An interesting but chilling account of action in Iraq

[Platapus]

An interesting but chilling account of one Marine's action in Iraq

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/0..._n_103698.html

Warning, this video does show some graphic violence.

[Steel_Tomb]

Hmmm, professional...

Its tragic to loose a comrade, but you don't respond by giving your opponant the PR scoop of the century by decimating a holy Islamic site. Its no wonder the Yanks are still in Iraq more than five years after the war started, they simply will not gain public support if their troops act like this.

I'm not saying that British troops may not do something similar sometimes, but I believe that they are much more professional than "we got really excited and decided to blow **** up" like the chap in the video was describing.

[Ducimus]

The moral compass is always so crystal clear from the sidelines when your butt isn't in the line of fire. :rotfl:

[Venatore]

As a soldier I will not judge those men in that video.......god will do that for me......but as a soldier; my job is to not allow my men to do the same, or allow orders to be given to my soldiers that place them in the same position as them.

These men have their demons now and they must live with them, telling soldiers that if they stab a man/enemy to death they will be rewarded.......that commander has already condemned his men to a life of hell.

I'll leave you with a quote, this quote is not for those men sitting at that table, this quote is aimed straight at their commanders who allowed this to happen

The darkest souls are not those which choose to exist within the hell of the abyss, but those which choose to break free from the abyss and move silently among us.....

[bradclark1]

Originally Posted by Venatore

As a soldier I will not judge those men in that video.......god will do that for me......but as a soldier; my job is to not allow my men to do the same, or allow orders to be given to my soldiers that place them in the same position as them.

These men have their demons now and they must live with them, telling soldiers that if they stab a man/enemy to death they will be rewarded.......that commander has already condemned his men to a life of hell.

I'll leave you with a quote, this quote is not for those men sitting at that table, this quote is aimed straight at their commanders who allowed this to happen

The darkest souls are not those which choose to exist within the hell of the abyss, but those which choose to break free from the abyss and move silently among us.....

Give me a break oh holier then thou.

[Venatore]

oh........by your comment/tone, you must have been one of those commanders

[August]

Well maybe you won't, but i'm sure the Judge Advocate Generals office on the other hand would have absolutely no problem judging them. They have publically admitted to committing heinous crimes including murder against unarmed civilians, even going so far as to provide video evidence of their crimes!

What i'd like to know is why these guys aren't being court martialed as we speak.

[CCIP]

...yea, philosophy aside, either the US army is consistent with its goals of stabilizing Iraq, thus enforcing professional standards on their troops - or they should get off their high moral ground. As I see it, even a civilian court would not accept any of this as an excuse. And military should have higher standards than that.

[Stealth Hunter]

I just wanted to say that I am sorry for the hate and destruction I have inflicted on innocent people . . .

You're sorry...? YOU'RE SORRY? YOU DISGUSTING LITTLE RAT. You're sorry for the family of the first man you killed, who was just minding his own business? Why don't you go up to his family and tell them how sorry you are, you little ****. Go on, tell them. Tell them how you shot their relative in the neck, and how he screamed. Tell them how you shot him to death then. Go say you're sorry to the family of the man who was just riding his bike. Say it all you want, but sorry isn't going to bring them back.

You only came forward with this because of a guilty conscience, but you didn't have the balls to meet the families of the "kills" you made in person to apologize for your outbursts of aggression that were unnecessary. Maybe you did tell us this because you want these acts to stop, but maybe not. Then again, it could be both. Whatever the case, you're a sick ****, Mr. Turner... a very sick ****, and that goes for every other soldier who doesn't have the guts to step up and say, "This is wrong!" at the exact moment it's about to happen. If you had just said it when your first kill came into sight... you wouldn't have to live with it, but you didn't... and you can't change what happened...

This whole war, the principles of its soldiers, and morality are FUBAR. It's like Vietnam: American troops shooting entire innocent families, desecration of village relics, you name it, they've both had it. What the hell is wrong with the world? It's like we've all gone crazy.

[August]

Originally Posted by Stealth Hunter

You're sorry...? YOU'RE SORRY? YOU DISGUSTING LITTLE RAT. You're sorry for the family of the first man you killed, who was just minding his own business? Why don't you go up to his family and tell them how sorry you are, you little ****. Go on, tell them. Tell them how you shot their relative in the neck, and how he screamed. Tell them how you shot him to death then. Go say you're sorry to the family of the man who was just riding his bike. Say it all you want, but sorry isn't going to bring them back.

You only came forward with this because of a guilty conscience, but you didn't have the balls to meet the families of the "kills" you made in person to apologize for your outbursts of aggression that were unnecessary. Maybe you did tell us this because you want these acts to stop, but maybe not. Then again, it could be both. Whatever the case, you're a sick ****, Mr. Turner... a very sick ****, and that goes for every other soldier who doesn't have the guts to step up and say, "This is wrong!" at the exact moment it's about to happen. If you had just said it when your first kill came into sight... you wouldn't have to live with it, but you didn't... and you can't change what happened...

This whole war, the principles of its soldiers, and morality are FUBAR. It's like Vietnam: American troops shooting entire innocent families, desecration of village relics, you name it, they've both had it. What the hell is wrong with the world? It's like we've all gone crazy.

Geez SH. Just remember this could all be faked. He wouldn't be the first poser the left has trotted out to tell fabrications designed to damage our credibility.

[bradclark1]

Something is really wrong if he's not in a stockade by now.

Originally Posted by Venatore

oh........by your comment/tone, you must have been one of those commanders

Nope. Just your whole comment to include the Samuel Loomis quote makes me gag. What they did is wrong and it doesn't need some moral philosophy crap to show it. It just so rubbed me the wrong way.

[bradclark1]

Originally Posted by August

Geez SH. Just remember this could all be faked. He wouldn't be the first poser the left has trotted out to tell fabrications designed to damage our credibility.

August, please don't tell me you think it's a lefty plot to garner attention to an unjust war type thing.

[August]

Originally Posted by bradclark1

August, please don't tell me you think it's a lefty plot to garner attention to an unjust war type thing.

No, I just think they don't bother to check out these guys or their stories much if at all when they're saying things they want to hear. Take Jesse MacBeth for example. Until military groups exposed him as a fake the anti-war movement was quite eager to use him in order to drag our militarys reputation through the mud.

You'll forgive me if I have a difficult time automatically believing that this latest crop is telling the truth.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by August

No, I just think they don't bother to check out these guys or their stories much if at all when they're saying things they want to hear. Take Jesse MacBeth for example. Until military groups exposed him as a fake the anti-war movement was quite eager to use him in order to drag our militarys reputation through the mud.

You'll forgive me if I have a difficult time automatically believing that this latest crop is telling the truth.

You might be right. George H. W. Bush sure liked using "Nurse Nayirah" in 1990 to help sell Gulf War I. There is a history of both sides (both American sides that is) using propaganda "interviews".

A healthy suspicion is always good.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by CCIP

And military should have higher standards than that.

They're not exactly recruiting the cream of the crop these days. There so desperate for bodies, the army is accepting people that they NEVER would have considered before.

It's either that, or reinstate the draft, and not even the most hardline right wing neocon warhawk wants to put their blood where their mouth is and enlist or risk their precious snowflake doing the same.