Opinions On Eveything

On Friday a poster at OS posted a video from youtube that was a bit disturbing and distressing that shows a small group of soldiers acting very stupidly IMO. Here's the video:




Now I made a comment and I got criticized for it mainly because I didn't flesh it out. So I feel I should flesh out my comment a bit. Normally i'd leave that to the OS community alone but the thread is closed and I feel that I need clear things up. Here's what I said.

Wow....

and you wonder why some ppl get all up in arms about American arm forces occupying their land.

I hope those soldiers get what's coming to them. (of course not death but still)

I think it's the first part of my statement that offended some folks so I will clarify my position here. 99.9% of soldiers out there in Iraq do a great job in a very stressful environment. It's just that the small things like this can get blown up to epic proportions by the media in the US and abroad. It's stupid things like that that give American forces a bad rap in a region where they already are to some degree or another hated by the population.

Granted, this is small potatos compared to terrorists kidnapping and torturing people but in modern day warfare it's not just about winning the war but winning the hearts of those you're trying to protect. There have been a few incidents in Iraq that have caused geniune concern whether it be true or not. The one case that immediately jumps to mind was when the US military was accused of defacing and treating the Quran like trash. So you see it's the big events like that or the small events like this little video that accumulate over time.

I have great respect for anyone who serves in the military and I have no tolerance for the few bad apples like this small group of soldiers who taunted and laughed at those kids. It's embarassing and humiliating to the good name of the US Armed Forces.

As for my statement about the soldiers getting what's coming to them. All I want to see is a disciplinary action. I don't wish any harm on them. The rank and file soldiers are still young men and they're allowed to make mistakes but one can't let little things slide or it could snowball into abuses of power. Now if this was something on the order of My Lai in Vietnam then the soldiers would definitely need to be court martialed. Obviously this isn't that situation but it still requires some form of punishment.

I hope that those in the thread that thought less of me based on a quick and off the cuff remark will at least respect my opinion at the very least and perhaps see things my way after this thorough expression of my views.