‘What a Country Owes Its Soldiers’ calls for a rethink of the rights due to soldiers

Résumé détaillé

UC Berkeley law professor Saira Mohamed documents in her new book how the U.S. military could better care for the human rights of its service members.

UC Berkeley law professor Saira Mohamed documents in her new book how the U.S. military could better care for the human rights of its service members.

Imagine a world where the families of the 23 United States service members killed in the Iran war could sue President Donald Trump for wrongful death, arguing their loved ones died in an illegal war launched without congressional approval. Or where hundreds of wounded veterans pursued negligence claims against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for failing to prepare for the predictable Iranian counterattacks to U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.

This is the reality proposed by “What a Country Owes Its Soldiers,” a timely book by Saira Mohamed, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Across 288 heavily footnoted pages, Ms. Mohamed argues that it is not enough for Americans to fly flags, honor veterans with parades, or even provide generous healthcare, education, and disability benefits. A nation, she writes, owes its soldiers something basic: to be treated as full human beings, who enjoy the same rights as everyone else.

Ms. Mohamed begins her book with a training accident. In the summer of 2020, an amphibious assault vehicle carrying 16 service members sank off the coast of San Clemente, California. Nine crew members died. Four were still teenagers; the oldest was age 22. An investigation found fault with the vehicle’s commander, who failed to order an evacuation, but also blamed higher-ups who sent it onto the water even after it was determined the aging vessel should be decommissioned. When the crew tried to escape, they found the hatch’s handle was broken. Only two had completed required underwater egress training.

Members of the U.S. military deserve more than parades and generous benefits, argues law professor Saira Mohamed in her new book, “What a Country Owes Its Soldiers.” She proposes reworking the state’s compact with its soldiers in order to protect their full human rights.

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