No Intentional Quran Abuse

[Trollbait]

He's got a definite point when he observes that the morality of our enemy is highly situational and one-way.

He may very well have a point about our enemy having a situational and one way morality......but you are missing two very distinct details.

He is implying that their thuggery is an excuse for our soldiers to act in a manner inconsistent with our laws, military traditions, and sense of honor.

2) He is inferring that because some have not been to Iraq and seen the situation first hand they are not in a position to judge the actions of soldiers.

As to position number 1......There is NEVER an excuse for a soldier to be found abusing a detainee. Any soldier or government entity found to be using tactics of abuse or torture must be resigned to paying the price for their actions.

If it is necessary to go "outside the box" to obtain information that will save American lives then the people who gave the order to do so and the persons who perpetrated the act must be held accountable if the torture or abuse is discovered. I know quite a few MI people who understand this simple principle. They do their job knowing the price they may have to pay.

As to position number 2......The civillian authority and the people of the United States are EXACTLY the people who are meant to judge the actions of our men and women in uniform. The U.S. military is not above the law.

[Eidolon Faer]

I'm in 100% agreement with both of your points, Jecks. There is never an excuse for criminal behavior, and there must be civilian oversight.

Admittedly, I didn't read his post that closely (see my comment regarding the late Samuel Clemens) but I didn't take his initial post in quite that way.

The way I read it was more as a request that you walk a mile in his shoes and develop a realistic appreciation of the ethical dilemmas faced by a member of the military before you condemn them wholesale.

He's absolutely correct in that I do NOT have an accurate appreciation of what goes on over there, day-by-day.

Also, there is a great deal of rhetorical gamesmanship that occurs on this particular board. Given that, compared to most of the board regulars, he's easy meat in this arena, I took his bit about typing skills and cut-and-paste as an admission that he realized he was stepping into a meat-grinder rather than as contempt for civilians.

And besides, there's nothing to be gained by making him cry. It'd be as petty as kicking a dog. I'll wait till he's a worthy opponent before I dissect him too harshly.