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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Suma who wrote (209418)	11/29/2006 1:04:33 PM
From: cnyndwllr	Respond to of 281500

Hi Suma. I've read some of the transcripts from the "winter soldier" hearings. Those things did happen but not to the extent the hearings might have suggested. One thing that is clear to me is that left unchecked EVERY outfit will have a few guys who'll commit atrocities. Most outfits, however, have a few guys who'll make sure those things don't happen, or at least act on checks so that they don't happen casually. The arrow moves from one group toward the other depending on leadership, personnel and circumstances. When outfits get chewed up really badly over time and fear and anger grow, then the arrow moves toward the guys who'll commit the atrocities and the guys who act as checks become less committed. When you have officers or NCO's who are the types who'll commit the atrocities then the guys who can act as checks are handicapped. Sometimes, as with the Mai Lai massacre, the push to kill a village comes from high up the chain of command and reaches an outfit where the arrow has already moved too far toward the atrocities crowd. Even in the Mai Lai massacre, however, there were American soldiers who not only refused to participate but actively tried to stop it. In my company there would have never been atrocities. I knew there was a back-in-the-world existence and I knew right from wrong. Some things you just can't live with. In Vietnam I ran across guys who talked about doing some terrible things. I understood why they could do them but back in the world they'll have to live a nightmare of regrets for the rest of their lives. What the winter hearings don't tell you is that by far the greatest number of atrocities weren't face to face, they were from calling in artillery or air strikes on villages like Mai Lai. Those don't make the news, don't stimulate our horror and revulsion like face-to-face killing of women and children do and are always "deniable" on the basis of "error." They do, however, kill the village. The only way to slow the frequency of such things is to stop "forgiving" such atrocities and to prosecute them and punish the offenders. Lt. Calley in the Mai Lai massacre was lightly punished. As with Abu Graeb, benign neglect and wrist slapping guarantee that horrible events will occur and reoccur. Ed