Gotta vent...
Because this is a paintball blog there are some things on my mind that I don't include here. For instance, today I'm not going to include my thoughts on the capture of Ahmed Hashim Abed who is the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four U.S. Blackwater security guards in Fallujah in 2004 and that three of the Spec Op Navy Seals involved in the capture are now facing criminal charges.
This probably isn't the place to report that after Abed was turned over to Iraqi authorities he was released back into U.S. custody complaining that he had a "bloody lip." Now the three Navy Seals face court martial proceedings.
Never mind that the four Blackwater agents were "transporting supplies for a catering company when they were ambushed and killed by gunfire and grenades" and that the "insurgents burned the bodies and dragged them through the city" and then "hanged two of the bodies on a bridge over the Euphrates River for the world press to photograph."
Apparently none of that matters. Liberals predict (as well as some uninformed conservatives)that this will all blow over and the Seals will be given "just a wrist slap" as a warning to conventional troops to watch their P's and Q's around war prisoners. What they don't realize is just a slap will ruin the careers of these heroes.
Another thing I'm not going to mention here in this paintball blog is my thoughts on General McChrystal's request for additional troops over eight months ago and the President announcing, finally, that a decision will be announced next Tuesday. This paintball blog is probably not the place to say war is hell and every death is a tragedy but I hold the President criminally accountable for every death during those eight months and every death between now and Tuesday.
And while I'm not mentioning certain things on this blog I might add I'm getting sick and tired of hearing about IED's taking out our troops. HOW GOD DAMNED MANY TIMES DO YOU HAVE TO TOUCH A STOVE TO KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO BE BURNED? There has got to be a better way to move and patrol and transport. Americans are the smartest and most technologically superior creatures on the planet.
Which might mean we should be beyond having wars at all. But that's a topic for an entirely different kind of blog.
3 comments:
We should be marching to the sounds of the guns. If reinforcements are called for, they should be sent, no questions asked and you are correct about accountability on the Presidents part. I also liked the statement about Americans being the most techinicaly minded on the planet and there is no reason we should be having problems with IED’s like we do.
I first read about the SEALs yesterday on Fox and my first thought was, hey, these men are at war and should not be held accountable. How can it be expected that they turn themselves off after a mission from combat soldier and become a police officer? But after a moment of thinking, I again thought hey, Americans are better than that and proper and professional behavior should always take precedence no matter what personal anger is present and it is their duty to shut themselves off when done with their mission. These are America’s elite and therefore our best and it is their responsibility to show that at all times. If I screw up at work, my boss has the talk with me and it could, depending on the situation, result in a letter being filed or even firing. The same goes for these guys and all men and women in the military. War is a policy tool; though it is rough and very messy, it is a tool our government uses to get what we want. These soldiers signed up to implement this tool as their job, and so there are expectations of professional behavior from them. As soon as they act like a mob or secret police slapping up a detainee, then our credibility is knocked down and we are no better than Castro or Chavez and his boys!
As the President is accountable, there also is accountability on the part of our sons and daughters who are these soldiers. They are accountable to American principles regardless of what these criminals have conducted against us. That is what makes us a better nation regardless of what many of the press outlets would have us believe.
I also wanted to point out that the court martial is for more than just a slap. I think if it had been just that it would have been overlooked. The issue that would grab higher authorities attention even more so than a slap is that the SEAL's lied about what happended by making flase official statements; the one who did the hitting and others who decided to back him up by altering their reports of the incident to support his version. This is a bigger breach of discipline and of the principles that the armed forces stand for and in itself should not be tolerated. Are such actions career ruining? Certainly. The man who hit the detainee scum should have manned up to it and taken the heat himself for it. Now other valubale members of the military have been brought in by their misplaced actions of supporting a friend rather than doing right. Though laudable for making the support it is incorrect.
Great comments, Jackpine. Well said. It's a fine line that divides the warrior from the savage. I just worry sometimes that we are going to "PC" ourselves right out of existence someday. Thanks.
Post a Comment