The Many Faces of War
The complexities of modern military service come to life in Bouchot's stimulating account of legal counsel in wartime Afghanistan. In a style reminiscent of Michael Herr's Vietnam memoir Dispatches, Bouchot relates the legal wrangling created by the clash of military realities and political necessities. This leads to some apparently bizarre situations including the use of outsized weapons, Hellfire missiles for example, on individual human targets; debated interpretations concerning the rules of engagement; and civilian casualties, often involving children.
Excerpt
“My war face is illuminated by a screen which, like those eyeball benders, might depict a horrid witch or a beauty depending on how you squint. The scene unfolding before my eyes grows more menacing by the moment. I see men carrying cylindrical shapes to and fro with an intentionality that tells me we're about to be attacked. As I stand in a command operations center, or C-O-C, that's within the maximum effective range of rockets I quietly curse whoever decided to construct this building from wood. Fortunately for us, we have more than enough air and artillery assets to eviscerate these people whom we euphemistically refer to as military-aged males.”
