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I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

- Phil Klay
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Phil Klay
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I always wrote - not about war, necessarily, but I always wrote stories. I tried to write while I was in Iraq. It's not really - I didn't do a very good job, and not about war.

Going to war is a rare experience in American culture, so it's easy for simple notions to gain a lot of weight. The reality is always more complex.

There's a tradition of public service in my family. I'm one of three boys that joined the military. My father was in the Peace Corps.

The civilian wants to respect what the veteran has gone through. The veteran wants to protect memories that are painful and sacred to him from outside judgment.

I have two friends named Matt. They're both scouts in the cavalry. They both served in the same section of Iraq. They both worked with the same Iraqi translator. And yet, if you talk to them, their stories couldn't be more different, because one was there in 2006. One was there in 2008.

One thing I've always liked about the military is there's a certain amount of pragmatism.

The Iraq I returned from was, in my mind, a fairly simple place. By which I mean it had little relationship to reality. It's only with time and the help of smart, empathetic friends willing to pull through many serious conversations that I've been able to learn more about what I witnessed.

Even if torture works, what is the point of 'defending' America using a tactic that is a fundamental violation of what America ought to mean?

There's a tradition in war writing that the veteran goes over and sees the truth of war and comes back. And I'm skeptical of that.

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I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.

I like the ethos of the military and the idea of joining an institution in which, at the very least, everyone who signs up believes in something.