Ask Rockridge: "The Enemy" in the War Frame

Some time back on "Sixty Minutes" a soldier interviewed by Scott Pelley recounted how his group rushed into a small home where a family was asleep or resting. They threw in a grenade then quickly entered to shoot and kill women and children and an old man. The soldier kept referring to "The Enemy" as though referring to every Iraqi. How did he come to believe such an absurdity? The soldier committed a crime, but he is also the victim of indoctrination to believe an absurdity. A quotation by Voltaire is applicable to so many horrifying events in world history. Voltaire wrote long ago, "Those who can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities." My main questions: What's going into training soldiers that led to such distorted beliefs? Is it general? What language spins are used?

Rockridge Nation member fridhandler

Hi Fridhandler,

Thank you for asking this question.  Framing does play a critical role in the indoctrination process of military personnel.  Here’s how it works.

“The Enemy” is part of the War Frame.  The War Frame implicit in the training of every soldier includes, in its most basic form, Our Country, Our Army, and the Enemy. The Enemy includes specific enemies who are trying to kill you, and your job is to either capture or kill them first.

This frame is reinforced repeatedly when on a mission where force is used to achieve objectives.  In the midst of conflict, the enemies are people who are trying to kill you.  If Iraqis try to kill you, the Enemy is Iraq and Iraqis are enemies.

Further, because the War Frame evokes ideas of fighting between entire nations and because war itself has such high stakes (the complete loss of life and territory), evils that would not be tolerated in times of peace, like the killing of innocent children and non-combatants, are presented as acceptable.  They are thought of as unavoidable “collateral damage” or can even be directly targeted (i.e., bombings of Dresden and dropping the atomic bombs on Japan) by morally good nations, generals and soldiers.

The War Frame makes killing acceptable. The consequences of the War Frame are especially tragic right now in Iraq because it is an inappropriate frame.  We are not at war with Iraq.  We are occupiers of Iraqi territory.

“The Enemy” is a concept that soldiers are taught during basic training. For soldiers in Iraq especially, the War Frame is repeatedly reinforced by the violent experiences they have every day. It is reinforced repeatedly when on a mission where force is used to achieve objectives.  In the midst of conflict, the enemy is people who are trying to kill you, but from the War frame, the Enemy is also all the other people of that same country.  If Iraqis are trying to kill you, then the Enemy is Iraq and all of its citizens. This happens because the deep frame that makes sense of Enemy in this context is the War Frame.

Soldiers are trained for war, not occupation. They have not been taught to think about conflicts involving insurgencies or resistance movements, nor are soldiers well trained in using force in a manner that targets enemy fighters, with minimal harm to innocent people.  The misuse of the war frame, discussed further here and here, is the conceptual culprit.  We need to stop using language that evokes the War Frame!

When reporters question Bush, there is a real opportunity to reveal the shortcomings of this disastrous misuse of framing.  Bush should be asked who “the enemy” is.  Is it the Shiites? …the Sunnis? ..all Iraqis?  …all Muslims? …through the abuse of the negative stereotype Islamic Extremist (which is used repeatedly by the conservative presidential candidates). 

Unfortunately, we cannot make Bush stop using the War Frame.  But we can and should tell progressive leaders over and over again that the situation in Iraq is an occupation.  It is not a war!