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The Sutras of Abu Graib: Aidan Delgado
Aidan Delgado is the son of a diplomat. He grew up in various countries, and learned about Buddhism in Thailand and learned Arabic in Egypt. After a year of college as a religion major, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on the morning of 9/11/01. At the time, he had not heard anything about the World Trade Center Attacks. He was deployed in 2003 as a specialist in Nasiriyah and at Abu Graib. As he stayed there, his skepticism and then opposition to the war grew. He sought conscientious objector status and finished his tour of duty, with an honorable discharge.
Now he has written a book called The Sutras of Abu Graib. It is his story and he recounts his struggles and the dehumanizing effects of war. He examines his Buddhist beliefs against a context of prisoner abuse and brutality. He describes his effort to hold on to his identity while life is falling apart around him. Even before he left the United States, he heard an officer joke about heading off to Iraq to kill ragheads and burn turbans, to much laughter. Knowing quite a lot about the cultures of the Middle East, he was skeptical and what he witnessed in Iraq only fueled this, as when soldiers carried bottles that they would then smash over the heads of detainees.
Aidan believes lack of understanding of Arab or Muslim culture, combined with war zone tension and fear, contribute to rage and violence. For his part, he handed his weapon to his commander and told him that he was not going to fight or kill, that the way was wrong and he'd finish his job as a mechanic but would not hurt anyone. He was called a traitor or coward and ostracized for the duration.
Here is an excerpt from his book, which I am in the process of reading, and which was of special interest as I am Buddhist:
Within a week of arriving at Abu Ghraib, I see the veneer peel away from something ugly. Here and now, in this dismal place, I understand that what was set in motion in Nasiriyah is about to gain a terrible momentum. All the violence and hate that's been building will be unleashed, now that the guards have the Iraqis under their thumbs. The November "riot" is not the start of violence but the fulfillment of it, a culmination of the dark promise of Nasiriyah. In a way, it's the blossoming of the seeds of 9/11, of all the partisan speeches and sideways glances at Muslims in the airport. I begin to see the dark and shameful flipside of the occupation: brutality, racism, killing… I feel a vast and terrible karma set itself in motion: a hateful and destructive wheel at last coming full circle. The four killing in November aren't the end… they're only a portent of what is to come.
Aidan was also part of the film "Soldiers of Conscience," which chronicles conscientious objectors in the Iraq War, from West Point graduates to low ranking reservists.
Aidan's book is available through Beacon Press.
Aidan was interviewed in the New York Times.
Aidan's website
Mind blowing synchronistic coincidence! As I finished this post, I happened to go to Docudharma site (friends from ArtKos) and found this! wonderful book review with photos by "On the Bus."Aidan also was on-line at the same site last night! I hope that this worthy book finds the large audience out there that needs to find out about it!
transcript of on-line appearance
(photo above, D. Grieser; photo below, self-portrait by Aidan Delgado in front of one of Saddam Hussein's many palaces)
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How many more stories do we need to hear, read, see, become aware of?
Another Monday morning waking up to too much information and not enough solutions. But it is looking like the period to plan your trip to DC is March 16-21. Look for tickets NOW. We will put up as many as we can, here. We need ALL of you to come.
It is Take Back America week, but it is also OH, so much more.
Thanks Karen. Ken has to turn in vacation times for the whole year so will see if this time is still open.
Docudharma has now linked to Democracy Cell Project.
http://www.peaceprimary.org
if the True Majority site (Ben & Jerry folks) having to do with the "Don't Bomb Iran" campaign - yes, there is sufficient documentation that such a thing is needed, which they provide.
I made a modest donation (there are so many worthy projects) and you can also download materials to promote this effort. I won't go into it all here but the site is worth looking at.
More general, with all the stuff http://www.truemajority.com.
Last week President Bush suggested that our confrontation with Iran could lead to "World War III," and Vice President Cheney threw around talk of "serious consequences" for Iran.1 Now we see news that the Defense Department is already trying to quietly get funding to start arming B2 bombers for a potential attack.2
Starting another Mideast war with an unprovoked attack? Let's call this what it is: crazy talk. But the administration's billionaire friends are cranking up a huge spin machine -- again -- to convince Americans that this is all reasonable.3
(Here is where I decided to donate - they made it easy)
We've succeeded at this before. Our "Pants on Fire" campaign inserted the idea that Pres. Bush was not telling the truth about Iraq into hundreds of newspapers and local news programs around America. The "Oreomobile" funded by TrueMajorityAction members like you has succeeded over and over this summer in getting papers in Nevada and South Carolina to write about the once-radical notion of cutting waste from the Pentagon. We can do it again.
Welders are standing by to create a new Mobile Message Delivery Device which will travel the country reminding people of the obvious - this threatened war with Iran is just nuts. We can do this more cost-efficiently than anyone. It will take $25,000 to get it rolling, and there isn't much time.
($$$$)
Talking about bombing Iran while our military is stretched to the breaking point in Iraq is just plain reckless. The spin might have worked in 2003, but we can't let it work again. You know, I think the President said it best when he said, "There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again."4
Don't let him fool America again. We've got plans for taking on the right-wing when it comes to Iran, but we're operating on a shoestring. Without the money from the Peace Primary, we'll only be able to do a fraction of what we want. So give what you can today, and help us spread the truth about war with Iran.
1. "Cheney, Like President, Has a Warning for Iran," New York Times, October 22, 2007
2. "Experts: Pentagon Pushing Bunker Buster for Iran Use," Defense News, October 24, 2007
3. "Fewer Think US Adequately Thwarting Terror," New York Times, October 24, 2007
4. "We won't get fooled again!," Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002
If you can donate $$$, http://www.backbonecampaign.org also has similar worthy projects going on, which require materials, creation, & getting them out there.
We can't all get away to travel - sometimes maybe we can - we can't all donate all the time - sometimes maybe we can - and these are times where we need to do something.
Lastly (for now), I want to make a plug for the last two links at the thread header above -
One has loads of photos and detail about Iraq and what kind of things go on, from someone who was there first-hand - someone with a heart and compassion.
One is all about the on-line meeting with Mr. Delgado.
Both are at http://www.docudharma.com so you can also go directly there, as it's a smaller site than Kos's but comments stay up longer & it's a great place to post (Kayakbiker does it all the time & they also front-paged our antiwar stories both at once). It's a diary site but with more topics (not always directly political), more geared to artistic & creative things.
Kayakbiker went on-line last night with Aidan Delgado. Here is what he wrote:
I was online with him last night and asked him a question.
My question also concerns Buddhism
Who or what was instrumental in introducing you to this religion?
When I was in the Vietnam war I had lots of "down time" which gave me lots of opportunity to read. It was during that time that I found support for my deepest beliefs that I hold till this day.
His response:
down time was instrumental in my religious development, not only because it afforded me the opportunity to study but because it gave me the internal space for reflection. I needed the quiet moments to process everything that I was experiencing and also to fit those experiences in the moral framework I was building in my head. Academics introduced me to Buddhism, but all the moments of silence and reflection kept it alive for me in Iraq.
by: TheObjector
I have started telling people that I am a Jewddhist.
And downtime would be nice....
I think the current term is BuJew....
left on my email:
thank you very much for writing about the book, I appreciate the support and I rely on word of mouth pieces like that to get the word out on the book.
Good luck in all your peace work and please let me know if there's anything I can do to help!
peace,
Aidan