The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (July 2024) |
Military-age male (abbreviated as "MAM," plural "MAMs") is an American military and media propaganda term used to dehumanize civilians or immigrants and whitewash civilian deaths in the face of public criticism.[1]
History
editUsage in genocide
editA concerted effort was made by the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska to capture all Bosniak men of military age in the Srebrenica massacre.[2]
American usage
editThe American usage of the term originated in the Vietnam War when the American public was disturbed by high civilian casualties, so the military-industrial complex used the media to redefine the term "civilian" as "military-age males."[1] This public opinion strategy involves putting civilian deaths into separate categories where one is termed "military-age males" and essentially excluded from the conscience as "possible or potential combatants," thus reducing the number of civilians deaths by only including women, children, and the elderly.[1]
Usage in post-9/11 wars
editThis strategy was commonly used in the Bush-era wars around the world and later in Obama- and Trump-era drone programs.[1]
Usage in immigration rhetoric
editThe term has also been used for alarmism by the Republican party against migrants crossing the Mexico-United States border.[3] Despite the rhetoric, illegal immigrant "military-age males" statistically commit less crimes than native-born citizens of the same age and gender groups.[4]
Impact
editThe usage of the term has been criticized as mere propaganda for the public to avert criticism from the US Department of Defense and for obfuscating and preventing proper oversight of US defense and foreign policies.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Coyne, Christopher J.; Hall, Abigail R. (2024). How to run wars: a confidential playbook for the national security elite. Oakland, CA: Independent Institute. ISBN 978-1-598-13392-9.
- ^ "Krstic Judgement" (PDF). ICTY. 2 August 2001. Part II. FINDINGS OF FACT – A. THE TAKE-OVER OF SREBRENICA AND ITS AFTERMATH – 11. A Plan to Execute the Bosnian Muslim Men of Srebrenica.
- ^ "Migration and the "Military-Age Male" Fallacy". Reason.com. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ Light, Michael T.; He, Jingying; Robey, Jason P. (22 December 2020). "Comparing crime rates between undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, and native-born US citizens in Texas". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117 (51): 32340–32347. Bibcode:2020PNAS..11732340L. doi:10.1073/pnas.2014704117. PMC 7768760. PMID 33288713.
- ^ "'Military Age Males' in US Drone Strikes". AOAV. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2024.