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Originally Posted by arch13
Stevo, as it was said by Thomas Jefferson, "You right to free speach end's where my fist touches your nose."
I have a god given right, not a right given by the US government, but a God given right to say what I feel. Likewise, you have a god given right to disagree and say what you feel.
I know many soldiers, and amongst them all I can give you the common reaction to your post, "He thinks every soldier is a hero who can do no wrong?!"
To re-itinerate, not ever soldier performs nobel actions, and in any group there are bad apples who should be removed from the gene pool. I make no judgement on this soldiers actions, but I truly hope you do not beleive that all military personel are are above reproach or questioning.
There where soldiers in Vietnam who handed live grenades to small children in ally villages and walked away before they exploded. Their justifacation? "They all looked the same to me."
Again, there are bad apples in any group of people and no man is inherantly above reproach for their actions, military included.
Do you think that questioning the actions of a soldier is akin to failing to support our troops? Becuase that statement is one that no true republican who cares for our country would ever say, nor would a democrat. Supporting our soldiers does not mean that we turn a blind eye to behavior that is not in line with our countries honor or meaning as laid out by our forfathers.
Being a soldier means that you must make hard choices regarding your actions that must be made quickly. That is what they are trained to do. Never has that meant that they where no accountable for their actions to both the American people and their superior officers. You simply choose to forget that our country did jail it's own for sick actions during WWII and that often soldiers who commited such actions where "killed by a misfired round" or other such things by their peers.
As for your portrait of the camera man, would you prefer he turned the camera off?
"Out of sight, out of mind" right Stevo?
Again, a soldier who performs actions inconsistent with what we stand for is no soldier at all as he failed to uphold our honor. It is not the job of the media to hid the actions of war, it is their job to show all of it, even the parts you think shouldn't be shown. The soldier didn't have the right to assume that his actions would not be videotaped. he was fully aware there was an embedded cameraman in his unit.
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Because the soldier killed an injured man does NOT mean it is necessarily a war crime. Another wounded man in the mosque identified himself as such when the marines entered and he was not shot. The insurgent that was killed was faking death and the marines noticed he was moving. Twice to the right. perhaps to explode a grenade, perhaps to detonate an IED. Well you know what? He wasn't able to because he was killed. Now if that insurgent had identified himself as injured instead of faking dead his life would have been spared. Remember that it is a war crime to feign death in order to kill the enemy. Therefore the soldiers actions were justified.
Another thing. Just because it is out of sight, it is not out of mind. A US soldier is on trial right now for murdering an iraqi and no one caught that incedent on tape.
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Originally Posted by tellumFS
I don't agree with what the soldier did...two wrongs do not make a right. He should be investigated for killing an unarmed, injured man inside of a mosque
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Do you know why he was in the mosque? To kill Americans! That is a war crime itself. Don't make it sound like this was some unarmed injured worshipper. This was an enemy of the US who was breaking the rules to kill americans.