"I'm fighting for whitey"

Cry me a river:

US anger at 'cultural insensitivity' claim by British officer

He said US officers displayed “cultural insensitivity” that bordered on racism toward Iraqis, and that the decision to disband the Iraqi army alienated segments of the population that could have eased the transition and quashed the uprising. Petraeus, who now commands Fort Leavenworth, was unavailable for comment last night, an Army spokeswoman said.

But, in a knee-jerk reaction, Col Kevin Benson, the director of the School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, was quoted by The Washington Post as calling Aylwin-Foster “an insufferable British snob”. Benson, who was also director of planning for the 3rd Army in Iraq until 2003, was, however, more conciliatory later.

“I’m sure that most of my colleagues will not react like I did, because I already did that for them,” Benson said. “We try to be thoughtful professionals. Anything that makes us think better is appreciated.”

He didn't say you weren't professionals, he said you were cultural dolts who borderline on racist jerks, and Col. Benson's response merely served to illustrate the truth in the accusation.

Here's a PDF of Brigadier (British Army) Nigel Aylwin-Foster's critiques.

Nothing racist about slaughter thousands of tan skinned Iraqis....for their own supposed good. If you think the history of the U.S. Military isn't laden with racism, then who killed the native Americans? Gah....the denial is thick.

“WHY can’t we live together in peace?”, read the graffiti written on a wall in Fallujah by a weary American soldier. Next to it a colleague had scrawled: “Die ragheads die!”

[...]

But little has changed. “I’m a door kicker-inner,” one young Marine blurted out in Fallujah last month, to the dismay of his superiors

The Marines have tried to teach their men some of the language. But most US soldiers know only how to say “move on” or “slow down”. They expect Iraqis to understand their hand signals — a bunched fist meaning “stop”, a hand waved palm-down meaning “slow” — and will frequently shoot to kill if confused drivers fail to respond.

I do feel bad for soldiers who guard checkpoints. Its a fucked job (and I don't see why anyone accepts it). Still, the racism in the military is merely an extension of the racism prevelent in our culture. Little pink houses...