When the War Comes Home

Consider this ethical question: would you be willing to kill one violent/evil individual at the expense of 3 innocent individuals? If no, do you think it's justifiable to send someone in your stead to take care of this business?

Aidan Delgado, a Conscientious Objector of the War in Iraq, posed this ethical question to an audience of medical students, residents, physicians, staff, and community members when he opened his discussion "When the War Comes Home," hosted by the UCSF Iraq Action Group. In particular, he highlighted the concept of "collateral damage" and moral casualities of war.

According to Delgado, "Collateral damage has no meaning to us. It is faceless." He believes that the public will attribute collateral damage to the numbers on the CNN ticker without thinking of individuals, such "Ahmed or Mohammed."

Having been stationed at Abu Ghraib prison, what he calls the "Baghdad Correctional facility," Delgado reflected on his experiences, providing graphic images of the causalities of war--mutilated children, injuries of war, defaced bodies, prisoner brutality--images that captured the dehumanizing effect of war.

Delgado, who is profient in Arabic and grew up in Egypt, enlisted in the army on September 11th. He joined before the attack, feeling vindication, which later transformed into moral opposition.

"My small part was like a tiny cog in a machine that allowed the war to take place," he said. As he became exposed to the reality of war--the cruelty and horrific human cost and the dehumanization of fellow comrades, he was determined to make a decision, drawing from his Buddhist religion. He could either be a Sunday Morning Buddhist (practice Buddhism once a week) or Live Buddhism in his daily life.

He decided to turn in his rifle and become a Conscientious Objector of the War. Despite the initial ostracizing and hostility, he has remained opposed to the war and shares his experiences with groups all over the nation.

"War has such a profound, corrupting effect. There is no family that has been untouched in Iraq." He compares the ongoing war to the the mythical hydra: cutting one snake causes two more to sprout. Like the hydra, the insurgency continues to grow in opposition to the US attack.

According to Delgado, we can not kill our way to peace. And an American presence will not promote stability, due to a prevalent Anti-American rhetoric in a country where families have lost loved ones to the war.

Delgado admits that there are 2 sides to the coin: Americans are helping civilians with building schools and hospitals. But the violence and cruelty of war dominates, negatively impacting and blackening the American image.

Delgado compares the war to a barbed arrow. We can either pull the arrow out, or let the wound bleed until there is no more blood left. There is no way to undo the damages of war and bring back all the lives that have been lost, or reverse the prisoner brutality at Abu Ghraib. He believes it is time to pull the arrow out--withdraw and bring our troops home. And despite the challenges, he believes that there still is hope.

In opposing the war, he does not oppose the troops. Instead, he questions our rationale for entering a war that is morally wrong. He believes that the image of a soldier should be changed into that of a peacekeeper.

Delgado compared the war to a game of chess and we can not blame the pawns or the rook, when the chess player controls the moves. But he believes we must keep the war on our moral radar and remember about our mounting karmic debt.

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Image: Event Flyer in Med-Sci Lobby

Aidan's Biography (provided by Iraq Action Group Flyer): "Aidan Delgado will speak about his experiences in applying for Conscientious Objector status while serving as a soldier in Iraq and at Abu Ghraib prison. He will show slides depicting some of the violence and brutality that pervaded the Army and discuss the morality of war from a Buddhist perspective. His intends to bring home the reality of war to citizens here in the U.S., so that they can make an informed moral decision about whether to consent to this war. Aidan Delgado is a peace activist, member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and the author of "The Sutras of Abu Ghraib: Notes from a Conscientious Objector."