How come if a crazy person walks into his workplace in the United States and starts gunning down innocent people it’s called murder, but if another crazy person puts on a military uniform and guns down innocent people in Iraq he gets a medal?
How come you haven’t given us a cite that this happens? In Iraq, that is.
First you’d need to demonstrate that there is a deliberate policy of mass murder, with those taking part in these mass murders being put forward as heroes. Rather, I think you’ll find the opposite (about the reactions, that is).
You’re completely misinformed.
If a US servicemember walks into an Iraqi workplace and starts executing innocent people they’ll be prosecuted for murder.
It is true that due to the chaotic situation in Iraq it would be more difficult to prosecute said US servicemember…people are killed at random in Iraq all the time and pinning any one particular murder on one particular servicemember or group of servicemembers could be pretty hard, unless another US servicmember rats them out.
But they certainly don’t get a medal for it.
This thread should either be locked or sent to the Pit.
I agree. If the OP had presented an instance where a random GI opened up on a group of people and was given a medal, there might have been a debate, but vague claims about suppositions are not a good basis for a real discussion.
Not including bad air strikes, I can think of three occasions when U.S. troops have shot unarmed Iraqis with, apparently, no provocation (or with criminal intent). In none of those cases has anyone received a medal. In two of those cases the troops are being investigated or tried for murder. (I have not yet heard the results of the third story, but it clearly did not include awarding medals.)
And since there is already enough venom wandering around the board over the war in Iraq, I’m going to close this, not move it, so that if someone wants to make a similar point in the Pit, (or even back herre in GD), he or she can think of a better Opening Post.
(There is no ban on such a discussion in Great Debates, but that discussion will need to be predicated on something like reality.)
[ /Moderating ]