Afghanistan War Vet on Osama Bin Laden's Death.

My first reaction upon seeing that Osama Bin Laden was dead? “CRAP! This war was so close to being about peace, and now it’s about killing again.”

There is something inherently wrong about celebrating another human beings death. I absolutely understand the benefits of this particular person NOT being part of the currently alive, however the cheapening of human life in any form leads the human heart to bad places. When we cheer in the streets at his death we are telling young Soldiers and Marines that we want them to take lives, and their killing will be celebrated. When in order to end any conflict in the middle east we must start the seeds of peace where our feet are most firmly planted: Afghanistan.

Moving forward it is of utmost imortance that the focus on all sides is on non-violence, improving living conditions, and building the middle east into an educated, civilized, safe place for any human being to live. It is my greatest fear that this death will cloud the beauty of peace and remind the worlds citizens of the great violence that we are capable of- when it is of the utmost importance that we remember that humans are meant by nature to be united.

Macho Marine Poetry

I write a lot, but I don't often write poetry... Guess it's a macho Marine thing left over from the corps. That being said, poem time:

If our entire lives were a dream, ourselves floating through its scenes, then our creations are our wake in otherwise still waters. When we arrive at the end of our dream we can turn and see the ripples that stream from our fingers touch. Extending backward and chasing us down from the dreamers hands our ripples stream. But, Hollow is the man who rears to touch and careless is the man who would only seek to make waves.

For many people art is the trace we leave behind so that when we die we can be sure the world knew it was WE who existed here. No other mind, no other person, no other thoughts could have combined to create that one unique thing by our hand. This is how I feel about my film: Removed From Reality Editing and creating the film ensures that my experience will not be lost.

First Draft of Reality...

I just finished the first draft of my film about my time in Afghanistan. It's still very rough and nowhere near release quality, but the fact that I have a complete film is very comforting. I have no idea who will end up seeing the final film, and where it will take me. I can only hope that my intent not be lost in the process.

In the meantime it's a very good reminder that you are rarely judged for the things you begin, but you're always remembered for the things you complete. Nobody cares what you think or feel about much of anything; they care what you do. My thoughts and feelings about Afghanistan are pretty much irrelevant, but this film has meaning. I am DOING something. I am CREATING meaning from events. The actions that happen everywhere have meaning, but translating that into film is doing something ABOUT the meaning that I see. Any way you cut it, it's honest, and it felt good to make... here's hoping the industry gets it.

If MLK was a General.

The term war is defined as a conflict carried out by force of arms. To have a war it is necessary to display divisions between people. Our country, their country- classic war. Rich and poor- class war. Black and white- race war. In all the history of war the most sweeping victories have come at the hands of warriors that use non-violence, and symbolic action. The widely agreed master of war, Sun Tzu, reinforces this idea in "The Art of War", illustrating how the best battle is the one never fought. Today we remember Martin Luther King Jr's victories in the war for race equality. His use of non-violence was utterly effective, in not just in removing racial laws, but posthumously creating laws to protect our people from discrimination in as many forms as we find it to exist. Today we pause to be grateful to the sacrifices made by MLK and those he lead to equality, but it is difficult to ignore so many more injustices in our world today. while we can't ignore the presence of luck, it's hard to attribute our success to anything but our positive relationships.

One year ago today I was a Marine in Afghanistan setting up the southernmost outpost in the whole country. Three months past my end of active service, I was not enthusiastic about this first tour to this part of the world, but I saw something that I could no longer call "war". Today's combat is surrounded with cameras and media scrutiny. The light of truth has been shining brighter and brighter on the horrors of mans inhumanity to man. Abu Ghrab and Guantanamo - although terrifying- have taught the world what horrors our great country is still capable of. Walking through the fields of our longest "war" I saw anything but inhumanity. We provided medical care. We played with children. We drank tea and laughed with the men. We found bombs, and arrested the culprits ONLY with adequate evidence- no detainees were abused under our care. As a result, every member of my company came home alive. In an area where every other company around us suffered multiple casualties and fatalities, we lost no one... We had no casualties.

On this day I call to any peace loving Americans to believe it is possible for our military to act with the moral righteousness MLK preached of. Encourage pride in absorbing their enemies violence in the name of a warriors ultimate goal: peace. Let yourself hope that through the mutual suffering of troops and Jihadistst, the people of Afghanistan will see that our country's heart lies not in harming them or exploiting them, but in improving their lives, and that through education we can all see that there is no division between our people. Where no division exists- there is no war.

War Is sooo Last Millenium

The methods by which war has been conducted over the past two millennia have shifted only in scale… until recently. Large armies got better tools but the idea of annihilating the opponent into surrender has not changed. However, the most recent wars being fought are the FIRST of a new breed.

You have heard the phrase ‘hearts and minds’ over and over again. Some argued this policy as a show for the press during the Vietnam War where hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians were killed. However, those in command were not stupid and they recognized the effects of bad press on continuing to fight that way. The phrase was even uttered “the television lost the Vietnam War.” Total war was no longer a viable option and recent commanders have been forced to explore new methods to victory. These new strategies have been reworked over and over in the theatres of Afghanistan and Iraq. The resulting action would be more so described as waging peace than waging war. However, when the feedback from this is analyzed commanders are finding waging peace more effective in achieving their goals. Their casualty rates are lower. Their supplies don’t get cut off. Extra men aren’t needed to pick up the slack under the strain of heavy combat. Missions succeed. For the first time in history we are witnessing what it is to have an army of peace, although still armed and prepared to kill.

The reality of what’s going on is US military personnel die trying to make friends with the locals. These men aren’t on their way to destroy the locals. These men are on their way to meetings with local farmers, checking on sick and injured children, delivering supplies to families in need. Even the local populations of these far off lands feel obligated to recognize our peoples sacrifice. When asked about recently KIA marines, locals would express great sympathy. This was not a deception, but frustrated at the price a foreigner so willingly paid just to meet with them. I return the sympathies for the lives lost at the end of our countries rifles, and I hope that our generation is the one to do justice to all of the sacrifices ever made in the name of securing peace.

-in memory of Rick Centanni

http://www.rickcentanni.com/