Witnesses say US soldiers’ throats cut.
I totally understand that war ain’t all fresh-cut dasies, fluffy bunnies, and whistlin’ dixie, but this just pisses me off to no end.
That’s all I got to say. :mad:
Tripler
I don’t know why this pisses me off so much, it just does.
From your link.
Now that I’ve kinda got my cool back . . .
I guess the fact that something like this could even be speculated torques me off.
Mr. B I was a bit fervent when I read the article, and missed that.
Mods, please close this one out.
Tripler
I should know better before posting something like this.
Don’t close thread yet.
That really sucks. I know that war is pretty awful stuff too, but, man concrete blocks and severed feet ?
I’m always shocked at how cruel people can be.
The Religion of Peace strikes again. :rolleyes:
Right, right. Because it’s their religion that instructs them to do this. The whole invasion things is a distant second as far as motivation goes. The fact that the Saddam’s been replaced with anarchy and insurgency is third, and the nonexistent democracy they were promised is fourth.
Right. The religion.
Because you are a good and decent man who, deep down, expects others to behave the same way.
But can any war be fought in a decent manner? It’s got me all mixed up, wanting our fighters to be good people who kill only reluctantly, but I know what killing can do to good men.
This sucks. I mourn for those soldiers and their families. But I also mourn for those who have done this terrible deed. They have let their anger steal their humanity.
Fuck that.
The answer, sadly, is very simple.
Put them against the wall, any male over the age of 13, and ask them to make a vow of peace, and swear on the Beard of Allah that they will not fight against the forces trying (and dying) to make their homeland a better place.
If they refuse, shoot them.
Things would get better quick.
Of course, this will never happen because we are hampered by the mythical belief in the sanctity of human life and such things.
It’s, you know, war. Doesn’t get any worse then war.
So let me get this straight; your idea is that these forces would make it a better place… by murdering its people?
Sorry, but are we talking about the “forces” of the United States or of Nazi Germany? Sorry to trigger Godwin, but that’s sort of your position, isn’t it? Make it better by killing the residents? Genocide much?
If the U.S. started doing this, I’d support the resistance by any means possible. And I’m a white Canadian guy.
Tris, if that is done, hatred of America will not be a fad that will pass away. Others will think that they may have to engage in some preemptive actions of their own.
I dunno, I think all of my behavior can be traced back to the fact that I’m Jewish. Why am I wearing socks, but no shoes right now? Cause I’m Jewish. Why did I go out and get trashed with a bunch of Dopers last night? Cause I’m Jewish. Why did I wait til 11 pm to eat dinner tonight? Cause I’m a JEW!
You know, because when people belong to a religion, every single thing they do - bad or good or neither - is related to that religion. Especially when they belong to those weird religions. Crazy foreigners.
You know, and this may be my undoing.
I get it drilled in my head about the “Law of Armed Conflict”. And yes, it is okay to engage in open fire and hostilities, it isn’t okay to slit the throats of prisoners or wounded.
Maybe you’re right. Maybe I kind of figured the enemy would always have the same sort of respect that I would.
But then again, this story hasn’t been confirmed yet. I could be barking up a wrong tree. . . I’m still upset though. :sad:
Tripler
If I saw one of my guys doing this, I’d be the first to put the butt of my rifle in his or her face.
Uh… no to be unpleasant, but…
Isn’t the purpose of war (and that IS what we’re tlaking about here - NOT “liberation”, “bring the fruits of democracy to a Theoracy” (HINT: Iraq was a secular state, not a theoracy) to kill the enemy, and do so as graphically as possible? Didn’t US troops take pride in placing regimental insignia (“Big, Red One”, et al) on mutiliated Vietnamese corspes?
What’s new here?
Other than you, who said that Iraq was a theocracy?
Regardless, Iraqis have shown themselves to be wonderfully compliant with harsh rule. If they can’t handle a bit of freedom, take it away. For now, at least.
In the folklore that I’ve heard, some special operations outfits would leave playing cards on the dead to send a psychological message–not mutilate the bodies any further than live fire did.
Yeah, the movies show guys with necklaces of ears, and while that may have happened to a limited, underground extent, I don’t approve of that either.
Tripler
If we start abusing the wounded, Pandora’s “box” will become a thermonuclear device in our face.
When we start thinking of the Iraqi people, as a people, as being an enemy we must subdue and defeat… its the beginning of the end.
Once again, we are in a foreign land where some people hate us beyond all rationality, and others smile sincerely. And we have no idea, none whatsoever, which is which, or even why. Is it 5,000 or 50,000? Shia or Sunni? Baathist “dead-enders” or religious fanatics? Or all of the above? Its bad enough when people hate you, its much worse when you don’t even know why.
We train soldiers, not saints, not angels. When soldiers live in constant fear, and begin to assume, out of necessity, that all of the population are enemy combatants, innocent people get killed. And it will be done in our name, by men in our uniform.
Its not just those who refuse to learn from history who are doomed to repeat it. All too often, they drag the rest of us with them.
What is making this worse is that its not happening in Tikrit or some other Saddam stronghold, but in Mosul, which is a Kurdish city I believe.
I thought the North was the pro-American stronghold!!
Things are going to get much worse if that’s the case.
Mosul is in the Kurdish area, but also has a considerable Sunni population, whose privleged position disappeared with Saddam. The Kurds don’t hate us, they hate the Turks. So most likely it isn’t them. If it were, you’d be right, the situation would go from miserable to hopeless toot damn sweet. As it is, its only ghastly.
But, truth be known, I don’t know any more than you do. I’d like to think that the men who led us into this shitstorm know more.
But I kinda doubt it.