None of Us Were Like this Before American Soldiers & Torture

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I knew Jon Millantz and loved him dearly. I was with him before and after the war. It brings tears to my eyes to know how happy he would be to know his story is out there. Jon struggled with the pain of what he had seen and done. I saw the hurt in his eyes when he came home. He could not face the world the same as before he left. Jon was a great man and I will miss him. I feel comfort in knowing he now can Rest In Peace. It hurts to have lost him so soon. But life was so painful for him dealing with the struggles and not being able to forgive himself. I read the articles what killed Sergeant Grey and remember how when he came home it seemed there were more of his unit dying. He felt such guilt. I remember him protesting and he really wished people could understand. But most can't and never will. I am so glad his words have lived on. The way I remember him speaking them. Thank you to all that listened. It meant so much to him.

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Deftly written, a truly remarkable book. An carefully constructed structure that follows one remarkable story, and cleverly travels in between other stories in alternating chapters. With each turn, the book digs deeper, and reveals how American forces resorted to detainee abuse and the devastating consequences of following this course. Immensely rewarding.

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None of Us Were Like This Before is a remarkable book. I expected it to be tough to take, and indeed it was in parts, but the book is engaging and sensitive. The author, Joshua Phillips, succeeds in being nuanced and fair but also deeply moving in examining the causes and consequences of prisoner abuse and torture by U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Achieving this delicate balance is no small feat given the divisiveness of the issue of torture. Torture and abuse raise a number of questions that will hopefully be addressed as the nation reflects on the lengthy and costly military engagements o f the past decade. To what extent did torture and abuse occur? How and why did they occur? Did they yield useful intelligence as apologists maintain? What were the tactical consequences of torture and abuse for U.S. forces in terms of the “battle for the hearts and minds” of Afghanis and Iraqis? What were the human consequences for the victims? What were the human consequences for troops involved in abuse and torture? What adjustments are being made to avoid counterproductive (or any) abuse and torture in the future? It will take a small canon of literature to address all these questions but None of Us Were Like This Before is an important read for anyone serious about reflecting on what happened. The book touches on a number of questions but addresses two with depth: how and why abuse and torture occurred and the human consequences for troops involved. Phillips’ approach to these questions is commendable. In looking at the causes of torture, he avoids the simplicity of pinning blame on “a few bad apples” in the military or Bush Administration or positing another formulaic, “one size fits all” explanation of why torture and abuse occurred. From extensive interviews it becomes clear that there is no easy answer. Incidents were numerous and the causes varied, including factors such as lack of training; the stress of facing a deadly insurgency; desire for revenge following 9-11; the prevailing belief that torture is effective (even in the face of evidence suggesting otherwise); senior commanders encouraging it, turning a blind eye or just failing to assert control of the situation; the influence of TV and movies; lack of accountability and boredom. Phillips is also careful to point out that while many of our troops were exposed to several of these factors, the vast majority served with distinction and honor and did not engage in prisoner abuse or torture. The human consequences for our troops are conveyed movingly in the stories of Sergeant Adam Gray and medic Jonathan Millantz, their friends and families. The struggles of Gray and Millantz after their return from duty painfully illustrate the damage that can be done when we ask or permit our soldiers to do things in conflict with their own mores and those of society. Phillips’ reporting excels in the telling of their stories. He clearly devoted a great deal of time and care to this and treats Gray, Millantz and their families with sensitivity and without judgment. His reporting compels us to grieve for them and in so doing, moves us beyond pointing fingers to a more enlightened sense of collective responsibility.

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I wasn’t sure I wanted to read a book about detainee abuse and interrogators. Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo happened years ago and Iraq is winding down. Nearly a decade after 9/11, I thought it would have all been covered already in the press. I was wrong and this book provides a lot of insight by talking with soldiers who have been involved in detainee abuse and some of the victims of that abuse. Family members of both are also interviewed. This book doesn’t shy away from the brutality of American torture and the author’s accounts from victims of torture is searing. It’s impossible to not to be angry at the injustices suffered. But this book is not a “hit piece” on the military or soldiers and the author has a surprising amount of empathy for the sufferings of both the victim and victimizer. It alternately made me very sad and very mad for all the persons affected by it. Understanding the situation that some of our soldiers found themselves in and what some of them did to detainees and what they went through after really forced me to give sympathy to persons I had previously thought of only as "bad apples" guilty of monstrous crimes. The truth is much more complicated. Other parts of the book give overviews on the subject matter, the history or detainee abuse, the decision-making of the higher ups and so on. Much of the book is written in the first person which helps give a lighter touch to a very heavy subject matter. I learned a lot from this book and highly recommend it. You’ll think about it not only around the issue of torture but generally on any story about soldiers returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder.