The Conflict Overseas

Terminate the, enemy
Eradicate the hated enemy
I am an enemy
My very greatest enemy
--Conflict, Disturbed

Eyes may open but cannot see
Torn open to a bleak reality
The silent waves of a pitch black sea
Laying waste the last of me
--Words Mean Nothing, Veil of Sorrow

After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee
--Sam Stone, John Prine

Ranger Observation:
Calling a war a conflict is like
calling a sniper a people person
_________________

After watching viewing several memorial Day programs stating how we honored our dead from foreign conflicts, the word began assaulting my ears.

Conflict (n): A state of disharmony between incompatible or antithetical persons, ideas, or interests; a clash. A state of open, often prolonged fighting; a battle or war.

Why do we use the word "conflict" to describe the brutal fact of war? It seems too mild a word when the result is the reality of combat deaths. Since WW II the U.S. somehow lost the will or ability to declare war, even when our armies were locked in deadly conflict. Even when 35,000 Soldiers died in Korea or 58,000 in Vietnam, we could not bring ourselves to call the deadly activity for what it was. They were conflicts, altercations, scuffles . . .

Why do we have an overseeing agency called the Department of Defense? Why not call it the Department of Overseas Conflict? Then our wars would be simple matters of conflict resolution, with our Soldiers becoming arbitrators. The Combat Action Badge (CAB) could then morph into the Conflict Arbitration Badge, with the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) becoming the Conflict Infantry Badge.

The next logical step would be to amend The Constitution to legalize the concept of endless conflict by granting the President the authority to declare CONFLICT, thereby simplifying the whole shooting match by making WAR obsolescent. Congress would be disburdened of a duty they are clearly too timid to exercise.

It is so simple: In a snap of the finger war becomes truly a thing of the past. Simple, except the dead patriots in the cemeteries will still stay dead a long time.