Amy, On the fact that the military's procedures allow for our soldiers to murder prisoners and get away with it?
I doubt we'll know all the facts of the matter, so I wouldn't be jumping to conclusions. Once again, I'll bring up an example from Korea. There was that very unfortunate incident of an American tank rolling over two young Korean girls in the countryside:
english.peopledaily.com.cn
This sparked a huge outrage among Koreans, not only in Korea, but also here in America. The press reported that the two soldiers responsible for the incident were "acquitted," but my friend who was over there told me that the military careers of the soldiers involved were finished.
This is not to trivialize the tragedy of those two girls being killed, but accidents like this happen all the time, especially with military equipment. None of the American soldiers were found to be criminally negligent, but if you talked to some of the outraged Koreans, you'd think that the soldiers went on a joyride running over anything and anyone in their path. That's what happens when a tragedy like this gets sensationalized in the press. The truth gets distorted, and suddenly well-meaning Americans are painted with the same damning brush usually reserved for guys who truly deserve it, like Kim Jong Il or his late fater Kim Il Sung.
As for the "murder" of the Iraqi prisoner, if it truly was a murder, it's hard for me to believe that the alleged "murderer" will beat the rap, especially with the political pressure pouring down the chain of command. Especially considering all of the reporters embedded throughout the military, a "cover-up" is highly unlikely, if not impossible.
Tenchusatsu |
