Haditha and then this
In past discussions here and elsewhere on the behaviour of US troops in Iraq, I have suggested that people can be expected to do irrational things when put in extreme circumstances under great stress. I would even extend this to actually forgivving certain actions that would in other situations be considered criminal, but the more I read about this case, the more I think that someone has to go down hard.
If what is being reported is true, it appears that some US troops took a shining to a young Iraqi girl (reports of her age range from 14 to 25, but the 25 figure comes from the FBI, the younger from locals that actually knew her family, so I'll go with that one) at a checkpoint and then looked her up later on. They killed her family, including a younger sister and her parents and then took turns raping her before killing her as well and burning the bodies to hide the evidence.
Several soldiers have been arrested, but the only person to be named so far is Steven Green, who was discharged from the military due to a "personality disorder" (apparently, too late). By all appearances, he was either the ringleader of the incident or the military is very happy to make him appear that way in order to limit the damage and protect others still in uniform.
There is nothing that doesn't disturb me about this incident. First, the incident itself is disgusting. Second, Green managed to get honourably discharged before it was discovered and might have gotten away with it altogether had someone not felt guilty enough to discuss it during a debriefing session later on.
And finally, if Iraq is a legitimate government, as the Bush Administration maintains, then why the hell is this guy not being handed over to their tender mercies?
If what is being reported is true, it appears that some US troops took a shining to a young Iraqi girl (reports of her age range from 14 to 25, but the 25 figure comes from the FBI, the younger from locals that actually knew her family, so I'll go with that one) at a checkpoint and then looked her up later on. They killed her family, including a younger sister and her parents and then took turns raping her before killing her as well and burning the bodies to hide the evidence.
Several soldiers have been arrested, but the only person to be named so far is Steven Green, who was discharged from the military due to a "personality disorder" (apparently, too late). By all appearances, he was either the ringleader of the incident or the military is very happy to make him appear that way in order to limit the damage and protect others still in uniform.
There is nothing that doesn't disturb me about this incident. First, the incident itself is disgusting. Second, Green managed to get honourably discharged before it was discovered and might have gotten away with it altogether had someone not felt guilty enough to discuss it during a debriefing session later on.
And finally, if Iraq is a legitimate government, as the Bush Administration maintains, then why the hell is this guy not being handed over to their tender mercies?
Actually, it's fairly standard practice that American Servicemen'll face American military justice before they'll face any civilian justice, especially that of a foreign nation - not saying it's right or fair, just pointing out that this isn't out of the ordinary. I'll agree with you on the heineousness of this affair, I'd say there's a pretty fair chance this guy could wind up facing a firing squad.
Posted by
Dan |
Mon Jul 03, 11:34:00 PM
one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel
Paul, the biggest problem is that the barrel itself stinks. If this invasion was internationally seen as legitimate rather than a war of (in)convenience, this might be written off as bad for PR, to use your words. Unfortunately, the US started this fight despite the evidence rather than because of it, so every single mis-step from that point forward becomes one more reason they should not be there.
Posted by
kevvyd |
Tue Jul 04, 01:29:00 PM
Ask, and ye shall receive.
My .02 (.000001 USD):
Generally, the US Army is recruiting from the least-advantaged populations in American society: the poor, the uneducated, the unemployable, visible minorities, etc. This has been the case for some time - case in point: Vietnam.
While some are able to overcome the obvious disadvantages of their origins in American society, others are, due to a variety of factors, more susceptible to the 'heroic' propaganda and are less able to defer gratification through reflection. While not an organized campaign of rape as was seen in the Balkans, the incidents of violence are inevitable if your force is composed of individuals for whom revenge and humiliation is the primary motivation, and for whom 'Die Hard' or 'The Terminator' is the guide for proper performance of manhood.
I have no doubt that there is an experienced core of career soldiers, both in the ranks and in the Officer Corps that see this and other incidents as the absolute worst things possible both from a morale and a perception standpoint.
This 'professional' army is probably following orders with the understanding that what they're doing is futile, but they are conditioned to follow orders. After more of these incidents come to light (as they inevitably will), the intelligent, thoughtful, professional core of the US forces will find out that that won't work in Baghdad any better than it worked in Nuremberg. The leadership will be sacrificed for the image, leaving the worst elements to continue raping, killing indiscriminately and generally breaking all of the commandments they are supposedly there to defend.
Long story short: It's going to get much, much worse.
Posted by
Flash |
Wed Jul 05, 11:35:00 AM
And...
The dehumanizing aspects of the rhetorical construction of the 'other' or the 'enemy' makes the actions of these idiots makes their actions seem perfectly acceptable in their own minds. These 'people' aren't human beings to them.
Plus, the pressure to conform to the picture of masculinity offered by the Army is multiplied by isolation in small groups - the actions of one group member is judged against a 'standard', and one-upmanship frequently occurs. In any group situation involving institutionalized but decentralized authority, one sociopath can lead others down paths they hadn't conceived of before.
Okay, done now.:)
Posted by
Flash |
Wed Jul 05, 11:44:00 AM