“Shame and guilt” caused Major Harrison Mann to resign in November, but he was “afraid” to express it sooner.
A former US army officer says his resignation a few months ago was motivated by his country’s “wholehearted support” for Israel’s war in Gaza.
Maj. Harrison Mann expressed “incredible shame and guilt” in a letter posted Monday on LinkedIn. He resigned from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in November.
Several other US service members have resigned since the war in Gaza was sparked by a Hamas attack on southern Israel in October. This operation resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,139 people in Israel and the capture of approximately 240 people.
Israel’s seven-month-old war has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and most of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced and short of food and of medicines. The United States continues to provide Israel with weapons and intelligence support.
Most of those who left the US military publicly lamented the role Washington played at the time, rather than waiting months to explain their departure. American aviator Aaron Bushnell died after setting himself on fire during a protest outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, in February.
Mann said in his letter that he had been afraid to give reasons for his resignation.
“I was afraid. Afraid of violating our professional standards. Afraid of the disappointing officers I respect. Afraid of feeling betrayed. I’m sure some of you will feel that way when reading this,” he wrote.
Mann shared the memo with colleagues last month before posting it on his LinkedIn profile. He wrote that he felt shame and guilt for helping to advance U.S. policies that he believed contributed to the massacre of Palestinians.
“At some point – regardless of the justification – you either advance a policy that allows mass starvation of children, or you don’t,” he said.
“Employee resignations are commonplace at DIA as with other employers, and employees resign from their positions for a number of reasons and motivations,” a DIA official told Reuters news agency. .