# War ain't pretty, but this makes me lose my cool. . . **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 24, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909 "2003-11-24T00:56:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/41 "2003-11-24T21:17:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tristan \* > \*\*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. \*\* leave my country. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/42 "2003-11-24T21:28:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > \*\*You’re a moron. \*\* wow. I agree w/ **msmith**. :eek: ( 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/43 "2003-11-24T21:58:39Z")
Another clear sign of impending Apocalypse. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/44 "2003-11-24T22:00:02Z")
But not “imminent” Apocalypse. Don’t get the wrong idea. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/45 "2003-11-24T22:10:08Z")
This just in…it was a crock. > **[U.S. Retracts Report of G.I.s Being Mutilated (Published 2003)](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/24/international/us-retracts-report-of-gis-being-mutilated.html)** > > The two soldiers that had died Sunday had gunshot wounds to the head and their bodies were been pulled by Iraqis from their car and robbed of their personal belongings. “U.S. Retracts Report of Soldiers’ Bodies Being Mutilated” Military officials retracted a report today that two American soldiers had been slashed in their throats in an attack Sunday in the northern city of Mosul. A military official here, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the two soldiers had died of gunshot wounds to the head and that their bodies had been pulled by Iraqis from their car and robbed of their personal belongings. The military official said that contrary to some reports, the men had not been beaten by rocks or mutilated in any way." ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/46 "2003-11-24T22:23:16Z")
Wars have rules – written and unwritten, just like everything else. It’s not unreasonable to claim some acts are unacceptable - even in war. I don’t think despoiling enemy causalities is such a very bad thing to do (as things go in war); but I do find it extremely cowardly and disgraceful. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoneburg \* > \*\*It’s, you know, war. Doesn’t get any worse then war. \*\* Oh, I’m afraid it does. Very much so. \*“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.” \* – John Stuart Mill > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Boo Boo Foo_ > \*\*Ahhh… reminds me of the classic tautology which came out of Vietnam… > > “Sir, in order to save the village we had to destroy it first…”\*\* In the interest of fighting ignorance and all that: **Boo Boo Foo** , you are aware that the quote: _“It became necessary to destroy the town to save it”_ (or _“Sir, in order to save the village we had to destroy it first…”_ if you like) most likely was not, as claimed, spoken by an American officer, but invented by a journalist (Peter Arnett). And, though American soldiers inside the town (Ben Tre) being overrun by the Vietcong may have radioed in air-strikes on their own positions, there’s no evidence at all that Ben Tre was deliberately destroyed (not to speak destroyed to save it). Likewise the later sister quote: _“the only way Hué could be saved was by destroying it.”_ was quite clearly invented by journalists to spice up news stories (or sex-up as has recently become popular). (In fact it was the North Vietnamese regulars and Vietcong who, as a matter of policy during the Tet offensive, destroyed and slaughtered Hué. Numbers are hard to get but up to 6,000 people were rounded up and shot or clubbed to death, and thrown in mass graves. Doctors, teaches and priests were specially targeted) - Rune ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/47 "2003-11-24T22:27:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > A \*\* coalition spokesman \*\* told CNN that autopsies on two soldiers killed Sunday in Mosul revealed that both died of gunshot wounds, and their bodies had not been cut nor their throats slashed, contradicting some \*\* witness \*\* reports. Not that I don’t necessarily believe the brass, but all such reports should be weighed against their sources. ---
**Author:** ![Matchka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Matchka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matchka)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/48 "2003-11-24T22:42:28Z")
John Stuart Mill, of his own free will, drank half a pint of shandy 'n got particularly ill. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/49 "2003-11-24T22:51:28Z")
> [@](#): > > **And yes, it’s largely Religious- we are the Great Satan, after all, heathens and blasphemers all. Even if we ARE doing good works, because we’re ‘heathens’, their Holy Book calls for our deaths. Therefore even while we’re delivering food, fuel, clothes and medicine, a “successful” sneak attack on a group of Americans (or British) is considered a Good Thing.** I have no reason to doubt that you truly believe what you wrote. However, I also think there’s a HUGE disconnect between the rosy disposition you attribute to your side and the seditious nature with which you color the ‘others.’ IOW, it appears that you’ve bought the vacuous rhetoric constantly emanating out of your leaders, wholesale. Would that life were so simple as they’d have you believe: “with us or against us” might have been a good starting premise for the old John Wayne flicks, but seldom’s reality that facile. In the meantime, _they_ are the ones that have suffered atrocious losses by the _thousands_, thanks to your deadly 'Shock and Awe" pyrotechnics display. No telling how many either. See, “good guys” apparently feel no need to count the number of “bad guys” killed. Even if those very dead bad guys had absolutely nothing to do with the reasons for your invasion. Which, BTW, was? The reason I mean. Because I am sure Iraqi’s – along with most of the rest of the world – would love to know why Americans – and now, others as well – have been killing them left and right for months. In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s _their_ country, and you haven’t exactly been the best of guests – in fact, no one invited you in in the first place. And now, all of a sudden, you expect them to bow down and kiss your boots…while you have them firmly planted in their necks. Yes, we all know democracy’s grand, but not even the most accomplished of contortionists could perform the above feat. And quite frankly, I can see why even if they could, they wouldn’t _want_ to. After all, would you? ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/50 "2003-11-24T22:53:10Z")
there once was a man named dave who would ride around town and wave at the girls from his truck but he never would fuck just think of the money he saved ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/51 "2003-11-24T23:57:48Z")
Anyone wanna take bets that the refudiation of the mutilation reports will _not_ make it onto the front pages tomorrow? ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/52 "2003-11-25T00:12:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WinstonSmith \* > **Wars have rules – written and unwritten, just like everything else. It’s not unreasonable to claim some acts are unacceptable - even in war. I don’t think despoiling enemy causalities is such a very bad thing to do (as things go in war); but I do find it extremely cowardly and disgraceful.** A very refined way of putting words to my initial shock when I read the article. And then I saw **friedo** ’ **s** link, as well as another one, both stating the US military has retracted its’ statement. Thus, the wind is blown out of my sails on this particular story, but my OP was more of disgust that mutilations and things like this would happen. And unfortunately, I’m not that naive as to believe it doesn’t in other parts of the world. And for other reasons, Mods, this time I ask you to close this one up. Tripler :: sigh :: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/53 "2003-11-25T00:47:12Z")
Your horror is a symptom of sanity. Cherish it. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909/54 "2003-11-25T01:40:10Z")
> [@](#): > > And for other reasons, Mods, this time I ask you to close this one up. > > Tripler Done. Lynn [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-aint-pretty-but-this-makes-me-lose-my-cool/214909.md?page=2)