Combattendo (nel)l’esercito: la lunga lotta dei veterani americani

Abstract. This article reconstructs the consequences of War in Iraq based on the testimonies and confessions of US veterans. Based on transcripts and interviews from the Winter Soldier Investigation, this paper looks at the horrors that the war caused to the Iraqi civilian population. It also looks at the consequences of war “at home”, at the meaning of Post- Traumatic Stress disorder in the military and among US military families, and at the high rates of suicide amongst veterans. With J. Baudrillard I conclude that the “intelligence of evil” lies in the reciprocity of pain: the pain inflicted to others always corresponds to the pain the veterans inflicted to themselves. In this context the experiences of refusal and resistance initiated within the US army are utterly important in the process of deconstructing the need for war, its propaganda and its uncontainable consequences.