I stumbled onto this in the Chicago Tribune but haven't heard about it anywhere else. Have I missed the furor, or is unlawful murder by soldiers just old news these days? Or have we just gotten too tired to care? I guess losing our peace of mind really is taking a toll on America.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
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There are a few similar stories to this one. Soldiers flying off the deep end and killing just any ol' Iraqi. I'm not saying it's ok that they did it...it's just as terrible as any other murder...but i will say that our guys out there are under extreme stress most of the time...and our military isn't exactly stocked with the brainiest of guys. I could see how they'd snap and focus their anger on anyone who resembles "the enemy". They all get this training on iraqi and middle eastern culture, and rules of engagement and whatnot...but i think after they've seen all they've seen in the past few years (some have gone back 3-4 times within a 4 year period!), a number of them probably reach a breaking point. I guess all i'm saying is that murder shouldn't be ignored when it's during wartime, but that it's probably not as disturbing as some of the shit people do here, either. (example...did you read about the lady who killed her infant by microwaving her??) eesh.
ReplyDelete-Allison
You're right - in regards to the extreme stress which they're put under, and in that it is fairly widespread here, and often more distrubing. And, I realize that you probably have a much different perspective knowing people there, whereas to me it's really just a news story, in the end. However, I do think that the nature of the crime is different since the troops are supposedly sent there to protect them - and that the Iraqis don't necessarily want us there in the first. Sure, a mother is supposed to protect her child, too, and many American killers did things far more disgusting than just murder - but there wasn't government support behind that, nor was there over four years of saying all this was for the victims' sakes.
ReplyDeleteOh god, and I didn't hear about the lady microwaving her infant.. that's terrible.