To object and serve

Washington Monthly, Dec, 2003

As a soldier, reading Robert Poe's, "Prisoner's Dilemma" (October) made a profound personal impact. A young officer on active duty at the beginning of 2003, I knew that the impending war in Iraq was both unjust and immoral. I felt strongly enough about the issue that I considered refusing to deploy and facing a punishment similar to Poe's.

In the end, I decided that I had a responsibility to serve my country, honor my oath, and follow the orders of the lawfully elected civil authorities, despite my personal objections. My situation was vastly different from Poe's. I had volunteered to serve my country, naively thinking that the orders that I would be asked to carry out would be both just and legal. I feel now that I made the right moral and ethical decision by honoring my oath, despite my distaste for serving in what I consider to be a foolish, immoral mistake; but part of me still worries that I might have simply been a coward choosing the path of least resistance. Safe at home in my bed, it is not the gore and violence of war that give me pause, but the fear that I may have been a moral coward.

Going to war presents a challenge to physical courage that friends, family, countrymen, and future employers will admire and honor. But doing the right thing, despite the disdain of Americans who don't harbor the deep and abiding patriotism that I like to think I share with men like Poe, might have asked more of my character than I had to offer. I salute Poe for his surpassing love of country and his amazing courage.

U.S. Army Captain (Name withheld upon request) U.S. Army, Third Infantry Division

Please convey to Robert Poe my respect for a great article. I served in the 75th Ranger Regiment fur several years, and I am disgusted by the ability of our political leadership to make choices that result in the deaths of young men and women in our military, without having to be accountable for those deaths.

The near absence of the sons and daughters of our leaders in the military allows them to avoid the true test of a justified war--is the cause worth losing my son and daughter for? People like Gen. George Marshall, who actually lost a stepson in World War II, would no doubt have a few words for men like Cheney and Bush.

Thanks for the Fantastic article, and keep producing material that refuses to be average.

Seth Campbell

Wellington, NZ