening.

    ostly

    omen nd

    :

    children.

    nd few ld men

    unning

    very

    :

    which irection

    creaming

    nd

    yelling....

    :

    My

    thoughts

    ere

    the black

    and white

    photograph

    fthe

    ittle

    irl unning

    own

    :

    the

    street

    n

    Viet Nam.

    She'd been na-

    :

    palmed.

    ll

    her kin's

    alling

    ff.

    : Fiveyearslater, nJanuary 008, as we

    :

    sat

    in

    his

    home

    in

    the

    mountains f

    Boone,

    ;

    North

    Carolina,

    Charlie Anderson

    still

    :

    looked

    shell-shocked

    in

    recounting

    hose

    :

    operations

    around Sadr

    City.

    Whether

    he

    ;

    shiveredfrom

    he cold

    outside that

    winter

    :

    day,

    or

    from he

    still

    painfulmemory

    f hav-

    :

    ing

    been a

    part

    of the

    military

    orce that

    j

    caused

    terrifiedivilians o

    flee

    through

    he

    :

    streets f an

    Iraqicity,

    e

    didn't

    ay.

    n

    either

    :

    case,

    even in

    2008,

    Andersonwas continu-

    '

    ally

    trying

    o come

    to

    grips

    with

    his

    early

    :

    tour

    of

    duty

    n

    Iraq.

    Regardless

    f what

    the

    :

    ground troops

    were

    ordered to

    do

    in

    the

    ;

    war,

    he

    remained

    convinced their

    motiva-

    :

    tions were

    noble. "Most

    of us

    thought

    hat

    :

    we

    were there

    o do

    something ood.

    I

    don't

    14 anthropologynow Volume Number #April009

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    think

    nybody oins

    an

    army

    r

    goes

    off o

    war

    thinking

    hey

    re

    going

    to do evil/'

    Like thousandsof otherveterans,Ander-

    son

    sought ounseling

    from imeto time

    f-

    ter he returned.

    I did

    go through

    ne

    sup-

    portgroup

    meeting

    t the

    VA,

    and

    I didn't

    find

    ny support. spent

    most of the

    night

    talking

    bout

    why

    twas

    okay

    for

    me to be a

    veteran

    against

    the

    war,

    and

    listening

    o

    some of

    the other members

    of this

    group

    talk bout

    how we should

    ust

    have

    a

    policy

    of

    genocide

    because

    if

    we don't

    kill

    every-

    body

    in

    Iraq,

    then

    they'regoing

    to

    come

    over

    here and

    kill

    our kids.

    It didn't

    even

    make

    sense."

    Beyondfeeling

    ike

    n alien

    in

    this

    group

    of

    vets,

    he nonetheless

    shared

    much

    in

    common

    with them.

    Like the oth-

    ers, Anderson,

    too,

    had to

    cope

    with the

    traumas of

    war

    including

    what

    he called

    "survivor's

    uilt,"

    nd

    the

    feeling

    hat

    he was

    personally

    esponsible

    or

    helping

    other

    re-

    turningetswith heir wn cyclesofdepres-

    sion.

    Eventually,

    fter return

    o the United

    States,

    Charlie

    Anderson

    was

    given

    an

    hon-

    orable

    discharge

    from

    he

    Navy

    after

    eing

    diagnosed

    with

    PTSD.

    Garett

    Reppenhagen

    Like

    housands

    fother

    oldiers,

    Garett

    Rep-

    penhagen

    put

    in time

    at

    checkpoints.

    Trained

    s a

    sniper

    nd born

    o

    a

    military

    a-

    ther

    in Fort

    Hood,

    Texas,

    Reppenhagen

    found

    himself

    one

    day flagging

    down a

    quickly approaching

    vehicle,

    and

    trying

    o

    get

    its

    Iraqi

    driver o

    leave his

    vehicle. As

    :

    Garett

    Reppenhagen

    (Photo

    by

    Matthew

    Gutmann)

    '

    this

    car,

    like

    many

    before

    it,

    had

    ap-

    l

    proached, Reppenhagen

    ecalled,

    :

    You're

    hinking

    here ould

    be a car bomb.

    '

    And

    you

    got

    your

    heart

    pumping

    nd

    your

    :

    adrenaline

    flowing

    because

    you

    think

    :

    you're ust going

    to

    get

    bombed.

    And the

    ;

    car screeches

    to a

    stop.

    And

    you

    go

    over

    :

    and

    you're

    yelling

    at the

    guy

    in

    the

    car.

    :

    Only

    he doesn't

    speak

    English,

    o he's not

    '

    getting

    ut of

    his

    car,

    you

    know?

    :

    You're

    trying

    o

    open

    the

    door,

    but the

    :

    door's

    ammed

    because

    his car

    sucks. It's

    '

    junk.

    And

    you're

    frustrated

    ecause

    you

    :

    can't

    open

    the

    door. You're embarrassed

    :

    that

    you're trying

    o

    open

    a

    door that

    ;

    doesn't

    open.

    So

    you ust grab

    the

    guy

    and

    :

    pull

    him out the

    window and

    you

    throw

    :

    him on the

    ground

    and

    you zip-strip

    im

    Gutmannnd Lutz BecomingMonsters n Iraq 15

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    [with

    lastic

    ies used

    by

    U.S.

    forces].

    And

    then

    you

    realize,

    out of the corner f

    your

    eye, that hiswife and kidsare staring t

    you

    with this ntense hatred

    n

    their

    ye.

    You

    just

    realize

    you

    are

    part

    of the

    prob-

    lem. And

    you

    don't mean to

    be,

    and

    you

    don't

    want

    to

    be,

    but

    you're

    there,

    you

    know? And that's he crime. The crime is

    that

    you're

    here.

    Many

    soldiers,

    says

    Reppenhagen, started

    to loathe themselves.

    But instead of

    chang-

    ing

    to make it

    better,

    some

    changed

    forthe

    worse.

    They

    ust

    dove

    into it and became

    monsters/'

    Like those of other

    dissidentU.S. veterans

    who have come out

    against

    he

    war,

    Reppenhagen's

    tories ocus

    on the hubris f this

    war,

    how the war de-

    '

    stroyed

    ome

    part

    of

    him

    and violated the

    i

    trust hat

    he,

    as a citizen

    soldier,

    nce had

    in the

    U.S.

    military.

    s Garett

    Reppenhagen

    ;

    says,

    :

    I

    always

    saw

    myself

    s

    doing

    the

    right

    '

    thing, aking

    he

    proper

    course of

    action, ;

    as

    thinking

    bout ethics nd

    morality.

    nd

    :

    here

    was,

    the one with

    my

    hands on this

    ;

    dude,

    feeling ustified

    o

    rip

    him

    out

    of his

    i

    car and throw

    him

    on

    the

    ground

    nd

    put

    :

    him n

    handcuffs.t made me feel

    like an

    ;

    asshole.

    I'm

    the

    guy cting

    ike

    Nazi.

    :

    Although

    ome

    troops

    nd veterans

    have

    sought

    elief rom

    heir

    ost-traumaticight-

    maresbypoppingwhat medics in Iraqsar-

    castically

    call

    "happy pills/' Reppenhagen

    is

    staunchly pposed.

    I'm

    certainly

    ot

    going

    to take

    any

    med-

    ication.

    I

    am flat

    gainst

    that.

    Personally,

    don't want to

    separate myself

    rom

    my

    war

    experience.

    I

    think

    my

    war

    experience

    is

    part

    of who

    I

    am

    now,

    and I've

    got

    to

    learn

    to

    carry

    hat.

    My

    heal-

    ing comes through

    helping

    ther

    veterans,

    being

    part

    of the

    movement.

    VAW

    Iraq

    Veterans

    Against

    the

    War]

    is

    redeeming

    me.

    Garett

    Reppen-

    hagen

    was the first c-

    tive-duty

    oldier o

    oin

    IVAW

    while

    still

    in

    Iraq.

    Men

    experience

    rauma,

    e

    knows,

    when

    their

    buddy

    is blown

    up

    in

    front f

    them,

    when someone is shot and no

    one can

    get

    to him.

    Or,

    as he

    puts

    it,

    "When innocent

    people

    get

    waxed."

    But,

    Reppenhagen

    in-

    sists,

    for

    he most

    part,

    he

    average

    Ameri-

    can soldier s notthe

    victim.

    He's the victimizer. nd think e

    feels

    like

    criminal,

    onestly.

    e feels ike

    he

    killer nd the

    rapist

    nd the

    hief,

    nd he

    comes back

    to America nd

    it's,

    Thank

    you

    for

    our

    ervice." ut

    we're, ike,

    You

    haveno idea what

    you're

    hanking

    efor.

    Youdon'tknowwhat did."

    Vou

    ust

    realize

    you

    are

    part

    of

    the

    problem.

    And

    you

    don'tmean

    to

    be,

    and

    you

    don'twantto

    be,

    but

    you're

    here,

    you

    know?

    ..

    And

    that's he crime.The crime

    is

    that

    you're

    here.

    16 anthropologynow Volume Number April009

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    If

    men did the ame

    things

    n

    the treets f

    :

    the

    United tates

    hey

    did withno

    repercus-

    sions in the cities and villagesof Iraq, they ;

    would be

    imprisoned

    or even

    executed,

    :

    Reppenhagen

    believes.

    But since

    they

    are

    :

    not

    punished by

    others,

    hey punish

    them-

    ;

    selves.

    "They

    start

    drinking

    hemselves

    to

    :

    death

    and

    doing

    drugs

    nd

    being

    abusive to

    I

    their

    family

    and

    committing

    uicide,

    be-

    j

    cause

    they

    an't

    find

    edemption/'

    :

    So what's

    medical

    practitioneroing

    to

    :

    do for

    veteran

    n

    this

    ituation?

    '

    If

    you're

    clinical

    doctor,

    you

    cannot

    fix

    :

    problem

    that's social

    and

    political.

    Let's

    ;

    say you

    sitdown with

    counselor nd

    say,

    :

    "I've been

    betrayed y mygovernment

    nd

    :

    I'm

    fucking

    issed

    off,

    nd this s dbilitt-

    ;

    ing.

    am unable to

    fit nto

    ociety.

    And it's

    :

    directly

    ecause

    of the war."

    Well,

    they're

    :

    gonna

    be

    like,

    "Here's

    a

    pill.

    Don't

    be so

    ;

    pissedoff." heytry o make ityourprob- :

    lem. And

    it's not

    your

    problem.

    It's soci-

    :

    ety'sproblem.

    ou don't

    have to

    readjust

    o

    :

    society;

    ociety's

    going

    to

    have to

    readjust

    :

    to

    you.

    :

    Ricky lousing

    j

    When

    RickyClousing deployed

    to

    Iraq

    in

    :

    December 2004

    at

    age

    22,

    he didn't

    rely

    n

    :

    the

    media to understand

    the

    situation

    in

    ;

    Iraq:

    "I

    kind f

    wantedto formulate

    my

    own

    :

    idea about

    what was

    going

    on."

    He had

    j

    high

    expectations

    that

    his

    military

    ntelli-

    j

    gence

    training

    would

    help

    identify eople

    :

    who were threats o

    Iraqi

    freedom. earsbe-

    fore,

    Clousing

    had become

    a

    born-again

    Christiannd done missionary ork nLatin

    America

    nd Thailand. He was

    eager

    to find

    a

    way

    to

    help

    the

    Iraqis

    as he had

    helped

    farmers

    n

    Mexico

    on severalearlier

    rips.

    Soon

    after rrival

    n

    Iraq, Clousing

    saw

    civilians killed and harassed

    with

    mpunity

    by

    U.S. soldiers.

    He

    began

    to

    mistrust he

    mission

    that used such

    methods,

    nd went

    to

    his

    command

    with serious

    questions

    about

    whether o continue

    to

    participate

    n

    the war or even

    in

    the

    Army

    tself. t was

    recommended

    he

    speak

    with counselors

    and

    chaplains,

    and

    he did so.

    He

    told

    them

    "about

    the

    spiritual

    asis for

    my

    conflict f

    conscience

    [but]

    they

    came

    back with

    all

    these

    clich

    statements,

    nd

    even Bible

    verses taken

    out of

    context,

    ustifying

    ar

    and

    saying

    God

    is

    favoring

    us,

    and

    that

    I

    should

    just

    trust

    n

    his

    plan.

    Just

    urface-y,

    watereddownstatementshatdidn't nswer

    anything

    hat was

    really eeling."

    His

    com-

    manders

    sked

    Clousing

    if

    he

    was

    trying

    o

    get

    out

    of the

    Army.

    There's

    ways

    to do

    that,

    uch as

    saying

    you'regay

    or

    sayingyou

    have

    mental

    problems.

    was

    insulted,

    o tell

    you

    the truth.

    wasn't

    trying

    o

    play

    that

    card to

    get

    a ticket ut

    of the

    military."

    Clousing

    tattooed he

    word "Veritas"

    n

    his arm to

    signify

    his

    quest,

    and started

    reading

    books

    about the

    run-up

    o

    the war

    in

    Iraq

    and on U.S.

    foreign

    olicy

    in

    gen-

    eral.

    In

    addition,

    he

    read Confessions

    f an

    Economic

    Hit

    Man,

    Zinn's

    People's

    History

    of the United

    tates,

    nd Thoreau's

    ssay

    On

    Civil

    Disobedience.

    After

    eturning

    o

    the

    CutmannndLutz BecomingMonstersnIraq 17

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    United

    States,

    Ricky

    continued to be tor-

    mented

    by

    his time

    in

    Iraq.

    He talked to

    more counselors and chaplains and com-

    manders.

    All

    to no avail. He

    went AWOL

    and after

    year

    he

    turnedhimself n. Fol-

    lowing

    his

    military

    rial,

    he

    served

    three

    months

    n

    the

    Camp Lejeune

    brig

    n

    North

    Carolina.

    During

    the entire

    period

    after

    his

    tour

    n

    Iraq,Army

    fficers

    roposed

    various

    options

    o

    Clousing

    uch as

    filing

    or

    onsci-

    entious

    objector

    status or a

    diagnosis

    of

    PTSD, any one of which would have al-

    lowed

    him

    to

    serve out his

    remaining

    ime

    in

    non-combat

    ssignments

    and

    the

    mili-

    tary

    would

    have avoided

    further

    mbarrass-

    ment

    Clousing's

    ase had

    become

    interna-

    tional

    news).

    He refused

    conscientious

    objector

    tatus

    because he does

    not

    oppose

    all

    wars. He

    rejected

    the PTSD

    diagnosis

    because he

    considers

    post-traumatic

    tress

    not

    a disorder

    ut,

    s he called

    it,

    a

    patch"

    that onceals deeper problems: I mean,it's

    a natural

    eaction f

    culture

    hock,

    of

    being

    in

    a

    combat

    zone,

    and

    the

    realities nd

    the

    expectations

    f

    fighting,

    nd

    being

    expected

    to kill

    people,

    and

    then

    coming

    back

    home

    to

    what we

    have here." Farfrom

    epresent-

    ing

    an abnormal

    adaptation

    o

    civilian

    ife,

    he

    adds,

    traumatized

    oldiers re the

    norm:

    "They're

    ctually tapped

    into their

    human

    and

    spiritual

    nd

    emotional

    ide

    enough

    to

    feel the

    effects f

    [the

    war].

    They're

    not

    numb

    enough

    to

    just

    blow

    it off

    like it

    doesn't matter."

    A

    nti-war

    ets ike

    Ricky

    lousing,

    Garett

    /VReppenhagen,

    and

    Charlie

    Anderson

    :

    may

    be no moreor less traumatized

    y

    what

    they

    aw and did than other ervice mem-

    ; bers.However, heir istinctive nderstand-

    :

    ing

    of the

    problem

    and

    of

    the remedies

    :

    available to them

    particularly olitical

    c-

    l

    tionand

    helping

    thervets allows them

    o

    :

    reshape

    their

    ense of self

    n

    crucial

    ways.

    :

    Each has

    been an active

    member f

    raq

    Vet-

    ;

    erans

    Against

    he

    War,

    nd has

    worked

    n

    a

    :

    variety

    of

    ways,

    including recruiting

    or

    :

    IVAW

    fromwithin

    he active

    duty

    military

    ; and others,lobbying Congress, and long

    :

    public

    marches and

    talks to educate the

    :

    public.

    They

    are

    working

    to

    advance the

    ;

    goals

    of the

    organization,

    which

    includes

    :

    campaigning

    for n

    immediate

    withdrawal

    :

    of all

    troops

    from

    raq;

    reparations

    o the

    ;

    Iraqi

    people

    that

    hey,

    ather

    han

    corporate

    j

    profiteers,

    ould

    administer;

    nd

    lobbying

    :

    for

    ullbenefits

    nd

    adequate

    healthcare

    or

    ;

    returning

    ets.

    They

    have also

    forged trong

    : bonds of advice and help with dissident

    :

    Vietnam

    War era

    vets nd

    organizations

    nd

    ;

    are

    helping

    with

    counter-recruitmentfforts

    :

    in

    high

    chools aroundthe

    country.

    :

    Each is also

    trying

    o

    reestablish

    imself

    j

    in

    work

    nd/or chool: in

    winter

    008,

    Char-

    :

    lie

    Anderson was

    attendingAppalachian

    :

    State

    University

    n

    Boone and

    working

    with

    ;

    the

    VA

    nearby,

    Garett

    Reppenhagen

    was

    :

    studying

    t Pikes

    Peak

    Community ollege

    :

    in

    Colorado

    Springs

    nd

    working

    s a

    part-

    ;

    time

    organizer

    nd

    consultant or

    Veterans

    :

    for

    America,

    nd

    Ricky

    Clousing

    was

    work-

    :

    ing

    n

    a

    gift

    hop

    and

    learning

    o be a

    dealer

    I

    in

    Las

    Vegas.

    :

    As

    another

    anti-warveteran

    said

    about

    :

    his

    emerging

    recovery-through-activism

    18 anthropologynow Volume #Number April009

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    Brig

    Art

    Photo

    by RickyClousing)

    Gutmann nd Lutz Becoming Monsters in Iraq 19

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  • 7/25/2019 Becoming Monsters in Iraq

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    from he

    war,

    I am

    no

    longer

    he monster

    once was." These vets

    are

    convinced

    they

    have found a kind of re-

    demption

    and balm

    by

    breaking

    anks nd

    speak-

    ing

    out

    against

    he

    war,

    by

    forging

    new kind fcom-

    radeship

    with their ellow

    dissenters,

    nd

    by

    begin-

    ning

    o make amends with

    the

    Iraqi

    and

    Afghani

    eo-

    ples.

    Some

    might ay

    that hese veterans

    were

    dehumanizedfrom

    he moment

    hey

    began

    basic

    training,

    nd that

    by

    turning gainst

    the war in

    Iraq

    and what

    they

    aw and

    did

    there,

    hey

    are

    simply

    reclaiming

    heirhu-

    manity.

    But

    that conclusion

    would be too

    easy.

    Because

    if

    nything

    hese

    anti-war et-

    erans

    were

    among

    the most

    dealistic f

    sol-

    diers,

    committed o

    the idea of

    armed ser-

    vice in defense of the nation and indeed

    serving

    humankind

    hrough

    heir

    participa-

    tion

    n

    militaryperations

    n

    Iraq.

    As

    contradictory

    s it

    might

    eem,

    and

    despite

    all

    the

    questions

    they

    had from

    he

    beginning

    bout

    military

    ervice nd the

    n-

    vasion

    and

    occupation

    of

    Iraq,

    these men at

    the same time believed

    that

    they

    would be

    doing

    good

    for others

    through

    their

    participation

    n

    the

    war.

    In

    the

    end, however,

    they

    do not

    want their

    post-traumatic

    tress o

    be

    neatly

    boxed off

    by

    a

    medical

    zed

    diagnosis

    hat

    separatestheir onditionfrom he total ex-

    perience

    of the war in

    Iraq

    and from

    moral

    and

    political

    critique

    of its

    impact

    on the

    people

    of that

    ountry.

    Matthew

    Gutmann nd

    Catherine

    Lutz,

    Depart-

    ment of

    Anthropology,

    rown

    University,

    ox

    1921,

    Providence,

    Rhode

    Island 02912. E-mail:

    [email protected];

    [email protected]. Gut-

    mann is professorn the Department fAnthro-

    pology

    at Brown

    University

    nd Lutz has a

    joint

    appointment

    s

    professor

    n

    the

    Department

    f

    Anthropology

    nd at

    the Watson

    Institute f

    In-

    ternational

    tudies t Brown

    University.

    They

    do not

    wanttheir

    post-traumatic

    tress o be

    neatly

    oxed off

    y

    a

    medicalized

    diagnosis.

    ..

    20 anthropology now Volume 1 Number1 April 009

    Thi d l d d f 202 41 10 3 M 08 F b 2016 19 42 35 UTC