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Fearless Philosophy For Free Minds: Newsflash: War is messy

Monday, November 22, 2004

Newsflash: War is messy

All is fair in love and war? Apparently not. I am going to say what nobody else seems to have the courage to say: the Geneva Conventions are a joke! Apparently the Geneva Conventions only apply to the coalition in Iraq. No country the U.S. will ever go to war against will ever follow the rules of warfare; therefore our troops should not be bound by them either.

Much has been made about this Marine who shot a wounded ‘insurgent’ in the head while playing dead. Hardball’s Chris Mathews had the nerve to ask whether this shooting was justified and even suggested the Marine was some kind of war criminal. He even expressed empathy for the enemy soldier saying something to the effect that ‘just because he fights for the other side does not make him a bad person’. Give me a break! Whose side are you on Chris? Its one thing to have an agenda against President Bush, but its quite another to have an agenda against the American soldier. These enemy forces do not deserve our pity, our respect, or our overly humane treatment; they deserve to die!

I know that may sound harsh to some of you; maybe it is. Maybe I’m missing something here. Our troops are at war with people who do not treat them humanely, who behead innocent civilians, booby trap dead bodies, strap explosives to children, who do not follow ANY of the Geneva Conventions…nope I don’t think I’m missing anything at all! Where is the outrage for these actions? No, we must be upset because an American soldier shot an enemy thug in the head who would have undoubtedly returned to kill our troops on another day had he succeeded in fooling the soldiers who were present. Had Mr. Terrorist surrendered as he should have, chances are he would be in an Iraqi prison (being treated much better than he deserves), rather than becoming worm food. When bombs are dropped on enemy strongholds, does anyone check to make sure that the enemy isn’t sleeping or playing dead? What if they are not presently armed? Would anyone care if Bin Laden was found laying on the ground unconscious and someone shot him in the head just in case?

When I heard the audio of the incident, I could feel the tension taking place. I could imagine being in that position. What would I do? Exactly the same thing! This soldier deserves a medal not a court-martial! If this brave Marine is punished, we have made all of our troops jobs that much more difficult. Their hands are tied too much as it is. Instead we should say to hell with world opinion! Its time to get away from this sensitive war on terror and kick some ass! No more of this hiding in mosques. When the Texans resisted the Mexican army in the Alamo, the Alamo was no longer a Mission but a fortress. Both sides understood that. The same rationale should apply in Iraq. Surely new and better places of worship can be built once the war is over.

In the fog of war, life and death decisions have to be made. Sometimes, innocent people are killed. That’s unfortunate, but it’s the reality of war. The media is trying to hold our troops to an impossibly high standard where no one is hurt but the enemy. If only life were that simple.

If you would like to show this Marine you support his actions, sign the online petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/as123/petition.html .The petition will be sent to congress once the goal has been reached. Also, take some time out to thank our troops fighting the war on terror in Iraq and Afgahnastan. My favorite sodier blog I have found so far is called Boots on the Ground (click on the title of this post to go there now).

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