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before anyone jumps on my back... i dont' condone either. however...
US prisoner abuse:
1. the prisoners were either criminals or captured enemy soldiers.
2. they were humiliated for purposes of gaining intelligence.
3. the prisoners have decent odds of having american blood on their hands (which, is a part of war. i understand that)
4. ostensibly, the devices used by the americans were being used to save american lives.
5. their faces were covered, the photos were taken and leaked.
6. sparked an intense investigation, 7 soldiers already summoned to a courts-martial.
Berg situation:
1. he was a civilian, his presence in iraq wasn't a physical threat to anyone.
2. berg was kidnapped, not taken prisoner in a war or arrested as a criminal.
3. the man was beheaded in a brutal way
4. the violence and disgrace was videotaped for the purpose of showing the world this act.
5. radicals claim that they will fill "coffin after coffin" like this.
i condemn both, but equivocating the two is ludicrous.
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If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
~ Winston Churchill
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